The Real Reason Robert Plant Is Overwhelmed Listening To Stairway to Heaven

One of Rock’s greatest songs of all time is “Stairway to Heaven” from Led Zeppelin, and it’s indeed a masterpiece that still stands the test of time.

A lot was going on in my life at that time like junior high school, and house parties. And one of the strangest songs to roller skate to during couples only was “Stairway to Heaven.” Radio stations used to do countdowns all the time that would battle out who would be that No. 1 song. It seemed to always be a battle between “Stairway to Heaven” and “Hey Jude” by the Beatles for many years.

This will go down in history as one of the greatest performances in rock. Ann Wilson had complete control of that stage and her instrument. The addition of the chorus was a fantastic surprise element. There was not a "miss" in this whole thing. I've watched it at least a dozen times since the original performance and it never ceases to give me goosebumps. The fact that she could sing this at 62, after years of touring and recording, and still nail every note while making it look easy speaks volumes about her vocal prowess. She's nearly unmatchable in music - regardless of age.

The Real Reason Robert Plant Is Overwhelmed Listing To Stairway to Heaven

What were Robert Plant and Jimmy Page thinking at the time “Stairway to Heaven” was written and conceived? Here’s a little insight from Robert Plant in a recent interview with vulture.com "But perhaps one of the things about “Stairway to Heaven” was that the development of the song was exactly that. Somehow it was something very, very special, which I don’t have a great connection to. But that night at the Kennedy Center, it made me remember that I had some responsibility, for better or worse, for that song."

Jimmy Page gives a personal account of how a rock anthem came together. "The idea of Stairway was to have a piece of music a composition whereby it would just keep unfolding into more layers and more moods."

Jimmy Page and Led Zeppelin were very careful never to release Stairway to Heaven as a single. Radio would have chopped it up to 3 mins and 50 seconds and put a dagger in the heart of Jimmy Page. Regardless of court cases, the band has had to endure copywriting. Stairway will always be one of the greatest songs for fans of all time.