The night Nancy Wilson played ‘Stairway to Heaven’ in front of Led Zeppelin
There shouldn’t be any shame in paying homage to your heroes, and building a sound that takes heavy amounts of influence from an already-famous act is something that bands have been doing for many years. There’s little hiding the fact that the Seattle rock group Heart were heavily influenced by Led Zeppelin, and they themselves are the first to admit the impact that the British rock group had on them when they first came together in the early 1970s.
What Heart offered that no other Led Zeppelin imitators did was a sense of originality. They weren’t simply ripping off their idols; they were taking what they had established as a group and expanding on it by introducing elements that made Heart distinct. The female vocals of the Wilson sisters, Ann and Nancy, were one of the primary ingredients that set Heart apart from the rest of the crowd. Moreover, they managed to succeed in subverting Led Zep’s classic rock sound, which was often seen as hyper-masculine, dashing it with a refreshing sense of confident femininity.
Heart forged a career for themselves that has seen them outlast their heroes, and the level of fame that they achieved as a group, while not on par with Led Zeppelin, is certainly nothing to be sniffed at. They’re an incredible group of songwriters and musicians, and they earned their place in the annals of rock history by consistently releasing albums that channelled the spirit of classic rock, injected with their unique flavours.
However, despite their fame, there aren’t many more momentous occasions than getting the opportunity to play to a crowd featuring the people who directly inspired your entire career. While performing in front of your heroes might be an exciting prospect, it’s also incredibly daunting. And, in 2012, Heart would get the chance to do exactly that for the three remaining members of Led Zeppelin.
When the band performed at the Kennedy Centre to honour the career of Led Zeppelin, they chose to pay tribute by performing a rendition of arguably their most famous song, ‘Stairway to Heaven’. Already a daunting prospect, when you’re challenged with the task of performing one of their most beloved tracks in front of your heroes, things become even more terrifying. However, Nancy Wilson attested that it ended up being one of the most affirming performances of her career, and the kind words offered by guitarist Jimmy Page afterwards ended up being a major career highlight.
“They all walked up to our table to personally thank us,” Wilson recalled to Vulture. “But Jimmy said, ‘You played that great. You really nailed it.’ Coming from him, I thought, ‘Oh my God, I could die now’. I’m a Zeppelin superfan”. While her legs were undoubtedly jelly from this encounter with her guitar hero, it’s the sort of compliment that will live with her forever and be the sort of thing that will remind her that the pursuit was worth it.
Accompanying the band on stage for the performance was drummer Jason Bonham, son of the late Led Zeppelin drummer, John Bonham. “We didn’t see the way they reacted to the performance until after it was edited and aired, because we couldn’t see up to the balcony while we were doing it,” Wilson explained. “I think a lot of that reaction was relief, for one thing, because we didn’t screw it up. Having Jason Bonham playing on the drums added to their big emotional wallop. It was a surprise for them; they had no idea.”
Never Miss A Beat
The Far Out Led Zeppelin Newsletter
All the latest stories about Led Zeppelin from the independent voice of culture.
Straight to your inbox.