David Bradley

Kashmir, a classic of Led Zeppelin. Written by Robert Plant and Jimmy Page, the song that Robert Plant mentioned like ''I wish we were remembered for Kashmir more than Stairway To Heaven'' in an interview. Originally titled Driving To Kashmir, the song had begun as a lyric Plant had been inspired to write in the autumn of 1973 after a long, seemingly never-ending drive through “the waste lands”, as he put it, of southern Morocco. It's meaning had nothing to do with Kashmir, in northern India, at all. As Plant explained Kashmir's meaning to Cameron Crowe, it was about the road journey itself rather than a specific geographical location: “It was a single-track road which neatly cut through the desert. Two miles to the east and west were ridges of sand rock. It looked like you were driving down a channel, this dilapidated road, and there was seemingly no end to it.” Hence, Plant said, the opening lyric: ‘Oh let the sun beat down upon my face, stars to fill my dreams.’ Musically, the juddering rhythm had erupted out of a late-night session involving Page and drummer John Bonham during one of the band’s regular stays at Headley Grange, the haunted mansion in East Hampshire where they recorded so many tracks in the early 70s. “It was just Bonzo and myself,” Page said. “He started the drums, and I did the riff and the overdubs, which in fact get duplicated by an orchestra at the end, which brought it even more to life. It seemed so sort of ominous and had a particular quality to it. It’s nice to go for an actual mood and know that you’ve pulled it off.” Robert Plant and Jimmy Page performing 'Kashmir' with the Egyptian orchestra leaded by Hossam Ramzi. This song is already something that has so much power in itself but with an orchestra, with the notes of all that instruments, it became something extraordinary. Please enjoy. Thank you for background information, please visit their website: @ClassicRockMag