STEVE VAI Collaborates With MARY J. BLIGE, TRAVIS BARKER, Others On 'Stairway To Heaven' Cover

February 6, 2010

Famed guitarist Steve Vai, R&B singer Mary J. Blige, BLINK-182 drummer Travis Barker, "American Idol" judge and bassist Randy Jackson and Michael Jackson's guitarist Orianthi got together this week to record a new version of the LED ZEPPELIN classic "Stairway to Heaven". Vai told told VH1 Radio Networks' Dave Basner that he was nervous to cover the song, but once he heard Blige was on board, he was ready to go.

"You know, you gotta be really careful when you're gonna consider playing a song like this because it's just steeped in folklore and respect and it's been played by everybody," Vai said. "I believe it's the most requested song in history. So I was trying first to imagine how it was going to sound and then the moment that I heard that Mary J. was doing it, I actually have her records, so I went, 'Oh my God, this is going to be great.' And we got into the studio and just blasted it out. It was amazing. It was really special."

Steve told VH1 Radio Networks what exactly makes this version special.

"We're doing it in D Minor which is up a major fourth, which is much higher," he said. "So it's breathing a completely different kind of an air than any version you've ever heard and that in itself just gives it a whole different quality because now it's like, it's sparkly. And what you can do up in that register, it just sounds like a whole different beast."

Working on the song has been difficult for Vai, but he explained it's all falling into place now.

"My challenge with this is — what am I going to do for this song, this sacred piece of music to make it the best that I can do, and I'm just putting together this series of adjectives, you know," he said. "It's just gotta be the most beautiful, respectful, amazing thing that I could possibly do and then I tell myself I'm capable of doing it and it's just all coming to me now."

There is no word yet on when the track will be released.

Photo credit: Andrew McLeod (courtesy of Vai.com)

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