Jimmy Page on the Instruments Used in ‘Stairway to Heaven’
“Stairway to Heaven” is one of Led Zeppelin’s most popular songs and one of the most acclaimed rock songs of all time. The song was released in 1971 on Led Zeppelin‘s fourth studio album. In a 2020 interview with Rolling Stone, Led Zeppelin guitarist Jimmy Page discussed the making of “Stairway to Heaven.”
How Led Zeppelin made ‘Stairway to Heaven’
“Stairway to Heaven” was written by Page and Led Zeppelin vocalist Robert Plant, and Page produced the song. Part of what has made the song so notable is the guitar work.
In an interview with Rolling Stone, Page explained how he made made “Stairway to Heaven” using multiple guitars and instruments.
“Yeah, insomuch as I wrote it on the Harmony [acoustic] guitar, and I worked out how the thing was going to run for the parts that were going to be the vocal. And then I had the bit which I called ‘the fanfare,’ which is where the 12-strings really sing out before it goes into the solo. And I had all the chords for the solo, and the solo chords were going to be the end section,” Page said.
Jimmy Page on the guitar work in ‘Stairway to Heaven’
Speaking with Rolling Stone, Page explained how he recorded “Stairway to Heaven” with Plant, John Paul Jones, and John Bonham.
“I had all of that on the acoustics, and I ran through it with the rest of the band, and then we went to record it. Just as soon as we had the whole run of the track, then I started laying on the 12-string. So I think I put the Vox 12-string on it first, and I wanted to use one 12-string on the left and one on the right, so there would be just a slight sound difference between the Vox 12-string, and the Fender 12-string. Of course, they all come together for what I call the fanfare before the guitar solo,” Page told Rolling Stone.
The guitarist summarized, “And then there is a solo that’s put on it, and basically that is the whole of the run for the thing. It’s mainly the acoustic, and the two 12-strings are driving it all the way through, and then there’s the solo.”
Jimmy Page thinks ‘Stairway to Heaven’ is ‘epic’
After Led Zeppelin released “Stairway to Heaven,” the song eventually became a setlist staple. In his interview with Rolling Stone, Page admitted that the song was meant to be performed “live.”
“Obviously, ‘Stairway’ has got to be done live, because it’s quite an epic, and we haven’t done anything like that, and nor has anybody else done anything quite like that,” said Page.
The double-necked guitar Page used to play “Stairway to Heaven” also became an iconic image at Led Zeppelin concerts.
“So, in actual fact, the song dictated the guitar. I couldn’t have done it on anything else. Now you see a double-neck and you think, ‘Oh, it’s Jimmy Page. I know. Or is it someone else?’ But it probably is Jimmy Page if it’s a red one,” Page told Rolling Stone.
