The first time I heard it, I was like, "what the fuck is this softie garbage? This is giving my ear aids!" But the second time listening to it, I absolutely saw why people love it. It's a story. The music fits well. And the solo really grew on me, even though it's a bunch of random scales pasted together with bends and shit. Love the song. One of my faves now.
I don't know why it brought me to tears to see a young person, like you, who appreciates one of the most iconic songs of my generation. Thank you, Alivia!
Dude. What a "bad" influence I was, on my daughter, in the music field. Today, at the age of 22, she listens to things like: The Beatles, Paul Anka, Dean Martin, Led Zeppelin, Iron Maiden, and "oddities" like that.
That's why I watch reaction videos. It's as close as I can get to reexperiencing my first time hearing music that has meant the world to me for 50 years.
I'll never forget it. In the time of AM radio you could listen to stations from far away at night as the signals bounce off the tropopause and repeat many times around the planet. I was fifteen in 1971 and I would stay up all night listening to the coolest music on a station out of Chicago. It had to have been after midnight when I heard Stairway for the very first time. Mind=blown even on crappy AM radio. I remember it like it was yesterday. A year or so later I was busted by the police for smoking weed in the woods with a couple of friends. The night sergeant knew me and he let us all go but he didn't understand the lyrics and guitar chords I had scribbled on a piece of paper that was in my pocket. He thought it was something demonic. It was Stairway.
I first heard this song in a taxi cab driving in the middle of a pitch black night, on a ride from Jerusalem to Tel Aviv, I had missed the last bus on my way home for a short leave from the IDF. I had never really listened to LZ before, and hearing this as the wind was rushing by the cab on the dark back roads...I'll never forget that experience! Of course I became a LZ fan after that...☺️
... my first listen to Stairway to Heaven...was as a kid.... listening to his AM radio in Ohio.....at midnight.... In the dark... On my bed; head on pillow; staring at ceiling...
Howie Davis My reaction is very much the same. People say this song was overplayed, whatever that means. To those of us who were coming of age back in the day it was a banger then, and it's a banger now!
There's a reason why it's called classic rock. No AutoTune, no shenanigans. Just great songwriting, singing and musicianship. Led Zeppelin at the peak of their abilities. It was fun seeing you enjoy it so much. There's a lot more great stuff out there.
I've heard this song a million times over the last 50 years, and got to the point where I hated playing it or hearing it, but watching someone experience it for the first time brought back the joy I felt when I first heard it. It is truly a musical orgasm!!!
Exactly! Many times I've been to the point where i got the impulse to listen to it again (and other songs), and something inside me says, "Not *again..."* But watching young people listening for the first time makes it okay.
Imagine you are 14 years old and you pick up the new LZ album and put it on the turntable. You listen to side one. Black Dog, Rock and Roll, the Battle Of Evermore, and then this quiet songs starts and you just kind of lay there as it is in contrast to the first three songs, and it just builds and builds and when it ends you are like (OMG).
Consider how great this song was built. Starts slow and gets faster and faster with layers of instruments added. Great vocals, drumming and guitar work. The lyrics thought provoking. A masterpiece. Greatest song ever by the greatest rock band ever!
Alivia, this is the best music reaction I’ve seen in a long time. So much more sincere and actually connected to the music than most “professional” reactors, who have become rather superficial. I really loved this. Well done!
I remember being a young teen , discovering Led Zeppelin , that feeling the first time I heard this song and so many others . My kids knew growing up when I said what is the best rock band of all time the only acceptable answer was , The almighty and powerful Led Zeppelin! Loved watching your reaction .
Oh hun, Zeppelin is the crème de le crème of rock. I’m so glad I’m gen x becuse we made incredible music. It’s why we get so testy when your generation samples our music. It’s our magic, our medicine. Be gentle with it. So glad you discovered Zeppelin.
there is a version from the band Heart they do in honor of Led Zeppelin from the Kennedy Center Honors that will blow you away. If you liked this version from the studio, you will cry at this other version. It was AMAZING!
Thank goodness for underground AM stations back in the day. I enjoyed pop, but imagine the void that not knowing Led Zeppelin, Iron Butterfly and many others would have created.
Consistently #1 or #2 rock song every year in every list probably since it first came out. Four masters of their craft all together in one band. Can't get any better.
Stairway to Heaven was released in 1971 when I was in the military during the Vietnam War. We played it every night for months in the barracks at lights out. Just listening to this song brought back a flood of memories. Thanks.
Back when it first came out AM just killed it, too long so they cut the guitar solo out! Geeeez, but here in the bay area we had 2-3 FM stereo stations that played the whole song! Also it was fun to hear it on a car stereo random people driving around! Saw them 2X at Winterland (SF) and 1X at Day on the Green (Oakland) 69-70 &77. The concerts never mirrored the albums, concerts were AWESOME. Ahhhhh, the memories!
Probably all of the people who are watching your reaction have heard this song quite literally thousands of times. But watching you hear it for the first time is a little like I'm hearing it anew. That's why so many people watch music reactions. Great job!
You nailed exactly why I love reaction videos. Especially with a song like this. Where I'd heard it hundreds of times before I was even in my teens. By the time my ears matured enough to appreciate the individual playing, and the intricacy of the parts, I'd already had it memorized. I'll never get to experience Led Zeppelin for the first time at 16, like I did with Jane's Addiction.
You don't! First time I heard it was 27th September 1987, when it came in at #1 on the Greatest Hits of All Time on Take 40 Australia, Australia's first and longest-running music countdown each Sunday. Songs for this GOAT were voted on through Oz's top music magazines, calls to the station. I recorded it all on cassettes, and this came in eventually at No. 1! I got a lot of musical education that day..
@@hazysummersky great story. I first heard Stairway August 15th 1989. My sister's boyfriend lent me his ZOSO cassette. By the time Stairway hit my mind was blown. Haven't been the same since 😁
I loved watching you experience this! I'm 63 and this has been my favorite song ever since I first heard it back in the '70's - it is so masterfully done - the way it builds always pulls me in and takes me elsewhere!!
