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Mary J. Blige Covers 'Stairway to Heaven'


Conneyfogle

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Knebby knows more about Led Zeppelin than you've forgotten.

Ah...the appropriate phrase here is "Knebby's forgotten more about Led Zeppelin than you'll ever know," but your anger must have you confused. Great defense of your friend, too. Tantamount to "I know you are, but what am I?" in terms of intellectual brilliance. Well done.

Any truth to the rumors about Robert being so impressed with MJB's versions of STH and WLL that he's planning an entire album of Zep-related duets with her? I believe the partnership is going to be called "The Golden Gods," but haven't been able to confirm yet. Stay tuned.

Love,

Billy

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Ah...the appropriate phrase here is "Knebby's forgotten more about Led Zeppelin than you'll ever know," but your anger must have you confused. Great defense of your friend, too. Tantamount to "I know you are, but what am I?" in terms of intellectual brilliance. Well done.

WTF is your problem? Bored on your own little exclusive forum? Electrophile and I are actually pretty much usually sparring partners here, and to regular visitors would NOT be described as "friends" - however, she has enough gumption mixed with honesty to say what she feels- even if it doesn't meet your criteria. Trot on, Billy.

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Bummer I have to miss it tonight, as I won't be near a tv :( Randy Jackson tweeted about it and he seems very excited; he is a big Zeppelin fan, apparently. I look forward to hearing what you all think and hopefully seeing it later on You Tube. :)

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How is that, exactly?

Zeppelin was totally anti-pop (try to avoid singles, make their music album-orientated, ignore the press, etc.) while Idol is all about pop, singles, press, etc. Idol is all about cheese while there is nothing cheesy about Zeppelin (well maybe those Cadillac commercials).

People are still going to be listening to Zeppelin a hundred years from now. They do not need Idol to help them with this fact. Imo, I hate the idea of them being covered on a corny pop-show. I will admit that Adam Lambert did a decent cover of WLL though ( but I like Tina Turner's funky version in '75 better) Charity or not, I don't like Mary's STH and I don't like it being performed on Idol. To each their own.

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Zeppelin was totally anti-pop (try to avoid singles, make their music album-orientated, ignore the press, etc.) while Idol is all about pop, singles, press, etc. Idol is all about cheese while there is nothing cheesy about Zeppelin (well maybe those Cadillac commercials).

People are still going to be listening to Zeppelin a hundred years from now. They do not need Idol to help them with this fact. Imo, I hate the idea of them being covered on a corny pop-show. I will admit that Adam Lambert did a decent cover of WLL though ( but I like Tina Turner's funky version in '75 better) Charity or not, I don't like Mary's STH and I don't like it being performed on Idol. To each their own.

Hey Wolfman - I may still not agree with your answer at all, but at least you understood the question. And yeah - each his own, and lets each have one now :beer:

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WTF is your problem? Bored on your own little exclusive forum? Electrophile and I are actually pretty much usually sparring partners here, and to regular visitors would NOT be described as "friends" - however, she has enough gumption mixed with honesty to say what she feels- even if it doesn't meet your criteria. Trot on, Billy.

I'm sorry, did someone die and leave you in charge of who stays and who participates here? What's YOUR problem? Why don't YOU take a hike? And take your garbled syntax actually pretty much usually with you. You have zero authority to tell anyone how to behave or what to post here. In other words, get over yourself, please.

And I love Wolfman's "I don't like Mary's STH and I don't like it being performed on Idol." Oh my God, are you serious? Please tell me you're 13. That's the only legitimate excuse for posting something so juvenile.

Between the Brits voting it their favorite rock song and MJB performing it on AI, Stairway to Heaven is all over the media. What a great time to be a (true) Led Zeppelin fan.

Love,

Billy

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I'm sorry, did someone die and leave you in charge of who stays and who participates here? What's YOUR problem? Why don't YOU take a hike? And take your garbled syntax actually pretty much usually with you. You have zero authority to tell anyone how to behave or what to post here. In other words, get over yourself, please.

And I love Wolfman's "I don't like Mary's STH and I don't like it being performed on Idol." Oh my God, are you serious? Please tell me you're 13. That's the only legitimate excuse for posting something so juvenile.

