In the third episode of the HBO zombie series Last of Us, characters Nick Offerman (Bill) and Frank (Murray Bartlett) share a moment where they play Linda Ronstadt’s “Long, Long Time.” After the episode aired, Ronstadt’s 1970 hit had a 4,900 percent increase in streams on Spotify, alone.
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“On Sunday, January 29th, between 11 p.m. and midnight ET, there was more than 4900% increase in U.S. streams of ‘Long Long Time’ by Linda Ronstadt,” read a tweet posted by Spotify.
Written by Gary White, “Long, Long Time” was a single off Ronstadt’s second album, Silk Purse. Upon its original release more than 50 years ago, the song peaked at No. 25 on the Billboard Hot 100 and remained on the chart for 12 weeks. The song also earned Ronstadt a Grammy nomination for Best Contemporary Female Vocal Performance.
The full version of the song is later played at the end of the episode of Last of Us, also starring Pedro Pascal (The Mandalorian, Wonder Woman 1984) and Bella Ramsey (His Dark Materials, Game of Thrones) as Joel and Ellie.
The storyline of the series follows a survivor who takes guardianship of a 14-year-old girl after a global pandemic destroys most of civilization.
Ronstadt’s decades-old song is one of many seeing a new resurgence decades after its initial release.
In 2022, Kate Bush’s 1985 song “Running Up That Hill (Deal with God)” had a second life on the charts after it was featured on the Netflix sci-fi series Stranger Things. The lead single off Bush’s 1985 album Hounds of Love, “Running Up That Hill” was featured in an episode where Max, played by Sadie Sink, is trying to escape the Upside Down world.
Following its feature on the show, the song had a surge in streams and hit No. 1 on the Billboard Global 200 chart, turning it into a viral hit nearly four decades since it was first released.
Stranger Things had a similar impact on Metallica’s 1986 album title track, “Master of Puppets,” which also got a spot on season four of the series when the character Eddie Munson shreds through the metal classic in the Upside Down world.
Renewed interest in the song led “Master of Puppets” to creep back into the charts, hitting No. 40 on the Billboard Hot 100, along with the No. 12 on the Spotify Top U.S. chart and No. 26 on its Top 50 Global chart. The band later launched Stranger Things and Metallica-themed merchandise for fans.
The Cramps’ 1982 Psychedelic Jungle track “Goo Goo Muck” also saw a resurgence after it was recently featured in the Netflix Addams Family series Wednesday, initially picking up 134,000 daily streams following its feature on the series.
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