Everybody loves music, it helps us to unite in many ways and it helps to connect the world in certain ways—some people like rock, pop, indie, jazz, and many more. Some even prefer their song short and seer, whereas some prefer lengthy songs. In a sense, everyone has their unique taste in music.
Music also holds records for being the best song of the year, the most played song of the year, and even “the longest song” in history. Notably, British grindcore pioneers Napalm Death hold the record for having the world’s shortest singing with “You Suffer” which was released in 1989 and its length was only 0:01.
Just like that if you’re also eager to know which song holds the record for being the longest in history, without wasting any time, let’s dig straight into it.
What Is The Standard Recording Length?
If we take a peek at the standard song length that’s been currently used in these years, it is about three-and-a-half minutes long.
We can agree it’s a good length since people can lose interest in listening to the song if it’s lengthy and we can enjoy it to the fullest since it’s not that short either. This rule was taken out way back in time, in the early 20th Century.
Back in the era, they didn’t have as advanced technologies as we have, and only a flat record was found in the industry. The name of such disc was “78” among vinyl where artists could record about 78 revolutions per minute. Well, the past era also had limited storage, so they could only record 3-4 minute songs.
In the 1950s the music industry was introduced with the 45-rpm disk and the “78” were no longer used. The 45-rpm disks were way better than the previous ones, but they had the same use, they could only hold a three-minute song (depending on the song’s sound spectrum).
If the bands wanted their music to air on the radio, they had to send their music to 45. They were way more economical and easier to share and afford, so they became the foundation of music.
If you didn’t know, some world-class musicians such as Pink Floyd, Elvis Presley, and Bob Dylan had their songs recorded in a 45. Although in the modern generation, musicians can record as length music as they want, due to attention span, the standard length of music has become three minutes.
Let’s Look at Some of the Longest Songs Ever
You might assume that the longest song ever might be of some a few days, but the list below will crush your expectations. Be ready to witness the songs that are known to have the longest length in the history of music.
Long Player – since 1999 to 2999
Artist: Jem Finer
Release date: 1999
Songwriter: Jem Finer
Genre: Electronic
Yep, you read the title completely right. Jem Finer’s “Long Player” has been played on repeat since December 31, 1999. It is stated that the song will stop playing in the year 2999 when it’ll cover a cycle of 1000 years.
Like a Wall in Which an Insect Lives and Gnaws – 5 years, 258 days, and 8 hours
Artist: Bull of Heaven
Release date: 2010
Songwriter: Bull of Heaven
Genre: Noise, Experimental, Sound Collage
This song is in fact 5 years, 258 days, and 8 hours long. The band “Bull of Heaven” is known for releasing lengthy tracks since 2008. When you first listen to the songs, they barely consist of any tune, but as you get closer to year 2, day 216, hour 14, and minute 23, you can finally hear some instruments.
Rituals of the Elements and Feasts of the Time – 4 days and 14 hours
Artist: Bull of Heaven
Release date: 2009
Songwriter: Bull of Heaven
Genre: Drone, Dark, Ambient
“Rituals of the Elements and Feasts of the Time” is another lengthy track by Bull of Heaven. It’s a simple track that was released in 2009, October, 17. The song is 110 hours long, but yet some listeners still love how the track sounds.
Symphony of the Crown – 48 hours, 39 minutes, and 35 seconds
Artist: Symphony of the Crown
Release date: 2021
Songwriter: Earthena
Genre: Classical
Symphony of the Crown was written by Earthena and was released on October 1, 2021. It almost took a year for the Canadian artist to compose the song. The song even held the Guinness Record for having the longest song but then a month later, another song stole the title from Symphony of the Crown.
7 Skies H3 (Can’t Shut Off My Head) – 24 hours
Artist: The flaming lips
Release date: 2011
Songwriter: The flaming lips
Genre: Alternative, Metal
“Skies H3 (Can’t Shut Off My Head)” was another experimental song of the band for their “24 Hour Song Skull” album. It was released in October 2021 and lasted for 24 hours.
