Stairway to Heaven

LED ZEPPELIN IV

STAIRWAY to HEAVEN

GREATEST ROCK SONG of ALL TIME

LED ZEPPELIN  IV

LED ZEPPELIN

JIMMY PAGE, ROBERT PLANT, JOHN PAUL JONES, JOHN BONHAM

Why is Stairway to Heaven so special?

What makes stairway to heaven such an iconic song? Really catchy opening guitar, interesting and mystical-sounding lyrics, solid (albeit poorly recorded) drumming, fantastic melodic solo. That heavy final minute or so, too. Just a very well constructed, great sounding rock song.

Lyrics

There's a lady who's sure all that glitters is gold
And she's buying a stairway to Heaven

When she gets there she knows, if the stores are all closed
With a word she can get what she came for

Ooh, ooh, and she's buying a stairway to Heaven

There's a sign on the wall, but she wants to be sure
'Cause you know sometimes words have two meanings

In a tree by the brook, there's a songbird who sings
Sometimes all of our thoughts are misgiven

Ooh, it makes me wonder
Ooh, makes me wonder

There's a feeling I get when I look to the West
And my spirit is crying for leaving

In my thoughts I have seen rings of smoke through the trees
And the voices of those who stand looking

Ooh, it makes me wonder
Ooh, really makes me wonder

And it's whispered that soon if we all call the tune
Then the piper will lead us to reason

And a new day will dawn for those who stand long
And the forests will echo with laughter

Oh-oh-oh-oh-whoa

If there's a bustle in your hedgerow, don't be alarmed now
It's just a spring clean for the May queen
Yes, there are two paths you can go by, but in the long run
There's still time to change the road you're on

And it makes me wonder
Ohh, whoa

Your head is humming, and it won't go, in case you don't know
The piper's calling you to join him

Dear lady, can you hear the wind blow? And did you know
Your stairway lies on the whispering wind?

And as we wind on down the road
Our shadows taller than our soul
There walks a lady we all know
Who shines white light and wants to show
How everything still turns to gold
And if you listen very hard
The tune will come to you at last
When all are one, and one is all
To be a rock and not to roll

And she's buying a stairway to Heaven

STAIRWAY to HEAVEN "SUCESS & LEGACY 

"Stairway to Heaven" is often rated among the greatest rock songs of all time. Music journalist Stephen Davis wrote that the 1971 song ascended to "Anthemic" status within two years. Page recalled, "I knew it was good. I didn't know it was going to become like an anthem, but I did know it was the gem of the album, sure."

"Stairway to Heaven" continues to top radio lists of the greatest rock songs, including a 2006 Guitar World readers poll of greatest guitar solos. On the 20th anniversary of the original release of the song, it was announced via US radio sources that the song had logged an estimated 2,874,000 radio plays. As of 2000, the song had been broadcast on radio over three million times. In 1990, a Tampa Bay, Florida, area station (then WKRL) kicked off its all-Led Zeppelin format by playing "Stairway to Heaven" for 24 hours straight. It is also the biggest-selling single piece of sheet music in rock history, clocking up an average of 15,000 copies yearly.

In total, over one million copies have been sold.

The band never authorised the song to be edited for single release, despite pressure from Atlantic Records. Page told Rolling Stone in 1975, "We were careful to never release it as a single", which forced buyers to buy the entire album.

In 2004, Rolling Stone magazine put it at number 31 on their list of "The 500 Greatest Songs of All Time", then number 61 in 2021.  On 29 January 2009, Guitar World magazine rated Jimmy Page's guitar solo the best of the publication's 100 Greatest Guitar Solos in Rock and Roll History.

In 2001, the New York City-based classic rock radio station WAXQ conducted a listener survey to create a countdown of 1,043 rock songs (the number corresponding with the station's position on the dial at 104.3 FM). "Stairway to Heaven" garnered the most votes from listeners. WAXQ has conducted the survey annually since then; in each subsequent countdown that has followed, including the most recent in November 2024, "Stairway to Heaven" has been the top-ranked song.

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