A masterpiece of epic proportions! Love that you get how awesome this song is! It never gets old for me! I’ve been listening to it since it came out! It blew everyone away! Great reaction!
Silas, you are cool as hell. Keep up the great videos. Me and my fellow soldiers often listened to this song (and other progressive rock music) when serving in West Germany back in the early eighties. Mark Nicholson (Retired) Former, US Army - EFMB, Combat Medical Specialist 1/94 FA MLRS - Erlangen West Germany
Glad you are doing the studio version because it is perfection. According to Casey Kasem 15 years ago, Stairway To Heaven was the 2nd most requested song in history. #1 was Happy Birthday.
Gotta to say, no. The song is a cautionary tale. We feel that there is always time but there isn't. Too soon and without notice there is "a bustle in your hedgerow"...your head begins "humming" and the "piper's calling".
When I was finishing my final art piece for GSCE, I included lyrics hidden in the painting, and that was one of them. It payed off, because I got the highest grade haha.
Definitely. Who's Next, Led Zep 4, Sticky Fingers from the Stones, Electric Warrior by T Rex, Deja Vu by Crosby Stills Nash and Young. Mettle by Pink Floyd, Maggot Brain by Funkadelic, LA Woman by the Doors, Low Spark of High Heeled Boys by Traffic, The Yes Album. And many more. The greatest bands in history at the peak of their respective power.
@@bc6352 oh yeah. The Allman bros. Blue Oyster Cult. Grateful Dead. The Doors. Lou Reed. Gram Parsons. The Band. Janis Joplin. Pink Floyd. James Taylor. Black Sabbath. Genesis. Deep Purple. New Riders Purple Sage. Rolling Stones. James Brown. Stevie Wonder. Frank Zappa. David Bowie. The Beatles solo albums. Jethro Tull. Poco. Grand Funk Railroad. Mahavishnu Orchestra. Etc etc. what a freaking year.
I saw Led Zeppelin play this live in 1972. That's 50 years, half a century, ago. It was on their latest album at the time. They opened with Rock 'n' Roll, a hell of a show. I was 16, and bunked off school to buy tickets.
I'm a new subscriber, because I saw the Led Zeppelin thumbnail, and I watched the first 2 reactions. it gives me hope knowing that there are still young people appreciating and learning about where the foundations of ROCK really were laid.this is truly the blueprint for pretty much everything that came after. Rock On
you did a awesome job, describing the the Intricate sounds that make up song from years gone by. Glad to enjoy old folks music LOL..Great 🎶 music sweet memories and a little sad. Good job ✌️
You're experiencing IMO the greatest rock band ever assembled. I remember listening to them when they first come out. They put out one awesome album after the other.
Whenever I watch one of these raw reactions it reminds me of how great some of these songs were. This one of course has actually made me get chills without even listening to the lyrics but just the sound of his voice. They made the best choice to not go on as LZ as you can hear in this song that the drumming really drove the changes and emotions. His work was masterful throughout.
It was a pleasure watching you enjoyed this song. Yes the lead guitarist, Jimmy Page was a prodigy since the Age 3. Yes this is rock it will take you around the corner pound you hard and leave you wondering. Anyway, it was a pleasure watching you enjoy this song for the first time. Like I said , this is Rock welcome home
Hi Alivia! You did an excellent job! I'm so happy you enjoyed this song; it is a classic. Actually, those aren't flutes at the beginning, they're recorders played by John Paul Jones. The dynamics are outstanding how it builds layers of tempo changes. The imagery meaning is vague; a perfect opportunity for the listener to ascribe their own meaning. It is definitely a masterpiece.
@Henrietta Skolnick Well I have heard everything about what the meaning is about this song . Some of it is allegedly that this is occultish and comes from Jimmy Page’s obsession . Yes I know about the backwards thin but I never heard it . Anyway I think Stairway to Heaven has everything in it. Stream of consciousness but surrealism in it mixed in with British Isles mysticism is part of it . Yet I think it is also concrete in that the female character is obsessed with riches , materialism , social climbing and once she attains it she discovers that it isn’t as gratifying as she thought it would be .
Watching you hear this for the first time reminds of how I felt the first I heard it, too, some 50 years ago. I'm so grateful that young people like you can listen to this and appreciate it the way us older-folk have for so long. Welcome to the REAL world of ROCK.
It’s a masterpiece like a Monet or Beethoven or the pyramids. Infused with bits of Esoteric genius. And just plain lovely. Thank you for this reaction Miss Alivia. 👍
I absolutely loved your video! I so enjoy that so many young people love the music we experienced decades ago. Led Zepplins music? They are all masterpieces. I am 73; and I was your age when I was experiencing this wonderful era in San Francisco! I’m so glad I was able to do that. There was so much freedom and joy in everything we did back then,,, I spent time on Hippy Hill many times listening to the best bands of the time playing free; and just loving being young, free, happy; and at other times joining in on the protests against he Vietnamese war and cleaning up the beaches. I wish I could take you time traveling back to years ago. Led Zepplin? Oh my! The best of the best; and I saw him in concerts whenever I could. Love❤
You did a GREAT job, Alivia! And you noticed the build-up as they added instruments, upped the tempo and then increased the vocals. Treat yourself to the cover of it by the band Heart. They did it at the Kennedy Center Honors as Led Zep was being honored and as they watched from the balcony. I never thought any band could do an acceptable Cover, but Heart did. (I love them too.)
As the tune began it's crescendo seeing your responses brought me to tears. It's refreshing to see someone of your generation show true appreciation for great music. As a musician, singer, songwriter my entire life, now at 72...this was "My" music! My only question is...how the hell have you never heard this song before now? Only ONE word describes this song...Immortal! Every generation has what they consider "Their" music. And for the most part...every generation believes "Their" music is the best! Sadly...short of maybe a handful of songs...nothing recorded after 1980 will be remembered or stand any test of time.
