No, it is not “Stairway To Heaven”, although that is a “long song” which is TBH longer than most “typical” songs. It also is not from the pop, rock, metal, or hip hop genres. The longest song ever recorded does not come from a present day performer per se like Lady Gaga, Post Malone, or Billie Eilish.
Through 2019, the Guiness World Records notes that the longest song ever recorded came in at a whopping 13 hours, 23 minutes, and 32 seconds. The name of the song is “The Rise And Fall Of Bossanova” and the artist is PC III.
SMH, as we know Tool is known for lengthy tracks and of course the use of time signature in music, as displayed in tracks like “Parabola” and “Vicarious” among others not to mention references to dogma. But, hey they can’t touch a track that is over 13 hours long!
The longest “pop” song ever recorded is titled “Apparente Liberta”. The 76 minutes and 44 seconds long marathon is by Giancarlo Ferrari.
Not sure how to determine accurately the longest song ever played on the radio, but with the YOLO nature of society now hooked on GIF and MEME and Tiktok and Twitter we have doubts few if any would pay attention long enough to listen to it in its entirety.
What is the longest song ever recorded?
Through 2019, the Guiness World Records notes that the longest song ever recorded came in at a whopping 13 hours, 23 minutes, and 32 seconds. The name of the song is “The Rise And Fall Of Bossanova” and the artist is PC III.
“Apparente Liberta,” by Joanna Newsom, is one of my favorite songs from The Sounds of Young Black Men. It takes on a much more mature tone than much of her previous work, but still manages to be light and happy. What makes it so great is that it doesn’t try to be too serious or bog it down with big drums and guitar solos like so many other songs do these days.
That being said, I’m not sure if it’s the longest song ever recorded, but it’s probably close behind No Ordinary Family by Four Seasons. It’s definitely in the top five, though, so that says a lot. With that being said, I think the point of this song is that life is short, but that doesn’t mean that you have to let go and make a mistake every day. Just live each day to the fullest and never worry about making mistakes, because that’s the only way to get anywhere in life.
Apparente Liberta by Joanna Newsom arrives on Steely Dan’s “The Best Of All Possible World” album. It’s not the most unique song from The Sounds of Young Black Men, but it is certainly a very positive and uplifting song for anyone who can relate to it. It’s certainly one of the most memorable songs they’ve put out, which probably says a lot about where they’re at in their career as an artist. Apparente Liberta comes off just as good as any of the songs from the collection of albums that the band has put out, so you should definitely add it to your list if you want a great new Steely Dan song.
Have you always loved the Led Zeppelin song, “Stairway to Heaven?” Well, did you know that the video for that song actually started off as a joke between lead singer Jimmy Page and bassist John Paul Jones back in 1970? That’s right, the very first Led Zeppelin video was an instant hit. The song was created by Jones and his brother, drummer John Bonham. It featured a rather large guitar played by John Paul Jones that was carried on stage by Jimmy Page.
Apparently, the song was originally going to be called just “The Walkie” but when Jimmy Page asked his brother to double-check the lyrics, they quickly decided to make it a real classic rock song. The original version of “Stairs to Heaven” came out on the second album of Led Zeppelin, titled The King of Rock and Roll. Prior to that, only three covers had ever charted: The multinational band Far Corporation reached # 8 with their version in 1980, then early reggae tribute act Dread Zeppelin climbed to # 62 in early 1990.
But, things took a turn for the worse when Rolf Harris and his then-wife, Sandra Arango, took legal action against their friend Jimmy Page and the band itself. The two women alleged in court that Jimmy Page did not give them any proper warning before replacing them in the band. They also claimed that Jimmy Page owed them money for unpaid music royalties and compensation over the years. In response, a judge ordered Jimmy Page and the group Iron Butterfly to repay a total of $4,711. In the legal battle that followed, however, Jimmy Page won the case against his ex-wife.
Longest Songs To Climb The Charts of Fan Favorites
Songs have enthralled us for generations, and they still continue to do so. The average length of a song is 4-5 minutes. But some of them have superseded that mark to make a permanent place in our hearts.
Let us take a quick look at the 10 longest songs to have ever been released in the history of world music:
Coma by Guns N’ Roses
Released in 1991, Coma is the final song on the album Use Your Illusion I by the hard rock band Guns N’ Roses. The song is 10 minutes, 14 seconds long and is the longest track to be released by the band without a chorus. The band’s lead guitarist, Slash and singer/lyricist, W. Axl Rose are credited with the raging success of this song.
7empest by Tool
Pronounced tempest, this song was released on August 30, 2019. At 15 minutes and 45 seconds, it is the final song on the album Fear Inoculum, by the American rock band, Tool. This song clinched the 6th spot on the Billboard Hot Rock Songs chart upon release. It also became a Grammy recipient for the Best Metal Performance.
Third Eye by Tool
Clocking in over 13 minutes, this song features on the album, Ænima by Tool. The studio version of the album contains excerpts from Bill Hicks’ spoken words. He was the famous philosopher and comedian, known for his piercing social commentary. The goal of the album was to awaken people in some way and help open their third eye to guide them on the right path.
Rosetta Stoned by Tool
As part of the album, 10,000 days, the song was released in 2006. Written in a stream of consciousness style, the song deals with a man’s spiritual realization. Bearing a length of 11 minutes, 11 seconds, it features drum fills, unusual percussion instruments, etc.
Achilles Last Stand by Led Zeppelin
This song is from the English rock band, Led Zeppelin’s 1976 album Presence. Credited to Jimmy Page and Roger Plant, it is one of the band’s longest recorded songs at 10 minutes, 31 seconds and is also one of the most complex ones. The song is influenced by Eastern culture and interwoven with multiple layers.
The song was released by Pink Floyd as part of their album Animals in 1977. Originally called You’ve Got to be Crazy, the song features unconventional chords. It has a running time of 17 minutes, 05 seconds, and was considered as part of Pink Floyd’s best of albums – Echoes. The song portrays the competitive world of business and how humans adapt themselves to it just like the way dogs do when they are trained to behave in a certain way. So like the trained animals, humans, too, lose their individuality and become puppets in the hands of the ruthless system over a period.
The End by Doors
Written and sung by Jim Morrison, it is an iconic song from Doors, the American rock band. Heavily complex in its theme and essence, the song featured in their eponymous debut album that was released in 1967. The band recorded a nearly 12-minute version of the song for this album.
Voodoo Chile by Jimi Hendrix
The song was written and recorded by Jimi Hendrix in 1968 as part of his album, Electric Ladyland. This 15-minutes song is said to be Hendrix’s longest recorded song. Voodoo Chile had its origins in Catfish Blues that Jimi Hendrix performed regularly. It was a tribute to Muddy Waters of which Jimi Hendrix was a huge fan.
Rime of the Ancient Mariner by Iron Maiden
Iron Maiden performed the musical retelling of the 18th-century poem by Samuel Taylor Coleridge, The Rime of the Ancient Mariner. Over 13-minutes long, the song features as one of the tracks on their album, Powerslave that was released in 1984. This song retained the title of being Iron Maiden’s longest-ever recorded song for 30 years, till it was superseded by their own track from a new album in 2015.
Octavarium by Dream Theater
A record 23 minutes, 58 seconds long, this song is from Dream Theater’s album of the same name. The song pays homage to rock bands like Pink Floyd and explores various musical rhythms and ideas.
We simply cannot get enough of these songs as they continue to spellbind us both with their lyrics and compositions.
