Stairway to Hell: The Ritual That Destroyed Led Zeppelin

Jimmy Page's Dangerous Game with Demons

Led Zeppelin at their peak. Many critics and fans considered them the greatest rock band in history, surpassing even the Beatles in raw power, technical virtuosity, and commercial dominance. But their success came with a price few understood.

Growing up in the middle of nowhere USA, my parents would crack open a few beers and light up a joint when the mood struck. That’s when the Led Zeppelin records came out. Five-year-old me sat on the carpet, impressed by the wild guitar riffs but agitated by the blues-soaked wailing. Sesame Street was more my thing at that age.

Years later, stuck in a small town perpetually frozen thirty years in the past, I heard Zeppelin a dozen times a day on local radio. You can’t escape “Kashmir” and “Stairway to Heaven” when you’re surrounded by people who think 1975 was last week. Eventually something strange happened. Stockholm syndrome by FM radio. I started to like it.

What I didn’t know then, what none of us knew, was that Jimmy Page wasn’t just playing mu…