4 Epic Songs From the 70s That Prove Our Attention Spans Are Longer Than We Think

Early radio singles were short. Then Bob Dylan landed a hit in 1965 with “Like A Rolling Stone”, which inspired other artists to become more ambitious. The Beatles continued to experiment, and by the 70s, it wasn’t remotely shocking for a band’s most popular song to also be a lengthy one. (See “Stairway To Heaven”.) Perhaps it’s not the song’s running time that matters. Instead, what happens as the minutes tick by will determine whether a long track becomes a classic. So here are four epic songs from the 70s that prove our attention spans are longer than we think.

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“Papa Was A Rollin’ Stone” by The Temptations

This track breaks the 12-minute mark, but as far as I’m concerned, it could have gone on for a whole day. The groove laid down by The Funk Brothers is so deep, you must know the kind of hard blues coming your way when the vocal first enters four minutes in. A kid wants the truth about his father. And his mom has to give it to him straight. It’s not pretty. Yet, never has this kind of despair enticed you to get up and dance. One of the most epic songs from Hitsville U.S.A.

“Mountain Jam” by The Allman Brothers Band

The origin of this track gets traced to the Fillmore East, when legendary promoter Bill Graham walked in on Duane Allman, Jerry Garcia, and Peter Green jamming. If you’re going to record an instrumental jam in the 1970s, few guitarists beyond Allman, Garcia, and Green will better prepare you to keep going for longer than an episode of a TV sitcom. The initial ruckus became “Mountain Jam” and appears on Eat A Peach and is based on Donovan’s “There Is A Mountain”.

“2112” by Rush

“2112” remains one of Rush’s most iconic riffs. And it shows the progressive rock ambitions of Geddy Lee, Alex Lifeson, and Neil Peart. By 1976, the album-oriented radio format was in full swing, and listeners proved they had patience for 20-minute multi-part odysseys. Rush released the “Overture” and “The Temples Of Syrinx” as a standalone single. But there are still five more sections to go beyond the hulking radio edit.

“Kashmir” by Led Zeppelin

Led Zeppelin wasn’t a singles-oriented band. The album is the work, and yanking a short song from the track list is a little like reading someone a single chapter from a book. “Stairway To Heaven” already proved the band were masters of the epic. And the continued popularity of “Stairway To Heaven” also proves many rock listeners don’t want it short and sweet. “Kashmir” presents another example of Led Zeppelin’s epic mastery with Jimmy Page’s droning riff atop multiple rhythmic meters. Compared with others on this list, the eight and a half minutes of “Kashmir” feel breezy.

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