André 3000 and the longest songs ever to make it into the Billboard Top 100

Honorable mention

Meat Loaf - "I Would Do Anything For Love (But I Won't Do That)" - 1993. 12 minutes, 1 second

Although the album version of the power ballad to end all power ballads is just over twelve minutes long, the single version, i.e. the version that hit the charts is less than half that. But "I Would Do Anything For Love (But I Won't Do That)" went to number one, and is still a radio staple to this day.

There's a disconnect between Meat Loaf's image and his music. Meat Loaf's ridiculous Frank Frazetta-esque album covers promise heavy metal, but his music is to metal what West Side Story's dance numbers are to gang warfare. This is far from a criticism, the artifice and theatricality of Meat Loaf's music is what makes it so much fun, and "I Would Do Anything For Love (But I Won't Do That)," is Meat Loaf's most theatrical song by far. Twelve minutes are required to do it justice; though quite frankly, I never noticed that the radio version was shorter because the album version doesn't feel like twelve minutes.

Many of the songs on this list are full of mysteries. What Meat Loaf won't do for love is one of pop's most enduring mysteries, but it turns out the answer was right in front of us all along.

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