Between the Brits voting it their favorite rock song and MJB performing it on AI, Stairway to Heaven is all over the media. What a great time to be a (true) Led Zeppelin fan.

Love,

Billy

I never pretended to be acting on any authority other than my own Billy - though nice try there to deflect attention. You REALLY need to get over yourself.

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Between the Brits voting it their favorite rock song and MJB performing it on AI, Stairway to Heaven is all over the media. What a great time to be a (true) Led Zeppelin fan.

Gotta agree - Zepp gets media with out even trying to!

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Wow...I think this is officially the first time no one is blaming Robert Plant ;)

Just wait til someone plays Mary J. Blige's version of "Stairway to Heaven" backwards

Count down to American Idol's Gives Back...2 hours and a whole lotta minutes

:3stooges:

I think Mary J. Blige brings out the best in some people

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I was able to see it after all; I think there was some genuine Zeppelin love on the stage. Randy has said he's a huge Zeppelin fan and MaryJ must be too. Great to see Travis Barker playing after his close call too.

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My daughter had American Idol on when Mary J Blige sang Stairway tonight. I tried to be open and listen to it. My son ran for headphones and played the original on his laptop and I wound up doing the same. Mary's version just didn't do it for me.

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Personally i didn't mind that she did WLL , but her going out promoting STH is just pathedic . An R&b singer should be the last person to record that song . Then to perform

it for their album on Oprah , and Idol . The way this is going it makes Zeppelin seem like a pop band .

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I prefer her AI performance than her studio one.

She didn't draw out the last part quite as much as the studio version. It was unfortunate the solo had to be cut short.

Is it wrong for me to find it hilarious that people tend to freak out on such things so trivial?

We do know the whole show was about those African Childrens with their aids right?

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Is it wrong for me to find it hilarious that people tend to freak out on such things so trivial?

No.Stairway has always been a song that's had a life of it's own.It's still off-handed publicity for Led Zeppelin and there'll be others that will attempt the song too....with varying degrees of :slapface:;).
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Hello All!

I am not a MJB fan, but for a cover of STH I thought she did good.

I don't care how many "superstar artist" cover this song...IT WILL ALWAYS be known as a Led Zeppelin ballad.

IMHO , I think it's great that so many people try to cover STH, just goes to show how popular this song is. Even people on this forum have made comments (and it is their right), that they do not like to listen to STH (even from LZ). Some feel it's over played and so on. I will and have always loved this ballad even if I hear it ten thousand times.

There are a few great cover bands as well who I truly believe respect LZ and their music.

LZ ballads will never be thought of as anyone else's but theirs.

Just my thoughts :peace:

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Wow were all still here and the world hasn't ended...I got to check the performance out and it was good...I got the sense that it would have been even better if it wasn't cut short and they could all get into it. I really felt that at the end Mary got a chance to let go and that's always been one of my favorite parts of the song. My heart is always going to be with the original but I give Mary props for doing it her way.

*just wanted to add...My step mom who is a Mary J. Blige fan was watching with me and asked if Mary was trying to change her style and appeal to others-- similar to how Tina Turner had done. I pointed out that the song was a Led Zeppelin cover that appeared on the European version of her new cd and also told her the original singer was Robert Plant the same person I took her to see in Nashville lol

On a side note I got to see Jeff Beck and Joss Stone and kept thinking Jeff was holding back and poor Joss wanted some stage interaction lol

I couldn't find an official video of the Mary J. Blige and the All Star Band performance yet but just for now...

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=bO38-BwA07Y

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Just watched it from Deborah J's link provided:

The musicians can play. This version is just not my cup of tea. I prefer the original.

For those that do like this version, enjoy.

I hope you gave money to Idol Gives Back, too. :)

R B)

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I was a little skeptical when I heard this was being covered by MJB but then I'd feel the same way if any artist was covering this classic. Still, I think it's a good cover, I enjoyed it. I take no offense to the fact that she or any artist would do a LZ song. That just speaks to the quality of the original music. Personally, I hate rap versions of rock (and even pop) music, especially from the 70s - like some of us know what the original sounded like - they can really destroy a good song. But, back to MJB - some parts of it I didn't like, like the end when she keeps repeating STH and instrumentally it doesn't measure up to the original. Needless to say, what makes STH so special can't be replicated by anyone else.

