Post #20 (Poll Winner: Fovorite Epic Rock Song from the 70's)
In 1965, Bob Dylan released "Like a Rolling Stone" as a single. It was a #2 billboard hit, and the first song longer than 6 minutes to reach that level of the top 40 chart. It was a true turning point for rock music. It broke down the door for recording artists, and made the record industry realize that song length really wasn't as big a deal as previously believed. Long songs became more common over the next few years, and by the time the 70's were in full swing, it seemed almost every big-name rock band had an 'epic' rock-song hit.
The most memorable of these long rock songs has to be Led Zeppelin's "Stairway to Heaven". I've talked with some people from my parents' generation about this song, and without fail, they say how it dominated the airwaves seemingly forever. The song has permanently attached itself to the early 70's era, and is one of the most intricate, and expertly crafted hard-rock songs of all-time.
It's a cultural phenomenon within itself. Remember the scene from the movie Wayne's World, where the guitar-shop owner stopped Wayne from playing the opening notes of "Stairway" because a sign in the store declared: "No Stairway to Heaven"? Don't forget my mentioning the compilation CD, "Stairways to Heaven" from my previous Led Zep post: a collection of different interpretations of the classic song.
I'll leave you with this quote that closes the song:
"And as we wind on down the road
Our shadows taller than our soul
There walks a lady we all know
Who shines white light and wants to show
How everything still turns to gold
And if you listen very hard
The tune will come to you at last
When all are one and one is all
To be a rock and not to roll."
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