Longest Songs in the World: Danny Fox’s Top 5

One of my Facebook friends, Michael Wimbish, has been posting Arlo Guthrie videos on Facebook and that made me think of Alice's Restaurant. The song lasts 22 minutes and 31 seconds, and takes up the entire A-Side of Guthrie's 1967 debut album.

This got me to thinking about how many really long songs have been recorded and I thought it would be fun to post a few and see if you could add some to the list that I might have forgotten about.

NOTE: Three of these songs are not country but KWKH has always been about being different. After all, KWKH was looking for something different when we put Elvis Presley on the Louisiana Hayride. Enjoy!

1
Alice's Restaurant
Arlo Guthrie
Length: 22:31
When I was about 19 years old I knew all the lyrics to Alice's Restaurant and played it on guitar while sitting around with friends. The people who hadn't heard the song were surprised when it went on and on and seemed it would never end.
2
El Paso
Marty Robbins
Length 4:42
Back when we played 45 RPM records, El Paso was the restroom record. Barney Cannon used to tell the story of how it was kept hanging on a nail in the studio where it was easy to find in an emergency.
3
In-A-Gadda-Da-Vida
Iron Butterfly
Length 17:05
This one ain't country but when it was new it was real cool because it was so long. Just like Alice's Restaurant, it took up one full side of the album.
4
Stairway to Heaven
Led Zeppelin
Length 7:59
Another one that's not country but still one of the longest and it's a great song too.
5
Hey Jude
The Beatles
Length 7:02
When "Hey Jude" was new, it was unheard of for a song this long to to get airplay on the radio. It wouldn't have happened for anyone except The Beatles.

Filed Under: Long Songs

Categories: Music News, Shreveport News, Videos