Led Zeppelin IV First U.S Pecko Duck/Porky Pressing Vinyl Rip Flac With Bonus
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
Four Symbols
Studio album by Led Zeppelin
Released 8 November 1971
Recorded December 1970 – March 1971 at various locations
Genre Hard rock, heavy metal, folk rock
Length 42:33
Label Atlantic
Producer Jimmy Page
Singles from The Four Symbols logo
1. "Black Dog"/"Misty Mountain Hop"
Released: 2 December 1971
2. "Rock and Roll"/"Four Sticks"
Released: 21 February 1972
The fourth album by the English rock band Led Zeppelin was released on 8 November 1971. No title is printed on the album, so it is generally referred to as Led Zeppelin IV, following the naming standard used by the band's first three studio albums. Also the album has alternatively been referred to as the Four Symbols logo, Four Symbols and The Fourth Album (both titles were used in the Atlantic Records catalogue), Untitled, Runes, Sticks, ZoSo, The Hermit, and simply, IV. Zoso is also the moniker for the band's guitarist, Jimmy Page.
Upon its release, Led Zeppelin IV was a commercial and critical success. The album is one of the best-selling albums in history at 37 million units.[1] It has shipped over 23 million units in the United States alone, putting it third on the all-time list.[2] In 2003, the album was ranked 66th on Rolling Stone magazine's list of the 500 greatest albums of all time.
Contents
Recording sessions
The album was initially recorded at Island Records's newly opened Basing Street Studios, London, at the same time as Jethro Tull's Aqualung in December 1970.[3] Upon the suggestion of Fleetwood Mac,[4] the band then moved to Headley Grange, a remote Victorian house in East Hampshire, England, to conduct additional recordings. Here they used the Rolling Stones Mobile Studio. Guitarist Jimmy Page later recalled, "We needed the sort of facilities where we could have a cup of tea and wander around the garden and go in and do what we had to do."[5] This relaxed, atmospheric environment at Headley Grange also provided other advantages for the band. As is explained by Dave Lewis, "By moving into Headley Grange for the whole period of recording, many of the tracks [on the album] were made up on the spot and committed to tape almost there and then."[5]
Once the basic tracks had been recorded, the band later added overdubs at Island Studios, and then took the completed master tapes to Sunset Sound in Los Angeles, CA for mixing. However, the mix ultimately proved to be less than satisfactory, creating an unwanted delay in the album's release. Further mixing had to be undertaken in London, pushing the final release date back by some months.[5]
Three other songs from the sessions, "Down By The Seaside", "Night Flight" and "Boogie With Stu" (featuring Ian Stewart on piano) did not appear on the album, but were included four years later on the double album Physical Graffiti.
Album title
Led Zeppelin IV inner sleeve. From the 2003 CD release
After the lukewarm, if not confused and sometimes dismissive, critical reaction Led Zeppelin III had received in late 1970, Page decided that the next Led Zeppelin album would not have a title, but would instead feature four hand-drawn symbols on the inner sleeve and record label, each one chosen by the band member it represents.[4] "We decided that on the fourth album, we would deliberately play down the group name, and there wouldn't be any information whatsoever on the outer jacket", Page explained. "Names, titles and things like that do not mean a thing."[6]
Page has also stated that the decision to release the album without any written information on the album sleeve was contrary to strong advice given to him by a press agent, who said that after a year's absence from both records and touring, the move would be akin to "professional suicide".[7] In the words of the guitarist: "We just happened to have a lot of faith in what we were doing."[7] In an interview he gave to The Times in 2010, he elaborated:
It wasn’t easy. The record company were sort of insisting that the name go on it. There were eyes looking towards heaven if you like. It was hinted it was professional suicide to go out with an album with no title. The reality of it was that we’d had so many dour reviews to our albums along the way. At the time each came out it was difficult sometimes for the reviewers to come to terms with what was on there, without an immediate point of reference to the previous album. But the ethic of the band was very much summing up where we were collectively at that point in time. An untitled album struck me as the best answer to all the critics — because we knew the way that the music was being received both by sales and attendance at concerts.[8]
Owing to the lack of an official title, Atlantic Records initially distributed graphics of the symbols in many sizes to the press for inclusion in charts and articles. The album was one of the first to be produced without conventional identification, and this communicated an anti-commercial stance that was controversial at the time (especially among certain executives at Atlantic Records).
The idea for each member of the band to choose a personal emblem for the cover was Page's.[7] In an interview he gave in 1977, he recalled:
After all this crap that we'd had with the critics, I put it to everybody else that it'd be a good idea to put out something totally anonymous. At first I wanted just one symbol on it, but then it was decided that since it was our fourth album and there were four of us, we could each choose our own symbol. I designed mine and everyone else had their own reasons for using the symbols that they used.[7]
Page stated that he designed his own symbol himself[4][5] and has never publicly disclosed any reasoning behind it. However, it has been argued that his symbol appeared as early as 1557 to represent Saturn.[9][10] The symbol is sometimes referred to as "ZoSo", though Page has explained that it was not in fact intended to be a word at all.[4]
Bassist John Paul Jones' symbol, which he chose from Rudolf Koch's Book of Signs[4], is a single circle intersecting 3 vesica pisces (a triquetra). It is intended to symbolise a person who possesses both confidence and competence.[5]
Drummer John Bonham's symbol, the three interlocking rings, was picked by the drummer from the same book.[4] It represents the triad of mother, father and child[5][11], but also happens to be the logo for Ballantine beer.[5]
Singer Robert Plant's symbol was his own design, being based on the sign of the supposed Mu civilisation.[4][5]
There is also a fifth, smaller symbol chosen by guest vocalist Sandy Denny representing her contribution to the track "The Battle of Evermore"; it appears in the credits list on the inner sleeve of the LP, serving as an asterisk and is shaped like three triangles touching at their points.
During Led Zeppelin's tour of the United Kingdom in Winter 1971, which took place shortly following the release of the album, the band visually projected the four symbols on their stage equipment. Jimmy Page's symbol was put onto one of his Marshall amplifiers, John Bonham's three interlinked circles adorned the outer face of his bass drum, John Paul Jones had his symbol stenciled onto material which was draped across his Fender Rhodes keyboard and Robert Plant's feather symbol was painted onto a side speaker PA cabinet. Only Page's and Bonham's symbols were retained for subsequent Led Zeppelin concert tours.[12]
Releasing the album without an official title has made it difficult to consistently identify. While most commonly called Led Zeppelin IV, Atlantic Records catalogs have used the names Four Symbols and The Fourth Album. It has also been referred to as ZoSo (which, as noted above, Page's symbol appears to spell), Untitled and Runes.[5] Page frequently refers to the album in interviews as "the fourth album" and Led Zeppelin IV,[7][13][14] and Plant thinks of it as "the fourth album, that's it".[15] Not only does the album have no title, but there is no writing anywhere on the front or back cover, or even a catalogue number on the spine (at least on the original LP release).
