Lots of people love Led Zeppelin‘s ‘Stairway to Heaven’ — it isn’t a beloved staple of classic rock radio for nothing — but on Jan. 23, 1991, KLSK-FM in Albuquerque, N.M. took that love to absurd new heights. As part of a stunt conceived to draw attention to the station’s recent format switch from new age to classic rock, owner and GM John Sebastian decided to spin ‘Stairway’ for 24 straight hours, perplexing listeners and stirring up enough off-the-wall rumors that local police were dispatched to the station. Twice. According to the Music History Calendar, “Police showed up with guns drawn after a listener reported that the DJ had apparently suffered a heart attack, later because of suspicion that — this being 8 days into the Gulf War — the radio station had been taken hostage by terrorists dispatched by Zeppelin freak Saddam Hussein.” But in the end, all that consternation was awfully good for ratings.
Posted on: Sun, 26 Jan 2014 20:42:26 +0000
Trending Topics
Recently Viewed Topics
© 2015