Stairway to Heaven

Zoo Freaks, get ready to climb the Stairway to Heaven with Led Zeppelin as The Zoo Crew spins this epic track from Led Zeppelin IV! This song, released in 1971, is a rock legend, often hailed as one of the greatest of all time. It starts with Jimmy Page’s haunting acoustic guitar and John Paul Jones’ recorder, building to a thunderous hard rock climax with Page’s iconic guitar solo—ranked the best ever by Guitar World. Fun fact: the song was never a single in the U.S., yet it ruled FM radio in the ‘70s, with fans snapping up Led Zeppelin IV just to hear it. Its eight-minute journey, blending folk, progressive rock, and hard rock, has no chorus and took shape over months, starting at a Welsh cottage called Bron-Yr-Aur.

Here’s a wild story: in 1982, a California State Assembly hearing played Stairway to Heaven backward, with a researcher claiming it hid satanic messages. Robert Plant, in a 1983 Musician magazine interview, called this “sad” and dismissed it, saying the song was written with “every best intention.” Led Zeppelin’s label, Swan Song Records, quipped, “Our turntables only play in one direction—forwards.” Audio engineer Eddie Kramer called the accusations “ridiculous.” Despite the controversy, the band performed it at nearly every concert, often stretching it past 10 minutes with Plant’s ad-libs like “Does anybody remember laughter?” Another quirky tale? Plant once donated $10,000 to an Oregon radio station to stop playing the song, as he shared in a story recounted by Mental Floss.

The song’s mystique grew from its vague, mystical lyrics about a woman trying to “buy a stairway to heaven.” Plant, in a 2018 interview on The Project, called the hype around it “hysterical,” admitting he struggled to remember the words in the ‘70s, with their manager holding up lyric cards during shows. Jimmy Page, in a 2008 Rolling Stone interview, said the solo was “purely of the moment,” picking the best of three improvised takes. The song’s cultural impact is huge—it even inspired a scene in Wayne’s World, where a guitar shop sign bans playing its iconic intro, a nod to its overuse by aspiring guitarists. Posts on X from fans and accounts like @ThatEricAlper highlight its enduring love, noting its radio dominance without ever being a single.

Led Zeppelin formed in 1968 in London, rising from the ashes of The Yardbirds. Jimmy Page, a seasoned session guitarist, joined The Yardbirds in 1966 and took the reins when the band dissolved. He recruited Robert Plant, a blues-loving singer from Birmingham, John Bonham, a powerhouse drummer, and John Paul Jones, a versatile bassist and keyboardist. Initially called The New Yardbirds, they became Led Zeppelin after a quip about the name suggested their music would soar like a lead balloon. Their 1969 debut album, recorded in just 36 hours, fused blues, rock, and folk, setting the stage for their explosive rise. By 1971, Led Zeppelin IV cemented their legend, with Stairway to Heaven as its crown jewel.

Connect with Led Zeppelin on their official website, Facebook, Instagram, and X. Fans can dive into communities like the Led Zeppelin Fans Facebook group or visit fan sites such as Led Zep News for updates and discussions. The Zoo Crew knows you Zoo Freaks are vibing to this classic, so keep those dials locked on THE ZOO!