Stairway To Heaven Song Added To National Recording Registry

Led Zeppelin (Instagram @ledzeppelin)

JAKARTA - The classic song Led Zeppelin, Sairway To Heaven is one of the new songs added to the list by the Library Of Congress.

On Wednesday, Congressmen Carla Hayden mentioned 25 recordings on the list "as a time-long worth of audio treasure that is preserved based on cultural, historical, or aesthetic interests in the nation's voice heritage recording."

The description included with the entry of the National Recording Registry for the Stairway To Heaven reads: "Silirway To Heaven's closeness can obscure the fact that it is a carefully created song. Jimmy Page, guitarist and producer of Led Zeppelin, is responsible for most of the structure and nuances of the song.

"At the beginning of his career as a studio musician, Page has learned that one of the main rules for studio work is maintaining a fixed tempo and restraining the desire to accelerate in any way. Ironically, the Stairway To Heaven breaks this rule for expert effects, as it gradually increases speed, while adding instruments one by one.

"First, we heard an acoustic guitar, immediately the recorder came in, and, as the sound expanded, we heard vocals, 12 guitar strings, and bass. Amazingly, the drums didn't come in for half of the eight-minute song. When gaining momentum, the acoustic instruments disappeared and we found ourselves listening to the fully electric hard-rock bassist John Paul Jones donated the recording melody, giving a mid-century feel to the early steps of the song.

"He and drummer John Bonham's rhythm activity build to a large level and boom as usual. Few can imitate Robert Plant's singing, and the lyrics, most of which were written during band rehearsals, have attracted many fans, as well as being shown to be open to a number of confusing interpretations. Finally, Page recorded one of the most delicious solos in rock music."

"National Recording Registry preserves our history through voice recordings and reflects the cultural diversity of our nation," said Hayden.

National library is proud to help ensure this record is conserved for future generations, and we welcome public input on what song, speech, podcast, or voice recordings we must maintain next. We received more than 1,100 public nominations this year for footage to be added to the registries."

The footage selected for the National Recording Registry brings the number of titles in the registries to 625, representing a fraction of the national library's voice recording collection totaling nearly four million items.

The latest options mentioned are in the range of registries from 1908 to 2012. Starting from the first recording of mariachi music and early blues sound to radio journalism leading to World War II, and iconic sounds from pop, country, rock, R&B, jazz, rap, and classical music.