Is Heart's tribute to Led Zeppelin the greatest cover ever? Does it rank in your Top 10? Top 5?
Heart did their cover of Led Zeppelin's Stairway to Heaven live at the Kennedy Center with many celebrities in attendance, Barack and Michelle Obama, and most importantly, Led Zeppelin themselves. The pressure must have been immense for Ann and Nancy Wilson to nail this perfect with so many big names watching.
Nancy starts with an acoustic version of the opening which in itself is a crazy amount of pressure. There is no place to hide if mistakes are made on an acoustic, every note has to be hit perfectly. The way that Heart builds from that acoustic opening to a full band sound including orchestra and choir for the climax of the song had Robert Plant basically in tears, he looked like he was weeping.
At the end, Heart gets a standing ovation including the members of Led Zeppelin which is the highest praise they could ever have for the cover itself. Just an amazing performance and Ann Wilson is ridiculous. People always talk about who is the best frontman of a band but maybe we should include a frontwoman on that list. Ann Wilson has the kind of range where she can pull off about anything and this cover is no exception. She is superb.
If you've never seen it I highly recommend watching Heart's tribute to Led Zeppelin live at the Kennedy Center.