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Thought Mary did a good job and sang it "straight up" with none of the usual R&B "running" vocals. Orianthi I think was amazing on guitar and I wanted to hear more of her. I think it's great current artists are keeping Led Zep current for newer generations. They did say it wouldn't work to totally imitate the original and they wanted to do it their way and I think it was good. Way better than Mary's collaboration with Bono on "One" IMHO. Wonder what Robert would think if he heard it?? The toughest critic of all and rightly so.

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I wonder if any of Zeppelin has heard it yet. I am sure they have "heard of it" but to actually hear it and see it. <_< I would love to see their reaction! Mary did a great job as well as the people who played with her. She could have picked any song in the world but she chose a very special song. I love STH and I always will. Of course nobody will ever top the original. We all know that. I missed American Idol last night because I had to work but I did want to watch it. I never watch American Idol! Thanks for posting the video. :thumbsup: It was great!

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Stairway to Heaven: 'Idol Gives Back' Raises $45 Million

http://www.tonic.com/article/idol-gives-back-raises-15-million-for-charity/

By Sam Brand | Thursday, April 22, 2010 9:33 AM ET

Mary J. Blige, Elton John, Carrie Underwood, Alicia Keys and the Black Eyed Peas perform during Wednesday's charity spectacle.

Barack’s in the house! Okay, not quite. The President and Michelle Obama appeared in a pre-recorded intro to kick off Wednesday night’s very special episode of American Idol. “Be nice Simon,” Michelle said into the camera. The Obamas weren’t the only royalty participating in one of the most wide-reaching and rich charity events of the year. Queen Latifah held down the fort at the Pasadena Civic Auditorium while Ryan Seacrest hosted the event Los Angeles, where everyone from Capt. Sully to Wanda Sykes to Slash made an appearance. “Idol Gives Back” is nothing if not star-studded.

And it should be. The Idol Gives Back not-for-profit has raised over $140 million for charities since launching in 2007. Producers scrapped the show last year due to the financial crisis, and this year they hoped to hit $200 million in total contributions. It would be a tall task.

Of course, Wednesday night’s show was also a results show and one of seven finalists would be sent home. The general consensus prior to the show was that the odd man out would be Casey James, Aaron Kelly or Tim Urban. Perhaps they’d get a break this week and Idol would keep everyone onboard. That proved not to be the case.

The Black Eyed Peas kicked off the spectacle with a visually explosive, if audibly flat performance of “Rock that Body.” The live music would get better. Joss Stone and guitar legend Jeff Beck hit viewers with a rousing “I Put a Spell on You.” Alicia Keys did her thing, the same thing it seems she’s done at every major televised musical event of the past 5 years, and nailed it, as usual. Elton John executed his timeless “Your Song.” And Carrie Underwood hit all the right notes on her socially conscious magnum opus “Change.” Idol, it appears, really knows how to pick a winner.

But “Idol Gives Back” is all about the giving, and this year, the focus seemed to be split between giving to African causes and giving domestically. The Idol Gives Back Foundation fielded phone calls and online donations throughout the evening, and continues to do so now, in support of Children’s Health Fund, Feeding America, Malaria No More, Save the Children’s US Programs and the United Nations Foundation. By the end of the evening the foundation had raised $45 million, a sum that should shoot up even further in the coming days. It might not have been the number American Idol organizers were hoping to hit, but then again, all of Idol’s numbers appear to be down this year.

Don’t tell that to Crystal Bowersox. The unanimous frontrunner and Lee DeWyze slipped into the top 6 before the event hit its second commercial break. James, Kelly and Urban, as expected, landed in the bottom 3, and then Mary J. Blige sang “Stairway to Heaven.” True story. The Queen of hip-hop soul was joined onstage by Randy Jackson, Travis Barker, Orianthi and Steve Vai in what will likely be remembered as the keystone moment of Simon Cowell’s last “Idol Gives Back.” Tim Urban's ousting won't go down in history, but it will go down on Wikipedia.

From the

Favored Nations Entertainment

Download the "Stairway To Heaven" Performance on iTunes Video of Mary J. Blige and the All-Star Band from the American Idol - Idol Gives Back! http://tiny.cc/h083h! All proceeds from the sale of the video will benefit the various charities associated with Idol Gives Back.

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