The Most Classic Rock Song

The first time I heard it was just before Christmas in 1971. I was at a friend’s house and her older brother had brought the album home. He had already played it through several times but he wanted us to hear one song in particular – “Stairway To Heaven.”

The band Led Zeppelin was all over FM radio in 1971 and my group of friends were more than familiar with their first three albums. “Stairway To Heaven” and the untitled album referred to as Led Zeppelin IV did not change my life or even my opinion of Led Zeppelin but I knew it was one of the best rock songs I had ever heard.

Apparently I was not alone. The song was voted #3 by VH-1 on the list of 100 Greatest Rock Songs and was ranked #31 on Rolling Stone Magazine’s list of the 500 Greatest Songs of All Time. In celebration of the song’s 20th anniversary, Esquire Magazine published these facts which show how big the song became.

As of January 7, 1991, the "Led Zeppelin IV" album had been certified platinum times ten (ten million copies sold). Also, “Stairway to Heaven” remains the biggest-selling sheet music in the history of rock. An average hit sells 10,000 to 15,000 copies. "Stairway to Heaven" has sold more than one million copies of sheet music.

The Esquire article offers a rough guess as to how many times it was played between 1971 and 1991. They figured that “the song was played five times a day on each AOR station in America during its first three months of existence; twice a day for the next nine months; once a day for the next four years; and two to three times a week for the next fifteen years.”

By 2001, the song had been played more than 3 million times on the radio, according to radio industry sources.

The song was so popular in the mid 70’s that it became uncool among the college crowd to like it. I tuned it out for many years but eventually bought the CD reissue and grew fond of it all over again - even without the scratches.

It’s certainly not the lyrics that made it popular. Even diehard Zeppelin fans are challenged to find meaning in lines like “If there’s a bustle in your hedgerow don’t be alarmed now; it’s just a spring clean for the May queen.”

Musically, it may not be the greatest rock song of all-time and a lot of music has come and gone in 41 years but baby boomers and their teenage kids still download the song and play air guitar to the climactic guitar solo. I sat in a parking lot once forcing my then 11 year-old son to wait for the “Stairway” to end before I turned the car off. It just wouldn’t be right to cut this song off, I explained.

Guitarist Jimmy Page grew tired of the song and publicly announced he would no longer perform it live. With a few exceptions he has held to that but the song continues to make best and worst lists. The song has served as the theme for thousands of proms and been performed at both weddings and funerals. It’s become more of a phenomenon than a popular song.

That’s why I am a little embarrassed to say I still listen to Led Zeppelin IV often and might be found in the Krogers parking lot strumming my air guitar as Robert Plant reminds us that “she is still buying a stairway to heaven.”

Playlists For the Boomer Generation

We may look back affectionately on our record collections but nothing beats the quality and accessibility of digital music. Online music services like I-Tunes and Rhapsody give us access to music we remember but lost and even more tunes we never knew existed. For almost forty years, rock music fans have consumed their music through albums, 8-tracks, cassettes or CD’s. Albums are still released but the digital teens of today are more inclined to pick and download their own playlists. Listening to a new compact disc from end to end is just so “nineties.” With that thought in mind, I offer the following playlists for your listening pleasure. I admit up front that they show my bias for 60’s and 70’s music. Put together a few of these playlists yourself; load up your IPOD, sit back and enjoy the ride. Best Soul You Haven’t Heard (Take a break from Motown): Billy Stewart – I Do Love You; Little Richard – Milky White Way; Sam Cooke – A Change Is Gonna Come; Solomon Burke – Cry To Me; Wilson Pickett – Hey Jude; James Brown – Begging Begging; Ray Charles –Mess Around; Elvis Presley – Reconsider Baby; Erma Franklin – Piece of My Heart; Otis Redding – Respect. Heavy Seventies Revisited (Tune up your air guitar for this set): Alice Cooper-School’s Out; Aerosmith – Dream On; Jump! – Van Halen; Black Sabbath – Iron Man; Blue Oyster Cult – Don’t Fear The Reaper; Ted Nugent – Cat Scratch Fever; Grand Funk Railroad - We’re An American Band; Joe Walsh – Life’s Been Good; Meat Loaf – Bat Out of He--; Deep Purple – Smoke On The Water. Ten Country Classics Worth Revisiting (Corny country is cool once again): Buck Owens – Act Naturally; George Jones – The Race Is On; Tammy Wynette – I Don’t Want To Play House; Conway Twitty & Loretta Lynn – After The Fire Is Gone; Faron Young – Hello Walls; Floyd Cramer – Last Date; Merle Haggard – Mama Tried; Johnny Cash – Get Rhythm; Johnny Horton – Golden Rocket; Wanda Jackson – Let’s Have a Party. Ten Guilty Pleasure Songs (Sing alongs when you’re alone): Chad & Jeremy – A Summer Song; Jonathan King – Everyone’s Gone To The Moon; The Vogues – Turn Around Look At Me; Association – Cherish; Cowsills – The Rain, The Park & Other Things; Spanky & Our Gang – Like To Get To Know You; Carpenters – We’ve Only Just Begun; Tom Jones – It’s Not Unusual; Mamas & Papas – Monday Monday; Jackson Five – Got To Be There. Ten Beatle Songs Worth Revisiting (This list is only about 50 songs too short): There’s A Place; I’m Happy Just To Dance With You; Don’t Bother Me; Honey Don’t; Bad Boy; In My Life; It’s All Too Much ; I Want You; Revolution 1; One After 909. Ten Unlikely Number One Hits (Somebody must have bought these records, did you?): New Vaudeville Band – Winchester Cathedral; Chuck Berry – My Ding A Ling; Ringo –Lorne Greene; The Singing Nun – Dominique; Kyu Sakamoto – Sukiyaki; Ray Stevens – The Streak; Sammy Davis Jr. – Candy Man; Paul Mariat – Love Is Blue; David Rose – The Stripper; Frank and Nancy Sinatra – Something Stupid. Ten Maximum Volume Albums (Turn your amplifier up to 11 for these): Led Zeppelin – Led Zeppelin I; King Crimson – Court of the Crimson King; Allman Brothers – Live At Fillmore East; Derek & The Dominos – Layla; Pink Floyd - Dark Side of the Moon; The Who – Quadrophenia; Santana – Abraxys; Little Feat – Waiting For Columbus; U2 – Rattle & Hum. Dust Off These Oldies (Under the radar in the late 50’s and early 60’s): Ronnie Self – Ain’t I’m A Dog; Chuck Berry – Too Much Monkey Business; Ivan – Real Wild Child; Don & Juan – What’s Your Name; Jive Five – What Time Is It; Elvis Presley – Guitar Man; Jerry Lee Lewis –Meat Man; Janis Martin – My Boy Elvis; Vito & The Salutations – Unchained Melody. Send comments to flipside@tx.rr.com or post here.