Following its inclusion in the third episode of HBO’s ‘The Last of Us’, Linda Ronstadt’s streaming figures have increased by 4,900 per cent.
The latest instalment of the dystopian series featured her 1970 track Long, Long Time which, according to Spotify, saw a dramatic increase in plays after the show aired.
“Oh, so all of our hearts were breaking last night,” the Spotify News account tweeted.
Oh, so all our hearts were breaking last night… 🍓 #TheLastOfUs pic.twitter.com/upTiav0MLw
— Spotify News (@SpotifyNews) January 30, 2023
Long, Long Time featured prominently in the episode, which centred on the relationship between survivors Bill (Nick Offerman) and Frank (Murray Bartlett).
In the scene, Frank is sitting down at a piano and discovers a Linda Ronstadt songbook and starts to play, before Bill takes over and sings the first few lines of the song, before the original version plays over the top.
Speaking to Variety, executive producer and director Craig Mazin reveals he settled on the song for the scene, following the recommendation of his friend Seth Rudetsky.
“I knew that song needed to hit certain things about longing and aching and endlessly unrequited love. I could not find the right song for the life of me,” he said.
“I was trying and trying, and then I texted my friend Seth Rudetsky, who is the host of Sirius XM on Broadway and a savant. I told him, ‘Here’s all the things I need,’ and two seconds later: ‘Linda Ronstadt, ‘Long, Long Time’.’ I was like, there it is. That’s it!”
It comes after the first episode of the show featured Depeche Mode’s 1987 single Never Let Me Down Again, with streams of the track tripling in the US overnight, increasing by 220.5.
