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Led Zeppelin’s Stairway To Heaven Turns 40 Years Old
SSG Music ^ | November 11, 2011 | Rob Hedberg

Posted on 11/12/2011 8:23:42 AM PST by FatherofFive

Forty years ago an incredible classic rock band hit their creative peak when they released Led Zeppelin lV. I remember at age fourteen being handed this record for the first time, and being awe struck by stunning song-craftsmanship and lyrical prowess. The album itself which was released November 8th 1971 was a major success and sold 23 million copies alone in the United States, but only peaked at number 2 on the charts.

Many Zeppelin Fans know this album as the one that contains Stairway to Heaven, but among rock critics and fanatics of Zeppelin the whole album is a masterpiece. Led Zeppelin was never known for creating phenomenal singles, but created a name for themselves as a record band. They saw that every song recorded for the album should be done masterfully, and should compliment other tracks on the album. It’s not easy to convince the novice Zeppelin fan that Stairway to Heaven is not the best song on Led Zeppelin lV, but give them a few years and they will be hailing Zeppelin IV for songs such as “Black Dog,” “Rock and Roll,” and “When The Levee breaks.” This album is a must for an classic rock enthusiast, and should be apart of any album collection.


TOPICS: Culture/Society; Miscellaneous; News/Current Events; Philosophy
KEYWORDS: chat; classicrock; ledzeplin; music
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"Rock and Roll" remains an all time favorite song.
1 posted on 11/12/2011 8:23:45 AM PST by FatherofFive
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To: FatherofFive

So now it really is as Lead Zep.


2 posted on 11/12/2011 8:27:00 AM PST by ully2
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To: FatherofFive

The mighty Zepplin.Best RR band ever.”The rain song” is my favorite.
I’d like to know how many colleges and high schools in the seventies used the theme “Stairway to Heaven” for their yearbook or graduation theme.


3 posted on 11/12/2011 8:29:40 AM PST by TShaunK
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To: FatherofFive

I never did care much for that song. Just never understood what people saw in it.


4 posted on 11/12/2011 8:30:08 AM PST by KoRn (Department of Homeland Security, Certified - "Right Wing Extremist")
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To: FatherofFive
IHMO they hit the peak of creativity on the 6th album with Kashmir
5 posted on 11/12/2011 8:30:20 AM PST by mylife (The Roar Of The Masses Could Be Farts)
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To: KoRn

Stairway to Heaven has been trodden down.


6 posted on 11/12/2011 8:31:36 AM PST by mylife (The Roar Of The Masses Could Be Farts)
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To: FatherofFive

which means there still hasn’t been enough time for anyone to play it beginning to end.

(Okay, it just FEELS that long.)


7 posted on 11/12/2011 8:32:10 AM PST by Our man in washington
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To: ully2

From the guitar solo in the middle, to the drums, the build up, the song is exquisite. And I’m not even that big of a hard rock fan. But I do appreciate talent.

Any band that has the greatest drummer in the world and perhaps the greatest guitarist in the world, in the same band....yeah....destined for greatness.

Rock and Roll is still my favorite all time Led Zepp song though. Pure Rock N Roll....that song.


8 posted on 11/12/2011 8:32:21 AM PST by JNRoberts
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To: FatherofFive
The Immigrant Song
9 posted on 11/12/2011 8:34:25 AM PST by mylife (The Roar Of The Masses Could Be Farts)
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To: FatherofFive

That means that, soon enough, we’ll hear the song played on a Cadillac commercial. Then after that, it will be on Muzak. The REAL big time.


10 posted on 11/12/2011 8:34:41 AM PST by Kevmo (When a thing is owned by everybody nobody gives value to it. Communism taught us this. ~A. Rossi)
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To: FatherofFive

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=RD1KqbDdmuE

No Stairway.... denied!


11 posted on 11/12/2011 8:35:28 AM PST by MarineBrat (Better dead than red!)
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To: FatherofFive

My very first 8-track was Led Zepplin IV.


12 posted on 11/12/2011 8:36:06 AM PST by JMJJR ( Newspeak is the official language of Oceania)
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To: FatherofFive
No "Stairway to Heaven"
13 posted on 11/12/2011 8:36:58 AM PST by kosciusko51
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To: KoRn
I agree. They are the Worlds most over rated Rock Band.
You have to like them or your not "Cool".
Plus they plagiarized many of their songs.
14 posted on 11/12/2011 8:37:05 AM PST by Falcon4.0
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To: FatherofFive

The last 2 or 3 minutes were good.

Led Zeppelin II rocked harder than any of their albums that followed. There were some good songs, don’t get me wrong, but Zep II was the high point to me.


15 posted on 11/12/2011 8:37:48 AM PST by Stevenc131
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To: FatherofFive

One Freeper posted a long list of the songs Led Zep, uh, borrowed.Nothing new borrowing tunes and tweaking them, found it more interesting than anything else.

Everything is a copy of a copy of a copy....

Geezer rock rules.

Van Halen original line up will release a new recording soon and tour.

Black Sabbath original line up to release a new one and tour too.


16 posted on 11/12/2011 8:38:01 AM PST by Para-Ord.45
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To: MarineBrat

Dang, you beat me to it.


17 posted on 11/12/2011 8:38:05 AM PST by kosciusko51
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To: FatherofFive

love most of Zeps stuff....

Stairway To Heaven is good.....but not my favorite ballad by them by any stretch....that would be “Babe I’m Gonna Leave You”....

I am like the ‘desperato’ guy on Seinfeld when it comes on...(and I like the Linda Ronstadt version of ‘desperato’ better than the Eagles version...this is getting convoluted...bye)


18 posted on 11/12/2011 8:38:08 AM PST by Vaquero ("an armed society is a polite society" Robert A. Heinlein)
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Squeeze my lemon
19 posted on 11/12/2011 8:38:44 AM PST by mylife (The Roar Of The Masses Could Be Farts)
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To: KoRn
Just never understood what people saw in it.

When I asked about that, the posters explained that they were on drugs at the time. And maybe they were in junior high school, unless they're quite old now. I liked Barry Manilow when I was in 7th grade.

20 posted on 11/12/2011 8:40:10 AM PST by Tax-chick (Remember our veterans, today and every day!)
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