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Cover of A Momentary Lapse of Reason by Pink Floyd
Cover: A Momentary Lapse of Reason

Song · Pink Floyd

“Learning to Fly” by Pink Floyd

From the album A Momentary Lapse of Reason (1987)

“Learning to Fly” by Pink Floyd appears on 80 radio countdowns from 28 stations between 1991 and 2026. It was first released in 1987 on the album A Momentary Lapse of Reason. Its best result is #63 on the 97.9 The Loop Top 540 Countdown (2017). In the combined RockLists rankings it is #6,029 indie & aaa song of all time.

80countdowns
28stations
#63best position
0#1 finishes
0top 10 finishes
1991–2026years charted

Watch

Pink Floyd - Learning To Fly (Official Music Video HD)

Video from YouTube (Pink Floyd). Pressing play loads YouTube's player. Watch on YouTube

"Learning to Fly" led the charge for A Momentary Lapse of Reason in 1987, the first single off Pink Floyd's 13th studio album, and it glides where the band once brooded. David Gilmour sings it and plays the guitar, and he wrote it with Anthony Moore, Bob Ezrin and Jon Carin; Gilmour and Ezrin produced, with Andy Jackson recording and mixing.

The sound is pure late-'80s widescreen: Tony Levin's bass pulsing under a sheen of keyboards from Carin and Richard Wright, Nick Mason's drums and effects, a stack of backing singers, and Mason himself turning up as a spoken voice, crackling in like a radio transmission. American rock radio lapped it up, sending it to number one on Billboard's Album Rock Tracks chart for three straight weeks that autumn.

Written with AI assistance from RockLists chart data, MusicBrainz and Wikipedia.