Song titles
* "Black Dog" got its name from a stray black dog that was roaming about the concourse of Headley Grange during recording sessions for the song.
* "The Battle of Evermore" and "Misty Mountain Hop" are references to J.R.R. Tolkien's Lord of the Rings novels.
* "Going to California" and "When the Levee Breaks" seem to suggest references to The Grapes of Wrath by John Steinbeck.
Album cover and inside sleeve
Led Zeppelin IV outer gatefold album cover
The 19th century rustic oil painting on the front of the album was purchased from an antique shop in Reading, Berkshire by Robert Plant.[4][5][16] The painting was then juxtaposed and affixed to the internal, papered wall of the partly demolished suburban house for the photograph to be taken. The 20th century urban tower block on the back of the full gatefold album cover is Butterfield Court in Eves Hill, Dudley, England.
Page has explained that the cover of the fourth album was intended to bring out a city/country dichotomy that had initially surfaced on Led Zeppelin III:
It represented the change in the balance which was going on. There was the old countryman and the blocks of flats being knocked down. It was just a way of saying that we should look after the earth, not rape and pillage it.[7]
However, regarding the meaning of the album cover, he has also stated:
The cover was supposed to be something that was for other people to savour rather than for me to actually spell everything out, which would make the whole thing rather disappointing on that level of your own personal adventure into the music.[17]
The album cover for IV was among the ten chosen by the Royal Mail for a set of "Classic Album Cover" postage stamps issued in January 2010.[18]
"The Hermit"
Back sleeve of the 2003 CD with the lyrics of "Stairway To Heaven"
The inside illustration, entitled "The Hermit" and credited to Barrington Colby MOM, was influenced by the design of the card of the same name in the Rider-Waite tarot deck.[5] This character was later portrayed by Page himself in Led Zeppelin's concert film, The Song Remains the Same (1976). The inner painting is also referred to as View in Half or Varying Light and was sold at auction under that name in 1981.[19]
Varied versions of the artwork within the album exist. Some versions depict a longhaired and bearded supplicant climbing at the base of the mountain, while some others do not show the six pointed star within the hermit's lantern. If the inside cover of the album is held vertically against a mirror, a man's face can be seen hidden in the rocks below the hermit. Speculation exists that the face is actually that of a black dog.[19]
The typeface for the lyrics to "Stairway to Heaven", printed on the inside sleeve of the album, was Page's contribution. He found it in an old arts and crafts magazine called Studio Magazine which dated from the late 1800s. He thought the lettering was interesting and arranged for someone to work up a whole alphabet.[16]
Release and critical reaction
Review scores
Source Rating
Blender 5/5 stars [20]
Billboard (favourable) [21]
Q 5/5 stars [22]
Allmusic 5/5 stars [23]
Entertainment Weekly (A+) [24]
Robert Christgau (A) [25]
Rolling Stone (favourable) [26]
BBC (favourable) [27]
The album was released on 8 November 1971. In the lead-up to its release, a series of teaser advertisements depicting each symbol was placed in the music press.[5]
The album was a massive instant seller. It entered the UK chart at number one and stayed on the chart for 62 weeks.[5] In the United States it stayed on the charts longer than any other Led Zeppelin album and became the biggest selling album in the US not to top the charts (peaking at #2).[5] "Ultimately," writes Lewis, "the fourth Zeppelin album would be the most durable seller in their catalogue and the most impressive critical and commercial success of their career".[5]
Accolades
In 1998, Q magazine readers voted Led Zeppelin IV the 26th greatest album of all time; in 2000 Q placed it at #26 in its list of the 100 Greatest British Albums Ever. In 2003, the album was ranked number 66 on Rolling Stone magazine's list of the 500 greatest albums of all time. It is ranked at #7 on Pitchfork Media's Top 100 Albums of the 1970s.
In 2006, the album was rated #1 on Classic Rock magazine's 100 Greatest British Albums poll; that same year it was voted #1 in Guitar World 100 Greatest Albums readers' poll and was ranked #7 in ABC media's top ten albums.
Publication? Country? Accolade? Year? Rank?
Mojo United Kingdom "The 100 Greatest Albums Ever Made"[28] 1996 24
Grammy Awards United States Grammy Hall of Fame Award[29] 1999 *
The Guitar United States "Album of the Millenium"[30] 1999 2
Classic Rock United Kingdom "100 Greatest Rock Albums Ever"[31] 2001 1
Pitchfork Media United States "Top 100 Albums of the 1970s" [32] 2004 7
Q United Kingdom "The Greatest Classic Rock Albums Ever"[33] 2004 *
Robert Dimery United States 1001 Albums You Must Hear Before You Die[34] 2005 *
Q United Kingdom "100 Best Albums Ever"[35] 2006 21
Classic Rock United Kingdom "100 Greatest British Rock Album Ever"[36] 2006 1
Rock and Roll Hall of Fame United States "The Definitive 200: Top 200 Albums of All-Time"[37] 2007 4
(*) designates unordered lists.
Track listing
Side one
1. "Black Dog" Jimmy Page, Robert Plant, John Paul Jones 4:57
2. "Rock and Roll" Page, Plant, Jones, John Bonham 3:40
3. "The Battle of Evermore" Page, Plant 5:52
4. "Stairway to Heaven" Page, Plant 8:02
Side two
1. "Misty Mountain Hop" Page, Plant, Jones 4:38
2. "Four Sticks" Page, Plant 4:46
3. "Going to California" Page, Plant 3:31
4. "When the Levee Breaks" Page, Plant, Jones, Bonham, Memphis Minnie 7:07
Sales chart performance
Album
Chart (1971–1972)? Peak Position?