For someone hearing this song for the for the first time, your insight into the instrumentation and the structure was incredible. You recognized the switch from acoustic to electric guitars, and the strong base melody. You played the fanfare before the guitar solo twice (one of my favorite parts) and appreciated the whole of the song for its beauty. Exceptional work.
What a great reaction video, I envy you hearing this song for the first time and Judging by how you reacted you’ll hear it many more times as have several million people. This song is a timeless classic and should be shared by all. I really liked how sensitive you were to all the transitions, the lyrics and the build up to the finale. ✌️
World's greatest rock n roll band!hands down!there will never be another!a phenomenon of the late 60s thru the 70s!I'm lucky to have seen them live in 1977!😊
I am so happy to see young people enjoying the TIMELESS music of the 70's. I saw Led Zeppelin in concert 2 times and heard this song for the first time live. Imagine being there!!!
I first heard this song 50 years ago. It made an impression - on me and the rest of the world - at that time. It was so outrageously different, and not just because it was "too long" to be played on the radio (seconds shy of a full 11 minutes). Are you kidding me? Fashions and tastes have wandered in the last 50 years (do say?) but "Stairway to Heaven" has maintained a level of popularity that has been the envy of those who were there at the time, there in the intervening years and now no longer there. The introduction is so iconic that almost every person who has picked up a guitar since 1971 has wanted to learn how to play it. There are stories (possibly apocryphal) that some music shops that sell acoustic guitars have put up signs forbidding the playing of the intro to "Stairway to Heaven". In addition, many versions have been recorded (not just by Led Zeppelin, but I will not deal with versions by other bands). LZ have recorded live versions and, I am sorry to say, not all of them give me the the joy that the original recording does. It has been a while and I am grateful that it was your starting point. I have heard a live version that they performed to a small audience in a BBC theatre. This performance was before the LP that included "Stairway to Heaven" was released. This version is remarkable because the introduction is not drowned out by the audience reaction - because they had never heard it before! ("Huh? What's this?") So my enjoyment of your reaction is enhanced because it is the reaction of someone about the same age as I was in 1971, hearing LZ 4 for the first time. Thank you very much. Great, innit?
That song is so powerful, I had graduated from UNC and hadn't started graduate school when it came out on the radio, It was so popular back then and still, to this day, still gives me the chills as I listen to it, It brings back so many memories and is really touching to see the youth enjoy the music of my youth, Thank you for doing a reaction to a real classic,
The best cover of Stairway To Heaven is by Ann & Nancy Wilson from Heart @ the event to award Obama's Medal of Honor to Zepplin. It's worth a listen with the full choir and orchestra. Ann in her 60's still nails the vocals
The recipients of the awards are chosen & presented by the J.F.K. Center for the Reforming Arts trustees. The incumbent POTUS has nothing to do w/ it. Congressional Medals of Honor are bestowed on those individuals deemed to have exhibited " Valor above and beyond the call of duty" in service to the country. ( Just in case you weren't kidding about the Obama thing)
It was at the 2012 edition of the annual Kennedy Center Honors event in Washington DC. The honorees are selected by the board of the Kennedy Center, not the President. However the POTUS usually attends the gala performance event. Trump is the only president to have never attended during his term in office.
Really great reaction, Alivia! The thing about a song like _Stairway_ is, it's got someplace to go, and it takes you there! When Jimmy Page composed the arrangement, that building arc was the first thing he knew he wanted, slow and melodic in the beginning, to hard rockin' in the end! When you listen to it, there's a reason why you feel as if you've been on a journey: Because you have!
They were originally called The New Yardbirds, after Page's prior group - The Yardbirds - fell apart. At one of their first shows playing music they'd written themselves, Robert Plant was said to look out at the subdued demeanor of the European audience before the show started. Assuming it meant a cool reception to the music, he said "this will go over like a lead zeppelin." Now, it looks funny in writing because the word "lead" has different meanings and pronunciations. But Plant said lead referring to the metal. In other words, it would "go over" like a zeppelin which couldn't fly at all. But when most people read the phrase "Lead Zeppelin," they assume the more common pronunciation meaning the zeppelin which is winning the zeppelin race, or the zeppelin which the other zeppelins follow. That show turned out to be a crushing success, so they decided to adopt Robert's offhand phrase as their new name. But they wanted to avoid the misunderstanding from the linguistic ambiguity and keep the correct pronunciation. So they dropped the "a" from "lead," called themselves Led Zeppelin, and decorated their first album cover with a real photograph of an actual zeppelin catastrophe.
I love watching people peel back the layers of this song for the first time. I remember my own first, I just wish I was around when it was released because it must have been so much more breathtaking then. This, When The Levee Breaks, Hendrix - All Along The Watchtower and Queen - Bohemian Rhapsody are 4 cornerstone songs of this era that nobody has any business not loving.
Great job Olivia!😃 filling in for Silas, he'll be proud!, ( or jealous ) glad you enjoyed the song. 🎶This song can have many meanings, depending on your perspective, my favorite line is, "When all are one and one is all", it jibes with the spiritual concept of "Oneness". 🙏 Silas says you like guitar, 🎸 you might want give Robin Trower "Too Rolling Stoned" a try, I think you'll like it. Thank you! Peace! ☮
I watched a documentary of Zeppelin and Plant didn't care much for the song, but it's sound became rock history. When asked what the song was about he replied "it had no meaning at all". They just put some lyrics together and there you have it.
@@johnouimette1422 LOL!,🤣 so true!, I think I saw the same documentary. I also read an interview back in the late 70's where Plant stated "I hate that song" and when pressed for the meaning he snapped at the reporter saying, "it means whatever you want it to mean". 😤 Thanks for the reply! Peace! ☮
Once you go down the Zep rabbit hole there is no going back. I can't wait to see the reactions you two will have from some other old rock and roll bands. Pink Floyd, Rush, etc.
I really envy you for hearing Stairway for the first time, I bought the album when it was first released and Stairway was a revelation, as was the whole album. I have no idea how many times I've listened to it since, but it's appeal never diminishes. Zepp for me are the greatest rock band ever, just so many great albums.
