Heart have spoken about their iconic cover of Led Zeppelin's Stairway To Heaven. Appearing on the Howard Stern Show on SiriusXM, Ann and Nancy Wilson looked back on the performance, which took place in December 2012, when Zeppelin received the Kennedy Center Honors from then-US President Barack Obama.
During the performance, which was witnessed by surviving Zeppelin members Robert Plant, Jimmy Page and John Paul Jones, Plant's eyes famously appeared to be tearing up.
“[Plant was] emotional for a bunch of reasons,” says Ann Wilson, before speculating that the emotion was prompted by Jason Bonham presence behind the drum kit. “[Jason] was probably just a little kid running around at their band practice when they were writing Stairway to Heaven.”
"It had to be the real deal, like we do,” Nancy says, recalling the moment the band took the stage: “We looked at each other and took a very deep breath. [It was] like a Zen gathering of yourself, centring and focusing. You just can’t screw that up."
“You have to be absolutely present in the moment,” Ann adds.
Heart also covered Led Zeppelin's Going To California on the show, as well as performing their own Magic Man, originally released in 1975 on their debut album, Dreamboat Annie. Both videos are below.
Earlier this week, Heart played Total Eclipse Of The Heart on a New York rooftop with Jimmy Fallon during the actual total eclipse. In January, Heart revealed their tour schedule for 2024, with shows lined up across North America, the UK and Europe. Full dates below.
Heart: Royal Flush tour 2024
Apr 20: Greenville Bon Secours Wellness Arena, SC
Apr 22: Savannah Enmarket Arena, GA
Apr 25: Hollywood Hard Rock Live, FL
Apr 26: Tampa Amalie Arena, FL
May 01: San Antonio Frost Bank Center, TX
May 03: Thackerville Lucas Oil Live at WinStar World Casino and Resort, OK
May 04: Tulsa BOK Center, OK
May 07: Indianapolis Gainbridge Fieldhouse, IN
May 10: Atlanta State Farm Arena GA
May 11: Charlotte Spectrum Center, NC
May 13: Baltimore CFG Bank Arena, MD
May 15: Columbus Schottenstein Center, OH
May 17: Rosemont Allstate Arena, IL
May 18: Louisville KFC Yum! Center, KY
May 21: Detroit Little Caesars Arena, MI
May 23: Pittsburgh PPG Paints Arena, PA
May 24: Atlantic City Hard Rock Live, NJ
Jun 20: Antwerp Graspop Metal Meeting, Belgium^
Jun 22: Berlin UberEats Music Hall, Germany
Jun 24: Stockholm Grona Lund, Sweden
Jun 25: Helsinki Ice Hall, Finland
Jun 27: Oslo Tons of Rock Festival, Norway^
Jun 30: Clisson Hellfest, France^
Jul 01: London O2 Arena, UK
Jul 03: Birmingham Utilita Arena, UK
Jul 05: Nottingham Motorpoint Arena, UK
Jul 06: Manchester AO Arena, UK
Jul 08: Leeds First Direct Arena, UK
Jul 09: Glasgow OVO Hydro, UK
Jul 11: Esch-Sur-Alzette Rock Hall, Luxembourg
Jul 12: Weert Bospop Festival, Netherlands^
^ = festival show
