Led Zeppelin’s legacy is synonymous with their 1971 rock anthem “Stairway To Heaven.” But despite the song’s popularity, lead singer Robert Plant says he couldn’t get the lyrics down when it came to live shows.
In a recent interview with the Australian talk show The Project, Plant revealed that back in the ‘70s he had a hard time remembering the lyrics for “Stairway To Heaven.” To help him out, the band’s manager would hold up cards with the words during their performances.
Plant mentioned the story when asked about his current opinion of “Stairway To Heaven.” As he recalled:
I know it’s a long song, okay? I also know I had a little bit of trouble remembering lyrics, back in ’72, ’73. Our manager, who was quite a formidable personality…He’d come to the front of the stage in the middle of it all and he’d have the lyrics just going…Anyway, it was very funny. I can’t remember what verse goes where. I know there’s something about ‘bustle in the hedgerow’ and then all that stuff.
Peter Grant was Led Zeppelin’s manager during that time, and was famous for his tough business tactics and intimidating personality.
The Led Zeppelin frontman also compared the scenario to the video for Bob Dylan’s 1965 song “Subterranean Homesick Blues,” in which Dylan holds up cue cards with key song phrases.
Plant also stated in the interview that the conjecture around “Stairway To Heaven” is “hysterical” due to the abstract nature of the song, adding “I didn’t think anything was going to be that big.”
The singer wrote “Stairway To Heaven” with guitarist Jimmy Page, and they debuted the 8-minute track weeks after its creation at a concert in North Ireland.
Even though he penned the lyrics, Plant hasn’t always been a fan of the rock anthem and has refused to perform it live.
In a 1988 interview with the Los Angeles Times, Plant expressed his disdain for the hit and that he’d “break out in hives if I had to sing that song in every show.” Also, when Oregon radio station KBOO announced they would stop playing “Stairway To Heaven,” Plant reportedly made a pledge to the independent station.
Led Zeppelin also faced legal troubles with “Stairway To Heaven” in 2014, after a lawsuit claimed that the band plagiarized their opening guitar riff from Spirit’s 1968 song “Taurus.” However, Led Zeppelin won the case in 2016.
Catch up on all the lyrics for “Stairway To Heaven” here on Genius.