Japanese Albums Chart[38] 2
Norwegian Albums Chart[39] 3
UK Albums Chart[40] 1
US Billboard 200[41] 2
German Albums Chart[42] 9
French Albums Chart[43] 2
US Cash Box Top 100 Albums Chart[44] 1
US Record World Top Pop Albums Chart[45] 1
Canadian RPM 100 Albums[46] 1
Spanish Albums Chart[47] 8
Australian Go-Set Top 20 Albums Chart[48] 2
Singles
Year Single Chart Position
1971 "Black Dog" US Billboard Hot 100[49] 15
1972 "Rock and Roll" US Billboard Hot 100[50] 47
Sales certifications
Album
Country? Sales? Certification?
Argentina (CAPIF) 60,000+ Platinum[51]
Brazil (ABDP) 50,000+ Gold[52]
Canada (CRIA) 2,000,000+ 2× Diamond[53]
Switzerland (IFPI) 50,000+ Platinum[54]
France (SNEP) 600,000+ 2× Platinum[55]
Spain (PROMUSICAE) 80,000+ Platinum[56]
Germany (IFPI) 750,000+ 3× Gold[57]
Australia (ARIA) 560,000+ 8× Platinum[58]
United States (RIAA) 23,000,000+ 23× Platinum[59]
Netherlands (NVPI) 60,000+ Platinum[60]*
United Kingdom (BPI) 1,800,000+ 6× Platinum[61]
Note: (*) Remastered sales only
Personnel
Led Zeppelin
* John Bonham – drums
* John Paul Jones – synthesizer, bass guitar, keyboards, mandolin, recorders
* Jimmy Page – acoustic and electric guitar, mandolin, production, remastering, digital remastering
* Robert Plant – vocals, harmonica
Additional musicians
* Sandy Denny – vocals on "The Battle of Evermore"
* Ian Stewart – piano on "Rock and Roll" (uncredited)
Production
* Barrington Colby MOM – The Hermit illustration
* George Chkiantz – mixing
* Peter Grant – executive producer
* Graphreaks – design coordinator
* Andy Johns – engineering, mixing
Also Included "Black Dog"/"Misty Mountain Hop" (U.S Single)
"Black Dog" (U.S Promo Single Edit Stereo)
"Black Dog" (U.S Promo Single Edit Mono)
"Rock and Roll"/"Four Sticks" (U.S Single)
"Rock and Roll" (U.S Promo Single Mono)
"Stairway To Heaven" (U.S Promo Single MOno).
Black Dog (song)
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
"Black Dog"
Single by Led Zeppelin
from the album Led Zeppelin IV
B-side "Misty Mountain Hop"
Released
8 November 1971
2 December 1971 (7 inch single release date)
Format 7 inch 45 RPM
Recorded December 1970–March 1971
Genre Hard rock, heavy metal
Length 4:56
Label Atlantic Records
Writer(s) Page/Plant/Jones
Producer Jimmy Page
"Black Dog" is a song by English rock band Led Zeppelin, which is featured as the lead-off track of their fourth album, released in 1971. It was also released as a single in the United States and Australia with "Misty Mountain Hop" on the B-side, and reached #15 on Billboard and #11 in Australia.
In 2004 the song was ranked #294 on Rolling Stone's list of the 500 Greatest Songs of All Time. Music sociologist Deena Weinstein argues, "Black Dog" is "one of the most instantly recognisable [Led] Zeppelin tracks".[1]
Contents
Inspiration and recording
Led Zeppelin bass player John Paul Jones, who is credited with writing the main riff,[2][3] wanted to write a song that people could not "groove" or dance to with its winding riff and complex rhythm changes.
In an interview, Jones explained the difficulties experienced by the band in writing the song:
I wanted to try an electric blues with a rolling bass part. But it couldn't be too simple. I wanted it to turn back on itself. I showed it to the guys, and we fell into it. We struggled with the turn-around, until [John] Bonham figured out that you just four-time as if there's no turn-around. That was the secret.[4]
The song's title is a reference to a nameless black Labrador retriever that wandered around the Headley Grange studios during recording.[4][5] The dog has nothing to do with the song lyrics, which are about desperate desire for a woman's love and the happiness resulting thereby. Regarding the lyrics to the song, Plant later said, "Not all my stuff is meant to be scrutinized. Things like 'Black Dog' are blatant, let's-do-it-in-the-bath type things, but they make their point just the same."[6] Plant's vocals were recorded in two takes.[7]
Built around a call-and-response dynamic between vocalist and the band, the start and stop a cappella verses were inspired by Fleetwood Mac's 1969 song "Oh Well."[2] (Led Zeppelin guitarist Jimmy Page and The Black Crowes would later perform "Oh Well" on their 1999 tour and included it on the album Live at the Greek.)[8]
Despite the seeming simplicity of the drum pattern, the song features a complex, shifting time signature that the band has sometimes claimed was intended to thwart cover bands from playing the song.[citation needed] Jones originally wanted the song recorded in 3/16 time but realised it was too complex to reproduce live.[9] In live performances, Bonham eliminated the 5/4 variation so that Plant could perform his a cappella vocal interludes and then have the instruments return to together synchronised.[10] If the volume is turned up loud enough, Bonham can be heard tapping his sticks together before each riff. Page made reference to this in an interview he gave to Guitar World magazine in 1993:
He did that to keep time and to signal the band. We tried to eliminate most of them, but muting was much more difficult in those days than it is now.[11]
Page also discussed how he achieved his guitar sound on the track:
We put my Les Paul through a direct box, and from there into a mic channel. We used the mic amp of the mixing board to get distortion. Then we ran it through two Urei 1176 Universal compressors in series. Then each line was triple-tracked. Curiously, I was listening to that track when we were reviewing the tapes and the guitars almost sound like an analog synthesizer.[11]
Page's solo was constructed out of four overdubbed Gibson Les Paul fills.[2]
The sounds at the beginning of the song are those of Page warming up his electric guitar. He called it "waking up the army of guitars" — which are multitrack recorded in unison with electric bass guitar to provide the song's signature.
During the outro-solo Robert Plant can be heard moaning and wailing in the background. [1] Around the 4-minute mark, he says, "Push me babe, push me babe." It was also during this part of the song that Robert Plant hits his highest note on any Led Zeppelin studio recording. He reaches it between the second and third repetition of the fade-out riff during the guitar solo (at the 3:49 mark in the song). Often known for hitting the high G during the band's early years, Plant seems to reach A5 here.[original research?]
