# Your Favorite LONG Rock Hit Song **URL:** \ **Category:** Cafe Society\ **Created:** [December 4, 2009, 12:32am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/your-favorite-long-rock-hit-song/519924 "2009-12-04T00:32:01Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 1
**Author:** ![Mangosteen](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/6a8cbe/32.png) [@Mangosteen](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Mangosteen)\ **Post date:** [December 4, 2009, 12:32am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/your-favorite-long-rock-hit-song/519924/1 "2009-12-04T00:32:01Z")
Here’s some choices, but feel free to come up with your own. Has to be a minimum of SEVEN minutes. In Memory of Elizabeth Reed \*Allman Brothers \* 7:32 Jessica \*Allman Brothers \* 7:00 Dreams \* Allman Brothers \* 7:15 I Want You (She’s So Heavy) \*Beatles \* 7:47 Stuck Inside of Mobile… \*Dylan \* 7:04 Desolation Row _Dylan_ 11:43 Heard It Through The Grapevine _CCR_ 11:04 Suite: Judy Blue Eyes _CSNY_ 7:25 Southern Man (Live) _CSNY_ 11:45 Light My Fire _Doors_ 7:08 Funeral For A Friend \*Elton John \* 11:13 Life’s Been Good _Joe Walsh_ 8:04 Stairway to Heaven _Led Zeppelin_ 8:03 How Many More Times _Led Zeppelin_ 8:28 Kashmir _Led Zeppelin_ 8:33 Down By The River _Neil Young_ 9:20 Cowgirl By The Sand \*Neil Young \* 10:08 Time \*Pink Floyd \* 7:06 Us And Them \*Pink Floyd \* 7:41 Breath _Pink Floyd_ 8:18 The Wall \*Pink Floyd \* 9:04 You Can’t Always Get What… [\*Stones \* 7:30 Midnight Rambler \*Stones \* 9:17 Low Spark Of High Heel Boys _Traffic_ 11:44 Won’t Get Fooled Again _Who_ 8:33 ---
**Author:** ![blondebear](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/blondebear/32/1022_2.png) [@blondebear](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/blondebear)\ **Post date:** [December 4, 2009, 1:16am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/your-favorite-long-rock-hit-song/519924/2 "2009-12-04T01:16:46Z")
Let me be the first to add **Echoes** to the list. ---
**Author:** ![Patty\_O\_Furniture](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/p/96bed5/32.png) [@Patty\_O\_Furniture](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Patty_O_Furniture)\ **Post date:** [December 4, 2009, 1:28am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/your-favorite-long-rock-hit-song/519924/3 "2009-12-04T01:28:41Z")
I referred to my itunes list and sorted by top rated. Then when I looked at the time, the only tracks that were over 7 minutes were all Rush tunes: Working Man - 7:10 Jacob’s Ladder - 7:31 Natural Science - 9:17 La Villa Strangiato - 9:36 Cygnus X-1 - 10:26 The Camera Eye - 11:01 They also have two over 20 minutes, but didn’t qualify as favorites of mine: The Fountain of Lamneth - 20:00 And, of course… 2112 - 20:38 ---
**Author:** ![Dewey\_Finn](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/dewey_finn/32/4222_2.png) [@Dewey\_Finn](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Dewey_Finn)\ **Post date:** [December 4, 2009, 1:39am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/your-favorite-long-rock-hit-song/519924/4 "2009-12-04T01:39:40Z")
How about a few by Meat Loaf? Paradise by the Dashboard Light 8:28 Bat Out Of Hell 9:48 “I’d Do Anything for Love (But I Won’t Do That)” 12:00 There are others, but I think those were the biggest of the longer songs. I’d vote for Paradise by the Dashboard Light. ---
**Author:** ![Biffy\_the\_Elephant\_Shrew](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/e47c2d/32.png) [@Biffy\_the\_Elephant\_Shrew](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Biffy_the_Elephant_Shrew)\ **Post date:** [December 4, 2009, 1:40am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/your-favorite-long-rock-hit-song/519924/5 "2009-12-04T01:40:10Z")
Jethro Tull: “A Passion Play” - 45:06 Since the song takes up the entire album, and the album was a chart-topper, I say it qualifies as a “hit song.” ---
**Author:** ![Oakminster](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/o/77aa72/32.png) [@Oakminster](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Oakminster)\ **Post date:** [December 4, 2009, 1:45am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/your-favorite-long-rock-hit-song/519924/6 "2009-12-04T01:45:51Z")
Blasphemers, all of you. First song on the list shoulda been _Free Bird_, aka Oak’s Anthem :D. Omitting _American Pie_ is also shameful. Consider yourselves chastised severely. _Ina Gadda Da Vida_ is worthy of mention. ---
