Robert Plant Sings “Stairway To Heaven” For First Time In 17 Years

Since its release in 1971, Led Zeppelin‘s “Stairway To Heaven” has been regarded as one of the greatest rock songs of all time. The group formally disbanded in 1980 but the song has endured through its surviving members and recently enjoyed airtime just last autumn. However, lead singer Robert Plant strongly believes he will no longer perform “Stairway to Heaven” ever again.

Led Zeppelin guitarist Jimmy Page composed the progressive folk rock song, with Plant providing the lyrics for the band’s untitled fourth studio album, commonly referred to as Led Zeppelin IV. In its list of 500 Greatest Songs of All Time, Rolling Stone ranked the track as number 31. So, why is Plant saying goodbye to it with such certainty?

Robert Plant doesn’t anticipate performing “Stairway to Heaven” ever again

Plant last performed the chart-topper during a charity concert last October supporting The Cancer Platform. This was Plant’s first time singing “Stairway to Heaven” since the band’s 2007 performance at London’s O2 Arena – and, likely, his last time.

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“It was cathartic,” Plant recalled of last autumn. “People go, ‘Oh, that’s good. He never was going to do that.’ But I didn’t really do it! I just blurted it out.”

He continued, “Cause it’s such an important song to me for where I was at the time and where I was with Jimmy [Page] and with John [Paul Jones] and Bonzo [John Bonham]. So on that night, it was what it was. It was a trial by fire, but I felt better at the end than at the beginning.”

The future isn’t set in stone, however, and given the right circumstances, Plant is up for anything

In an interview with Rolling Stone magazine honoring the special, long-anticipated return of “Stairway to Heaven,” however, Plant kept an open mind. When the interviewer noted that this may be the last time 75-year-old Plant will sing that song, he agreed, “Yeah, I think you’re probably right. I haven’t got around to doing the ice-skating rinks in Finland yet with a small orchestra.”

At that point in the interview, he laughed but went on hopefully, “So I don’t think I’ll be doing that, but I don’t know. Who knows? Something could change somewhere. Spirit and heart could come back in the soul. It’s a long song. Who can remember all those words?”

The runtime varies a bit by version and even venue, but “Stairway to Heaven” generally lasts about eight minutes. That puts it not far behind Led Zeppelin’s longest song, “In My Time of Dying,” which lasts around 11 minutes.