THE 1000 BEST SONGS IN THE WORLD EVER.

66-Led Zeppelin-Stairway to Heaven.

1971-It was never released as a single until the bands back catalogue was made available in 2007 for download, then the song peaked at Number 37 in the UK.

Best Bit-At 6.44. Led Zeppelin played the song for the first time in Belfast in 1971. The bands bass player John Paul Jones recalled that the crowd was unimpressed,’They were all bored to tears waiting to hear something they knew.’

Led Zeppelin (see also best songs 135) were formed in London, England, in 1968 by Jimmy Page, (guitarist) (see also best songs 361-135 and 67) Robert Plant, (vocalist) John Bonham, (1948-1980) (drums) and John Paul Jones, (bass, and keyboards) the group remained active until the death of Bonham in 1980. The four group members first played together as the ‘New Yardbirds’ in August 1968, on a tour of Scandanavia. Due to a legal objection by Chris Dreja of the original ‘Yardbirds’ (see also best songs 361) the quartet had to find themselves a new name. One account of how the new band’s name was chosen tells that Keith Moon (1946-1978) and John Entwistle (1944-2002) of the group ‘The Who’ (see also best songs 926-306 and 265) had suggested that a super-group with them and Jimmy Page and Jeff Beck (see also best songs 361 and 205) would go down like a “lead balloon”, which is an idiom for disastrous results. The group dropped the ‘a’ in lead at the suggestion of their manager, Peter Grant, (1935-1995) so that those unfamiliar with the term would not pronounce it “leed”. The word “balloon” was replaced by “zeppelin”, a word which, according to music journalist Keith Shadwick, (1951-2008) brought ‘The perfect combination of heavy and light, combustibility and grace to Page’s mind.’

With record sales estimated at anywhere between two to three million copies, Led Zeppelin are one of the worlds very best selling artists. Their discography includes eight studio Albums released between 1969-1979, seven of which reached Number 1 in the UK, and six which topped the Billboard chart in America. In the UK, Led Zeppelin didn’t issue singles, so if you wanted to buy their music you would have to purchase their Albums, but in America where they were legally obliged, 16 of their songs were issued as singles, with five of those making the Billboard Hot 100 top 40, with ‘Whole Lotta’ Love’ charting the highest (Number 4, 1969.)

‘Stairway to Heaven’ was co-written by Jimmy Page, who wrote the music, and Robert Plant, who provided the lyrics, Page was also the songs producer. ‘Stairway to Heaven’ is track 4 on side 1 of Led Zeppelins fourth studio Album ‘Led Zeppelin 1V’ from 1971, and is widely regarded as one of the greatest Rock songs of all time. The song has three sections, each one progressively increasing in tempo and volume. ‘Stairway to Heaven’ begins in a slow tempo with acoustic instruments (guitar and recorders,) before introducing electric instruments. The final section is an uptempo hard rock arrangement highlighted by Jimmy Page’s guitar solo, which is considered by many to be one of the greatest ever.

Like many great songs in this countdown, the songs lyrics are open to interpretation. Robert Plant who wrote the lyrics at the age of 23 has said,’Depending on what day it is, I still interpret the song in a different way, and I wrote the lyrics.’ Many who have studied the song agree that the first verse is about a woman who has the means to get whatever she wants, at any cost. This can be interpreted as selling her soul, for instant satisfaction, and that over the course of time it will leave her feeling hollow. It appears that there are one of two paths you can take in life. One is by learning to respect yourself, respect others, and respect your surroundings, which is the ‘Stairway to Heaven,’ or you can choose the other route, which is the ‘Highway to Hell.’

‘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.’