The “Smells Like Teen Spirit” of the Baby Boomers, “Stairway to Heaven” has, of course, become much much larger than a mere rock and roll song, but rather a key symbol of the era when rock ‘n’ roll became rock, as well as arguably the most important thing not just in popular culture, but the culture at large.
Of course, that’s just the young teenage boy in me speaking, and I’m pretty sure that I remember people talking about “Stairway to Heaven” before I experienced it firsthand. In fact, I’d like to report I remember the first time I heard “Stairway to Heaven,” that it was some kind of lightning bolt or something, but no. I’m sure that I caught it somewhere in the middle, during some tuning of the radio dial looking for new sounds, or maybe Craig from across the street played it for me.
[Read more…] about Certain Songs #900: Led Zeppelin – “Stairway to Heaven”