The wind instruments at the start are called Recorders, and played by John Paul Jones (usually he played bass and keyboards) these have a nice low wooden tone, so it's likely a Tenor and a Bass Recorder overdubbed in harmony. (Cheaper plastic ones were very common first instruments for teaching music at school, and came in a range of sizes, the most common being a Descant Recorder). Live John Paul Jones played the parts on a keyboard, initially a Mellotron (an unreliable and cumbersome instrument that incorporated short magnetic tape loops which had to rewind after playing each note, which meant the length of each note was pretty limited) then, as technology progressed in the mid - 70's, he used the more reliable Yamaha synthesizers to perform this classic.
Great job girl. I really enjoyed watching your reaction. Imagine being 15 years old when this song came out. Kicking back enjoying a little weed and other things. Lol 😂😆. And just tripping on this whole album. For many years, well I guess still today. LZ was my favorite band. I seen them twice in concert. In 1973 and 1975. Cost me 9 bucks a ticket. They were great both times. Anyway thanks.
Your reaction to this song reminds me of the first time I heard it as a 12 year old in 1973. It brought back a lot of memories. I'm glad you enjoyed it and you're sharing it with others in your generation. It is truly a magical song and I have listened to it so many times in the last 50 years that I can't count. Thank you, Alivia!
Led Zeppelin 4 was released today November 8th 1971 so this song is now 51 years old today and I’m 54 just to give you some perspective! Enjoy! Also this will sound trivial to some but at 3:24 On here the full sound of Jimmy’s guitar and John Paul’s recorders and bass it reminds me of being baptized in the warm water of the church ⛪️ baptismal pool! It takes my breath away!
As others have said, this is indeed one of the OG rock anthems of all time; great choice, and I enjoyed watching you warm to it as it builds. "To be a rock, and not to roll" Now that you've heard this version, you might want to look up the night this musical era-defining song was performed at the Kennedy Center. In 2012 the three surviving members of Led Zeppelin were inducted as recipients of the Kennedy Center Honors. As a tribute, members of the band Heart, together with the son of the band's deceased fourth member John Bonham sitting in for his father on drums, and a host of other talented musicians gave a thunderous rendition of Stairway in front of the three band-members themselves. Quite an emotional performance. Standing ovation.
He Alivia, great 'take over', I love your reaction to this classic. The Flute sounds are made by John Paul Jones playing multiple recorders and layering them to sound like a flute, but live he uses a synthesiser to get the same sound. For when Silas is back you should both listen the the live version of this from Madison Square Gardens in 1973 it is so good. Keep up the great work, maybe rename the channel Alivia reacts, whilst he's gone or at least try to sneak in a cheeky A&S Reacts name change.
For those of us who have heard this song a thousand times, I can only imagine what it must be like to hear it for the very first time.
But, without any of the 70's cultural experience to get the sub-references.
I can recall listening on count down when this was a new release, it took me a long time to get it.
I remember as a kid that was my very first L of my body in 1972
And yes I still have it on vinyl
The first time I heard it, I was like, "what the fuck is this softie garbage? This is giving my ear aids!" But the second time listening to it, I absolutely saw why people love it. It's a story. The music fits well. And the solo really grew on me, even though it's a bunch of random scales pasted together with bends and shit. Love the song. One of my faves now.
Congratulations. You’ve just listened to the greatest rock song of all time.
Nailed it Peter
@@markscholey2101 In memory of elizabeth reed enters the chat.
I don't know why it brought me to tears to see a young person, like you, who appreciates one of the most iconic songs of my generation. Thank you, Alivia!
❤️
I'm only 29 and the same thing happens to me , Just younger people listening to this for the first time , Pink floyd reactions make my eyes pee ..
I do✌🏻🤟🏻
Dude. What a "bad" influence I was, on my daughter, in the music field. Today, at the age of 22, she listens to things like: The Beatles, Paul Anka, Dean Martin, Led Zeppelin, Iron Maiden, and "oddities" like that.
Almost 70 and same here... 😊
What a masterpiece.. released in 1971...I was 18 then. Am 70 now...52 years have gone by ...the song stays the same ... timeless classic 🎉❤
"The song remains the same"...I was also 18 in 1971.
I was smiling the whole time watching you listen. I wish I could go back in time and hear it for the first time again!
That's why I watch reaction videos. It's as close as I can get to reexperiencing my first time hearing music that has meant the world to me for 50 years.
I'll never forget it. In the time of AM radio you could listen to stations from far away at night as the signals bounce off the tropopause and repeat many times around the planet. I was fifteen in 1971 and I would stay up all night listening to the coolest music on a station out of Chicago. It had to have been after midnight when I heard Stairway for the very first time. Mind=blown even on crappy AM radio. I remember it like it was yesterday. A year or so later I was busted by the police for smoking weed in the woods with a couple of friends. The night sergeant knew me and he let us all go but he didn't understand the lyrics and guitar chords I had scribbled on a piece of paper that was in my pocket. He thought it was something demonic. It was Stairway.
I first heard this song in a taxi cab driving in the middle of a pitch black night, on a ride from Jerusalem to Tel Aviv, I had missed the last bus on my way home for a short leave from the IDF. I had never really listened to LZ before, and hearing this as the wind was rushing by the cab on the dark back roads...I'll never forget that experience!
Of course I became a LZ fan after that...☺️
... my first listen to Stairway to Heaven...was as a kid.... listening to his AM radio in Ohio.....at midnight.... In the dark... On my bed; head on pillow; staring at ceiling...
I've just written almost exactly that same thing dude, and that was before I read any other comments, we oldies all think alike, eh! 🤘🏼
In my mid 50's ... and even knowing every nuance of this song, it still gives me chills. Thank you for carrying the torch to the next generation.
The Live version from 1973 Puts this to shame . iTS A longer solo and you see them play
Howie Davis My reaction is very much the same. People say this song was overplayed, whatever that means. To those of us who were coming of age back in the day it was a banger then, and it's a banger now!
Love ya Howie, so true!
@@howdyault7710 thank you and love right back to ya
Howie, you said it bro! ❤️
I’m nearly 70 and your reaction made me cry. Love seeing young people starting to get into some really great music.
