# Is Led Zeppelin's "Stairway To Heaven" really a popular wedding song? If so... why? **URL:** \ **Category:** Cafe Society\ **Created:** [October 3, 2016, 11:28pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-led-zeppelins-stairway-to-heaven-really-a-popular-wedding-song-if-so-why/767604 "2016-10-03T23:28:29Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 1
**Author:** ![astro](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/9dc877/32.png) [@astro](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/astro)\ **Post date:** [October 3, 2016, 11:28pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-led-zeppelins-stairway-to-heaven-really-a-popular-wedding-song-if-so-why/767604/1 "2016-10-03T23:28:29Z")
[Per this article](http://www.vanityfair.com/culture/2016/09/bruce-springsteen-cover-story)apparently the singer of that song Robert Plant now refers to their iconic song ["Stairway To Heaven"](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Stairway_to_Heaven)as “that wedding song”. Is this really played at weddings? And why? It really doesn’t seem in step with a wedding celebration. > [@](#): > > It is not uncommon for an artist to grow wary of a signature song—Robert Plant has referred to “Stairway to Heaven” as “that wedding song,” and Frank Sinatra called “Strangers in the Night” a “piece of shit”—but Springsteen has never tired of “Born to Run,” which he wrote at age 24 in a small rental cottage in West Long Branch, New Jersey. Expressly conceived as an important work, it took him six months to piece together all of its elements, from the twangy, Duane Eddy-inspired guitar figure with which it announces itself, to its “tramps like us” refrain, to its appropriations of imagery from the B movies that Springsteen adored as a kid, pulpy road pictures like Gun Crazy, with John Dall and Peggy Cummins. ---
**Author:** ![WOOKINPANUB](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/wookinpanub/32/132_2.png) [@WOOKINPANUB](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/WOOKINPANUB)\ **Post date:** [October 4, 2016, 12:04am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-led-zeppelins-stairway-to-heaven-really-a-popular-wedding-song-if-so-why/767604/2 "2016-10-04T00:04:19Z")
Thematically, I can’t think of a less appropriate wedding song, so I’m thinking it would be more of a nostalgic “this is the song that played when we met and/or had our best times” kind of thing. It has meaning for the couple emotionally, regardless of the lyrics . song meaning. What an awkward dance that would be. ---
**Author:** ![Channing\_Idaho\_Banks](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/channing_idaho_banks/32/250_2.png) [@Channing\_Idaho\_Banks](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Channing_Idaho_Banks)\ **Post date:** [October 4, 2016, 12:11am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-led-zeppelins-stairway-to-heaven-really-a-popular-wedding-song-if-so-why/767604/3 "2016-10-04T00:11:43Z")
I’m guessing that this is for weddings where they didn’t hire a band. ---
**Author:** ![cochrane](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/cochrane/32/10441_2.png) [@cochrane](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/cochrane)\ **Post date:** [October 4, 2016, 12:39am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-led-zeppelins-stairway-to-heaven-really-a-popular-wedding-song-if-so-why/767604/4 "2016-10-04T00:39:10Z")
I hear they played it at Jason Bonham’s wedding. 😃 ---
**Author:** ![buddha\_david](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/ee7513/32.png) [@buddha\_david](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/buddha_david)\ **Post date:** [October 4, 2016, 1:10am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-led-zeppelins-stairway-to-heaven-really-a-popular-wedding-song-if-so-why/767604/5 "2016-10-04T01:10:33Z")
> [@WOOKINPANUB](#): > > Thematically, I can’t think of a less appropriate wedding song “Every Breath You Take” Also “Good Riddance (Time of Your Life)”, but that’s more of a graduation song. ---
**Author:** ![Ukulele\_Ike](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/u/df788c/32.png) [@Ukulele\_Ike](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Ukulele_Ike)\ **Post date:** [October 4, 2016, 1:11am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-led-zeppelins-stairway-to-heaven-really-a-popular-wedding-song-if-so-why/767604/6 "2016-10-04T01:11:29Z")
Huh. So Plant and Sinatra are right, and Springsteen is wrong. ---
**Author:** ![Ukulele\_Ike](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/u/df788c/32.png) [@Ukulele\_Ike](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Ukulele_Ike)\ **Post date:** [October 4, 2016, 1:12am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-led-zeppelins-stairway-to-heaven-really-a-popular-wedding-song-if-so-why/767604/7 "2016-10-04T01:12:53Z")
He’s right about _Gun Crazy_, though. Great picture. ---
**Author:** ![Saintly\_Loser](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/saintly_loser/32/4045_2.png) [@Saintly\_Loser](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Saintly_Loser)\ **Post date:** [October 4, 2016, 2:59am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-led-zeppelins-stairway-to-heaven-really-a-popular-wedding-song-if-so-why/767604/8 "2016-10-04T02:59:02Z")
Having played in a wedding band around 1979-1981, yes, yes it was popular. Inexplicably, as far as I’m concerned. ---
**Author:** ![pulykamell](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/pulykamell/32/3166_2.png) [@pulykamell](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/pulykamell)\ **Post date:** [October 4, 2016, 4:10am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-led-zeppelins-stairway-to-heaven-really-a-popular-wedding-song-if-so-why/767604/9 "2016-10-04T04:10:51Z")
I’ve been to over 300 weddings and I do not remember ever hearing it played at a wedding. If it was popular at one time, it isn’t anymore, or at least not in this region, not with my clients (the bulk of whom do end up with a fairly standard wedding playlist. Stairway is not one of those songs. I mean, first of all, who the hell dances to it? At every wedding I’ve been to, the music is there to facilitate dancing.) ---