**Author:** ![Voyager](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/voyager/32/133_2.png) [@Voyager](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Voyager)\ **Post date:** [December 4, 2009, 1:54am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/your-favorite-long-rock-hit-song/519924/7 "2009-12-04T01:54:56Z")
Hey Jude 7:11 Like a Rolling Stone is too short. I wouldn’t exactly call Desolation Row a folk song, though. ---
**Author:** ![Yodalicious](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/yodalicious/32/8195_2.png) [@Yodalicious](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Yodalicious)\ **Post date:** [December 4, 2009, 2:02am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/your-favorite-long-rock-hit-song/519924/8 "2009-12-04T02:02:16Z")
To answer the OP: Wont Get Fooled Again. Also, the greatest “YEAH!” in rock history. ---
**Author:** ![Kent\_Clark](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/kent_clark/32/105_2.png) [@Kent\_Clark](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Kent_Clark)\ **Post date:** [December 4, 2009, 2:08am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/your-favorite-long-rock-hit-song/519924/9 "2009-12-04T02:08:24Z")
Layla - 7:06 ---
**Author:** ![blondebear](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/blondebear/32/1022_2.png) [@blondebear](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/blondebear)\ **Post date:** [December 4, 2009, 2:16am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/your-favorite-long-rock-hit-song/519924/10 "2009-12-04T02:16:10Z")
Couple more by The Who, from **Live At Leeds** , _My Generation_ – 14:27 _Magic Bus_ – 7:30 and two from ELP, _Karn Evil 9_ – 29:37 _Tarkus_ – 20:35 ---
**Author:** ![kenobi\_65](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/kenobi_65/32/13178_2.png) [@kenobi\_65](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/kenobi_65)\ **Post date:** [December 4, 2009, 2:44am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/your-favorite-long-rock-hit-song/519924/11 "2009-12-04T02:44:01Z")
Starship Trooper - Yes (9:26) Roundabout - Yes (8:36) Foreplay / Long Time - Boston (7:48) ---
**Author:** ![The\_Tooth](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/c67d28/32.png) [@The\_Tooth](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/The_Tooth)\ **Post date:** [December 4, 2009, 2:50am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/your-favorite-long-rock-hit-song/519924/12 "2009-12-04T02:50:55Z")
Was _The Friends of Mr. Cairo_ a hit? I like other, longer songs more, but _The Camera Eye_ wasn’t a hit. Rush has one hit, and that ain’t it. ---
**Author:** ![tr0psn4j](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/958977/32.png) [@tr0psn4j](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/tr0psn4j)\ **Post date:** [December 4, 2009, 2:58am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/your-favorite-long-rock-hit-song/519924/13 "2009-12-04T02:58:23Z")
I’ll add a few. Echoes - Pink Floyd (23:28) 2112 - Rush (20:34) Space Truckin’ (19:41) Xanadu - Rush (12:32) By-Tor The Snow Dog - Rush (11:57) And from a different genre: Mariner’s Revenge Song - The Decemberists (8:45) ---
**Author:** ![KneadToKnow](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/kneadtoknow/32/3999_2.png) [@KneadToKnow](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/KneadToKnow)\ **Post date:** [December 4, 2009, 2:59am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/your-favorite-long-rock-hit-song/519924/14 "2009-12-04T02:59:41Z")
“Dogs” by Pink Floyd. Wikipedia says it’s 17:04. I’ve always loved it, and used to play it a lot when I was a d.j. in college. Sometimes when I didn’t even need to run to the bathroom. ---
**Author:** ![Patty\_O\_Furniture](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/p/96bed5/32.png) [@Patty\_O\_Furniture](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Patty_O_Furniture)\ **Post date:** [December 4, 2009, 3:04am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/your-favorite-long-rock-hit-song/519924/15 "2009-12-04T03:04:02Z")
I just keyed on the word “favorite” in the OP. What is the definition of “hit” that we’re all supposed to be using? I don’t recognize half of the songs mentioned in the OP (at least not by name). ---