There's a reason why it's called classic rock. No AutoTune, no shenanigans. Just great songwriting, singing and musicianship. Led Zeppelin at the peak of their abilities. It was fun seeing you enjoy it so much. There's a lot more great stuff out there.
💯what yooooo said
pure Good!
I've heard this song a million times over the last 50 years, and got to the point where I hated playing it or hearing it, but watching someone experience it for the first time brought back the joy I felt when I first heard it. It is truly a musical orgasm!!!
So true
Exactly! Many times I've been to the point where i got the impulse to listen to it again (and other songs), and something inside me says, "Not *again..."* But watching young people listening for the first time makes it okay.
You truly nailed it.
Musical orgasm. Yes!
Led Zeppelin is a mystical band. The lyrics, the music, it goes beyond just hearing the song. It touches your soul.
I remember my first time hearing Stairway to Heaven in 1972. Welcome to Led Zeppelin, arguably the world’s greatest rock band of all time.
Imagine you are 14 years old and you pick up the new LZ album and put it on the turntable. You listen to side one. Black Dog, Rock and Roll, the Battle Of Evermore, and then this quiet songs starts and you just kind of lay there as it is in contrast to the first three songs, and it just builds and builds and when it ends you are like (OMG).
Consider how great this song was built. Starts slow and gets faster and faster with layers of instruments added. Great vocals, drumming and guitar work. The lyrics thought provoking. A masterpiece. Greatest song ever by the greatest rock band ever!
I agree 100%...
This song is a musical education in itself!
Most overplayed perhaps.
Not even in the top ten Zeppelin tunes. S’good tho ‘
𝙰𝚐𝚛𝚎𝚎
ALIVIA YOU ARE AWESOME!!! GREATEST REACTION EVER!!! you were present and In The Zone the whole time ❤️
This is almost 60 years old now and is still timeless. This will be moving souls forever.
it only keeps getting better when you grow older, and listen that maybe little different
60??????
"This is almost 60 years old now"
This is 52 years old. You're right that it's timeless though.
I'm 72 and Zeppelin has been the soundtrack of my life. You'll never grow old if you Rock & Roll.
Alivia, this is the best music reaction I’ve seen in a long time. So much more sincere and actually connected to the music than most “professional” reactors, who have become rather superficial. I really loved this. Well done!
I concur
One of the greatest songs from the greatest rock band ever......The 70's were epic.
It’s actually the greatest song ever from one of the greatest bands
I remember being a young teen , discovering Led Zeppelin , that feeling the first time I heard this song and so many others . My kids knew growing up when I said what is the best rock band of all time the only acceptable answer was , The almighty and powerful Led Zeppelin! Loved watching your reaction .
Check out Led Zep live in moscow 1991 , 1.6 million fans
I am trying so hard to imbue that in my twelve year-old son. Do have him loving Chris Squire though. So, little wins. lol
Oh hun, Zeppelin is the crème de le crème of rock. I’m so glad I’m gen x becuse we made incredible music. It’s why we get so testy when your generation samples our music. It’s our magic, our medicine. Be gentle with it. So glad you discovered Zeppelin.
The 70’s was cool! 😎 ✌🏻☮️ 💨
there is a version from the band Heart they do in honor of Led Zeppelin from the Kennedy Center Honors that will blow you away. If you liked this version from the studio, you will cry at this other version. It was AMAZING!
Great job Alivia! The greatest rock song ever recorded. Do it some more!
Thank goodness for underground AM stations back in the day. I enjoyed pop, but imagine the void that not knowing Led Zeppelin, Iron Butterfly and many others would have created.
I honestly think it's the greatest rock song of all time. It's got everything! I even cried during the solo.
Consistently #1 or #2 rock song every year in every list probably since it first came out. Four masters of their craft all together in one band. Can't get any better.
Stairway to Heaven was released in 1971 when I was in the military during the Vietnam War. We played it every night for months in the barracks at lights out. Just listening to this song brought back a flood of memories. Thanks.
Back when it first came out AM just killed it, too long so they cut the guitar solo out! Geeeez, but here in the bay
area we had 2-3 FM stereo stations that played the whole song! Also it was fun to hear it on a car stereo random
people driving around! Saw them 2X at Winterland (SF) and 1X at Day on the Green (Oakland) 69-70 &77. The concerts
never mirrored the albums, concerts were AWESOME. Ahhhhh, the memories!
Probably all of the people who are watching your reaction have heard this song quite literally thousands of times. But watching you hear it for the first time is a little like I'm hearing it anew. That's why so many people watch music reactions. Great job!
You nailed exactly why I love reaction videos. Especially with a song like this. Where I'd heard it hundreds of times before I was even in my teens. By the time my ears matured enough to appreciate the individual playing, and the intricacy of the parts, I'd already had it memorized. I'll never get to experience Led Zeppelin for the first time at 16, like I did with Jane's Addiction.
It has 3 parts all building to the climax!and it is great!
You never forget the first time you really listen to Stairway. Great vid Olivia
You don't! First time I heard it was 27th September 1987, when it came in at #1 on the Greatest Hits of All Time on Take 40 Australia, Australia's first and longest-running music countdown each Sunday. Songs for this GOAT were voted on through Oz's top music magazines, calls to the station. I recorded it all on cassettes, and this came in eventually at No. 1! I got a lot of musical education that day..
@@hazysummersky great story. I first heard Stairway August 15th 1989. My sister's boyfriend lent me his ZOSO cassette. By the time Stairway hit my mind was blown. Haven't been the same since 😁
So true!
oh crap, i have forgotten my first listen of Stairway.
When you first listen to stair way, each person realises it’s your own personal journey through the story of rock music just for yourself 👍
I loved watching you experience this! I'm 63 and this has been my favorite song ever since I first heard it back in the '70's - it is so masterfully done - the way it builds always pulls me in and takes me elsewhere!!
That was exactly my reaction the 1st time, in 1973, except i was too stoned on some good grass, and it happened only in my head.
