'Stairway To Heaven' is the most requested song on American radio and, despite never being released as a single, is the biggest selling piece of sheet music in history. Its ubiquity perhaps confirmed by the guitar shop sign in the movie 'Wayne's World' forbidding any budding axe hero from attempting it: "No Stairway. Denied!"
The music for the song came from fragments Jimmy Page had recorded onto a portable tape recorder in 1970. Robert Plant claims the words, concerning a thoughtless and ungrateful woman, arrived spontaneously as Page strummed guitar: "I just sat there and looked at them and almost leapt out of my seat," claimed the singer.
Recording began in 1971 with John Paul Jones adding bass recorder parts to the acoustic intro and electric piano to the middle. Many have pointed out the track's similarity to 'Taurus' by Zeppelin's touring companions Spirit, who Page also credits with inspiring his use of a Theremin.
The band first performed 'Stairway To Heaven' in concert at Belfast's Ulster Hall in March 1971 and Jones recalled the audience being bored. However, recordings of the show tell a different story with a crowd audibly delighted at the new material. The song remained a staple of the Zeppelin live set throughout their career. Two live versions can be heard on 'The Song Remains The Same' soundtrack.
The song was embroiled in controversy when certain elements of the Christian community claimed it featured satanic messages when played backwards. The line: "If there's a bustle in your hedgerow..." is said to mask the words: "Oh here's to my sweet Satan." The claims were, of course, nonsense and the band's label released a statement saying: "Our turntables only play in one direction - forwards."
'Stairway To Heaven' was released on the band's untitled fourth album, on November 8, 1971. It is also available on 'Mothership', containing the very best of Led Zeppelin, personally selected by the band and remastered by Jimmy Page.
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