The Stairway to Heaven Project
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| "Stairway to Heaven" | ||
|---|---|---|
| Song by Led Zeppelin | ||
| From the album | ||
| Album released | November 8, 1971 | |
| Recorded | December 1970 | |
| Genre | Hard Rock | |
| Song Length | 8:02 | |
| Record label | Atlantic | |
| Producer | Jimmy Page | |
When Led Zeppelin released their fourth studio album in December 1971, released untitled, but commonly called "Led Zeppelin IV" or "
" after the symbols displayed on the back sleeve of the album, the legendary British group never would have forseen the impact it would later have on world music. World wide, it is considered to be one of the greatest rock songs ever written and definitely Led Zeppelin's trademark song. Its dreamy opening riff has won it the hearts of millions of fans world wide and is instantly recognisable, even by the non-Led Zeppelin fans. Today its legacy lives on and is widely heralded as the most played track on American F.M radio.
[edit] Making the Stairway to Heaven
"Stairway to Heaven," began its life as a track when it was brought into initial recording sessions for Led Zeppelin's fourth album by guitarist, Jimmy Page, as a fairly complete chord progression. The process of writing this progression however, started way back at the Bron-Y-Aur cottage in one night written by Page and over time, evolved eventually into the shell for a track. In a later visit to Bron-Y-Aur, the lyrics were put to the song by singer Robert Plant during the recording sessions for the group's third album, Led Zeppelin III.
Recording of the track began in December 1970 at Island Studios (London). Once the chord progression brought in by Jimmy had been put together with the hippie inspired and mysterious lyrics written around a log fire by Plant, bassist/keyboaredist, John Paul Jones and drummer, John Bonham made their contributions, Jones on key boards and bass recorder and Bonham providing a solid, but appropriate drum beat. The arrangement came together quite quickly after this. All that was left was the guitar solo. For this Jimmy would turn to a Fender Telecaster, but for live performances would invest in a custom-built Gibson double neck S.G. For the recording of the of rest of the song, Page would use a Rickenbacker 12 string. The recorded solo would eventually become one of the most highly regarded pieces of guitar music ever written and a favourite with guitarists the world over. Finally, the song, whirling with mysticism spiralls through a dazzeling display by all band members to its climax, the final lyric, "and she's buying the Stairway, to Heaven..." and then silence.
The song was completed at Headly Grange studios in Hampshire, the location of much recording for the fourth album, prior to its release on "" on the 8th of November, 1971. Naturally, the album had unprecedented success world wide, reaching no. 1 in the U.K and no. 2 in the U.S.A.
[edit] Live Performances
"Stairway" was first played live at Ulster Hall, Belfast on the 5th of March, 1971. It was retained for every subsequent Led Zeppelin show until 1980. It was also used as part of the final encore. The opening riff often underwent minor changes for most live shows and some other small parts also took on a new appearance. The solo was quite often a vehichle for some page magnificance, often stretching it out to over three minutes compared to the studio version's 50 seconds. Unlike many other legendary Led Zeppelin songs, such as "Whole Lotta Love" and "Dazed and Confused", "Stairway" was the only marathon that didn't take on the riffs from other songs. The song was used extensively during "Led Zepplein, the Eighties Campaign" and also by Page and Plant on their subsequent world tours. It was played at the Live Aid concert in 1985 and the 40th anniversary celebration of Atlantic Records in 1988, and by Jimmy Page as an instrumental version on his solo tours.
[edit] Controversies
Stairway to Heaven was a hugely popular song, but it didn't slip under the radar. Instead, it was pulled up a number of times for a number of different allegations. The first and the most well known of these controverises is the lyrics. Robert Plant, the writer of the famous lyric has never actually released an official document or made any statements regarding the meaning of the word, so no one really knows what one of the greatest song ever is about. It is really quite Intriguing, but the thing that many find most intriguing about the song is the satanic messages it is said to conceal.