A masterpiece of epic proportions! Love that you get how awesome this song is! It never gets old for me! I’ve been listening to it since it came out! It blew everyone away! Great reaction!
Silas, you are cool as hell. Keep up the great videos.
Me and my fellow soldiers often listened to this song (and other progressive rock music) when serving in West Germany back in the early eighties.
Mark Nicholson (Retired)
Former, US Army - EFMB,
Combat Medical Specialist
1/94 FA MLRS - Erlangen West Germany
One of the most REAL, HONEST reactions I’ve ever seen. A beautiful person with a beautiful reaction!
Glad you are doing the studio version because it is perfection. According to Casey Kasem 15 years ago, Stairway To Heaven was the 2nd most requested song in history. #1 was Happy Birthday.
“Yes, there are two paths you can go by, but in the long run, there’s still time to change the road you’re on”. These are words to live by…
Gotta to say, no.
The song is a cautionary tale. We feel that there is always time but there isn't. Too soon and without notice there is "a bustle in your hedgerow"...your head begins "humming" and the "piper's calling".
@@parose1457 You gonna fact check my interpretation of song lyrics? GFY Karen.
When I was finishing my final art piece for GSCE, I included lyrics hidden in the painting, and that was one of them. It payed off, because I got the highest grade haha.
One of the best songs of all time, all the band are incredible but John Bonham on the drums was just next level
Great reaction. 1971 was a amazing year for albums. Almost every artist that was around back then put out some of their best stuff in 1971.
Definitely. Who's Next, Led Zep 4, Sticky Fingers from the Stones, Electric Warrior by T Rex, Deja Vu by Crosby Stills Nash and Young. Mettle by Pink Floyd, Maggot Brain by Funkadelic, LA Woman by the Doors, Low Spark of High Heeled Boys by Traffic, The Yes Album. And many more. The greatest bands in history at the peak of their respective power.
@@bc6352 oh yeah. The Allman bros. Blue Oyster Cult. Grateful Dead. The Doors. Lou Reed. Gram Parsons. The Band. Janis Joplin. Pink Floyd. James Taylor. Black Sabbath. Genesis. Deep Purple. New Riders Purple Sage. Rolling Stones. James Brown. Stevie Wonder. Frank Zappa. David Bowie. The Beatles solo albums. Jethro Tull. Poco. Grand Funk Railroad. Mahavishnu Orchestra. Etc etc. what a freaking year.
5:59 "yes there are 2 paths you can go by but in the long run....theres still time to change the road your on" - Best line ever.
Truly one of the most iconic rock songs of all time! Glad you enjoyed it.
Seek out the version by "Heart" delivered live as LZ were inducted into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame - it is awesome, moving and star spangled!
I saw Led Zeppelin play this live in 1972. That's 50 years, half a century, ago. It was on their latest album at the time. They opened with Rock 'n' Roll, a hell of a show. I was 16, and bunked off school to buy tickets.
Top of my head in the future you have to blast it 😊
I'm a new subscriber, because I saw the Led Zeppelin thumbnail, and I watched the first 2 reactions. it gives me hope knowing that there are still young people appreciating and learning about where the foundations of ROCK really were laid.this is truly the blueprint for pretty much everything that came after. Rock On
you did a awesome job, describing the the Intricate sounds that make up song from years gone by. Glad to enjoy old folks music LOL..Great 🎶 music sweet memories and a little sad. Good job ✌️
You're experiencing IMO the greatest rock band ever assembled. I remember listening to them when they first come out. They put out one awesome album after the other.
At 55, Led Zeppelin still never gets old ! This is "crank it up" music ! ❤️ P.s. you did a great job !
Long live Led Zeppelin,the greatest rock band ever,no question.
This was music then. It was AWESOME. Many songs since then have been great as well. I love it all.
Whenever I watch one of these raw reactions it reminds me of how great some of these songs were. This one of course has actually made me get chills without even listening to the lyrics but just the sound of his voice. They made the best choice to not go on as LZ as you can hear in this song that the drumming really drove the changes and emotions. His work was masterful throughout.
It was a pleasure watching you enjoyed this song. Yes the lead guitarist, Jimmy Page was a prodigy since the Age 3. Yes this is rock it will take you around the corner pound you hard and leave you wondering. Anyway, it was a pleasure watching you enjoy this song for the first time. Like I said , this is Rock welcome home
Hi Alivia! You did an excellent job! I'm so happy you enjoyed this song; it is a classic. Actually, those aren't flutes at the beginning, they're recorders played by John Paul Jones. The dynamics are outstanding how it builds layers of tempo changes. The imagery meaning is vague; a perfect opportunity for the listener to ascribe their own meaning. It is definitely a masterpiece.
@Henrietta Skolnick Well I have heard everything about what the meaning is about this song . Some of it is allegedly that this is occultish and comes from Jimmy Page’s obsession . Yes I know about the backwards thin but I never heard it . Anyway I think Stairway to Heaven has everything in it. Stream of consciousness but surrealism in it mixed in with British Isles mysticism is part of it . Yet I think it is also concrete in that the female character is obsessed with riches , materialism , social climbing and once she attains it she discovers that it isn’t as gratifying as she thought it would be .
Recorders, yes. He (JPJ) used Melotron to get this sound live.
Watching you hear this for the first time reminds of how I felt the first I heard it, too, some 50 years ago. I'm so grateful that young people like you can listen to this and appreciate it the way us older-folk have for so long. Welcome to the REAL world of ROCK.
It’s a masterpiece like a Monet or Beethoven or the pyramids. Infused with bits of Esoteric genius. And just plain lovely. Thank you for this reaction Miss Alivia. 👍
I absolutely loved your video! I so enjoy that so many young people love the music we experienced decades ago. Led Zepplins music? They are all masterpieces. I am 73; and I was your age when I was experiencing this wonderful era in San Francisco! I’m so glad I was able to do that. There was so much freedom and joy in everything we did back then,,, I spent time on Hippy Hill many times listening to the best bands of the time playing free; and just loving being young, free, happy; and at other times joining in on the protests against he Vietnamese war and cleaning up the beaches. I wish I could take you time traveling back to years ago. Led Zepplin? Oh my! The best of the best; and I saw him in concerts whenever I could. Love❤
You did a GREAT job, Alivia! And you noticed the build-up as they added instruments, upped the tempo and then increased the vocals. Treat yourself to the cover of it by the band Heart. They did it at the Kennedy Center Honors as Led Zep was being honored and as they watched from the balcony. I never thought any band could do an acceptable Cover, but Heart did. (I love them too.)