**Author:** ![silenus](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/silenus/32/166_2.png) [@silenus](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/silenus)\ **Post date:** [December 4, 2009, 3:05am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/your-favorite-long-rock-hit-song/519924/16 "2009-12-04T03:05:20Z")
Freebird!!! (9:06) ---
**Author:** ![PunditLisa](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/p/4af34b/32.png) [@PunditLisa](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/PunditLisa)\ **Post date:** [December 4, 2009, 3:16am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/your-favorite-long-rock-hit-song/519924/17 "2009-12-04T03:16:46Z")
Winner: Prince “Purple Rain” 8:41 Honorable Mentions: Pink Floyd “Comfortably Numb” (live) - 8:56 Led Zepellin “Stairway to Heaven” (live) - 9:37 Eagles “Last Resort” - 7:12 Justin Timberlake “What Goes Around” - 7:29 ---
**Author:** ![Mangosteen](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/6a8cbe/32.png) [@Mangosteen](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Mangosteen)\ **Post date:** [December 4, 2009, 3:37am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/your-favorite-long-rock-hit-song/519924/18 "2009-12-04T03:37:05Z")
> [@Patty\_O\_Furniture](#): > > I just keyed on the word “favorite” in the OP. What is the definition of “hit” that we’re all supposed to be using? I don’t recognize half of the songs mentioned in the OP (at least not by name). If you recognize the groups in the list, I would think most people who are fans of said groups would agree that the songs listed are _hits_ by these groups. They may not have reached the Billboard 100, but I believe that, for example, the songs _In Memory of Elizabeth Reed_, _Jessica_ and _Dreams_ are all Allman Brothers “hits” as far as their fans are concerned. Is it the songs or the groups? Any particular song (or songs) that you don’t consider a _hit_? This is music so there certainly is no wrong or right as far as one’s like and dislikes are concerned. ---
**Author:** ![Thudlow\_Boink](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/thudlow_boink/32/320_2.png) [@Thudlow\_Boink](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Thudlow_Boink)\ **Post date:** [December 4, 2009, 3:58am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/your-favorite-long-rock-hit-song/519924/19 "2009-12-04T03:58:17Z")
> [@Mangosteen](#): > > If you recognize the groups in the list, I would think most people who are fans of said groups would agree that the songs listed are _hits_ by these groups. Take “I Want You (She’s So Heavy)” for example: I didn’t think it had ever been released as a single, which precludes it from being a “hit” by some definitions. By other definitions (e.g. “a song that lots of people own and regularly listen to”) it’s a hit, but so is just about everything by the Beatles. If we’re gonna get technical, we might have to define “song,” too—I’m tempted to give “Side 2 of _Abbey Road_” as my answer to the OP’s question, but I don’t think that really counts. Anyway, my answers (at least those that spring to mind at the moment) are “American Pie,” “Hey Jude,” and the two tracks that close out side 4 of Stevie Wonder’s _Songs in the Key of Life_ (“As” and “Another Star”). I had to check and see if the Kinks’ “Shangri-La” qualified—it feels long, but it turns out it’s well under 7 minutes. ---
**Author:** ![RealityChuck](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/realitychuck/32/195_2.png) [@RealityChuck](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/RealityChuck)\ **Post date:** [December 4, 2009, 4:00am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/your-favorite-long-rock-hit-song/519924/20 "2009-12-04T04:00:37Z")
**Moon in June** by Soft Machine (19:18) or for that matter, the other four songs on that album, all over 18 minutes. **Atom Heart Mother, Careful With that Ax, Eugene,** and **Shine on You Crazy Diamond** by Pink Floyd, who were at their best at lengths greater than eight minutes. [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/your-favorite-long-rock-hit-song/519924.md?page=2)