'Stairway to Heaven' holds onto top spot in WDVE's Memorial Day 500

Another edition of WDVE’s annual Memorial Day 500 countdown of classic rock songs is in the books.

And, for a second straight year, Led Zeppelin’s “Stairway to Heaven” stood above them all.

And the number 1 song on the 2024 edition of the #DVEMemorialDay500 is…#pittsburgh @chadtyson pic.twitter.com/GSq8M7zdzS

— 102.5 WDVE (@DVERADIO) May 27, 2024

Since the countdown returned in 2019, “Stairway” has claimed the spot three times.

“Bohemian Rhapsody” by Queen fell into the runner-up spot, followed in the Top 5 by Lynyrd Skynyrd’s “Sweet Home Alabama,” the Rolling Stones’ “Gimme Shelter” and Zeppelin’s “Kashmir.”

A few perennial songs fell out of the Top 10, like Skynyrd’s “Freebird,” the Stones’ “Sympathy For The Devil” and Pink Floyd’s “Another Brick in the Wall.” The latter track was No. 1 in 2019.

In all, 161 different artists were represented in the countdown (a few of them pairing up a couple times).

Zeppelin led all artists with 21 tracks, followed by the Stones with 17, Pink Floyd with 14, AC/DC with 12 and Aerosmith with 11 (including two in the Top 10).

The Stones held the biggest jump and the biggest fall from last year’s list. “Shattered” dropped 292 spots from 152 to 444; “It’s Only Rock ‘n’ Roll (But I Like It)” moved up 311 spots from 477 to 166.

As for how the list is compiled, afternoon drive host on ‘DVE Chad Tyson won’t say for sure. “We just let the ‘DVE scientists from the music lab, if you will, do their thing,” he told the Trib.

Part of the fun of the countdown comes from the disputes listeners have with the rankings.

“It’s almost like arguing about the Steelers or the Pirates on a barstool,” says ‘DVE Electric Lunch’s Michele Michaels. “It’s so much fun and brings back so many cool memories.”

The countdown began Friday morning with Coney Hatch’s “Monkey Bars” at No. 500.

More than half of the songs played (52%) came from the 1970s, with nearly 30% from the 1980s.

You can check out the full list on WDVE’s website.