Live performances
"Black Dog" became a staple and fan favourite of Led Zeppelin's live concert performances. It was first played live at Belfast's Ulster Hall on 5 March 1971, a concert which also featured the first ever live performance of "Stairway to Heaven".[2] It was retained for each subsequent concert tour until 1973. In 1975 it was used as an encore medley with "Whole Lotta Love", but was hardly used on the band's 1977 concert tour of the United States. It was recalled to the set for the Knebworth Festival 1979 and the 1980 Tour of Europe. For these final 1980 performances, Page introduced the song from stage.[2]
When played live, Led Zeppelin often played the first few bars of "Out on the Tiles" as the introduction for "Black Dog", except for the 1973 tour where the riff from "Bring It On Home" introduced the song.
Also, the "ah-ah" refrains were sung in call-and-response between Robert Plant and the audience.
Page's guitar playing prowess is well demonstrated in different recorded performances of the song from Madison Square Garden in July 1973, as seen in the group's concert films The Song Remains the Same and Led Zeppelin DVD. There is also a June 1972 live recording of "Black Dog" which can be heard on the album How the West Was Won, and another live version on Disc 2 of Led Zeppelin BBC Sessions.
"Black Dog" was performed at the Led Zeppelin's reunion show at the O2 Arena, London on 10 December 2007.
Plant sampled the song on his solo tracks "Tall Cool One" and "Your Ma Said She Cried In Her Sleep Last Night". Page and Plant performed an updated version of this song on their 1995 tour. "Black Dog" was the first song performed by Page and Plant at the American Music Awards, which kicked off their first tour together in almost 15 years. Robert Plant also played a version of the song during his solo tour in 2005, as is included on the DVD release Soundstage: Robert Plant and the Strange Sensation. Former Deep Purple-singer David Coverdale's band Whitesnake released the song "Still of the Night" in 1987 which has often been cited similar to "Black Dog"; later, when Coverdale toured with Page in 1993, they played both songs together. Robert Plant and Alison Krauss regularly covered "Black Dog" during their tour of USA and Europe in April and May 2008.[12] It also features on their appearance on the Country Music Television show CMT Crossroads, recorded in October 2007. CMT Episode Guide
Rock and Roll (Led Zeppelin song)
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
"Rock and Roll"
Single by Led Zeppelin
from the album Led Zeppelin IV
B-side "Four Sticks"
Released 21 February 1972
Format 7" 45 RPM
Recorded December 1970–March 1971
Genre Hard rock, rock and roll, heavy metal
Length 3:40
Label Atlantic
Writer(s) Page/Plant/Jones/Bonham
Producer Jimmy Page
"Rock and Roll" is a song by English rock band Led Zeppelin, which was first released as the second track from the band's fourth album in 1971.
Contents
Overview
Befitting its title, the song is based on one of the most popular structures in rock and roll, the 12 bar blues progression (in A). "Rock and Roll" stands as one of the best-known songs in the band's catalogue.
Led Zeppelin guitarist Jimmy Page has said that this song came to be written as a spontaneous jam session, whilst the band were trying (and failing) to finish the track "Four Sticks".[1][2] Drummer John Bonham played the introduction to Little Richard's "Keep a Knockin'" and Page added a guitar riff.[3] The tapes were rolling and fifteen minutes later the basis of the song was down.[4] The song also included Ian Stewart on piano.[3] Said Page:
We were recording another number [Four Sticks]; we’d just finished a take and John Bonham did the drum intro and we just followed on. I started doing pretty much half of that riff you hear on Rock n Roll and it was just so exciting that we thought, “let’s just work on this”. The riff and the sequence was really immediate to those 12-bar patterns that you had in those old rock songs like Little Richard, etc, and it was just so spur-of-the-moment the way that it just came together more or less out of nowhere.[2]
Page also commented:
It actually ground to a halt after about 12 bars, but it was enough to know that there was enough of a number there to keep working on it. Robert [Plant] even came in singing on it straight away.[5]
"Rock and Roll" is one of the few Led Zeppelin songs where all four members share the composer credit.
The lyrics by singer Robert Plant reference a number of 1950s and 1960s early rock hits, including "The Stroll," "The Book of Love," and "Walking In the Moonlight."
Live performances
"Rock and Roll" was a key component of the band's setlist at Led Zeppelin concerts from 1971 on. Initially, Plant referred to it on stage as "It's Been A Long Time", which is the first line of the song.[3] In 1972 it was elevated to the opening number of all concert performances and it retained this status until 1975. For the band's 1977 North American tour, it became part of a medley encore with "Whole Lotta Love", and during 1979 and 1980 it became an encore in its own right.[3]
When performing the song live, singer Robert Plant usually switched the second verse with the third.
A live performance of the song from Madison Square Garden in July 1973 was recorded for the band's concert film The Song Remains the Same and accompanying soundtrack album. There is also a June 1972 live recording of "Rock and Roll" which has been captured on the album How the West Was Won.
In 1985 Page, Plant and Jones reunited and performed the song at the Live Aid concert at JFK Stadium, Philadelphia, as part of the Led Zeppelin set featuring drummers Tony Thompson and Phil Collins. "Rock and Roll" was also performed as the final encore at Led Zeppelin's reunion show at the O2 Arena, London on 10 December 2007. On 7 June 2008, Jimmy Page and John Paul Jones joined Foo Fighters front man Dave Grohl and drummer Taylor Hawkins on stage at Wembley stadium to perform "Rock and Roll," along with "Ramble On".
Cultural influence
In 2002, General Motors used "Rock and Roll" in a series of television commercials for their Cadillac line of automobiles and ended the song and slogan "Break Through" in late 2006.
In 2006, Bowl Games of America used "Rock and Roll" as the finale for the Gator Bowl halftime show. (The song was performed by 28 high school marching bands, with over 2,500 players.)
[edit] Accolades
Publication? Country? Accolade? Year? Rank?