The Ring Cycle – 15 hours
Artist: The Ring Cycle
Release date: 1876
Songwriter: Richard Wagner
Genre: Music dramas
Also known by the name “Der Ring des NIblungen”, “The Ring Cycle”, by Richard Wanger was a song made for their epic music dramas. The song takes about 15 hours to complete and it took Richard 26 years to complete this song. He began to work on it in 1848 and was first performed in 1876, August 16.
He is Cruel and Moves with Great Cunning – 13 hours, 37 minutes, and 33 seconds
Artist: Bull of Heaven
Release date: 2008
Songwriter: Bull of Heaven
Genre: Electronic, Rock
We have another song from Bull of Heaven on this list. “He is Cruel and Moves with Great Cunning” is 13:37:33 seconds long. The band is known for creating such lengthy tracks and this one is not exceptional.
Rise and Fall of Bossanova – 13 hours, 23 minutes, and 32 seconds
Artist: Pipe Choir Three (P C III)
Release date: 2016
Songwriter: Michael J. Bostwick
Genre: Onistwave
“The Rise and Fall of Bossanova” was from Bostwick’s album “The Rise and Fall of Bossanova.” He released the album on November 1, 2016, under the Creative Commons Independent label, the Pipe Choir.
The song was known for holding the record of being the longest song officially released. It held the title for 4 years from 2016 to 2020 until “Symphony of the Crown” was released.
Opus Clavicembalisticum – 4 hours and 30 minutes
Artist: Kaikhosru Shapurji Soranji
Release date: 1930
Songwriter: Kaikhosru Shapurji Soranji
Genre: Progressive pop and art pop
Opus Clavicembalisticum by Kaikhosru Shapurji Soranji is one of the longest piano songs ever released. The song was dedicated to Christopher Murray Grieve, a Scottish poet, essayist journalist, and political figure.
The song is over four hours long and the notes that Soranji uses in the song need great mental strength and complex techniques to complete.
The Whirlwind – 1 hour 17 minutes
Artist: Transatlantic
Release date: 2009
Songwriter: Transatlantic
Genre: Progressive rock, neo-prog
Released on October 23, 2009, “The Whirlwind” is from their third studio album “The Whirlwind.” The song plays for about 77 minutes. This album even charted in the Top Heatseekers chart coming at No. 21 and No. 45 in the German album chart.
What is the Longest Song Ever Recorded?
Looking at that list below, you might already know which might be the longest song to be ever recorded. If the title was “Longest Song Ever” then the crown goes to “Like a Wall in Which an Insect Lives and Gnaw by Bull of Heaven but the longest song ever recorded is a different case.
There are a few songs that were considered the longest songs to be ever recorded. Suppose we look at the period between 2016 – 2020. PC III held the Guinness World Record for the longest song to be officially recorded for ‘The Rise and Fall of Bossanova’, which was 13 hours, 23 minutes, and 32 seconds long.
When we take a peek at the pop genre, the longest song pop song was held by Giancarlo Ferrari for Apparente Libertà’ (76:44) which raised to the top by smashing The Devil Glitch’ by Chris Butler (69:00.)
The records were broken and new records took place again and again until the release of Earthena’s ‘Symphony of the Crown’. The song was about 48:39:35 long. You might be confused since there are songs ‘Like a Wall in Which an Insect Lives and Gnaws’ which are 5 years long so why ‘Symphony of the Crown’?
If we’re on to talk about the longest song ever, the credit will all go to ‘Like a Wall in Which an Insect Lives and Gnaws’ but since it’s about the longest song ever recorded, ‘Symphony of the Crown’ will take it away.
Nevertheless, they only managed to hold the title for a month since UK group Mark Christopher Lee and The Pocket Gods released their official track which is about 115:45:00 long. “This one is a spiritual song about quantum physics and the meaning of life – it’s a meditative look at all the beauty in this life and will allow your mind to feel free,” the group said.