Jimmy Page Shares His Confession About “Stairway To Heaven”

“Stairway to Heaven” is easily recognized as Led Zeppelin’s greatest song of all time. Jimmy Page, who arranged the song, revealed how he conjured the song’s guitar solo, which is often considered as “one of the best” by several rock magazines.

“I just said: ‘Roll it’, took a deep breath – that’s what I usually do – and then go,” he told Classic Rock. “I had a couple of cracks at it because you didn’t have as many options as you would have now. I worked out how I was going to actually come into it, the first two or three notes, but after that I didn’t work it out, I just played it.”

However, a song’s spark has its limits, especially if it’s constantly played, questioned, and pondered on by people every day. While it’s safe to admit that his fellow band member, Robert Plant, doesn’t speak highly about the song anymore, given it being overrated, Page still held the song in high regard; not until he also grew tired of listening to everyone’s opinion and versions to this classic.

Nancy Wilson Said Something About Jimmy Page’s Opinion About “Stairway to Heaven”

in 2012, the prestigious Kennedy Center Honors Awards gave recognition to Led Zeppelin for their supreme talents and contribution to music. The ceremonies took place in the Kennedy Center Opera House in Washington, D.C., where many icons are honored for the night, including David Letterman, Dustin Hoffman, Buddy Guy, and Natalia Makarova for their exemplary work in different entertainment fields. For the night, Ann and Nancy Wilson of Heart paid tribute to Led Zeppelin by singing “Stairway to Heaven,” which was well-received by the audience, including the legends themselves.

In an interview from Talk with Jericho, Nancy recalled the time when Page expressed his delight in the sisters’ performance with the song, after a long time of hating its different renditions.

“I was all about myself to start the song, and I was just as methodical as I could possibly be,” Nancy said. “And later Jimmy Page said, ‘You played that great. I learned to hate this song, but you guys nailed it.”

We can’t blame Page for disliking the song in his own right. But we’re glad that the Wilson sisters made the legend adore the classic gem once more.

Check out the legendary performance below.