Not Short, But Still Sweet

For decades, the three-minute pop song has been the golden rule of music—thanks in part to those old 78 rpm records that could only handle about three to five minutes per side. Of course, it probably didn’t hurt that short songs made it easier to hold listeners’ attention (and let radio stations squeeze in a few extra ads).

Whatever the reason, the 3–5 minute range became pop’s sweet spot—and it’s stayed that way for generations.

But every now and then, an artist decides to throw the rulebook out the window and go long. Like, really long. We’re talking ten minutes or more. And no, that’s not just an excuse for us to bring up Taylor Swift’s All Too Well (10 Minute Version)—though we’re definitely doing that too.

All Too Well (10 Minute Version): 10:13

Well, we just mentioned it so might as well start there. Taylor Swift's lengthy recording on her Red (Taylor's Version) 2021 re-release comes in at 10 minutes and 13 seconds and it also comes in as the longest song to ever hit number one on the Billboard Hot 100.

Brian Friedman, Shutterstock

Free Bird: 10:07

Lynyrd Skynyrd's signature—and longest—song is a rock classic that runs for just over 10 minutes on the album, but has been known to hit 14 minutes when played live.

Selbymay, CC BY-SA 4.0, Wikimedia Commons

I'd Do Anything For Love (But I Won't Do That): 12:01

Meat Loaf's classic debut album Bat Out of Hell features three songs over eight minutes long, with the title track missing our 10-minute barrier by a mere 12 seconds. But for the sequel album, Bat Out of Hell II: Back into Hell, Mr Loaf would record two songs that make our list, the first one being the 12-minute long "I'd Do Anything for Love (But I Won't Do That)".

christopher simon, CC BY 2.0, Wikimedia Commons

Objects In The Rear View Mirror May Appear Closer Than They Are: 10:16

The other song on the album topping 10 minutes is the one with the longest title, "Objects in the Rear View Mirror May Appear Closer Than They Are".

Super Festivals, CC BY 2.0, Wikimedia Commons

Station To Station: 10:14

David Bowie’s memory of recording Station to Station? Pretty much nonexistent, thanks to his heavy substance use at the time. Still, that lost period gave us his longest studio song ever—the epic, ten-minute title track that somehow captured brilliance through the blur.

Michael Putland, Getty Images

Do You Feel Like We Do: 14:15

The original album version of this Peter Frampton song clocks in at just under six minutes and 45 seconds. However, the live version that appeared on his mega-selling, career-defining Frampton Comes Alive! album rocks on for 14 minutes and 15 seconds.

Carl Lender, CC BY-SA 3.0, Wikimedia Commons

Supper's Ready: 22:54

You could probably eat a whole meal in the time it takes to listen to Genesis' 1972 track.

Andrew St.Denis, Wikimedia Commons

Ain’t No Use: 11:51

In 2012, Rolling Stone named the Rejuvenation album by The Meters as the 139th greatest album of all time. Almost every song on the album came in between three and five minutes, but track 7, "It Ain't No Use", funked its way to 11 minutes and 51 seconds.

Annettejones07, CC BY-SA 3.0, Wikimedia Commons

Angola Anthem: 17:35

Dr John's third album, Remedies, had six songs—five on side A and one on side B. That one was the 17 minute and 35 second "Angola Anthem"—a song he recalled being given by a friend just released from the titular Angola prison:

"A friend of mine had just come out of doing 40-something years in Angola, he was just someone special in my heart – called Tangleye. And Tangleye says, 'I’m gonna sell you this song. Got it in Angola, but ain’t nobody ever cut this song…' Even now, guys I know getting out of Angola know this song. It’s still a horrible place to be".

Schorle, CC BY-SA 3.0, Wikimedia Commons

Celebration Of The Lizard: 17:01

"Celebration of the Lizard" is a performance piece by The Doors, made up of a series of poems performed both as spoken word and sung lyrics. Performed as a live piece at concerts, the song also included audience reactions (which the band got by initially telling everyone they were about to do "Light My Fire"). The live versions of the piece can be found on a couple live albums with a run time around 14 and a half minutes. A studio version, on their 2003 Legacy: The Absolute Best album runs for just over 17 minutes.

