Heart was accompanied by a gospel choir that honored John Bonham, who had died in 1980. During the performance, the choir members donned black bowler hats as a tribute to him. Jason Bonham was tearful by the end as well, yet his playing continued without a missed beat.

Plant subsequently discussed the moment with L.A. Weekly. He recalled being 64 and seated beside John Paul Jones while watching Heart interpret the song. The experience left him struggling to connect the music with the older man he had become, before recognizing it as his own work and wondering how events had brought him there.

Afterward, Ann and Nancy still had to hear Led Zeppelin’s verdict. They were anxious when they met the musicians, particularly because Plant had declined to perform the song in recent years. Written when he was young, it represented a person with whom he could no longer identify, and he considered it a work belonging to an earlier period.

Nancy said every Led Zeppelin member approached the sisters at the dinner after the gala. Plant told them that so many badly executed versions had caused him to hate the song, but he judged Heart’s rendition a success. Jimmy Page also praised Nancy for how well she had played. The source regarded those responses as unsurpassable feedback and closed by wishing the performance could have been witnessed live.