Stairway to Heaven: Encyclopedia II - Stairway to Heaven - Cover versions

Stairway to Heaven - Cover versions

Although the song is a popular set choice for cover bands throughout the world, the iconic status and unique structure of the song have precluded the recording of many cover versions by established artists. A few attempts at a straightforward cover have been made over the years, notably by hair metal band Great White. German producer Frank Farian formed the "supergroup" Far Corporation which was the first act to chart with a single release of the song, barely making the charts in the U.S., while becoming a top-10 hit in the UK, reaching number 8 in October 1985. Singer Dolly Parton recorded a country-bluegrass version on her 2002 album Halos & Horns.

Many other covers tend to be ironic or humorous in intent, notably Dread Zeppelin's reggae/Elvis-inspired version, Pat Boone's lounge take, and Rolf Harris who reached number 7 on the UK charts in 1993. The Foo Fighters also recorded a funny version of the song on The Late Show With Craig Kilborn, when they forgot the lyrics, and the audience needed to jump in and help them out. After becoming frustrated, the band simply skips ahead to the ending part.

Me First and the Gimme Gimmes have covered it as well. They begin their version straight forward and then kick into an energetic punk rock version. They only include the first three verses in their cover.

Frank Zappa covered the song during his 1988 world tour, and it appeared on the 1991 live album The Best Band You Never Heard in Your Life.

Stairway to Heaven - Fake versions

One version of the song circulating on the Internet is a supposed "reggae remix" by Jimi Hendrix. In fact, Hendrix died a year before the song was released. The recording is of a performance by Frank Zappa at one of his last live shows. This track is also sometimes attributed to Sublime.

Another widely circulated cover version is credited to Led Zeppelin and Pink Floyd, this is most likely the version released by Far Corporation on their 1985 album Division One (9 minutes 33 seconds long), another version can be found on their 1994 album Solitude (8 minutes 46 seconds long). It is most likely not the Led Zeppelin BBC Sessions' track (8 minutes 47 seconds long).

Adapted from the Wikipedia article "Cover versions", under the G.N U Free Docmentation License. Please also see http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki