The actors star as couple Bill and Frank, characters that are only briefly explored in the games.
However, showrunners Craig Mazin and Neil Druckmann wanted to spend a full episode on the pair's love story and it was a genius move, producing some of the best TV fans have seen in a long time.
Directed by It's a Sin's Peter Hoar, the episode takes the focus off of Pedro Pascal's Joel and Bella Ramsey's Ellie to tell the story of Bill and Frank meeting and falling in love as the world falls apart around them.
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During Bill and Frank's first meeting, they both play the piano and bond over a beautiful song.
Read on for more details about the song in episode 3 of The Last of Us.
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What is the song in episode 3 of The Last of Us?
The song Bill and Frank bond over and both play on the piano is Long, Long Time by Linda Ronstadt.
It also features at the end of the episode, when Ellie finds Frank's tapes in the car. She and Joel listen to the song as they drive off after leaving Bill and Frank's house.
Long, Long Time was released in 1970 as a single and as part of Ronstadt's album Silk Purse.
It peaked at number 25 on the Billboard Hot 100 and she Ronstadt was nominated for a Grammy Award for Best Contemporary Female Vocal Performance in 1971; the award went to Dionne Warwick for I'll Never Fall in Love Again.
While Mazin knew he wanted a beautiful musical moment in the episode, he struggled to find the perfect song.
He told IndieWire: “I went through hours and hours and hours. And finally, I was like, ‘I know what to do. I’m going to text my friend Seth Rudetsky,’ who is a host on Sirius XM On Broadway, and has this encyclopaedic knowledge of all music.
"I described what I needed and within 30 seconds, it was [incoming text noise] ‘Long, Long Time by Linda Ronstadt.’ I kinda remembered that song. I played it and was like, ‘Oh, my. There it is.'”
Following the episode's release, Spotify has said that Long, Long Time has seen a streaming surge of 4,900 per cent in the US, a situation reminiscent of when Kate Bush's Running Up That Hill was used in Stranger Things season 4.
Who is Linda Ronstadt?
Linda Ronstadt is an accomplished and widely-loved singer, who delved into genres including country, rock, Latin and even light opera during her decades-long career.
The Long, Long Time singer is now retired but during her singing days, she was honoured with 11 Grammy Awards, three American Music Awards and an Emmy, among other accolades.
Often referred to as the 'First Lady of Rock', Ronstadt was the most successful female singer of the 1970s.
She's best known for songs including Blue Bayou, You're No Good, and When Will I Be Loved.
In 2019, she received a star on the Hollywood Walk of Fame alongside Dolly Parton and Emmylou Harris for their work as the group Trio.
Ronstadt retired in 2011 and has revealed she is no longer able to sing due to her being diagnosed with the degenerative condition progressive supranuclear palsy, a rare neurological condition that can cause problems with balance, movement, vision, speech and swallowing.
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