U2 performed the legendary hit "Stairway To Heaven"
"Stairway To Heaven" is an all-time legendary rock hit recorded and released by Led Zeppelin in 1971. The authorship of the composition belongs to the masters of the rock scene - Jimmy Page and Robert Plant. The song became the highlight of the band's untitled fourth album, which fans have come to call simply "Led Zeppelin IV". Today, influential music publications and critics call "Stairway To Heaven" the most popular rock song in history! And it's hard to argue with that, considering the countless number of cover versions for this hit... The no less famous rock band from Dublin U2 also presented its version! That's what we'll be talking about today...
A little about the song...
From the very beginning, listeners noted the surprising similarity between the compositions "Stairway To Heaven" and ... "Taurus" by the rock band Spirit, which was released at the end of the 1960s. It's all about similar (even too) introductory guitar arpeggios ... In 2014, Led Zeppelin was even filed a copyright infringement lawsuit! In general, this is a completely separate and very long story. It is worth noting that the court ruled in favor of Led Zeppelin ...
As especially attentive listeners may have already noticed, "Stairway To Heaven" consists of three parts. And if the beginning of the composition is measured guitars and tape recorders, then its final part is already a hard rock arrangement, emphasized by Page's guitar solo (by the way, it is considered to be one of the greatest in history...)
In 2003, VH1 ranked "Stairway To Heaven" #3 on its "100 Greatest Rock Songs of All Time" list! As for the famous list of Rolling Stone magazine, this composition entered the top 50 of the best 500 ... In the seventies, "Stairway To Heaven" was the most requested song on American radio! And this is considering the fact that there it was never released as a single ... That's what a true masterpiece means ...
U2 version!
According to official figures, the most covered song in the world is the Beatles' "Yesterday". Although it is not clear which covers were taken into account, because no one will know if this song is played in the snowy village of the boundless Siberian expanses ... And if "Stairway To Heaven" lagged behind "Yesterday", then apparently not by much, since many young guys started their own the way to the world called "Rock Guitar" is from these opening chords ... And "Stairway to Heaven" obviously never gets too far away from guitarists (after all, there is a reason many music stores have a sign No Stairways).
It is interesting to note that despite this, right now the moment has come when everything is changing for the Led Zeppelin classics - one of the main songs of classic rock has again become a favorite song for performers of all stripes! In fact, "Stairway To Heaven" has been covered in countless numbers - Frank Zappa, Dolly Parton, The Foo Fighters and many, many others have submitted their versions ... And among these sound artists was U2! Yes Yes! Bono and The Edge brought their own twist to the tune's fortunes... Bono and The Edge paid tribute and respect to their longtime touring crew with a shortened acoustic version of the song.
“The Irish Highway Crew is the best in the world,” Bono begins with this. But, he continues, “there is one unfortunate aspect of this Irish team that needs to be mentioned. Wherever we are on the planet, wherever we are playing, whether it's the Olympia or 3 Arena or Madison Square Garden, we walk into the hall and we hear a song that they're adjusting the sound on, and that's the song that we once said: “We will never play it!” Yes, that's right, Stairway to Heaven… “These sound professionals think they play better than their band. And you know... maybe it's true! Bono flattered his team.
Bono never hid the fact that many years ago he and Edge made a promise to each other that they would never play this song ... However, in 2020, the musicians' decision has changed dramatically! A video suddenly appeared on U2's Instagram, the main characters of which - Bono and Edge - perform "Stairway To Heaven" (or rather, a fragment of it)! What prompted them to change their mind?
A full cover version was performed in the middle of summer 2020, as part of the Songs From an Empty Room charity project. As Bono himself explained:
“We dedicated this song to the technical staff who suddenly lost their source of income, as well as to all those who suffer from coronavirus infection ... And now we are not only talking about concert organizers, entrepreneurs, club workers and the like ... We are talking about listeners and just ordinary people ….”
It is worth adding that the rock band formed in 1976 was included in the list of "Best Artists of All Time" by Rolling Stone magazine in 2004: U2 was awarded 22nd place out of 100 ... A year later, the rock band was inducted into the Rock Hall of Fame n-roll.
Conclusion…
Over the years, listeners have wondered: Is there really a hidden meaning behind "Stairway To Heaven"? Yes, now we are talking about the very “mythical message” that can supposedly be heard by scrolling the record on the player in the opposite direction ... The legend arose because of Jimmy Page's love for all kinds of demonic teachings ... Robert Plant commented on this rumor as follows:
“This legend upset me very much… This song was written under the impression of very bright and kind feelings… When I first heard this, I was dumbfounded!”
It is generally accepted that for the first time "Stairway To Heaven" was played in March 1971 in Belfast, and, at the same time, the audience took this creation rather coldly ... But Page claims that the track was played before at the LA Forum (indoor arena in Inglewood), and the audience, according to him, was simply delighted ... One way or another, today “Stairway To Heaven” is considered an exemplary classic, which you don’t just want to talk about: you want to perform it ... And even U2, who vowed never to touch this work, could not resist before his charm...