Dave Marsh United States "The 1001 Greatest Singles Ever Made"[6] 1989 424
Rock and Roll Hall of Fame United States "The Rock and Roll Hall of Fame's 500 Songs that Shaped Rock and Roll"[7] 1994 *
Radio Caroline United Kingdom "Top 500 Tracks"[8] 1999 21
VH1 United States "The 100 Greatest Rock Songs of All Time"[9] 2000 66
Q United Kingdom "The 50 Most Exciting Tunes Ever.."[10] 2002 17
Q United Kingdom "The 1001 Best Songs Ever"[11] 2003 201
DigitalDreamDoor United States "The 100 Greatest Recordings From 1971"[12] 2007 17
(*) designates unordered lists.] Formats and tracklistings
1972 7" single (US/Australia/New Zealand: Atlantic 45-2865, Austria/Germany: Atlantic ATL 10156, Brazil: Atco ATCS 10.005, Canada: Atlantic AT 2865, France: Atlantic 10156, Holland: Atlantic ATL 2091190, Japan: Warner Pioneer P-1123A, Lebanon: Atlantic AT 16005, Mexico: Atlantic G-1136, Poland: Atlantic XN 82, Portugal: Atlantic ATL N 28128, Spain: Atlantic HS 823)
* A. "Rock and Roll" (Bonham, Jones, Page, Plant) 3:40
* B. "Four Sticks" (Page, Plant) 4:44
1972 7" single (South Africa: Atlantic ATL 590)
* A. "Rock and Roll" (Bonham, Jones, Page, Plant) 3:40
* B. "Going to California" (Page, Plant) 3:31
1972 7" EP (US: Atlantic LLP 171 SD 7-7208)
* A1. "Rock and Roll" (Bonham, Jones, Page, Plant) 3:40
* A2. "Black Dog" (Jones, Page, Plant) 4:56
* B. "Stairway to Heaven" (Page, Plant) 8:02
Chart positions
Chart (1972)? Peak position?
US Billboard Hot 100 Singles Chart[13] 47
US Cash Box Top 100 Singles Chart[14] 42
US Record World 100 Top Pops[15] 38
Canadian RPM Top 100 Chart[16] 38
Japanese Singles Chart[17] 34
German Singles Chart[18] 13
Spanish Singles Chart[19] 14
Australian Kent Music Report Singles Chart 51
Stairway to Heaven
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
Record label of a "Stairway to Heaven" 45-RPM promotional EP disc
Song by Led Zeppelin
from the album Led Zeppelin IV
Released 8 November 1971
Recorded December 1970 – March 1971
Genre Folk rock, hard rock
Length 7:55
Label Atlantic
Writer Jimmy Page, Robert Plant
Producer Jimmy Page
"Stairway to Heaven" is a song by the English rock band Led Zeppelin, released in late 1971. It was composed by guitarist Jimmy Page and vocalist Robert Plant for the band's untitled fourth studio album (dubbed Led Zeppelin IV). The song, which runs almost eight minutes, is composed of several sections, which increase in tempo and volume as the song progresses. The song begins as a slow acoustic-based folk song accompanied by recorders, before electric instrumentation is introduced. The final section is a high-tempo hard rock section highlighted by an intricate guitar solo by Page.
The song was voted #3 in 2000 by VH1 on its list of the 100 Greatest Rock Songs.[1] It was the most requested song on FM radio stations in the United States in the 1970s, despite never having been officially released as a single there.[2] In November 2007, through download sales promoting Led Zeppelin's Mothership release, "Stairway to Heaven" hit #37 on the UK Singles Chart.[3]
Contents
Song construction and release
The recording of "Stairway to Heaven" started in December 1970 at Island Records' new Basing Street Studios in London.[4] The song was completed by the addition of lyrics by Plant during the sessions for Led Zeppelin IV at Headley Grange, Hampshire, in 1971.[5] Page then returned to Island Studios to record his guitar solo.[2]
The song originated in 1970 when Jimmy Page and Robert Plant were spending time at Bron-Yr-Aur, a remote cottage in Wales, following Led Zeppelin's fifth American concert tour. According to Page, he wrote the music "over a long period, the first part coming at Bron-Yr-Aur one night".[6] Page always kept a cassette recorder around, and the idea for "Stairway" came together from bits of taped music:[7]
I had these pieces, these guitar pieces, that I wanted to put together. I had a whole idea of a piece of music that I really wanted to try and present to everybody and try and come to terms with. Bit difficult really, because it started on acoustic, and as you know it goes through to the electric parts. But we had various run-throughs [at Headley Grange] where I was playing the acoustic guitar and jumping up and picking up the electric guitar. Robert was sitting in the corner, or rather leaning against the wall, and as I was routining the rest of the band with this idea and this piece, he was just writing. And all of a sudden he got up and started singing, along with another run-through, and he must have had 80% of the words there ... I had these sections, and I knew what order they were going to go in, but it was just a matter of getting everybody to feel comfortable with each gear shift that was going to be coming.[8]
Led Zeppelin bassist John Paul Jones recalled this presentation of the song to him following its genesis at Bron-Yr-Aur:
Page and Plant would come back from the Welsh mountains with the guitar intro and verse. I literally heard it in front of a roaring fire in a country manor house! I picked up a bass recorder and played a run-down riff which gave us an intro, then I moved into a piano for the next section, dubbing on the guitars.[9]
In an interview he gave in 1977, Page elaborated:
I do have the original tape that was running at the time we ran down "Stairway To Heaven" completely with the band. I'd worked it all out already the night before with John Paul Jones, written down the changes and things. All this time we were all living in a house and keeping pretty regular hours together, so the next day we started running it down. There was only one place where there was a slight rerun. For some unknown reason Bonzo couldn't get the timing right on the twelve-string part before the solo. Other than that it flowed very quickly.[4]
It has been claimed that the song's opening guitar arpeggios are strikingly similar to the guitar line from the instrumental track "Taurus" by the American band Spirit, for whom Led Zeppelin toured as support act in 1968.[6][10]
The first attempts at lyrics, written by Led Zeppelin vocalist Robert Plant next to an evening log fire at Headley Grange, were partly spontaneously improvised and Page claimed, "a huge percentage of the lyrics were written there and then".[7] Jimmy Page was strumming the chords and Robert Plant had a pencil and paper. Plant later said that suddenly,
My hand was writing out the words, 'There's a lady is sure [sic], all that glitters is gold, and she's buying a stairway to heaven'. I just sat there and looked at them and almost leapt out of my seat." Plant's own explanation of the lyrics was that it "was some cynical aside about a woman getting everything she wanted all the time without giving back any thought or consideration. The first line begins with that cynical sweep of the hand ... and it softened up after that.[11]
The lyrics of the song reflected Plant's current reading. The singer had been poring through the works of the British antiquarian Lewis Spence, and later cited Spence's Magic Arts in Celtic Britain as one of the sources for the lyrics to the song.[5]
In November 1970, Page dropped a hint of the new song's existence to a music journalist in London:
It's an idea for a really long track.... You know how "Dazed and Confused" and songs like that were broken into sections? Well, we want to try something new with the organ and acoustic guitar building up and building up, and then the electric part starts.... It might be a fifteen-minute track.[5]
Page stated that the song "speeds up like an adrenaline flow".[12] He explained:
Going back to those studio days for me and John Paul Jones, the one thing you didn't do was speed up, because if you sped up you wouldn't be seen again. Everything had to be right on the meter all the way through. And I really wanted to write something which did speed up, and took the emotion and the adrenaline with it, and would reach a sort of crescendo. And that was the idea of it. That's why it was a bit tricky to get together in stages.[8]
The complete studio recording was released on Led Zeppelin IV in November 1971. The band's record label, Atlantic Records was keen to issue this track as a single, but the band's manager Peter Grant refused requests to do so in both 1972 and 1973. The upshot of that decision was that record buyers began to invest in the fourth album as if it were a single.[2] In the US, Atlantic issued "Stairway to Heaven" as a 7" promotional single in 1972.
