Who was the very first song?
Asked by: Stone Bailey DVM | Last update: May 16, 2026Score: 4.1/5 (44 votes)
There's no single "first song" creator, but the Hurrian Hymn No. 6 (c. 1400 BCE) from ancient Syria is the oldest written music that can be reconstructed, while the Seikilos Epitaph (c. 1st Century AD) from Greece is the oldest complete song with lyrics and notation that we fully understand today, notes History.com. These ancient compositions offer glimpses into early musical practices, long predating modern recording, with myths crediting figures like Jubal as music's "father," says The Conversation.
What is the very first song in history?
The “Hurrian Hymn” is the earliest known song to be recorded in writing, dating to around the 13th century BCE. The text of this hymn is concerned with the promotion of fertility. It refers to the making of offerings and libations to the moon goddess, Nikkal.
What is the oldest song still sung today?
The oldest song with a reconstructed melody still performed today is the Hurrian Hymn No. 6 (to Nikkal), dating to around 1400 BCE from ancient Syria, found on cuneiform clay tablets, though its exact sound is debated, while a contender for a continuously sung, culturally significant piece is the Islamic hymn "Tala'al-Badru 'Alayna," which dates to 622 CE. Other very old, complete compositions include the 1st-century CE Seikilos Epitaph (Turkey) and the 3rd-century Oxyrhynchus Hymn (Egypt).
What is the 3400 year old song?
The 3,400-year-old song you're asking about is the Hurrian Hymn No. 6, the world's oldest surviving piece of written music, discovered on clay tablets in ancient Ugarit, Syria, around 1400 BCE. Inscribed in the Hurrian language with cuneiform, it contains both lyrics and musical notation for a nine-string lyre, dedicated to Nikkal, the goddess of orchards, and has been reconstructed by scholars to be playable today.
What does "nikkal" mean?
Nikkal is a Goddess of Fruits, honored by the Hittites and Canaanites. She derives from the Sumerian Ningal, wife of the Moon God and mother of Inanna; as Nikkal, She is also the wife of the Moon God. She was known in Egypt as a healer. She is shown here with a lap full of fruits, before a date-palm tree.
What Ancient Egyptian Sounded Like - and how we know
What is the oldest song alive?
The oldest surviving song with both lyrics and musical notation is the Hurrian Hymn No. 6, composed around 1400 BCE in ancient Syria, found on clay tablets in Ugarit. For the oldest complete piece of music with notation, it's the 1st-century AD Greek Seikilos Epitaph, found engraved on a tombstone in Turkey, notes History.com.
What song stayed #1 the longest?
The longest-running #1 song on the Billboard Hot 100 chart is Mariah Carey's "All I Want for Christmas Is You," which recently reached 22 total weeks at the top, while Lil Nas X's "Old Town Road" (19 weeks) and Shaboozey's "A Bar Song (Tipsy)" (19 weeks) hold the record for the longest non-holiday runs, with Mariah Carey & Boyz II Men's "One Sweet Day" previously holding the record at 16 weeks.
Who wrote the most hit songs?
Hitting #1 on the Billboard Hot 100 Charts is the absolute "Olympic Gold Medal" measure for a songwriter. In the Billboard Charts' Hot 100's 57-year history, only Paul McCartney (32) and John Lennon (26) boast more leaders as writers.
Who is the oldest singer that still performs?
While "oldest" can vary with definitions, Willie Nelson (92 as of late 2025/early 2026) is widely recognized as the oldest major recording and touring musician, still performing and releasing albums, with other notable performers like Frankie Valli (91) and rock legend David Freiberg (87) also actively touring.
What is the most sung song of all time?
The most frequently sung songs in English are Happy Birthday to You (based on the original Good Morning to All), by Kentucky Sunday School teachers Mildred Hill and Patty Smith Hill of New York, USA (written in 1893 and under copyright from 1935 to 2010); For He's a Jolly Good Fellow (originally the French Malbrouk), ...