My granddaughter's favorite band is Zeppelin
Nothing better on a saturday morning than to see a bright young soul experience some Zep. Cheers :)
As the tune began it's crescendo seeing your responses brought me to tears. It's refreshing to see someone of your generation show true appreciation for great music. As a musician, singer, songwriter my entire life, now at 72...this was "My" music! My only question is...how the hell have you never heard this song before now? Only ONE word describes this song...Immortal! Every generation has what they consider "Their" music. And for the most part...every generation believes "Their" music is the best! Sadly...short of maybe a handful of songs...nothing recorded after 1980 will be remembered or stand any test of time.
For someone hearing this song for the for the first time, your insight into the instrumentation and the structure was incredible. You recognized the switch from acoustic to electric guitars, and the strong base melody. You played the fanfare before the guitar solo twice (one of my favorite parts) and appreciated the whole of the song for its beauty. Exceptional work.
…and it never gets old. I’m 51 🤘🏼
What a great reaction video, I envy you hearing this song for the first time and Judging by how you reacted you’ll hear it many more times as have several million people. This song is a timeless classic and should be shared by all. I really liked how sensitive you were to all the transitions, the lyrics and the build up to the finale. ✌️
Best reaction I have seen in a loooong time!! WTG Alivia. 😄
This song is a masterpiece… up there with Sympathy For The Devil… Up there with Layla… almost as up there as John Lennon’s In My Life…
I have a Stairway to heaven poster on my wall in my room, my parents lived in the best decade for music
Imagine hearing this for the first time again! Great reaction!
World's greatest rock n roll band!hands down!there will never be another!a phenomenon of the late 60s thru the 70s!I'm lucky to have seen them live in 1977!😊
I am so happy to see young people enjoying the TIMELESS music of the 70's. I saw Led Zeppelin in concert 2 times and heard this song for the first time live. Imagine being there!!!
Wow! 🤩
Alivia you are a natural at this. You are listening to sacred sound waves. Stay well.
I first heard this song 50 years ago. It made an impression - on me and the rest of the world - at that time.
It was so outrageously different, and not just because it was "too long" to be played on the radio (seconds shy of a full 11 minutes). Are you kidding me? Fashions and tastes have wandered in the last 50 years (do say?) but "Stairway to Heaven" has maintained a level of popularity that has been the envy of those who were there at the time, there in the intervening years and now no longer there. The introduction is so iconic that almost every person who has picked up a guitar since 1971 has wanted to learn how to play it. There are stories (possibly apocryphal) that some music shops that sell acoustic guitars have put up signs forbidding the playing of the intro to "Stairway to Heaven".
In addition, many versions have been recorded (not just by Led Zeppelin, but I will not deal with versions by other bands). LZ have recorded live versions and, I am sorry to say, not all of them give me the the joy that the original recording does. It has been a while and I am grateful that it was your starting point.
I have heard a live version that they performed to a small audience in a BBC theatre. This performance was before the LP that included "Stairway to Heaven" was released. This version is remarkable because the introduction is not drowned out by the audience reaction - because they had never heard it before! ("Huh? What's this?")
So my enjoyment of your reaction is enhanced because it is the reaction of someone about the same age as I was in 1971, hearing LZ 4 for the first time. Thank you very much. Great, innit?
Not just a song. Stairway to heaven is an experience!
That song is so powerful, I had graduated from UNC and hadn't started graduate school when it came out on the radio, It was so popular back then and still, to this day, still gives me the chills as I listen to it, It brings back so many memories and is really touching to see the youth enjoy the music of my youth, Thank you for doing a reaction to a real classic,
I was a kid in the early 70s but I can still remember my Sister having the sheet music so she could play this on the piano.
The best cover of Stairway To Heaven is by Ann & Nancy Wilson from Heart @ the event to award Obama's Medal of Honor to Zepplin. It's worth a listen with the full choir and orchestra. Ann in her 60's still nails the vocals
Here! Here! Huzzah!
The recipients of the awards are chosen & presented by the J.F.K. Center for the Reforming Arts trustees. The incumbent POTUS has nothing to do w/ it. Congressional Medals of Honor are bestowed on those individuals deemed to have exhibited " Valor above and beyond the call of duty" in service to the country. ( Just in case you weren't kidding about the Obama thing)
@@teddtarr It was in his term I thought. I think 2013
It was at the 2012 edition of the annual Kennedy Center Honors event in Washington DC. The honorees are selected by the board of the Kennedy Center, not the President. However the POTUS usually attends the gala performance event. Trump is the only president to have never attended during his term in office.
I actually like that version better than LZ's live version. 😬 Call me a heretic, but hey.
Really great reaction, Alivia! The thing about a song like _Stairway_ is, it's got someplace to go, and it takes you there! When Jimmy Page composed the arrangement, that building arc was the first thing he knew he wanted, slow and melodic in the beginning, to hard rockin' in the end! When you listen to it, there's a reason why you feel as if you've been on a journey: Because you have!
They were originally called The New Yardbirds, after Page's prior group - The Yardbirds - fell apart. At one of their first shows playing music they'd written themselves, Robert Plant was said to look out at the subdued demeanor of the European audience before the show started. Assuming it meant a cool reception to the music, he said "this will go over like a lead zeppelin."
Now, it looks funny in writing because the word "lead" has different meanings and pronunciations. But Plant said lead referring to the metal. In other words, it would "go over" like a zeppelin which couldn't fly at all. But when most people read the phrase "Lead Zeppelin," they assume the more common pronunciation meaning the zeppelin which is winning the zeppelin race, or the zeppelin which the other zeppelins follow.
