Timed at exactly 43 minutes and 50 seconds, it’s quite a commitment. For the better half of an hour, listeners are taken on an indescribable journey complete with fictional characters and scenes, satire, melodic variations, and so much more.
According to a list compiled by Largest.org, the longest rock song of all time is 1972’s “Thick As A Brick” by Jethro Tull. The song is so lengthy that it is the only track on the entire album…Side A and Side B.
In a 2022 interview with Louder Sound, lead singer Ian Anderson described the song as an “absurdity” with a touch of real-life elements from his childhood.
“Some of the elements in the lyrics are quite serious. where I drew upon my own childhood and my own early experiences for ideas for sections within the overall work. But I was also drawing very much on the world of the eight-year-old Gerald Bostock. It was part of the absurdity.”
Other songs that made the list of the longest rock songs of all time include 1970’s “Mountain Jam” by The Allman Brothers Band (33:41), 2015’s “Karn Evil 9” by Emerson, Lake, & Palmer (29:36), 1975’s “Shine on You Crazy Diamond,” by Pink Floyd (26:01), and 1972’s “Supper’s Ready” by Genesis (22:58) to round out the top five.
Here’s what Largest.org had to say about the longest rock song ever recorded:
“It is so long that it’s actually the only track on the album, with each part taking up an entire side! There is also a radio edit version of the song that’s shortened dramatically in order to provide a nice sampling of the music that would fit within the constraints of a radio song. ‘Thick as a Brick’ is also said to be the first of Jethro Tull’s albums that consisted entirely of progressive rock.”
For a full list of the longest rock songs in history check out largest.org.
Experience the 43-minute masterpiece in its entirety below and listen to everything Jethro Tull on iHeartRadio now!
