If there's one thing the rock world agrees on, it's that "Stairway to Heaven ," the Led Zeppelin , is one of the most iconic and well-executed songs in history. Each member of the group had a different brilliance, and together they created magic.
“Stairway to Heaven” perfectly illustrates how the band members could shine individually, each on their own instrument, and together become something greater than themselves. Robert Plant Jimmy Page 's riff John Paul Jones 's powerful driving force John Bonham 's drumming are exceptional in the song.
Much of this is credited to the unparalleled chemistry the members had with each other, but Page's perfectionism cannot be overlooked. And in this particular song, he hit the nail on the head by demanding to hear nothing less than the best they could do.
In Led Zeppelin: The Oral History of the World's Greatest Rock Band (via Far Out Magazine ), sound engineer Digby Smith recounted that Page pushed himself and his bandmates hard to achieve perfection. "The first take was already incredible, no mistakes were made," but he says Page insisted that "a better take was possible."
Page asked Bonham to play the drums harder, something he was known for doing. Bonham was already one of the most powerful drummers around, but Page knew his colleague could go even harder and the result would be incredible – and he was right.
“I still remember him sitting at the drums, waiting for his turn to play,” said Smith, “When he finally started playing, he was hitting it hard.” Bonham was already nervous and angry with Page for forcing him to repeat the recording so many times, so he decided to use that feeling to deliver what his colleague wanted. At minute 6:23 of the song you can perfectly hear what Page was envisioning for the song.
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