Stairway to Heaven
"Stairway to Heaven" is a song by English rock band Led Zeppelin, released in late 1971 by Atlantic Records. It was composed by the band's guitarist Jimmy Page with lyrics written by lead singer Robert Plant for the band's untitled fourth studio album (commonly known as Led Zeppelin IV). The song is widely regarded as one of the greatest rock songs of all time.
| "Stairway to Heaven" | |
|---|---|
American radio promotional sleeve | |
| Song by Led Zeppelin | |
| from the album Led Zeppelin IV | |
| Released | 8 November 1971 |
| Recorded | December 1970 – 1971 |
| Studio | Island Studios, London |
| Genre | |
| Length | 7:55 |
| Label | Atlantic |
| Songwriter(s) | |
| Producer(s) | Jimmy Page |
| Audio | |
| "Stairway to Heaven" on YouTube | |
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 uptempo 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" number 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.