Music
The song consists of several distinct sections, beginning with a quiet introduction on a finger picked 6 string guitar and four recorders in a Renaissance music style.[13] (ending at 2:15) and gradually moving into a slow electric middle section (2:16-5:33), then a long guitar solo (5:34-6:44), before the faster hard rock final section (6:45 to the end).
Written in the key of A minor, the song opens with an arpeggiated, finger-picked guitar chord progression with a chromatic descending bassline A-G#-G-F#-F-E. John Paul Jones contributed overdubbed wooden bass recorders in the opening section (he used a Mellotron and, later, a Yamaha CP70B Grand Piano and Yamaha GX1 to synthesize this arrangement in live performances)[11] and a Hohner Electra-Piano electric piano in the middle section.
The sections build with more guitar layers, each complementary to the intro, with the drums entering at 4:18. During the interlude before the start of the guitar solo, the time signature switches between common time and several other time signatures: 3/4, 5/4 and finally 7/8. The extended Jimmy Page guitar solo in the song's final section was played for the recording on a 1958 Fender Telecaster (an instrument he used extensively with the Yardbirds)[11] plugged into a Supro amplifier,[14] although in an interview he gave to Guitar World magazine, Page also claimed, "It could have been a Marshall, but I can't remember".[7] Three different improvised solos were recorded, with Page agonizing about deciding which to keep. Page later revealed, "I did have the first phrase worked out, and then there was the link phrase. I did check them out before hand before the tape ran." The other guitar parts were played using a Harmony Sovereign H1260 acoustic guitar and Fender Electric XII (12-string); these can be heard on the left and right recording channels respectively. For live versions, Page switched to a Heritage Cherry Gibson EDS-1275 6/12 Doubleneck guitar. The final progression is a i-VII-VI (natural minor) progression (Am-G-F), a mainstay of rock music.
Sound engineer Andy Johns recalls the circumstances surrounding the recording of Page's famous solo:
I remember Jimmy had a little bit of trouble with the solo on "Stairway to Heaven"... [H]e hadn't completely figured it out. Nowadays you sometimes spend a whole day doing one thing. Back then, we never did that. We never spent a very long time recording anything. I remember sitting in the control room with Jimmy, he's standing there next to me and he'd done quite a few passes and it wasn't going anywhere. I could see he was getting a bit paranoid and so I was getting paranoid. I turned around and said "You're making me paranoid!" And he said, "No, you're making me paranoid!" It was a silly circle of paranoia. Then bang! On the next take or two he ripped it out.[15]
According to Page, "Stairway to Heaven"
...crystallized the essence of the band. It had everything there and showed the band at its best... as a band, as a unit. Not talking about solos or anything, it had everything there. We were careful never to release it as a single. It was a milestone for us. Every musician wants to do something of lasting quality, something which will hold up for a long time and I guess we did it with "Stairway".[16] [Pete] Townshend probably thought that he got it with Tommy. I don't know whether I have the ability to come up with more. I have to do a lot of hard work before I can get anywhere near those stages of consistent, total brilliance.[17]
Personnel
* Robert Plant - Vocals and tambourine
* Jimmy Page - 18-strings Guitar
* John Paul Jones (musician) - Synth recorder in mellotron
* John Bonham - Drums
Plagiarism
Spirit - "Taurus"
Over the years, a number of people have put forth the opinion that the song's introduction bears a close resemblance to the 1968 instrumental "Taurus" by the group Spirit.[6][10] Zeppelin opened for Spirit in an early American tour, leaving little doubt that Led Zeppelin had heard the Spirit song before Stairway to Heaven was written.[18] In the liner notes to the 1996 reissue of Spirit's debut album, songwriter Randy California writes:
People always ask me why "Stairway to Heaven" sounds exactly like "Taurus", which was released two years earlier. I know Led Zeppelin also played "Fresh Garbage" in their live set. They opened up for us on their first American tour.[19][20][21]
Live performances
The inaugural public performance of the song took place at Belfast's Ulster Hall on 5 March 1971.[11] Bassist John Paul Jones recalls that the crowd was unimpressed: "They were all bored to tears waiting to hear something they knew".[12] However, Page stated about an early performance at the LA Forum, before the record had even come out,[22] that:
I'm not saying the whole audience gave us a standing ovation - but there was this sizable standing ovation there. And I thought, 'This is incredible because no one's heard this number yet. This is the first time hearing it!' It obviously touched them, so I knew there was something with that one.[23]
The world radio premiere of "Stairway to Heaven" was recorded at the Paris Cinema on 1 April 1971, in front of a live studio audience, and broadcast three days later on the BBC.[22]
"Stairway to Heaven" was performed at almost every subsequent Led Zeppelin concert, only being omitted on rare occasions when shows were cut short for curfews or technical issues. The band's final performance of the song was in Berlin on 7 July 1980, which was also their last concert for 27 years; the version was also one of the longest, lasting almost fifteen minutes.
When playing the song live, the band would often extend it to over ten minutes in length, with Page playing an extended guitar solo and Plant adding a number of lyrical ad-libs, such as "Does anybody remember laughter?", "wait a minute!" and "I hope so". For performing this song live, Page used a Gibson EDS-1275 double neck guitar so he would not have to pause when switching from a six to a twelve string guitar.
By 1975, the song had a regular place as the finale of every Led Zeppelin concert. However, after their concert tour of the United States in 1977, Plant began to tire of "Stairway to Heaven": "There's only so many times you can sing it and mean it ... It just became sanctimonious."[24]
The song was played again by the surviving members of Led Zeppelin at the Live Aid concert in 1985;[11] at the Atlantic Records 40th Anniversary concert in 1988, with Jason Bonham on drums;[25] and by Jimmy Page as an instrumental version on his solo tours.
