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Blake Schneiter
Professor Granillo
English 101
5 December 2018
Stairway to the Best Song Ever

Jimmy Page once said “Every musician wants to do something which will hold up for a

long time, and I guess we did it with 'Stairway to Heaven.” Page was a member of the legendary

rock group, Led Zeppelin, joined by Robert Plant. They certainly have been remembered for this

song and many other works that sit in the top charts. These top charts such as Billboard top 500

songs of all time or most viewed on Youtube sway opinions. It is not about whose at the top at

all, but comes down to true opinion of certain songs. A great song can be remembered by having

great tone, rhythm, tempo, popularity, and the ability to inspire change throughout that of a

genre. “Stairway to Heaven” had these qualities, however many criticized the band for hiding a

satanic message within it and for possibly stealing an identical intro from another band. This

song is one of the greatest all time due to its ground-breaking numbers, mass popularity, layering

of tempo, and tones within the song, and also the multi- interpretable lyrics. It is important for

music lovers and the like to appreciate the music that once was and how it made an impact on the

future of music.

The hate of this song stems from its “hidden” satanic message and also the copyright

issues it has been accused for. Led Zeppelin released this song in 1971 but not as a single. Public

could only get ahold of this when they released “Led Zeppelin IV” album in 1972. The song was

backlashed when someone played the song in reverse and the lyrics turned satanic “Here’s to my

sweet Satan…There was a little tool shed where he made us suffer, sad Satan.” Understandable

why the public turned away from this song but Led Zeppelin refused that they back masked their
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song with this message. Another reason the song has received hate is due to their copyright

infringement. In 1968 a band named Spirit, released their song “Taurus” and toured with Led

Zeppelin. Nothing was said about the two songs similar intros until 2002 where a blog post was

arguing if the songs were alike. Randy California created his intro in “Taurus” but died in 2007

and his estate was taken over by Michael Skidmore who pursued Led Zeppelin in 2014. A case

was set in 2016 but the jury decided that Led Zeppelin did not enact copyright on the song.Now

the case is being resurfaced as a group of judges believe that in the last case, proper information

wasn’t given about copyright thus misleading the jurors. Lastly, the songs slight unpopularity

comes from the lack of interest within the song. As a British music magazine once stated that it

induced “first boredom and then catatonia.” Overall commenting on the lack of expression and

meaning in the song. Despite these negative connotations that may or may not be correct, the

song still has set many records and has had outstanding popularity.

The song “Stairway to Heaven” has been remembered for 47 years due to its popularity.

In 1973 the song was the most requested song on F.M. radio. Today it is ranked 31st on Rolling

Stone’s top 500 songs of all time. This song is very popular due to its amazing guitar solo

causing the sheet music to be sold over 1 million times which is the most in rock history. The

song was only in that album released in 1972 but it is the third highest certified album in the

U.S., being x23 times platinum. Another important milestone is that the song was inducted into

the Grammy Hall of Fame in 2003. Although people said the song was boring it has this

popularity due to the complexity of the arrangement. The song has many layers with different

tones and tempos, the first of its kind in that generation. Also the lyrics were beautiful and truly

left the interpretation up to the eyes of the beholder. As Robert Plant said “Depending on what

day it is, I still interpret the song a different way - and I wrote the lyrics." A song that is abstract
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and has a multitude of meanings lasts a life time as people today are still baffled by the lyrics

trying to deconstruct their meaning.

With “Stairway to Heaven” having some negative perceptions it still can be considered

the greatest song of all time with the masterful layering of composition that led to its popularity.

With the many accomplishments and rewards that most songs never acquire it is hard to

disregard this song as one of the best. The notable guitar solo that every teen boy wants to learn

to impress a girl. Paired with the incredible lyrics that will last a life time with many portrayals

of the lyrics. Just that this song can still be remembered if you bring it up after 47 years and

people still like makes it the best song of all time.