**Author:** ![installLSC](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/i/54ee81/32.png) [@installLSC](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/installLSC)\ **Post date:** [October 4, 2016, 4:39am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-led-zeppelins-stairway-to-heaven-really-a-popular-wedding-song-if-so-why/767604/10 "2016-10-04T04:39:31Z")
From the context, I’d say it was a joke–Plant’s way of saying it’s as cheesy as the Chicken Dance. I have heard two things about the song: –Was it really a popular dance at proms in the 80s/90s? Never heard it my way, but then again my hometown was heavily Hispanic. –I’ve also hear it was only modestly popular when it came out, and that it took two years to catch on (even on top 40 stations). Does that jibe with people’s memories? ---
**Author:** ![foolsguinea](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/foolsguinea/32/14751_2.png) [@foolsguinea](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/foolsguinea)\ **Post date:** [October 4, 2016, 5:39am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-led-zeppelins-stairway-to-heaven-really-a-popular-wedding-song-if-so-why/767604/11 "2016-10-04T05:39:54Z")
Are there _any_ LZ songs that you would play at a wedding reception, unless the couple were total classic rock dorks and would play Zep only for that reason? ---
**Author:** ![pulykamell](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/pulykamell/32/3166_2.png) [@pulykamell](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/pulykamell)\ **Post date:** [October 4, 2016, 6:18am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-led-zeppelins-stairway-to-heaven-really-a-popular-wedding-song-if-so-why/767604/12 "2016-10-04T06:18:09Z")
> [@foolsguinea](#): > > Are there _any_ LZ songs that you would play at a wedding reception, unless the couple were total classic rock dorks and would play Zep only for that reason? I’m pretty sure I’ve heard “Thank You” at a wedding before. If we venture outside of Zep, Robert Plant and the Honeydripper’s cover of “Sea of Love” I hear fairly commonly but, no, that’s not Zep. ---
**Author:** ![eulalia](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/eulalia/32/457_2.png) [@eulalia](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/eulalia)\ **Post date:** [October 4, 2016, 7:06am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-led-zeppelins-stairway-to-heaven-really-a-popular-wedding-song-if-so-why/767604/13 "2016-10-04T07:06:04Z")
I think Bron-Y-Aur Stomp would be a good one for a wedding, but I’m no DJ. ---
**Author:** ![pulykamell](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/pulykamell/32/3166_2.png) [@pulykamell](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/pulykamell)\ **Post date:** [October 4, 2016, 7:13am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-led-zeppelins-stairway-to-heaven-really-a-popular-wedding-song-if-so-why/767604/14 "2016-10-04T07:13:16Z")
> [@installLSC](#): > > From the context, I’d say it was a joke–Plant’s way of saying it’s as cheesy as the Chicken Dance. That would be my take-away, too. Maybe not necessarily cheesy, but trite and commonplace through overexposure and, thus, like a typical song played at a wedding reception. ---
**Author:** ![kayaker](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/kayaker/32/441_2.png) [@kayaker](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/kayaker)\ **Post date:** [October 4, 2016, 12:02pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-led-zeppelins-stairway-to-heaven-really-a-popular-wedding-song-if-so-why/767604/15 "2016-10-04T12:02:47Z")
**Freebird!!!** ---
**Author:** ![Gus\_Gusterson](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/g/85f322/32.png) [@Gus\_Gusterson](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Gus_Gusterson)\ **Post date:** [October 4, 2016, 1:00pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-led-zeppelins-stairway-to-heaven-really-a-popular-wedding-song-if-so-why/767604/16 "2016-10-04T13:00:08Z")
Stairway was always the last slow dance at the high school dances when I was a kid. I think the main appeal was that it was long so you got to spend a lot of time pressed up against your dance partner. I’ve never heard it at a wedding. ---
**Author:** ![Guest-starring\_Id](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/guest-starring_id/32/21736_2.png) [@Guest-starring\_Id](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Guest-starring_Id)\ **Post date:** [October 4, 2016, 2:34pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-led-zeppelins-stairway-to-heaven-really-a-popular-wedding-song-if-so-why/767604/17 "2016-10-04T14:34:48Z")
_Stairway_? I can see maybe _Four Sticks_ or _The Crunge_, possibly. I’d at least like to see the dancing to _Stairway_’s heavier rock part (last third of song) ---
**Author:** ![Just\_Asking\_Questions](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/j/ba9def/32.png) [@Just\_Asking\_Questions](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Just_Asking_Questions)\ **Post date:** [October 4, 2016, 3:55pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-led-zeppelins-stairway-to-heaven-really-a-popular-wedding-song-if-so-why/767604/18 "2016-10-04T15:55:59Z")
It’s got an inconsistent beat, and you can’t dance to it. I’d give it a 35, Dick. ---
**Author:** ![Oakminster](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/o/77aa72/32.png) [@Oakminster](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Oakminster)\ **Post date:** [October 4, 2016, 4:34pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-led-zeppelins-stairway-to-heaven-really-a-popular-wedding-song-if-so-why/767604/19 "2016-10-04T16:34:51Z")
Three songs–“Freebird”, “Stairway to Heaven” and “Inna-Gadda-Davita” tend to get played when the DJ needs to smoke and/or go to the bathroom… ---
**Author:** ![Johnny\_Ace](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/j/6bbea6/32.png) [@Johnny\_Ace](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Johnny_Ace)\ **Post date:** [October 4, 2016, 5:21pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-led-zeppelins-stairway-to-heaven-really-a-popular-wedding-song-if-so-why/767604/20 "2016-10-04T17:21:28Z")
Surprised no one has mentioned _The Lemon Song_. 😃 And to continue the fruit analogy, _Tangerine_ could fit in. _Babe, I’m Gonna Leave You_ is roight out. [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-led-zeppelins-stairway-to-heaven-really-a-popular-wedding-song-if-so-why/767604.md?page=2)