Ann Wilson looked back on her iconic performance of Led Zeppelin’s “Stairway to Heaven” with Nancy Wilson at the 35th Kennedy Center Honors in a new interview.
The Kennedy Center Honors usually takes place in December. Of course, this year’s ceremony has been postponed for obvious reasons. However, Vulture took it upon themselves to reach out to Ann Wilson and get some insights on the legendary cover, which also featured Jason Bonham on drums.
“I actually felt every second of it as a real, not to overstate it, but pretty damn close to orgasmic in terms of bliss,” said Ann reflecting on being in the moment of the performance. “I felt wide awake and alive, and I felt the emotional content of the song all the way down to the ground. It was really authentic. The emotions involved in performing that were wide awake and in the moment.”
Considering just how perfect the performance was, you’d think there was a ton of rehearsals for it, but Ann said she and Nancy had about “30 or 45 minutes, not even a full hour” of rehearsal with the accompanying choir the day before the event.
Besides just the grandness of it all, the reactions from Robert Plant, Jimmy Page and John Paul Jones, who were being honored that evening, during the performance also add to its legend. While Ann had to wait to see Zeppelin’s reactions during the performance, she said she was able to hear from the band afterwards.
“After the show there was a dinner for all of us, and all of the people who performed were there with the honorees,” said Ann. “Robert, Jimmy, and John Paul were having dinner next to us and Robert said to me, ‘I usually hate it when people try to cover ‘Stairway to Heaven.’ But I like your version.’ That meant so much to me, because it could’ve gone any way, you know? I’ve worked with John Paul before, and he’s such a gentleman. He was also friendly and open about it, as was Jimmy. Listen, Robert and Jimmy are the guardians of the Zeppelin gate. You really want approval from them.”
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Jimmy Page, Robert Plant and John Paul Jones at the Kennedy Center Opera House, and Ann and Nancy Wilson onstage (Image credit: Riccardo S. Savi/CBS Photo Archive/Getty Images)
On December 2, 2012, Led Zeppelin received the Kennedy Center Honors from President Barack Obama.
It's an award bestowed upon those considered to have contributed greatly to American culture, with other recipients including Ella Fitzgerald, Leonard Bernstein, Frank Sinatra, Ray Charles, Sammy Davis Jr., Dizzy Gillespie, Johnny Cash, Carole King and Joni Mitchell. In a world where awards are handed out like lollipops, The Kennedy Center Honors are a big deal.
Every December, pandemics permitting, the awards climax with a gala event at the Kennedy Center Opera House in Washington, D.C., and in 2012 the show included an emotional performance of Stairway To Heaven by Heart’s Ann and Nancy Wilson, with Jason Bonham on drums.
Did we say emotional? It's almost startlingly so. It's the looks the surviving members of Led Zeppelin give each other during the performance. It's Robert Plant's eyes watering as he watches Ann Wilson singing a song he famously has a difficult relationship with. It's the gospel choir paying tribute to John Bonham in the most unexpected way. It's Jason Bonham lifting his eyes towards the heavens as the song climaxes. It's extraordinary.
"I knew we did a lot of damage to people's brains and ear drums, and I knew we wrote some great songs, but it was a very humbling experience," Plant told LA Weekly. "When I saw Heart perform Stairway To Heaven, I just couldn't believe that song had anything to do with this 64-year old man that was sitting next to John Paul Jones. I thought to myself, 'This is me... How did this happen?'"
Nancy Wilson: “Oh my god, no pressure, right?! [laughs] Jimmy, Robert, John Paul, a few dignitaries, the President, the First Lady. Good Lordy! It was one ofthose moments where your professionalism has to be there. You have to have the most focus of your life. Before we went out there, I had to get my fingers really warmed up. It was winter, and it was cold and drafty backstage. You can’t play Stairway to Heaven with cold fingers in front of Jimmy Page!
“When we walked out, Ann and I gave each other a really long look and took a deep breath. I had to start all by my little old self. I thought: ‘Okay, I’ve played this song all my life and I know how it goes.’ Of course, my knees were shaking. But once Ann started singing, I thought: ‘We’re in!’ [laughs].
“We didn’t see the broadcast until a few weeks later and couldn’t see what was going on in the balcony. I think a lot of the emotion between the guys was not just about the song itself, but also us having Jason Bonham on the drums. He was the little kid who grew up around Led Zeppelin’s practice rooms. And he played with Heart for quite a while. Then the reveal of the smaller choir, the larger choir, then the orchestra. It was really well put together. If anybody deserved a tribute like that, it’s Led Zeppelin.
“At the dinner afterward, each member came up to us. Plant was like: ‘Oh my god, I’ve grown to hate that song so much because everybody murders it so badly. But you guys did great!’ Then Page told me: ‘You played that so well.’ And I just kind of swooned. What a night.”
Online Editor at Louder/Classic Rock magazinesince 2014. 36 years in music industry, online for 23. Also bylines for: Metal Hammer, Prog Magazine, The Word Magazine, The Guardian, The New Statesman, Saga, Music365. Former Head of Music at Xfm Radio, A&R at Fiction Records, early blogger, ex-roadie, published author. Once appeared in a Cure video dressed as a cowboy, and thinks any situation can be improved by the introduction of cats. Favourite Serbian trumpeter: Dejan Petrović.