Song · Asia
“Only Time Will Tell” by Asia
Released 1997
“Only Time Will Tell” by Asia appears on 12 radio countdowns from 7 stations between 2014 and 2026. It was first released in 1997. Its best result is #288 on the WMGK Philly 500 (2026). In the combined RockLists rankings it is #1,358 classic rock song of all time.
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"Only Time Will Tell" followed "Heat of the Moment" off Asia's self-titled 1982 debut on Geffen, and it's the more wounded of the two: a breakup song John Wetton drew from his own life, the confessional streak he credited to his love of Joni Mitchell dressed up in prog-sized pomp. The songwriting split is neat, too. Wetton wrote the verse and Geoff Downes the chorus, the reverse of how they had carved up the first single, and Mike "Clay" Stone produced.
It climbed to 17 on the Billboard Hot 100 and gave the band a third top-10 hit on the mainstream rock chart, helped along by an MTV favorite of a video from Godley & Creme, in which a gymnast tumbles over banks of television sets and the band turn up only on the screens.
Written with AI assistance from RockLists chart data, MusicBrainz and Wikipedia.
RockLists rankings
Classic Rock
All Rock Formats
All-time and decade countdowns
| Year | # | Station | Countdown | of |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2014 | 932 | Big 100 | BIG 1000 New Year's Countdown (2014) | 1000 |
| 2017 | 298 | 97.9 The Loop | 97.9 The Loop Top 540 Countdown (2017) | 540 |
| 2019 | 784 | 102.5 KZOK | KZOK Top 1025 of 2019 | 1025 |
| 2020 | 582 | 102.5 KZOK | KZOK Classic Rock Top 1025 (2020) | 1025 |
| 2022 | 594 | 102.5 KZOK | KZOK Classic Rock Top 1025 (2022) | 1025 |
| 2022 | 446 | 99.1 PLR | 99.1 PLR Big 500 (2022) | 500 |
| 2023 | 775 | 101.5 WPDH | WPDH Top 1015 (2023) | 1015 |
| 2024 | 850 | Q104.3 | Q104.3 Top 1,043 Classic Rock Songs of All Time (2024) | 1043 |
| 2024 | 422 | WMGK | WMGK Philly 500 (2024) | 500 |
| 2025 | 766 | Q104.3 | Q104.3 Top 1,043 Classic Rock Songs of All Time (2025) | 1043 |
| 2025 | 411 | WMGK | WMGK Philly 500 (2025) | 500 |
| 2026 | 288 | WMGK | WMGK Philly 500 (2026) | 500 |
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