Despite its eight minute length and having never been released as a single, “Stairway to Heaven” is a staple of FM radio and one of the most celebrated classic rock songs of all time.

Jimmy Page was inspired to write the tune by various recorded parts on his trusty cassette recorder. The principle guitar line resembles a song by the band Spirit, for whom Led Zeppelin opened in their first American appearance. “Stairway to Heaven” was a unique composition at the time of its release, as it is the guitar that propels its sections—the picked intro is the basis for the rest of the song, and further guitar layers set the tone throughout. Page describes the song as “the beginning of (his) building harmonized guitars properly.”

One night at Hedley Grange, while Page was strumming the chords, Robert Plant spontaneously wrote lyrics. He says he then “looked at them and almost leapt out of (his) seat.” Much of the song’s lyrics originated in that event.

The lyrics of “Black Dog” are described by Roger Waters as being “blatant,” and they contain no reference to the song’s namesake (a black lab that loitered around Hedley Grange while the band was recording there).

John Paul Jones describes the main riff to “Black Dog” as “, a blues lick that went round and round and didn't end when you thought it was going to … ',] a jam based on something I'd heard on a new release by Howlin’ Wolf.” John Bonham is credited with coming up with the solution to the problem of having no appropriate turnaround by simply continuing to play in regular time.

“Oh Well,” a Fleetwood Mac song released in 1969, was the inspiration for the a cappella start-stop verses, and Four fills played on Jimmy Page’s Les Paul were used to construct the guitar solo of “Black Dog.”

One of the few Led Zeppelin songs with writing credits from all band members, “Rock and Roll” is based in twelve-bar blues and contains lyrical references to early hits of the rock genre.

The creation of “Rock and Roll” came about during an attempt to end the song “Four Sticks,” when the band spent fifteen minutes improvising. The piano on “Rock and Roll” was performed by Ian Stewart, a founding member and (later) road manager of The Rolling Stones, although he did not receive a credit for this.