Song of the day for November 8 2023

1 year ago Brian

"Stairway to Heaven", from Led Zeppelin's 1971 album, was performed by Heart featuring Jason Bonham at the Kennedy Center Honors in 2012. Composed by Jimmy Page and Robert Plant, the song is renowned for its three structures, each increasing in tempo and volume. Despite not being commercially released in the US, it still topped FM radio stations and was recognized by VH1 and Rolling Stone as one of the greatest songs of all time.

Today’s song is Stairway to Heaven performed by Heart with Jason Bonham on drums. This performance was from the Kennedy Center Honors on December 2 2012. The reason I picked this song is because on this date all the way back in 1971 Led Zeppelin IV was released. That album featured this song as the final song on side 1.

It was composed by the band’s guitarist Jimmy Page and lead singer Robert Plant for the. The song 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. The song begins in a slow tempo with acoustic instruments (guitar and recorders) before introducing electric instruments. The final section is an up-tempo hard rock arrangement, highlighted by Page’s guitar solo and Plant’s vocals, which ends with the plaintive a cappella line: “And she’s buying a stairway to heaven”.

“Stairway to Heaven” was voted number three in 2000 by VH1 on its list of the 100 Greatest Rock Songs, in 2004 Rolling Stone magazine ranked “Stairway to Heaven” #31 on its “500 Greatest Songs of All Time” list. It was the most requested song on FM radio stations in the United States at the time, despite never having been commercially released as a single in the US. In November 2007, through download sales promoting Led Zeppelin’s Mothership release, “Stairway to Heaven” reached number 37 on the UK Singles Chart.