Stairway to Heaven

Led Zeppelin, 1971. Solo by Jimmy Page.

The solo that every other entry is measured against. Page switches to a Telecaster for the climb, and the phrasing builds like a staircase: short motifs, then longer runs, then release into the final verse.

Page's solo is the hinge of the whole song, arriving just as the slow, stately build gives way to the heavy final section. Played on the 1959 Telecaster Jeff Beck gave him, through a small Supro, it has a dry, cutting voice rather than the thick Les Paul roar people expect from him. He came in with an opening phrase and a connecting idea already sketched, then improvised around them, and you can hear that balance of plan and risk as short bluesy motifs repeat, stretch and climb. Its real achievement is structural: the tension it builds is exactly what launches Plant back in a higher register. Listen for how Page keeps returning to one small figure, pushing it a little harder each time before letting go.

Stairway to Heaven by Led Zeppelin is ranked #1 in our consensus of 79 guitar-solo lists. The solo is played by Jimmy Page and the song was released in 1971. It appears on 63 lists, placing as high as #1 (R3M).

The story of Stairway to Heaven

The song grew out of ideas Jimmy Page had been developing throughout 1970. After Led Zeppelin's fifth North American tour, Page and Robert Plant retreated to Bron-Yr-Aur, an isolated cottage in Wales, where much of the band's more acoustic material took shape. Page kept sketching the piece at home and on a cassette recorder, and by the spring of 1970 he was already telling journalists it might end up as a very long composition.

The lyrics arrived later, at Headley Grange, the rambling Hampshire house the band used as a rehearsal and recording base. With Page playing through the chord changes beside an evening fire, Plant scribbled most of the opening words in a single burst; he later described the experience as though his hand was writing on its own. The arrangement was essentially complete before the group committed it to tape.

Basic tracks of acoustic guitar, Hohner electric piano and drums were cut at Island Studios in London, with engineer Andy Johns, while further work used the Rolling Stones' mobile studio. John Paul Jones layered four recorder parts over the introduction. The piece is built in stages: a quiet fingerpicked opening, a fuller electric middle, and a fast hard-rock finale, gradually speeding up and getting louder. John Bonham's drums do not enter until 4:18.

The track closed side one of the band's untitled fourth album, released by Atlantic on 8 November 1971, and was the only song whose lyrics were printed on the inner sleeve. Manager Peter Grant refused Atlantic's requests to issue it as a single in the US, a decision that pushed fans toward buying the whole album. Even so, it became the most-requested track on American FM radio.

The solo

Jimmy Page played the solo on a 1959 Fender Telecaster that Jeff Beck had given him, running it through a small Supro amplifier (Page has occasionally suggested it could have been a Marshall). He recorded three separate passes and picked one for the finished track. Although the solo sounds spontaneous, Page has said he entered the session with the opening phrase and a connecting phrase already in mind, then improvised around them. It arrives at the start of the song's final, uptempo section and acts as the bridge from the stately middle into the heavy climax, building tension with repeated bluesy motifs before Plant returns in a higher register. On stage Page switched to a Gibson EDS-1275 double-neck so he could move between twelve-string and six-string parts, and stretched the solo well beyond the studio length.

Legacy

The song became one of the defining recordings of 1970s rock and a staple of FM radio, with millions of broadcasts logged by the end of the century. Guitar World readers placed its solo at No. 1 among the greatest guitar solos in 2006, and Rolling Stone has twice included it in its 500 Greatest Songs lists. It entered the Grammy Hall of Fame in 2003 and the Library of Congress National Recording Registry in 2023. It is also the best-selling rock sheet music ever, and a long-running joke says guitar shops forbid customers from playing it.

