"Long Long Time" is a song written by Gary White which became a hit for

Linda Ronstadt Linda Maria Ronstadt (born July 15, 1946) is an American singer who has performed and recorded in diverse genres including rock, country, light opera, the Great American Songbook, and Latin music. Ronstadt has earned 11 Grammy Awards, three A ...

in 1970. "Long Long Time" is about a lasting love for someone who never became a lover.

Linda Ronstadt version

In 1970, Linda Ronstadt released the song as a single and on the album '' Silk Purse''. The single spent 12 weeks on the ''Billboard'' Hot 100 chart, peaking at No. 25, while reaching No. 15 on Canada's "''

RPM Revolutions per minute (abbreviated rpm, RPM, rev/min, r/min, or r⋅min−1) is a unit of rotational speed (or rotational frequency) for rotating machines. One revolution per minute is equivalent to hertz. Standards ISO 80000-3:2019 def ...

'' 100" (her first single there), No. 8 on Canada's CHUM 30 chart, and No. 20 on ''

Billboard A billboard (also called a hoarding in the UK and many other parts of the world) is a large outdoor advertising structure (a billing board), typically found in high-traffic areas such as alongside busy roads. Billboards present large advertis ...

''s

Easy Listening Easy listening (including mood music) is a popular music genre and radio format that was most popular during the 1950s to the 1970s. It is related to middle of the road (MOR) music and encompasses instrumental recordings of standards, hit s ...

chart. In 1971, Ronstadt was nominated for a

Grammy Award The Grammy Awards, stylized as GRAMMY, and often referred to as The Grammys, are awards presented by The Recording Academy of the United States to recognize outstanding achievements in music. They are regarded by many as the most prestigious ...

for Best Contemporary Female Vocal Performance for her rendition of "Long Long Time".

Chart performance

Cover versions

*In 1976,

Larry Santos Larry Santos (born June 2, 1941, in Oneonta, New York) is an American pop music singer-songwriter. Santos wrote songs for several American pop bands in the 1960s, including the 1963 hit " Candy Girl" for The Four Seasons which reached number 3 on ...

released a cover of the song, which reached No. 38 on ''Billboard''s Easy Listening chart and No. 109 on ''Billboard''s "

Bubbling Under the Hot 100 Bubbling Under Hot 100 Singles (also known as Bubbling Under the Hot 100) is a chart published weekly by ''Billboard'' magazine in the United States. The chart lists the top songs that have not yet charted on the main ''Billboard'' Hot 100. Chart ...

". *Country singer

Mindy McCready Malinda Gayle McCready (November 30, 1975 – February 17, 2013) was an American country music singer. Active from 1995 until her death in 2013, she recorded a total of five studio albums. Her debut album, 1996's '' Ten Thousand Angels'', w ...

recorded the song for her 1997 album " If I Don't Stay the Night". *In 1998 Canadian singer

Alannah Myles Alannah Myles (née Byles; born December 25, 1958) is a Canadian singer-songwriter who has won both a Grammy and a Juno Award for the song " Black Velvet". The song was a top-ten hit in Canada and a number one hit on the US ''Billboard'' Hot ...

covered the song as one of two new recordings for her Greatest Hits album '' The Very Best Of Alannah Myles''.

In popular culture

*The song is played during the third episode (which shares the name with the song but adds a comma to the episode title that the song release does not contain) of the 2023 television series ''

The Last of Us ''The Last of Us'' is a 2013 action-adventure game developed by Naughty Dog and published by Sony Computer Entertainment. Players control Joel, a smuggler tasked with escorting a teenage girl, Ellie, across a post-apocalyptic United States ...

'', serving as a motif for the relationship between

Bill Bill(s) may refer to: Common meanings * Banknote, paper cash (especially in the United States) * Bill (law), a proposed law put before a legislature * Invoice, commercial document issued by a seller to a buyer * Bill, a bird or animal's beak Pl ...

and Frank. After the episode was broadcast, Spotify announced that streams of the song increased by 4,900% over the previous week; several outlets compared it to the 2022 resurgence of

Kate Bush Catherine Bush (born 30 July 1958) is an English singer, songwriter, record producer, and dancer. Bush began writing songs at age 11. She was signed to EMI Records after David Gilmour of Pink Floyd helped produce a demo tape. In 1978, at the ...

's "

Running Up That Hill "Running Up That Hill" (also titled "Running Up That Hill (A Deal with God)") is a song by the English singer-songwriter Kate Bush. It was released in the UK as the lead single from Bush's fifth studio album, '' Hounds of Love'', on 5 August 19 ...

" after its use in

the fourth season ''The Fourth Season'' is the fourth album by the Australian progressive metal band Vanishing Point A vanishing point is a point (geometry), point on the projection plane, image plane of a graphical perspective, perspective rendering where th ...

of ''

Stranger Things ''Stranger Things'' is an American television series created by the Duffer brothers, Duffer Brothers for Netflix. Produced by Monkey Massacre Productions and 21 Laps Entertainment, the Stranger Things season 1, first season was released on N ...

''. In the period after the episode was broadcast, the song topped three separate Billboard charts, more than 50 years after its release, placing at No. 1 on the Rock Digital Song Sales ranking dated February 11, 2023. *The song also features in a scene from the 2024 comedy road movie ''

Drive-Away Dolls ''Drive-Away Dolls'' (alternately titled onscreen as ''Henry James' Drive-Away Dykes'') is a 2024 American crime comedy road film directed by Ethan Coen from a screenplay he co-wrote with his wife Tricia Cooke, who was also the film's edito ...

''.

References

External links

Lyrics of this song
* {{authority control 1970 songs 1970 singles Capitol Records singles Casablanca Records singles Linda Ronstadt songs Larry Santos songs Song recordings produced by Elliot Mazer Torch songs