Pete Townshend of The Who once singled out Heart's 2012 performance of Led Zeppelin's "Stairway to Heaven" at the Kennedy Centre Honors as one of the worst cover versions he had encountered. The performance, delivered in tribute to Led Zeppelin and featuring Jason Bonham (son of the band's late drummer John Bonham) on drums, visibly moved Robert Plant to tears, though Townshend interpreted the reaction as one of dismay rather than appreciation.

Townshend described the moment as watching Plant "crying when somebody murdered one of his songs," while acknowledging the emotional weight artists attach to their own work. His comment sits alongside other infamous covers cited in the piece, including Luke Combs's version of "Fast Car" and Gene Simmons's take on "Firestarter," as examples of tributes that missed the mark despite good intentions.