The Longest Time

"The Longest Time" is a doo-wop single by Billy Joel. The song was released as a single in 1984 as the fourth single from the 1983 album An Innocent Man. It reached number 14 on the Billboard Hot 100 and number one on Billboard's Adult Contemporary chart.^[1] In the United Kingdom the song reached number 25 on the UK Singles Chart.

The song features Joel on lead vocals and all backing vocals. Two musical instruments are present in the song: a bass guitar and a snare drum being played with brushes. When the song is covered by vocal groups, the bass part is typically sung by a human.^[2] All other sounds in the song are Joel's vocals, along with percussive sounds such as finger snaps and hand claps.^[3] Phil Ramone and Joel had intended to feature a vocal group called The Persuasions but when they sang in the studio, they tended to go flat as the song progressed. The Persuasions were dismissed and Joel recorded each of the parts himself.^[4]

Music video

The music video starts with a man (played by Joel) in a gym after his 25th high school reunion party. Looking around at posters of several class awards, he breaks into song as his band, apparently portrayed as his high school friends, enters the gym. As they sing, they alternate between their high school and current (or even older) selves. The video was entirely filmed at Pratt Institute in Brooklyn.

Covers

The song has been covered by many a cappella groups.

In popular culture

The song is featured in the 2008 film Step Brothers, in which a fictional Billy Joel cover band named "Uptown Girl" plays the song, then is subsequently booed off the stage.^[5]

A parody of the song is written and performed in the Madam Secretary episode "The Show Must Go On" (season 2, episode 1; original air date October 4, 2015) by Secretary Elizabeth McCord's staff, featuring lyrics which outline the United States' positions on and hopes for the Trans-Pacific Partnership, at the conference of the prospective partner nations.

In the episode "The Time Travelers" of the CBS sitcom How I Met Your Mother, Ted and Barney, along with their future selves, sings the song a capella.

Chart positions

Chart (1984-1985)	Peak position
Australian Singles Chart	15
RPM Top Singles^[6]	36
Irish Singles Chart	18
New Zealand Singles Chart	24
UK Singles Chart	25
US Billboard Hot 100	14
US Billboard Hot Adult Contemporary Tracks	1

References

↑ Whitburn, Joel (2002). Top Adult Contemporary: 1961–2001. Record Research. p. 127.
↑ Duchan, Joshua S. (2012). Powerful Voices: The Musical and Social World of Collegiate A Cappella. University of Michigan Press. p. 39. ISBN 9780472118250.
↑ "The Longest Time by Billy Joel Songfacts". songfacts.com.
↑ Schruers, Fred (2014). Billy Joel. Crown Publishing Group. p. 199. ISBN 9780804140201.
↑ "Step Brothers Soundtracks". Internet Movie Database.
↑ "Item Display - RPM - Library and Archives Canada". collectionscanada.gc.ca.

External links

'The Longest Time' Music Video on YouTube / ⒞1984 VEVO channel
Lyrics of this song at MetroLyrics

Preceded by "Hello" by Lionel Richie	Billboard Adult Contemporary (chart) number-one single May 19, 1984 – May 26, 1984	Succeeded by "Time After Time" by Cyndi Lauper

Billy Joel

Studio albums	Cold Spring Harbor Piano Man Streetlife Serenade Turnstiles The Stranger 52nd Street Glass Houses The Nylon Curtain An Innocent Man The Bridge Storm Front River of Dreams Fantasies & Delusions

Live albums	Songs in the Attic KOHЦEPT 2000 Years: The Millennium Concert 12 Gardens Live Live at Shea Stadium: The Concert

Compilations	Greatest Hits, Vol. 1–3 Souvenir: The Ultimate Collection The Ultimate Collection The Essential Billy Joel Piano Man: The Very Best of Billy Joel My Lives The Hits

Singles	"Piano Man" "You're My Home" "Worse Comes to Worst" "Travelin' Prayer" "The Ballad of Billy the Kid" "The Entertainer" "Just the Way You Are" "Movin' Out (Anthony's Song)" "Only the Good Die Young" "She's Always a Woman" "Vienna" "The Stranger" "My Life" "Big Shot" "Honesty" "Until the Night" "All for Leyna" "You May Be Right" "It's Still Rock and Roll to Me" "Don't Ask Me Why" "Sometimes a Fantasy" "Say Goodbye to Hollywood" (Live) "She's Got a Way" (Live) "Pressure" "Allentown" "Goodnight Saigon" "Tell Her About It" "Uptown Girl" "An Innocent Man" "The Longest Time" "Leave a Tender Moment Alone" "This Night" "Keeping the Faith" "You're Only Human (Second Wind)" "The Night Is Still Young" "Modern Woman" "A Matter of Trust" "This Is the Time" "Baby Grand" "Back in the U.S.S.R." (Live) "We Didn't Start the Fire" "Leningrad" "I Go to Extremes" "The Downeaster 'Alexa'" "That's Not Her Style" "And So It Goes" "Shameless" "All Shook Up" "The River of Dreams" "All About Soul" "No Man's Land" "Lullabye (Goodnight, My Angel)" "To Make You Feel My Love" "Hey Girl" "All My Life" "Christmas in Fallujah"

Other songs	"Captain Jack" "Root Beer Rag" "New York State of Mind" "Prelude/Angry Young Man" "Miami 2017 (Seen the Lights Go Out on Broadway)" "Scenes from an Italian Restaurant" "Zanzibar" "Big Man on Mulberry Street"

Tours	An Innocent Man Tour Face to Face 1994 Face to Face 1995 Face to Face 1998 Face to Face 2001 Face to Face 2003 Face to Face 2009 Face to Face 2010 Billy Joel in Concert

Film	The Last Play at Shea

See also	Discography Movin' Out Billy Joel Band The Hassles Attila Alexa Ray Joel Christie Brinkley Katie Lee "Movin' Out" (Glee)

Book Category Music portal

The Overtones

Studio albums	Good Ol' Fashioned Love Higher

Singles	"Gambling Man" "The Longest Time" "Loving the Sound"

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