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"Stairway to Heaven" is a song by the n acoustic EP, and in the 1990s as a 20th anniversary promo issue. HISTORY The band began to write the song during the sessions for '' Led Zeppelin III '' at Bron-Yr-Aur , Wales , but it was completed at Headley Grange , Hampshire , and finally recorded at Island Studios, London , in December 1970 . It is not entirely clear whether the song was inspired by a Movie Title . The original reference to a stairway to heaven comes from the Bible: ''Then he dreamed, and behold, a ladder was set up on the Earth, and its top reached to heaven; and there the angels of God were ascending and descending on it.'' The song was first played live at Belfast 's Ulster Hall on March 5 , 1971 and it was performed at every subsequent Led Zeppelin concert from 1975 to 1980 , usually as part of a final encore. "Stairway" was also played at Live Aid in 1985 and the 40th anniversary celebration of Atlantic Records in 1988 , and by Jimmy Page as an instrumental version on his solo tours. "Stairway to Heaven" is one of the biggest-selling Sheet Music publications in rock history. Since 1971, it has sold more than 1.2 million copies. "Stairway to Heaven" continues to top radio lists of the greatest rock songs. Some radio stations that have listed the song as #1 include WNOR (Norfolk), WEBN (Cincinnati), WGRX (Baltimore), WFXF (Indianapolis), KLSK (Albuquerque), WMYG (Pittsburgh), KLSX (Los Angeles), KRTH (Los Angeles), and KGON (Portland). {Link without Title} LYRICS The lyrics, written by Led Zeppelin vocalist Robert Plant next to an evening log fire, were inspired by his search for Spiritual Perfection . A seminal influence was the book ''Magic Arts in Celtic Britain'' by Lewis Spence , which Plant had recently read; it contained references to May Queen s, pipers, and "bustling hedgerows." The line, "In my thoughts I have seen rings of smoke through the trees," could be a reference to William Wordsworth 's poem ''Tintern Abbey'': "...and wreaths of smoke / Sent up, in silence, from among the trees!" MUSIC with his Double-neck Guitar ]] The song is a multi-movement suite. A quiet introduction featuring final section. This style is found in many Zeppelin songs recorded after the release of "Stairway to Heaven". The guitar introduction is one of the most famous pieces ever played on the guitar, but was in fact borrowed from the song "Taurus" by Spirit , who were touring with Led Zeppelin at the time. They have been interviewed about this and apparently do not mind. It opens with an Am-Fmaj7 chord progression with a Chromatic descending bassline A-G#-G-F#-F. John Paul Jones contributed overdubbed wooden bass Recorder s in the opening section (he used an Organ , and later, a Mellotron to synthesize this arrangement in live performances) and a Rhodes electric piano in the middle section. The extended Jimmy Page guitar solo in the song's final section was played for the recording on a 1958 Fender Telecaster plugged into a Supro Amplifier . Three different solos were recorded with Page deciding to keep the one which he felt best suited the theme of the song. The other guitar parts were played using a Harmony acoustic guitar and Fender Electric XII (12-string); both can be heard on the left and right recording channels respectively. For later live versions Page switched to using a double-necked 6/12 1968 Gibson EDS-1275 , which was custom-built by Roger Giffin of Gibson's West Coast Custom Shop. COVER VERSIONS ''" "Stairways to Heaven" video tape (25 versions of the song includes the well-known version by Rolf Harris )]] Although "Stairway to Heaven" is a popular set choice for Cover Band s throughout the world, the iconic status and unique structure of the song have precluded the recording of many Cover Version s by established artists. A few attempts at a straightforward cover have been made over the years, notably by Hair Metal band Great White . The Supergroup Far Corporation was the first act to chart with a single release of the song, barely making the charts in the U.S., while becoming a top-10 hit in the UK in October 1985 . Frank Zappa recorded an original version of the song during his 1988 world tour, and it appeared on the 1991 live Album '' The Best Band You Never Heard In Your Life .'' The popularity of "Stairway to Heaven" has led to covers in other genres than rock. Singer . Many other covers are ironic or humorous in intent, notably Dread Zeppelin 's Reggae / Elvis -inspired version, Pat Boone 's lounge take, and Rolf Harris 's Wobble Board interpretation (which reached number 7 in the UK Charts in 1993 ). Rolf Harris's version was one of several different versions of the song, which were performed live by guest stars on the television program '' The Money Or The Gun '' - each being a unique version of the song in the style of performance of each guest star, following which the best 25 performances of the song were released on video tape for posterity (Rolf Harris' version would appear to be the only version that people are aware of). Famous jazz guitarist Stanley Jordan recorded an instrumental cover of Stairway to Heaven which is played on two guitars simultaneously, with no Overdub s. The Foo Fighters 's lead singer Dave Grohl also recorded a funny version of the song on ''The Late Show With Craig Kilborn'', when he forgot the lyrics, and the audience needed to jump in and help them out. After becoming frustrated, he simply skips ahead to the ending of the song. Fake versions One version of the song circulating on the Internet is a supposed " Reggae remix" by Jimi Hendrix . In fact, Hendrix died a year before the song was released. The recording is of a performance by Frank Zappa at one of his last live shows. This track is also sometimes attributed to Sublime . Another widely circulated cover version is credited to Led Zeppelin and Pink Floyd . This is most likely the version released by the Frank Farian supergroup Far Corporation on their 1985 album ''Division One'' (9 minutes 33 seconds long). Another version can be found on their 1994 album ''Solitude'' (8 minutes 46 seconds long). CONTROVERSY Critics of Rock And Roll songs (and of Led Zeppelin in particular) have alleged that a Backward Message is recorded into "Stairway to Heaven." The controversial lyrics are as follows: Some interpret the reversed lyrics to sound like the following: This theory was primarily advanced by Michael Mills , Jacob Aranza , and Jeff Godwin , who offered detailed analyses of the hidden meanings of both the "backwards" and actual lyrics. In support of the theory is a rumor that Led Zeppelin guitarist Jimmy Page bought well known Occult ist Aleister Crowley 's house, which was known as the "Toolshed." Also, other lines in the song, including "And if you listen very hard / The tune will come to you at last" can be viewed as symbolic of a double meaning. Some have attempted to disprove the backmasking claims by examining non-studio versions of the song for the alleged messages. Reversing live recordings and covers of the song seems to yield the same alleged message, which can be heard as clearly as on the original. This technique works particularly well on the 1976 live album '' The Song Remains The Same ''. Led Zeppelin has for the most part ignored such claims; for years the only comment came from expressed frustration with the accusations in an interview {Link without Title} : "To me it's very sad, because 'Stairway To Heaven' was written with every best intention, and as far as reversing tapes and putting messages on the end, that's not my idea of making music." TRIVIA
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