Top 10 facts about Stairway to Heaven

Page played the solo on a 1959 Fender Telecaster that had been a gift from Jeff Beck, recording it through a Supro amp.
Wikipedia
Three solo takes were recorded and Page chose one of them for the album; he had planned only the first phrase and a linking phrase in advance.
Wikipedia
John Bonham's drums do not come in until 4:18, more than halfway through the track.
Songfacts
The first live performance was at Belfast's Ulster Hall on 5 March 1971, months before the album came out, and the crowd reportedly reacted coolly to the unfamiliar song.
Songfacts
Peter Grant refused to release the song as a commercial single in the US, which helped drive sales of the full album.
Wikipedia
It is the biggest-selling piece of rock sheet music ever, moving around 15,000 copies a year and over a million in total.
Wikipedia
In 2020 the full Ninth Circuit ruled that the song did not infringe Spirit's 1968 instrumental 'Taurus', and the Supreme Court declined to hear an appeal later that year.
Wikipedia
Robert Plant once gave $10,000 to Portland radio station KBOO during a pledge drive after it promised never to play the song.
Wikipedia
The historic town hall carillon in Fürth, Germany plays the melody every day at 12:04.
Wikipedia
An earlier 'Sunset Sound' mix made in Los Angeles was rejected in favour of a London remix; it finally appeared on the 2014 deluxe edition of Led Zeppelin IV.
Wikipedia

Live versions

Los Angeles Forum (1971) August 1971 US tour show where the new song earned a standing ovation before the album was even out.
Ahmet Ertegun Tribute Concert, London (2007) Reunion benefit show for Ertegun's education fund, part of a 16-song set that drew rave reviews.
BBC In Concert, Paris Cinema, London (1971) Recorded 1 April 1971 and broadcast days later as the song's world radio premiere.
Live Aid, JFK Stadium, Philadelphia (1985) Reunion set with Phil Collins and Tony Thompson on drums.
Berlin, final Led Zeppelin show of 1980 tour (1980) Last performance by the original band, reportedly the longest version at around 15 minutes.

Notable covers

Heart (2012) Performed at the Kennedy Center Honors for Led Zeppelin, visibly moving Robert Plant; widely viewed online.
Dolly Parton (2002) Bluegrass-tinged version on the album Halos & Horns.
Far Corporation (1985) Studio supergroup version that reached the UK top ten.
Rolf Harris (1993) Novelty wobbleboard version that became a UK top-ten hit.
Dread Zeppelin (1991) Reggae-style parody version that made the UK chart.
Pat Boone Big-band jazz take on his album In a Metal Mood.

In our lists

The Most-Taught Solos — #4
The Greatest Solo of Every Year — #28
Genre Champions — #6
The 25 Greatest Classic Rock Guitar Solos — #1
The 1970s — #1
Epic-Length Solos — #1
Best of Jimmy Page — #1
SGs & Telecasters — #1
Most Agreed-Upon — #1
Critics' Picks — #1
Fans' Picks — #2

Sources

Who played the guitar solo on Stairway to Heaven?

Jimmy Page played the solo on Led Zeppelin's Stairway to Heaven (1971).

What guitar was used on the Stairway to Heaven solo?

A fender telecaster through a Supro amp, according to widely reported accounts.

Where does Stairway to Heaven rank among the greatest guitar solos?

#1 in the GreatestSolos consensus of 79 published lists; it appears on 63 of them.

Who wrote Stairway to Heaven?

Jimmy Page composed the music and Robert Plant wrote the lyrics.

What album is Stairway to Heaven on?

It is on Led Zeppelin's untitled fourth album, commonly called Led Zeppelin IV, released in November 1971.

What guitar did Jimmy Page use for the Stairway to Heaven solo?

A 1959 Fender Telecaster given to him by Jeff Beck, played through a Supro amplifier.

Was Stairway to Heaven ever released as a single?

Not as a commercial single at the time; only promotional singles existed. It charted in the UK in 2007 through downloads.

Did Led Zeppelin copy Stairway to Heaven from Spirit's Taurus?

A jury found no infringement in 2016, and the full Ninth Circuit upheld that result in 2020.