By the late 1980s, Plant made his negative impression of the song clear in interviews. In 1988, he stated:
I'd break out in hives if I had to sing ("Stairway to Heaven") in every show. I wrote those lyrics and found that song to be of some importance and consequence in 1971, but 17 years later, I don't know. It's just not for me. I sang it at the Atlantic Records show because I'm an old softie and it was my way of saying thank you to Atlantic because I've been with them for 20 years. But no more of "Stairway to Heaven" for me.[26]
However, by the mid-1990s Plant's views had apparently softened. The first few bars were played alone during Page and Plant tours in lieu of the final notes of "Babe I'm Gonna Leave You", and in November 1994 Page and Plant performed an acoustic version of the song at a Tokyo news station for Japanese television. "Stairway to Heaven" was also performed at Led Zeppelin's reunion show at the O2 Arena, London on 10 December 2007.
Plant cites the most unusual performance of the song ever as being that performed at Live Aid: "...with two drummers while Duran Duran cried at the side of the stage - there was something quite surreal about that."[11]
Footage of the song being played live is preserved on the band's concert film The Song Remains the Same, featuring a performance from Madison Square Garden in 1973, and on the Led Zeppelin DVD, featuring a performance from Earls Court Arena in 1975. Official audio versions are also available on The Song Remains the Same's accompanying soundtrack, on Led Zeppelin BBC Sessions (a performance from London's Paris Theatre in 1971) and on How the West Was Won (a performance from the Long Beach Arena in 1972). There are also hundreds of audio versions which can be found on unofficial Led Zeppelin bootleg recordings.
Success and legacy
According to music journalist Stephen Davis, although the song was released in 1971, it took until 1973 before the song's popularity ascended to truly "anthemic" status.[27] As Page himself recalled, "I knew it was good, but I didn't know it was going to be almost like an anthem ... But I knew it was the gem of the album, sure."[28]
"Stairway to Heaven" continues to top radio lists of the greatest rock songs, as well as topping a 2006 Guitar World readers poll of greatest guitar solos.[29] On the 20th anniversary of the original release of the song, it was announced via U.S. radio sources that the song had logged up an estimated 2,874,000 radio plays - back to back, that would run for 44 years solid.[2] As of 2000, the song had been broadcast on radio over three million times.[30] In 1990 a St Petersburg, Florida station kicked off its all-Led Zeppelin format by playing "Stairway to Heaven" for 24 hours straight.[31] It is also the biggest-selling single piece of sheet music in rock history, clocking up an average of 15,000 copies yearly.[11] In total, over one million copies have been sold.[30]
The song's length precluded its release in full form as a single. Despite pressure from Atlantic Records the band would not authorize the editing of the song for single release, making "Stairway to Heaven" one of the most well-known and popular rock songs never to have been released as a single. It did, however, appear on two promotional discs in the United States, one of them featuring the 7:55 track on each side, and the other as a 7" 33 1/3 record produced for jukebox operators with "Stairway..." on one side and both "Black Dog" and "Rock And Roll" on the other. Other "single" appearences were on an Australian EP, and in 1991 as and added bonus with a 20th anniversary promo book.
The group's recording of this song also appeared as the sole Led Zeppelin track in the 1977 Atlantic Records 2-LP promotional sampler album, We've Got Your Music, marking the very first time that Led Zeppelin's "Stairway To Heaven" made its official debut appearance in an American-released various artists compilation collection.
On the 20th Aniversary of the song's release, Esquire magazine featured an article on the song's success and lasting influence. Karen Karbo wrote:[32]
It's doubtful that anyone knew it would become the most popular rock song of all time. After all, it's eight minutes long and was never released as a single. Even "Hey Jude" was shorter, was a 45, and enjoyed the benefits of comprehensible words and a sing-along chorus. But "Hey Jude" isn't the most requested song of all time on FM rock stations. Nobody ever had a "Hey Jude" theme prom or played the song at weddings and funerals like "Stairway." "Stairway" couldn't succeed today. Back in 1971, FM deejays prided themselves on digging deep into albums to come up with oddball, cultish favorites. With its near-oppressive length, erratic changes, and woo-woo lyrics, the quasi-medieval anthem was a perfect choice. It continues to be a favorite among music listeners who are younger than the song itself, listeners who, in some cases, were no doubt conceived while the tune blasted from car speakers.
In 2004, Rolling Stone magazine put it at number 31 on their list of the 500 Greatest Songs of All Time. An article from the 29 January 2009 Guitar World magazine rated Jimmy Page's guitar solo at number one in the publication's 100 Greatest Guitar Solos in Rock and Roll History.[33]
Erik Davis, a social historian and cultural critic, commented on the song's massive success, subsequent backlash and enduring legendary status:[34]
"Stairway to Heaven" isn't the greatest rock song of the 1970s; it is the greatest spell of the 1970s. Think about it: we are all sick of the thing, but in some primordial way it is still number one. Everyone knows it... Even our dislike and mockery is ritualistic. The dumb parodies; the Waynes World-inspired folklore about guitar shops demanding customers not play it; even Robert Plant's public disavowal of the song- all of these just prove the rule. "Stairway to Heaven" is not just number one. It is the One, the quintessence, the closest AOR will ever get you to the absolute.
Page has himself commented on the song's legacy:
The wonderful thing about "Stairway" is the fact that just about everybody has got their own individual interpretation to it, and actually what it meant to them at their point of life. And that's what's so great about it. Over the passage of years people come to me with all manner of stories about what it meant to them at certain points of their lives. About how it's got them through some really tragic circumstances ... Because it's an extremely positive song, it's such a positive energy, and, you know, people have got married to [the song].[8]
Other versions
The song has been covered a number of times. Rolf Harris's didgeridoo-and-wobble board interpretation reached number seven in the UK charts in 1993.[35] Rolf Harris's version was one of 25 different versions of the song that were performed live by guest stars on the early 1990s Australian chat show The Money or the Gun - each being a unique version of the song in the usually idiosyncratic style of performance of each guest star. Dolly Parton released a stripped down acoustic cover of the song in 2002; Plant spoke highly of Parton's version, noting that he was pleasantly surprised with how her version turned out.[36]
In 1977, Little Roger and the Goosebumps recorded a parody of the song in which the words to the theme song of the television show Gilligan's Island were sung in place of the original lyrics. Within five weeks, Led Zeppelin's lawyers threatened to sue them and demanded that any remaining copies of the recording be destroyed. However, during a 2005 interview on National Public Radio, Plant referred to the tune as his favorite cover of "Stairway to Heaven."[37]
The sketch comedy series SCTV had an elaborate spoof of the song with its spoof album Stairways to Heaven. In the mock album, advertised in the style of K-tel, various snippets of cover versions are featured, supposedly from artists ranging from Slim Whitman to the faux-50s group "The Five Neat Guys," as well as the original version (albeit advertised to be a sound-alike). This sketch, due to rights issues, was not released on the DVDs for the show.
