Here’s what Plant had to say about the song in 1988:
“I'd break out in hives if I had to sing Stairway to Heaven in every show. I wrote those lyrics and found that song to be of some importance and consequence in 1971, but 17 years later, I don't know. It's just not for me. I sang it at the Atlantic Records show because I'm an old softie and it was my way of saying thank you to Atlantic because I've been with them for 20 years. But no more of "Stairway to Heaven" for me”
In 2002, Plant pledged a donation to a radio station that refused to play the song he dubs “that bloody wedding song.”
Some believe that Plants disdain for the song is the main reason the band did not reunite for decades. He has performed the song a few times since announcing his dislike for it, though. One of those times, at a one-off concert in London, Plant allegedly insisted that it appear in the middle of the set, not as a finale; and that Page “restrain himself from turning the song into an even more epic solo-filled noodle.”
