Stairway to Hell: Led Zeppelin, Pink Floyd and Stranger Things

As we told you, the most important “needle drop” of the series finale of “Stranger Things” is by Prince: “When Doves Cry” and “Purple Rain” which serve as the soundtrack to the key scene. It’s not just a metaphor, but it’s what happens: playing the vinyl of “Purple Rain” triggers a chain of events, and the needle is literally dropped onto the record. But what if it had gone differently? What if there had been none other than Led Zeppelin?
The Duffer brothers, creators of the series, and music supervisor Nora Felder took several classics into consideration. And last year they anticipated that the finale would feature a classic that had never been “fired” before. All of this was made possible by the success of Kate Bush’s “Running Up That Hill” in season 4: in recent months there have been hypotheses, from Pink Floyd to the Replacements (more niche, but mentioned directly within the series as a possibility), the Eagles.
In an interview with Variety Nora Felder told how the “Stairway to Heaven” and “The Wall” hypotheses were born (and how they were discarded).

“No, it wasn’t the Eagles. And I’m not going to say that Led Zeppelin didn’t come out — I tried, but it didn’t work because I was thinking of ‘Stairway to Heaven,’ and it wasn’t a first-and-last-time song situation. I also thought of Pink Floyd with ‘The Wall,’ but I don’t remember if the right song was the closing one. I don’t know how many times I tried: one song worked, the other didn’t. That’s why I stayed up all night with my books.”

Led Zeppelin are notoriously reluctant to release their songs. Robert Plant had explained in an interview with Vulture that, to approve such a use, “there are two Capricorns and a Leo in the band, and we all have to decide together”, because most of the proposals “are not up to the standard of our music”, and only in rare cases has the group allowed the use of their songs. “The music is there, alive, waiting for a film with substance, which can give it a romantic sense or a nuance,” said Plant. “But it’s rare to find it. Many things are completely tasteless.”

Felder then recounted the long process necessary to choose and obtain authorization from Prince’s estate:

“Obviously I have various ways of finding music: sometimes songs come to mind — I know the ’80s well — sometimes it’s as simple as browsing online, on Spotify or other streaming services; or driving and hearing a song pass by a car. I also have between 15,000 and 20,000 CDs and albums. But for this case I had to consult my research books. I found some that listed the records by the side, and I literally had to flip through them to see if the songs opening and closing one side could work for our needs, but they didn’t work well all night, and I think I only found two ideas.”

“I know the Duffer brothers,” Felder continued, “think that Prince’s estate licensed the songs because of Kate Bush, and I’m sure that played a role, as the parts reminded them of the impact the show had with ‘Running Up That Hill’. And I told them that I thought this would be one of the most significant moments of the season, even if no one has a crystal ball. But still, for the rights holders, it’s not just about the money, it’s about this that aligns with what Prince would have wanted, and to do so in the most respectful way possible. As we do with the most difficult permissions, I believe the hard work we put into the ‘theses’ ensured that everyone fully understood these uses and what they meant for the characters.”