That show turned out to be a crushing success, so they decided to adopt Robert's offhand phrase as their new name. But they wanted to avoid the misunderstanding from the linguistic ambiguity and keep the correct pronunciation. So they dropped the "a" from "lead," called themselves Led Zeppelin, and decorated their first album cover with a real photograph of an actual zeppelin catastrophe.
I love watching people peel back the layers of this song for the first time. I remember my own first, I just wish I was around when it was released because it must have been so much more breathtaking then. This, When The Levee Breaks, Hendrix - All Along The Watchtower and Queen - Bohemian Rhapsody are 4 cornerstone songs of this era that nobody has any business not loving.
i was in high school, we ended every school dance that year with this song, it was completely awesome and an amazing way to end the night
@@Kate98755 now I'm trying to figure out which character from Dazed and Confused you are!
That ‘flute’ is actually a recorder like we all played in school. How cool is that
Great job Olivia!😃 filling in for Silas, he'll be proud!, ( or jealous ) glad you enjoyed the song. 🎶This song can have many meanings, depending on your perspective, my favorite line is, "When all are one and one is all", it jibes with the spiritual concept of "Oneness". 🙏 Silas says you like guitar, 🎸 you might want give Robin Trower "Too Rolling Stoned" a try, I think you'll like it. Thank you! Peace! ☮
I watched a documentary of Zeppelin and Plant didn't care much for the song, but it's sound became rock history. When asked what the song was about he replied "it had no meaning at all". They just put some lyrics together and there you have it.
@@johnouimette1422 LOL!,🤣 so true!, I think I saw the same documentary. I also read an interview back in the late 70's where Plant stated "I hate that song" and when pressed for the meaning he snapped at the reporter saying, "it means whatever you want it to mean". 😤 Thanks for the reply! Peace! ☮
Truly an anthem of my generation.
Once you go down the Zep rabbit hole there is no going back. I can't wait to see the reactions you two will have from some other old rock and roll bands. Pink Floyd, Rush, etc.
STILL HERE. Since 1978. Still in the Rabbit Hole......
Yes RUSH !
Whoo! indeed kid! Keep listening!
I really envy you for hearing Stairway for the first time, I bought the album when it was first released and Stairway was a revelation, as was the whole album. I have no idea how many times I've listened to it since, but it's appeal never diminishes. Zepp for me are the greatest rock band ever, just so many great albums.
You don't need ANYONE!!! Do it at your own and i will follow you.
I see, you did something like this... I'm on!
The wind instruments at the start are called Recorders, and played by John Paul Jones (usually he played bass and keyboards) these have a nice low wooden tone, so it's likely a Tenor and a Bass Recorder overdubbed in harmony. (Cheaper plastic ones were very common first instruments for teaching music at school, and came in a range of sizes, the most common being a Descant Recorder). Live John Paul Jones played the parts on a keyboard, initially a Mellotron (an unreliable and cumbersome instrument that incorporated short magnetic tape loops which had to rewind after playing each note, which meant the length of each note was pretty limited) then, as technology progressed in the mid - 70's, he used the more reliable Yamaha synthesizers to perform this classic.
Recorder, how we loathed that instrument in primary school.
Well played has a nice sound( but we couldn't)
I've seen reactions to this song dozens of times. This is the one I enjoyed the most.
Great job girl.
I really enjoyed watching your reaction.
Imagine being 15 years old when this song came out.
Kicking back enjoying a little weed and other things. Lol 😂😆.
And just tripping on this whole album.
For many years, well I guess still today.
LZ was my favorite band.
I seen them twice in concert.
In 1973 and 1975.
Cost me 9 bucks a ticket.
They were great both times.
Anyway thanks.
71, still rock out to it and others
Was voted #1 rock and roll song for decades
Great crescendo!
I remember that the only real question was ,what song will be #2
@@billn7183 #2 could be debated for centuries. #1 will ALWAYS be Stairway to Heaven.
@@josephclark4999 There is no close #2. Pink Floyd is my favorite band ever, but Stairway is the best song ever recorded.
Your reaction to this song reminds me of the first time I heard it as a 12 year old in 1973. It brought back a lot of memories. I'm glad you enjoyed it and you're sharing it with others in your generation. It is truly a magical song and I have listened to it so many times in the last 50 years that I can't count. Thank you, Alivia!
Considering the current situation with music this must sound very refreshing
Led Zeppelin 4 was released today November 8th 1971 so this song is now 51 years old today and I’m 54 just to give you some perspective! Enjoy!
Also this will sound trivial to some but at 3:24 On here the full sound of Jimmy’s guitar and John Paul’s recorders and bass it reminds me of being baptized in the warm water of the church ⛪️ baptismal pool! It takes my breath away!
Alivia...You handled this "Masterpiece" with profession.
As others have said, this is indeed one of the OG rock anthems of all time; great choice, and I enjoyed watching you warm to it as it builds. "To be a rock, and not to roll"
Now that you've heard this version, you might want to look up the night this musical era-defining song was performed at the Kennedy Center. In 2012 the three surviving members of Led Zeppelin were inducted as recipients of the Kennedy Center Honors. As a tribute, members of the band Heart, together with the son of the band's deceased fourth member John Bonham sitting in for his father on drums, and a host of other talented musicians gave a thunderous rendition of Stairway in front of the three band-members themselves. Quite an emotional performance. Standing ovation.
He Alivia, great 'take over', I love your reaction to this classic. The Flute sounds are made by John Paul Jones playing multiple recorders and layering them to sound like a flute, but live he uses a synthesiser to get the same sound. For when Silas is back you should both listen the the live version of this from Madison Square Gardens in 1973 it is so good. Keep up the great work, maybe rename the channel Alivia reacts, whilst he's gone or at least try to sneak in a cheeky A&S Reacts name change.
There’s a reason this is the most requested song in music history. That’s a fact.
It's such a treat to see the first reaction to people who have not heard "the classics" and see them enjoying them