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Band biographer claims that DJs only played the now classic song because it was the 'perfect length' for a cigarette break
Jump to full article: The Guardian (uk), 2009-11-16
Author: Sean Michaels
Intro: Was the secret to Stairway to Heaven's success the fact that it gave DJs the chance to nip out for a cigarette? That's the theory of Led Zeppelin biographer Charles R Cross, who claims that 100 radio presenters "literally ... swore" that they aired the now classic tune because it was the "perfect length" for a cigarette break.
"The song became successful by accident," Cross told the New York Post. "[I] had 100 DJs swear to me that they only played the song because they needed a long break to go and smoke a cigarette. If it had been a minute shorter, you couldn't have smoked a full cigarette. If it had been a minute longer, it would have been too long."
Although it was never released as a single, Stairway to Heaven is now one of radio's most broadcast songs.
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