One of the many goals artists desire to achieve is to affect their audience. A studio album may be intense, and the tracks certainly do move the listener’s emotions. Yet, it can be argued that live performances are the gateway into one’s soul. The raw, unedited versions of songs do certainly touch the audience’s spirit.
Of course, there is the other side of the matter as well. Musicians might not be able to perform as well as they do during studio sessions. They might not grasp the tone of their songs and disappoint the audience. When artists cover other successful musicians’ beloved tracks, things might get even more challenging.
Musical personas or bands have the freedom to perform their set-list as they wish. However, when it comes to singing other cult songs, one may feel intimidated. After all, the idea of possibly disappointing not only the audience but also offending the tracks’ creators might be troubling. Yet, one particular performance made Led Zeppelin icons Robert Plant and Jimmy Page stand up and applaud.
Which Led Zeppelin Cover Made Robert Plant And Jimmy Page Emotional?
As music has no nationality or counter, it is not uncommon for the success of musical bands to spill over beyond their home country. In the case of Led Zeppelin, the United States honored them on numerous occasions. Not only with awards or prominent ceremonies but by helping the band establish their initial career.
Led Zeppelin’s early years weren’t easy. Their British peer and critics regarded the band as ‘teenyboppers.’ They weren’t taken seriously, and the British promoters called them ‘the New Yardbirds,’ referring to Jimmy Page’s former band, the Yardbirds. The name Led Zeppelin was overlooked until the American music industry intervened.
The band was commercially successful in the United States, and the American promoters managed to save the day by embracing the name Led Zeppelin. So, it is safe to say that the cult act owed a lot to their American peers. Of course, when the remaining band members returned to the U.S. many years later to receive the Kennedy Center Honors, other artists covered their landmark hits.
The night was filled with tears of joy and the remembrance of the past. The former bandmates Robert Plant, Jimmy Page, and John Paul Jones watched the performances with melancholy and delight. However, when the late drummer John Bonham’s son, Jason Bonham, took the stage alongside the rock act Heart, the performance would touch Led Zeppelin members’ souls.
The ‘Stairway to Heaven’ cover began with the classic calming guitar solo that paved the way for the upcoming climax. The minutes into the song were soothing as Ann Wilson’s vocals were complemented by her sister and bandmate Nancy Wilson’s guitar riffs. The performance crept into the audience’s soul and set the tone for the song’s mesmerizing mood.
However, towards the climax, the performance peaked. A choir accompanied the now joyous sound of the song. The soothing rock lullaby turned into a marching anthem of Led Zeppelin in a quick manner. Plant watched the entire performance with tears in his eyes, but it was at the pleasant moments the frontman truly appreciated the great cover.
The performance took Led Zeppelin back to their old days with a calming start. The tune held their company as they climbed the stairway towards their past memories. The former bandmates arrived at the top of the stairs when the performance reached its climax. The cover reflected the concept of the track with a perfect grasp.
Plant and Page applauded the cover with tears in their eyes. At the song’s beginning, those tears belonged to the sorrow of remembering the past days. Yet, in the end, the tears turned into delight and joy as they felt that the band indeed had left a cult mark on the rock scene. Heart and Jason Bonham’s performance took the audience through the stairway, all to heaven.
You can watch the touching performance of Heart below.
