# Who played the recorder on Led Zeppelin’s 1971 masterpiece ‘Stairway to Heaven’?

- URL: https://talkfuse.com/story/who-played-the-recorder-on-led-zeppelins-1971-masterpiece-stairway-to-heaven/
- Published: 2026-11-11T15:30:00+00:00
- Updated: 2026-11-11T16:39:43+00:00
- Original publisher: Far Out
- Original article: https://faroutmagazine.co.uk/who-played-recorder-led-zeppelin-stairway-to-heaven/
- Topics: Music

## Key points

- John Paul Jones played the recorders on “Stairway to Heaven”.
- Their passage adds a medieval, almost Celtic quality.
- The arrangement helps shape the song’s changing atmosphere.

## Summary

John Paul Jones played the recorders heard in the middle section of Led Zeppelin’s “Stairway to Heaven”. His contribution adds a gentle, almost Celtic-sounding passage before the song grows heavier, helping give the track its sense of journey and contrast.

The article says Jones recorded the part while exploring what the song needed, alongside his work on bass. It links the medieval atmosphere to Led Zeppelin’s interest in Tolkien and historical soundscapes, and argues that Jones’s arrangement made the recorder an effective part of the song’s distinctive sound.

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Summarised by TalkFuse (https://talkfuse.com/). Quote the original publisher for the reporting and link this page for the summary and discussion.