The London Symphony Orchestra recorded a version Stairway to Heaven as part of their Classic Rock series in 1980, the venue being EMI Studio One, Abbey Road, London. It has also been arranged and recorded by the Hampton String Quartet on their early album, "What if Mozart Wrote 'Born to be Wild'."
A version by Far Corporation was released in 1985 and reached number 8 in the UK singles chart.[38]
Frank Zappa created an arrangement of the song as one of the centerpieces of his 1988 tour. The arrangement, as heard on the album The Best Band You Never Heard In Your Life, features the horn section of Zappa's band playing Jimmy Page's guitar solo.
Justin Hayward of the Moody Blues, with producer-arranger Mike Batt, released Classic Blue, an album of pop standards written by other composers, set to orchestration arranged by Batt, in 1989. Classic Blue included a cover version of "Stairway to Heaven."
Australian physicist and composer Joe Wolfe composed a set of variations on "Stairway to Heaven." This work, The Stairway Suite, is composed for orchestra, big band, chorus, and SATB. Each variation is in the style of a famous composer: Franz Schubert, Gustav Holst, Glenn Miller, Gustav Mahler, Georges Bizet, and Ludwig van Beethoven. For example, the Schubert inspired variation is based on the Unfinished Symphony, and the Beethoven inspired variation includes vocal soloists and chorus and resembles Beethoven's Ninth Symphony.[39] Wolfe posted the full score of this piece on the Internet..[40]
The blog for radio station WFMU contains a page with links to over 100 cover versions of "Stairway to Heaven." The page contains mp3 files for each version.[41]
Romanian-Austrian singer Luminita Soare has made a version of the song in the end of 2006.
In 2007, Rodrigo y Gabriela covered this song in the album Rhythms del Mundo Classics by the Buena Vista Social Club.
In 2010, Mary J. Blige released a version on her album Stronger with Each Tear featuring Travis Barker on drums, Steve Vai and Orianthi on guitar, Randy Jackson on bass and Geffen Records chair Ron Fair on piano. Blige performed the song on American Idol with Barker, Vai, Orianthi, and Jackson; the recording was released via download for charity.[42]
Allegation of backward masking
"Stairway to Heaven" (section)
Play sound
The claimed backmasked section of Stairway to Heaven
"Stairway to Heaven" (section) (reversed)
Play sound
The same section, reversed
Problems listening to these files? See media help.
In a January 1982 television program on the Trinity Broadcasting Network hosted by Paul Crouch, it was alleged that hidden messages were contained in many popular rock songs through a technique called backward masking. One example of such hidden messages that was prominently cited was in "Stairway to Heaven."[43] The alleged message, which occurs during the middle section of the song ("If there's a bustle in your hedgerow, don't be alarmed now...") when played backwards, was purported to contain the Satanic references "Here's to my sweet Satan" and "I sing because I live with Satan".[44]
Following the claims made in the television program, California assemblyman Phil Wyman proposed a state law that would require warning labels on records containing backward masking. In April 1982, the Consumer Protection and Toxic Materials Committee of the California State Assembly held a hearing on backward masking in popular music, during which "Stairway to Heaven" was played backwards. During the hearing, William Yarroll, a self-described "neuroscientific researcher", claimed that backward messages could be deciphered by the human brain.[45]
Various versions of the alleged message exist.[46] One such interpretation reads:
Oh here's to my sweet Satan.
The one whose little path would make me sad, whose power is Satan.
He will give those with him 666.
There was a little tool shed where he made us suffer, sad Satan.[47]
The band itself has for the most part ignored such claims; in response to the allegations, Swan Song Records issued the statement: "Our turntables only play in one direction—forwards". Led Zeppelin audio engineer Eddie Kramer called the allegations "totally and utterly ridiculous. Why would they want to spend so much studio time doing something so dumb?"[48] Robert Plant expressed frustration with the accusations in a 1983 interview in Musician magazine: "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."[49]
[edit] Accolades
Publication? Country? Accolade? Year? Rank?
Rock and Roll Hall of Fame United States "The Rock and Roll Hall of Fame's 500 Songs that Shaped Rock and Roll"[50] 1994 *
Classic Rock United Kingdom "Ten of the Best Songs Ever!"[51] 1999 1
VH1 United States "The 100 Greatest Rock Songs of All Time"[52] 2000 3
RIAA United States "Songs of the Century"[53] 2001 53
Grammy Awards United States "Grammy Hall of Fame Award"[54] 2003 *
Rolling Stone United States "The 500 Greatest Songs of All Time"[55] 2003 31
Q United Kingdom "100 Songs That Changed the World"[56] 2003 47
Toby Creswell Australia "1001 Songs: the Great Songs of All Time"[57] 2005 *
Q United Kingdom "100 Greatest Songs of All Time"[58] 2006 8
Rolling Stone United States "100 Greatest Guitar Songs of All Time"[59] 2008 8
Triple J Australia "Hottest 100 of All Time" 2009 10
Guitar World United States "100 Greatest Guitar Solos" [60] 2006 1
(*) designates unordered lists.] Formats and tracklistings
1972 7" single (Philippines: Atlantic 45-3747)
* A. "Stairway to Heaven" [part 1] (Page, Plant) 4:01
* B. "Stairway to Heaven" [part 2] (Page, Plant) 4:01
1972 7" promo (US: Atlantic PR 175 [picture sleeve])
* A. "Stairway to Heaven" [stereo] (Page, Plant) 8:02
* B. "Stairway to Heaven" [mono] (Page, Plant) 8:02
1972 7" promo (US: Atlantic PR-269)
* A. "Stairway to Heaven" [stereo] (Page, Plant) 7:55
* B. "Stairway to Heaven" [mono] (Page, Plant) 7:55