What is the oldest American song?
The First American Song, "My Days Have Been So Wondrous Free." Composed by Francis Hopkinson (1737-1791). Edited and Augmented by Harold Vincent Milligan.
When did humans first sing?
By studying fossils, we can establish that once our ancestors had the horseshoe-shaped hyoid bone in the throat in a similar position to modern humans, they would have had the physical ability to sing as we can. That date is over 530,000 years ago.
What was America's first hit song?
America's best-known song is their 1972 debut single, "A Horse with No Name". It was the lead-off single to their self-titled debut album and became their first number one on the Billboard Hot 100.
What is the oldest known lullaby?
The oldest known lullaby is a Babylonian tune from around 2000 BC, inscribed on a clay tablet, known as "Little Baby in the Dark House," which ironically has a threatening tone, warning the crying child to stop lest it disturb household gods. Another contender for oldest in Britain is "Dinogad's Smock," a Welsh poem from the 7th century describing a father's hunting prowess, though it's more a heroic poem than a traditional lullaby.
What's the biggest hit song ever?
Guinness World Records also states that John's "Candle in the Wind 1997" is "the biggest-selling single since UK and US singles charts began in the 1950s, having accumulated worldwide sales of 33 million copies".
What makes a song "timeless"?
Timeless songs often feature relatable, poetic, or storytelling lyrics that resonate with people across different eras and cultures. However, melody and structure are also important, so all elements should work together harmoniously.
What is the longest song ever recorded?
The longest officially released song is "Shri Ramcharitmanas" by Dr. Jagdish Pillai, lasting over 138 hours (nearly 6 days), a recitation of the Hindu epic poem; however, experimental pieces like John Cage's "Organ²/ASLSP" are designed to last centuries, while other contenders include PC3's "The Rise and Fall of Bossanova" (13+ hours) and drone metal tracks lasting over 11 hours, blurring the lines of what defines a single song.
Who is the youngest #1 artist?
When Little Stevie Wonder (as he was billed) was 13 years old he scored his first US Number One Single, "Fingertips". He remains the youngest solo artist to top The Billboard Chart.
Who had 7 consecutive #1 hits?
Whitney Houston is the only musical artist with seven consecutive #1 hits on the Billboard Hot 100, a record she set between 1985 and 1988 with songs like "Saving All My Love for You," "How Will I Know," and "Where Do Broken Hearts Go," a feat that remains unbroken.
What is the #1 listened to song ever?
The "number one played song" changes constantly by platform and time, but right now (early 2026), Lady Gaga & Bruno Mars' "Die With a Smile" is huge on streaming (Spotify 2025), while Djo's "End of Beginning" and Taylor Swift's "The Fate of Ophelia" trend globally; historically, The Weeknd's "Blinding Lights" holds all-time streaming records on Spotify, but "Baby Shark Dance" dominates YouTube views, per these sources https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_most-viewed_YouTube_videos,.
What's the most famous old song?
There's no single "most popular" old song, as it depends on metrics (sales, cultural impact, streaming), but Bing Crosby's "White Christmas" is the best-selling single ever. Other highly popular classics consistently cited are The Beatles' "Yesterday", Ben E. King's "Stand By Me", Led Zeppelin's "Stairway to Heaven", Queen's "Bohemian Rhapsody", Michael Jackson's "Billie Jean", and Neil Diamond's "Sweet Caroline", all topping various "greatest" or "most recognizable" lists.
What is the oldest song that people still listen to?
However, one contender for the title is the "Hurrian Hymn No. 6," also known as the "Hurrian Hymn to Nikkal." This ancient hymn dates back to around 1400 BCE and was discovered in the ancient city of Ugarit, located in modern-day Syria.
Who wrote the first song ever?
It's impossible to name who composed the first song. But what was the first song “written?” The first song ever notated (to our limited knowledge of history) was the “Hurrian Hymn.” Discovered in 1950, 3,400 years after its debut on the ancient clay charts from the 13th Century BC.