Joel Brodsky, Wikimedia Commons

Child In Time: 10:18

The standout track on Deep Purple’s 1970 album Deep Purple in Rock is “Child in Time,” a slow-building epic that stretches far beyond radio-friendly limits. According to frontman Ian Gillan, the song drew inspiration from the tense atmosphere of the Cold War. Writing it came easily, he said, because the band was living under the constant shadow of nuclear threat—a fear that echoes through every soaring note and scream in the track.

Stadtarchiv Kiel, CC BY-SA 3.0, Wikimedia Commons

Desolation Row: 11:21

Bob Dylan's brilliant 1965 album, Highway 61 Revisited, begins with the second longest song on the album ("Like a Rolling Stone" (6:13)) and ends with the longest, "Desolation Row" (11:21).

Francisco Antunes, Flickr

Echoes: 23:30

Side 2 of Pink Floyd's 1971 album Meddle features 23 minutes and 30 seconds of music—and just one song: "Echoes".

National Archives at College Park, Wikimedia Commons

2112: 20:34

Rush kept everything between 3-4 minutes on side 2 of their 1976 album 2112. However, on side 1, they continued to develop their progressive rock style with a sci-fi story in the form of the 20-and-a-half- minute long title track.

Enrico Frangi, Wikimedia Commons

Autobahn: 22:43

German electronic music group Kraftwerk were OGs of the electronica genre—and their biggest hit in North America was the 22-minute-and-43-second long track "Autobahn", which they released in the mid-1970s. Well, actually, their biggest hit was an edited down three-minute long single version of "Autobahn". They also released a 12-minute animated video a few years later.

Andréas Hagström, Wikimedia Commons

Disco Inferno: 10:43

The Trammps turned up the heat in 1976 with Disco Inferno, their fourth studio album—and its title track didn’t just burn, baby, burn. It blazed for a full 10 minutes and 43 seconds, keeping the dance floor alive long after most songs would’ve faded out.

Rob Gosenson, CC BY-SA 4.0, Wikimedia Commons

Funeral For A Friend/Love Lies Bleeding: 11:07

Elton John opened up his 1973 double album Goodbye Yellow Brick Road with a double song. "Funeral for a Friend" is an instrumental piece John wrote when thinking about the kind of music he'd want played at his funeral. "Love Lies Bleeding" was a completely separate song, but John noticed they fit well together ("Funeral" ends in the key of "A" and "Love" opens in "A") and so they were combined into an 11-minute medley to open the album.

Raph_PH, CC BY 2.0, Wikimedia Commons

The Gates Of Delirium: 21:55

Yes' 1974 album Relayer features 40 and a half minutes of music...but only three songs. Side 2 of the album consists of two nine-minute long songs and side 1 features the 21-minute-and-55-seconds long The Gates of Delirium. Yes, that's long, but should we expect anything else from a song based loosely on Leo Tolstoy's 1869 novel War and Peace?

Rick Dikeman, CC BY-SA 3.0, Wikimedia Commons

Get Ready: 21:30

On their second album, rock band Rare Earth recorded a 21-and-a-half-minute long cover of "Get Ready" by the Temptations. And speaking of rock covers of Motown songs...

Michael Ochs Archives, Getty Images

I Heard It Through The Grapevine: 11:06

The Gladys Knight & the Pips version of "I Heard It Through the Grapevine" was under three minutes long. The extended version of Marvin Gaye's classic take on the track is just over five minutes long—and in the 1970's, Creedence Clearwater Revival had a hit with their 11-minute version of the song.

United States Department of Defense, Wikimedia Commons

In Held 'Twas In I: 17:31

Procol Harum went big on their 1968 album Shine On Brightly, devoting nearly the entire B side to the ambitious, five-part suite “In Held ’Twas in I.” The sprawling track blended spoken word, symphonic flourishes, and psychedelic experimentation—proof that the band was already thinking beyond traditional rock song structures.

