Were There Subliminal Messages Recorded in Classic Rock Music?

Led Zeppelin (1971)

Post Author - Ellis Nolan

“I sing because I live with Satan. The Lord turns me off. There’s no escaping it. Here’s to my sweet Satan.” These are some of the phrases supposedly hidden in plain sight in Led Zeppelin’s 1971 hit “Stairway to Heaven.” However, listeners can only hear this rendition by listening to the song backwards. That and with a healthy dose of the power of suggestion.

In 1982, a committee of the California State Assembly held a hearing regarding a proposed bill that would require labels on rock albums notifying parents of their “satanic” messages. The bill was sponsored by assemblyman Phillip Wyman, who purported that these messages, revealed when rock songs were played backwards, were accepted as truth into teenage brains when played two or three times. The bill ultimately did not pass, but that didn’t stop these “reverse-messages” from causing a moral fervor. Other bills attempting to limit the distribution of rock records based on backwards messages were proposed in Congress and in many other state governments.

What these representatives may or may not have known was that recording sounds and then playing them backwards in a final recording has been a common technique since the introduction of sound recording technology. Not only that, but Rock and Rollers in the 70s were hardly the first to have the reverse of their recordings be less than squeaky-clean. While demonstrating the original wax cylinder recorders pioneered by Thomas Edison, salesmen would have volunteers speak a phrase into the recorder, and then play it back to show the reverse-capability. Consequently, the phrase “mad dog” was commonly recorded as the reverse was a curse that audiences would find humorous.

Studer J37 Tape Recorder (which the Beatles recorded a lot of Sgt. Peppers’ on)

When applied in music production, this technique is known as “backmasking,” and has been used to great effect by artists of many genres. Some notable examples are The Beatles’ “Rain,” Jimi Hendrix’s “Are You Experienced?” as well as Kendrick Lamar’s Pulitzer Prize winning album “DAMN.”

While musicians have been recording in reverse for decades, what the California legislators also got wrong were that the messages were even in the music. To be able to hear what Wyman heard in “Stairway to Heaven” requires an effect called pareidolia, in other words, the power of suggestion. Remember when the internet was in upheaval about whether a sound was “Laurel” or “Yanny?” The same concept applies here. Because our brains want to create meaning out of disorderly information, if we hear a gibberish sound, we won’t automatically apply a meaning to it. However, if someone suggests an even somewhat reasonable meaning, we won’t be able to unhear it. Pareidolia doesn’t just apply to hearing, it’s also why we see shapes in clouds and faces in rhino teeth. 

Today, musicians continue to innovate with recording techniques, as do fundamentalists fume about pop culture and its values. Maybe the record of this story is a broken one…

Looking for a piece of classic rock history? Check out our Beatles collection!