What is the longest song ever recorded? Top 10 contenders
What is the longest song ever recorded? Songs are a significant source of inspiration and motivation to many. They have the power to raise someone's mood, get them excited, or make them calm and relaxed. Music can also be used to communicate information and emotions. Discover some of the top longest songs ever and learn some cool facts and the inspiration behind them.
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The preferred length of a song varies from one person to another. Songs usually only last a few minutes, because making them takes a long time, passion, inspiration, and hard work from musicians. But as new technologies have been developed that allow for longer music, the length of songs has increased. Below are some of the top longest songs released over the years.
Top 10 longest songs ever
Music is a way to escape life, which gives relief from pain and helps to reduce the stress of the daily routine. It helps someone to calm down and even excites them in moments of joy. Music has a powerful therapeutic effect on the human psyche. Below you will find the longest tracks ever, but the crown jewel (no pun intended) is at the very end of the article.
Symphony of the Crown
This longest officially-released song until December 2021 was composed and released by a Canadian artist named Earthena. Symphony of the Crown took a year to compose and was released on 1 October 2021 in King City, Ontario, Canada.
As one of the longest recorded song ever, Symphony of the Crown garnered a runtime of 48 hours, 39 minutes, and 35 seconds. The song is filled with synth beats and has a consistent pattern. The song is available on various music platforms, including Spotify and YouTube but has been split into 25 parts that are 2 hours each due to its size.
7 Skies H3
7 Skies H3 by The Flaming Lips is one of the longest songs ever in the world. 7 Skies H3 is an experimental song that lasts a full 24 hours, contained in an EP, 24 Hour Song Skull. Even though it is compiled as a contiguous, day-long song, it was recorded in separate pieces ranging from 25 minutes to 7 hours.
The Ring Cycle
The Ring Cycle, also known as Der Ring des Nibelungen, is a cycle of four German-language epic music dramas composed by Richard Wagner. Wagner took 26 years to complete his masterpiece, from 1848 to 1874. The songs are loosely based on legends in Germany with Nordic legend and the concept of Nibelungenlied.
Richard Wagner’s legendary Ring cycle consists of four individual operas, which include Das Rheingold, Die Walküre, Siegfried, and Götterdämmerung. The Ring Cycle is a fifteen-hour-long song.
Rise and Fall of Bossanova
The Rise and Fall of Bossanova is the fifth album by Michael J Bostwick for his musical project Pipe Choir Three (P C III). It was released on 1 November 2016 through the Creative Commons independent label Pipe Choir. The actual length of The Rise and Fall of Bossanova is 13 hours, 23 minutes, and 32 seconds.
Regardless of being broken up into five tracks, the entire album is one continuous song. The album held the Guinness World Record from 2016 to 2020 for the longest song officially released before Symphony of the Crown was released.
Opus clavicesmbalisticum
Opus clavicesmbalisticum is one of the longest songs ever and holds the title of the longest piano section. Opus clavicembalisticum is a work for solo piano composed by Kaikhosru Shapurji Sorabji, completed on 25 June 1930.
The song is best recognised for its length, complex techniques, and mental strength needed to play. The song can last as long as four and a half hours depending on the tempo of your performance.
The Whirlwind
The Whirlwind is the third studio album by the band Transatlantic, released on 23 October 2009. The Whirlwind is one of the longest-running songs on this list to be split into sections to fit into one album. It is available in three formats, including a standard edition, a double-disc special edition, and a deluxe edition with a 105-minute making-of DVD released by the musicians.
Apparente Libertà
Apparente Libertà is the longest pop song ever recorded worldwide as of 2022. It is a synthpop track with repetitive tones, art pop and uses sequencers and trackers. The song has a duration of 76 minutes and 47 seconds, 150 pages of score, and more than 700 verses. The music was composed in 2005 by the Italian musician Giancarlo Ferrari, a founding member of the gothic rock band Some Sad Clowns, and released as a physical copy (CD) in 2008.
The Devil Glitch
The Devil Glitch by Chris Butler is among the longest songs on Spotify ever recorded. It was released in 2000 under the genre progressive pop and art pop. The song held the title of the longest pop song until it was uncrowned by Apparente Libertà by Giancarlo Ferrari. The actual length of The Devil Glitch is one hour and nine minutes.
Organ2/ASLSP (As Slow as Possible)
As Slow as Possible is a musical piece by John Cage and the subject of one of the longest-lasting musical performances yet undertaken. The song is a performance by John Cage, an American composer, music theorist, artist, and philosopher. Cage wrote it in 1987 for organ as an adaptation of his 1985 composition ASLSP for piano. The performance of the song in the piano version lasts from 20 to 70 minutes, depending on the pianist.
Light Of Day, Day Of Darkness
Light of Day, Day of Darkness is pure Norwegian progressive metal created by Green Carnation. The album was composed, written, and arranged by founding member Terje Vik Schei, popularly known as Tchort. It was released by the German record label called Prophecy Productions in November 2001.
Light of Day, Day of Darkness is one hour-long song, making it one of the longest metal songs ever recorded. In this album, the band combines many different instruments not commonly used in metal to create an original soundscape. The album also shows some death metal twinges and growls.
What is the longest song ever played on the radio?
It probably would be the song Thick as a Brick by the band Jethro Tull. Back in the 70's, it was played in its 43+ minute glory on the Denver radio station KFML. Technically it comes in two 20+ minute parts, but the station played it as a single track.
It is tough to say whether a similar feat has been performed since, as there are thousands of radio stations in the world, but Thick as a Brick has to be one of the longest.
What is the longest song ever recorded?
According to Guinness World Records, the longest officially released song is 115 hr 45 min long. It is called A Quantum Christmas Song by Mark Christopher Lee and The Pocket Gods (both UK). The track was recorded in St Albans, Hertfordshire, UK, on 1 December 2021.
Some people believe that longer songs are better, while others prefer to keep them short and sweet. But no matter where you stand, you are probably wondering just how long some of the lengthiest pieces can get. The above are some of the longest songs ever recorded in the world you will enjoy listening to.
READ ALSO: Top 50 Naija throwback songs to remind you of the good old days
Legit.ng recently published an article about top 50 Naija throwback songs to remind you of the good old days. Nigerian music has become a force to be reckoned with, at home and abroad. Throwback songs are those that seem everyone can sing along with, and that instantly make you think about the time you first heard about them played.
Naija throwback songs can take you time-traveling and bring back the memories of an earlier error, usually, the 90s and 2000s were a defining point in the Naija music scene. These top 50 Naija throwback songs are still a favourite for many, especially people born in the 90s.
Source: Legit.ng