KRLA Beat/Beat Publications, Inc., Wikimedia Commons

Karn Evil 9: 29:37

The original vinyl release of the 1973 Emerson, Lake & Palmer album Brain Salad Surgery split up "Karn Evil 9" between the two sides of the album because of how long it is.

Gorupdebesanez, CC BY-SA 3.0, Wikimedia Commons

The Low Spark Of High Heeled Boys: 11:44

The title track off of Traffic's 1971 album The Low Spark of High Heeled Boys rolls in at almost 12 minutes long.

Heinrich Klaffs, CC BY-SA 2.0, Wikimedia Commons

Maggot Brain: 10:21

This great Funkadelic track runs in at over 10 minutes, with much of that time spent on a mostly improved guitar solo by Eddie Hazel. And if we're talking improvised guitar play, let's not forget...

Rich Anderson, Flickr

Mountain Jam: 33:41

The most famous version of this improvised live jam by The Allman Brothers Band was recorded on May 4, 1969, at Macon Central Park, and released on their Eat a Peach album. That version clocks in at almost 34 minutes. Some other live takes of the song come in at around 17 minutes and even 44 minutes.

Unknown Author, Wikimedia Commons

In My Time Of Dying: 11:08

Led Zeppelin’s “In My Time of Dying” holds the title as the band’s longest studio track, stretching out into a bluesy, bone-rattling epic. Honestly, they should’ve wrapped up high school dances with this one instead of “Stairway to Heaven”—we all could’ve used those extra three minutes of awkward, hands-on-hips glory.

Atlantic Records, Wikimedia Commons

Rapper's Delight: 14:37

Get your hands on the original 12-inch release of this Sugarhill Gang classic and you don't have to stop the rockin' to the bang-bang boogie for over 14 minutes.

Gage Skidmore, CC BY-SA 2.0, Wikimedia Commons

Shine On You Crazy Diamond: 25:57

Dedicated to founding member Syd Barrett, this nine-part Pink Floyd track was split up on the band's Wish You Were Here album. However, put together, the piece totals just under 26 minutes.

Hulton Deutsch, Getty Images

Sister Ray: 17:29

Take a look through The Velvet Underground's entire studio discography and the longest song you will find is "Sister Ray"—on their second album White Light/White Heat.

Verve Records, Wikimedia Commons

Starless: 12:18

English prog rockers King Crimson recorded this lengthy track for their seventh studio album, Red.

Atlantic Records, Wikimedia Commons

Telegraph Road: 14:18

Dire Straits opened their 1982 album Love over Gold with a bold move—“Telegraph Road,” a sprawling, 14-minute odyssey that unfolds like a short story set to music. It’s proof that Mark Knopfler wasn’t afraid to let his guitar (and his storytelling) take the scenic route.

Helge Overas, CC BY-SA 4.0, Wikimedia Commons

In-A-Gadda-Da-Vida: 17:05

This one might surprise a few folks given that the version of this Iron Butterfly classic heavy metal track that we are most familiar with, is the 2:52 edit that reached number 30 on the Billboard Hot 100. But if you go back and listen to the album, the original version found there is a 17-minute-and-5-second long banger that takes up all of the album's side 2.

Billboard, Wikimedia Commons

Thick As A Brick: 43:46

Jethro Tull were annoyed when critics called their Aqualung album a "concept album". So, they decided that their next record would be a fun, light parody of concept albums and the progressive rock music. What they came up with was Thick as a Brick, which is one continuous track split up over both sides of the album. "Thick as a Brick" rides for 43 minutes and 46 seconds and looks to be the longest popular rock song ever recorded.

Heinrich Klaffs, CC BY-SA 2.0, Wikimedia Commons

The End: 11:41

Jim Morrison originally wrote "The End" as a breakup song, but over the course of months playing it live, the song evolved and grew into the almost 12-minute long masterpiece it became on The Doors' 1967 debut album.

Joel Brodsky, Wikimedia Commons