Some performances hit harder than others. And at the 2012 Kennedy Center Honors, something extraordinary happened. Ann and Nancy Wilson of Heart stepped onto the stage with Jason Bonham, son of the late Led Zeppelin drummer John Bonham, and delivered a rendition of “Stairway to Heaven” that left not just the crowd but the honorees visibly moved.
Robert Plant, seated in the balcony with Jimmy Page and John Paul Jones, wiped away tears as the performance soared—anchored by Ann’s powerful voice, Nancy’s reverent acoustic work, and a gospel choir that transformed the stage into something sacred. More than just a cover, this was a tribute full of love, history, and musical grandeur.
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A Song That Carried Its Own Weight
Originally released in 1971, “Stairway to Heaven” was never just another track. It began as an intimate acoustic tune and built into an electric, emotional crescendo—an eight-minute journey that became one of the most iconic rock songs of all time. The song grew larger than the band itself, sometimes to their discomfort.
Plant once admitted, “I’ve grown to hate that song so much because everybody murders it so badly. But you guys did great!” That’s what he told Ann Wilson after the Kennedy Center tribute. A song he often felt estranged from suddenly felt personal again.
Page, meanwhile, reportedly turned to Nancy Wilson afterward and said, “You played that so well.” In her words, “I just kind of swooned.”
‘No Pressure, Right?’
Nancy Wilson remembered the tension leading up to the performance. “Oh my God, no pressure, right?! Jimmy, Robert, John Paul, a few dignitaries, the President, the First Lady. Good Lordy!”
The sisters had rehearsed meticulously, but nothing could fully prepare them for the moment. “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 they stepped on stage, they shared a long look. Nancy recalled, “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!’”
As the song unfolded, so did the emotion. A smaller choir appeared, then a larger one, and finally a full orchestra. Jason Bonham lifted his eyes to the ceiling as the song reached its peak. Robert Plant stared ahead, his expression full of emotion. “It was one of those moments where your professionalism has to be there,” Nancy said. “You have to have the most focus of your life.”
A Tribute 50 Years in the Making
For Led Zeppelin, that night was about more than nostalgia. It was a reminder of what “Stairway to Heaven” meant, and what it had become.
Reflecting on the tribute, Robert Plant shared, “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… I thought to myself, ‘This is me… How did this happen?’”
In a later interview with Vulture, Plant expanded on how disconnected he had felt from the song over the years. “It had its own impetus. I watched it go. It was like a beautiful feather, balloon, or bubble. Something out of a clay pipe that had been blown with soap.”
That night, however, watching Heart and Bonham breathe new life into it, Plant felt something shift: “It came upon me and stripped away all the years of being a part of all that. It just rubbed it right back to the bone… It’s just a magnificent performance to watch and it kills me every time.”
A New Light on an Old Song
The Kennedy Center Honors, hosted in the presence of President Obama, was already a high-stakes event. But what made this moment stand out was its sincerity. It wasn’t about flash. It was about understanding the soul of a song and delivering it with grace.
Ann Wilson reflected on how surreal the moment felt once they walked offstage: “We were like, ‘What just happened?’ We weren’t nervous when we were doing it—but afterwards our nervous system came back to life and it all kicked in.”
More than a performance, it was a dialogue between generations of musicians. Between the past and the present. Between a band who once defined a genre and the artists who inherited their legacy with reverence.
For Heart, it was a career-defining tribute. For Led Zeppelin, it was a reminder of their impact. And for everyone watching, it was a stairway we all climbed together—note by note.
