Brevity in Pop: Know When to Fold

These (short) songs clearly run the risk of leaving listeners wanting more:

“Wildcat Run” – Red Sovine – 1966 [1:20]

“Some Kinda Earthquake” – Duane Eddy – 1959 [1:17]

“You Tell Me” – Johnny Cash – 1959 [1:17]

“Revellion” – The Revels – 1962 [1:14]

“Oh Claire” – Cheap Trick – 1978 [1:10]

“Happy House” – Shuggie Otis – 1974 [1:08]

“Something Else” – Me and Them Guys – 1966 [1:05]

“Shut Up” – The Stranglers – 1978 [1:05]

“Sack Time” – David Seville – 1960 [1:05]

“Thank You Boys” – Jane’s Addiction – 1988 [1:03]

“When We Were Young” – The Residents – 1980 [1:02]

“Naked If I Want To” – Moby Grape – 1967 [0:58]

“Once Was a Time I Thought” – The Mamas & Papas – 1966 [0:57]

“Ding Dang” – The Beach Boys – 1977 [0:57]

“Wild Honey Pie” – The Beatles – 1968 [0:53]

“Abide with Me” – Thelonius Monk – 1957 [0:53]

“It’s Johnny’s Birthday” – George Harrison – 1970 [0:50]

“If You Won’t Leave Me…” – Warren Zevon – 1993 [0:45]

“We Wish You a Merry Christmas” – Johnny Nash – 1969 [0:41]

“Maggie Mae” – The Beatles – 1969 [0:39]

“Meant for You” – The Beach Boys – 1968 [0:38]

“I Love Monsters Too” – Alex Harvey – 1977 [0:37]

“Five Percent for Nothing” – Yes – 1971 [0:35]

“Nayli, Nayli, Get Me Down to Washington” – Moonshine – 1970 [0:33]

“The Shortest Love Song” – Wee Willie Small – 1978 [0:29]

“Life Song” – Mason Williams – 1968 [0:27]

“Field Day for the Sundays” – Wire – 1977 [0:27]

“A Short Song” – Paddy Roberts – 1959 [0:26]

“26 Second Song” – Shel Silverstein – 1972 [0:26]

“Do You Think It’s Alright” – The Who – 1968 [0:24]

“Her Majesty” – The Beatles – 1969 [0:23]

“Harvey the Wonder Hamster” – Weird Al – 1993 [0:21]

“This Is the Shortest Song in the World” – Kenny Price – 1970 [0:18]

“Miracle Cure” – The Who – 1968 [0:12]

“Short Blues” – Neil Innes – 1976 [0:11]

“Turn It Over” – The Youngbloods – 1969 [0:11]

“That’s All Folks” – The Blues Magoos – 1968 [0:08]

“Nee’s Niks” – De Raggende Manne – 1990 [0:06]

“This Song” – Barry & the Bookbinders – 1986 [0:05]

“You Suffer” – Napalm Death [12-inch single] – 2013 [0:01]

“Magic Melody, Part Two” – Les Paul – 1955 [0:01]

“There’s a Riot Goin’ On” – Sly Stone – 1971 [0:00]

18 seconds:

Shortest track on a 45?

July 2019 Update!

Would you be surprised to learn that this matter had already been settled in 1956?

As noted on the 45 label, total time — 0:01

Small Claims

Shortest song to hit #1 (U.S.): 1960’s “Stay” by Maurice Williams & the Zodiacs 1:35

Shortest song to hit #1 (U.K.): 1978’s “What Do You Want” by Adam Faith 1:35

Shortest song to hit Top 40: 1959’s “Some Kinda Earthquake” by Duane Eddy 1:17

Shortest song to hit the Hot 100: 1964’s “Little Boxes” by The Womenfolk 1:02

Shortest song to hit the UK charts: 2007’s “The Ladies’ Bra” by Trunk & Wiseby 0:36

*New Hot 100 shortest song: 2016’s “PPAP (Pen-Pineapple-Apple-Pen)” by Pikotaro 0:45

[*See 2020 update at the bottom of the page]

Special Citation:

Short Song Hall of Fame

Tip of the hat to Jon Sargent for pointing me to They Might Be Giants and their delightfully clever concept of constructing an Abbey Road-style short-song suite of mini musical fragments that effectively serve as interstitial segments when the group’s Apollo 18 compact disc is programmed to play in “shuffle” mode!

“Everything Is Catching on Fire” – 0:00
“Fingertips (Banjo)” – 0:12
“I Hear the Wind Blow” – 0:18
“Hey Now Everybody” – 0:28
“Who’s That Standing Out the Window?” – 0:34
“I Found a New Friend Underneath My Pillow” – 0:40
“Come On and Wreck My Car” – 0:47
“Aren’t You the Guy Who Hit Me in the Eye?” – 0:59
“Please Pass the Milk” – 1:06
“Leave Me Alone” – 1:14
“Who’s Knocking on the Wall?” – 1:20
“All Alone, All by Myself” – 1:24
“What’s That Blue Thing Doing Here?” – 1:30
“Something Grabbed Ahold of My Hand” – 1:39
“I Don’t Understand You” – 1:51
“I Heard a Sound” – 2:18
“Mysterious Whisper” – 2:23
“The Day That Love Came to Play” – 2:51
“I’m Having a Heart Attack” – 3:00
“Fingertips (Whispered)” – 3:22
“I Walk Along Darkened Corridors” – 3:33