There’s Nothing More Heavenly With Dolly Parton’s Rendition of “Stairway to Heaven”

While Dolly Parton may be a country artist at heart, she has actually dipped her toe into the rock genre. In 2002, she surprised her fans when she closed her album, Halos & Horns, with an incredible cover of Led Zeppelin’s iconic hit, “Stairway To Heaven.”

Parton said she seems like “walking on sacred ground” recording the song, knowing that it’s a fan-favorite, classic rock. She even admitted to being feeling “scared to death” when she sent her rendition to songwriters, Led Zeppelin members Robert Plant and Jimmy Page – but being legendary that she is, Plant and Page found themselves impressed. Most especially Plant, who had always thought of “Stairway To Heaven” as a spiritual song, and he can’t help but feel thrilled that Parton’s team used a choir on it as he once thought of it too!

“If they like it, that’s most important to me. But I do hope the public will accept it too. I even hope they love it,” the country icon said. Well, there’s no doubt about that – especially that she made the fan-favorite, classic rock her own by adding “a few little-ad-libbed lines” into the song.

Indeed, It Caught The Public Listener’s Attention

Just like most of Dolly Parton songs, country music fans welcomed her rendition of “Stairway To Heaven” wholeheartedly. It helped the album peak at No. 4 on Billboard’s Top Country Albums chart. It even earned positive reviews from music critics, calling it “a touching and worthy remake.”

“Stairway To Heaven” was released as a single in 1971 by the rock band Led Zeppelin. It has since been widely regarded as one of the greatest rock songs of all time.

Truly, she’s a legendary artist in any genre. You can watch Dolly Parton‘s performance of “Stairway to Heaven” during her Live and Well concert special in 2002.