RockLists rankings

Indie & Adult Alternative

Classic Rock

Hard Rock & Metal

All Rock Formats

All-time and decade countdowns

Year#StationCountdownof
1991 452 WNEW-FM WNEW Firecracker 500 (1991) 500
1994 525 KISW KISW Top 1000 of All Time (1994) 1000
1995 681 KISW KISW Top 1000 of All Time (1995) 1000
1996 542 KISW KISW Top 1000 of All Time (1996) 1000
1996 227 WNEW-FM WNEW Firecracker 500 (1996) 500
1997 362 102.3 WBAB WBAB Top 1,023 Rock and Roll Songs of All Time (1997) 1023
1997 309 100.7 WZLX WZLX Memorial 500 (1997) 499
1997 365 104.5 KZEP KZEP Memorial Weekend Top 500 (1997) 500
1998 609 KISW KISW Top 1000 of All Time (1998) 1000
1999 493 KISW KISW Top 1000 of All Time (1999) 998
2001 1394 WFPK WFPK 2001 Greatest Songs of All Time 2000
2002 236 KISW KISW Top 999 of All Time (2002) 999
2002 755 92.3 KGON KGON Top 923 Classic Rock Songs of All Time (2002) 923
2004 754 92.3 KGON KGON Top 923 Classic Rock Songs of All Time (2004) 923
2010 209 97.9 The Loop The Loop USO Rock 'N' Roll 500 (2010) 500
2011 506 100.7 WZLX 100.7 WZLX Top 1100 Countdown (2011) 1100
2012 491 100.7 WZLX 100.7 WZLX Top 1200 Countdown (2012) 1200
2012 294 Big 100 BIG 500 Memorial Day Countdown (2012) 500
2013 354 100.7 WZLX 100.7 WZLX Firecracker 500 (2013) 500
2013 454 100.7 WZLX 100.7 WZLX Grand Jam 1000 (2013) 1000
2013 427 Big 100 BIG 500 Labor Day Countdown (2013) 500
2013 421 Big 100 BIG 500 Memorial Day Countdown (2013) 500
2014 277 100.7 WZLX 100.7 WZLX Firecracker 400 (2014) 400
2014 183 Big 100 BIG 1000 New Year's Countdown (2014) 1000
2014 396 100.7 WZLX 100.7 WZLX 1K Countdown (2014) 1000
2015 294 100.7 WZLX 100.7 WZLX Firecracker 500 (2015) 499
2015 272 102.9 The Whale 102.9 The Whale Hartford 500 (2015) 500
2015 454 100.7 WZLX 100.7 WZLX Top 1007 Classic Rock Countdown (2015) 1007
2015 326 I-95 I-95 Memorial Day Weekend Top 500 (2015) 500
2016 429 Big 100 BIG 500 Memorial Day Countdown (2016) 500
2016 161 103.5 The Fox The Fox Memorial Day 500 (2016) 299
2016 148 Qfm96 Qfm96 Memorial Day 500 (2016) 500
2016 280 102.9 The Whale 102.9 The Whale Hartford 500 (2016) 500
2016 360 100.7 WZLX 100.7 WZLX Top 1007 Countdown for 2016 1007
2017 437 Big 100 BIG 500 Memorial Day Countdown (2017) 500
2017 63 97.9 The Loop 97.9 The Loop Top 540 Countdown (2017) 540
2017 334 97 Rock 97 Rock N Roll 500 (2017) 500
2018 449 Big 100 BIG 500 Memorial Day Countdown (2018) 500
2018 475 97 Rock 97 Rock N Roll 500 (2018) 500
2019 455 97 Rock 97 Rock N Roll 500 (2019) 500
2019 626 102.5 KZOK KZOK Top 1025 of 2019 1025
2019 336 102.5 WDVE DVE Memorial Day 500 (2019) 500
2019 304 Big 100 BIG 500 Memorial Day Countdown (2019) 500
2019 341 106.7 WLLZ WLLZ 500 (2019) 500
2020 325 97 Rock 97 Rock N Roll 500 (2020) 500
2020 1899 WXPN WXPN 2020 Greatest Songs of All Time 2020
2020 211 102.5 KZOK KZOK Classic Rock Top 1025 (2020) 1025
2020 347 102.5 WDVE DVE Memorial Day 500 (2020) 500
2020 263 Q105.7 Q105.7 Memorial Day 500 (2020) 499
2020 486 106.7 WLLZ WLLZ 500 (2020) 500
2021 268 99.1 PLR 99.1 PLR Big 500 (2021) 500
2021 260 97 Rock 97 Rock N Roll 500 (2021) 500
2021 540 Q104.3 Q104.3 Top 1,043 Classic Rock Songs of All Time (2021) 1043
2021 158 100.7 KSLX KSLX Arizona 500 (2021) 499
2021 381 106.7 WLLZ WLLZ 500 (2021) 500
2022 348 106.7 WLLZ WLLZ Rock N Roll 500 (2022) 500
2022 162 99.1 PLR 99.1 PLR Big 500 (2022) 500
2022 211 102.5 KZOK KZOK Classic Rock Top 1025 (2022) 1025
2022 406 102.5 WDVE DVE Memorial Day 500 (2022) 500
2022 288 94.1 KRNA KRNA Memorial Day 500 (2022) 500
2022 261 Q104.3 Q104.3 Top 1,043 Classic Rock Songs of All Time (2022) 1043
2022 340 100.7 KSLX KSLX Arizona 500 (2022) 500
2022 271 97.1 The River River 500 (2022) 500
2023 288 101.5 WPDH WPDH Top 1015 (2023) 1015
2023 407 102.5 WDVE DVE Memorial Day 500 (2023) 500
2023 83 Qfm96 Qfm96 Memorial Day 500 (2023) 500
2023 379 Q104.3 Q104.3 Top 1,043 Classic Rock Songs of All Time (2023) 1043
2023 468 97.1 The Drive 97.1 The Drive Memorial Day Weekend Rock N Roll 500 (2023) 500
2024 219 KQRS KQRS KQ 500 (2024) 499
2024 368 97 Rock 97 Rock N Roll 500 (2024) 499
2024 271 99.1 PLR 99.1 PLR Top 400 of the Last 40 Years (2024) 400
2024 86 Qfm96 Qfm96 Memorial Day 500 (2024) 498
2024 262 Q104.3 Q104.3 Top 1,043 Classic Rock Songs of All Time (2024) 1043
2025 254 97 Rock 97 Rock N Roll 500 (2025) 500
2025 90 99.1 PLR 99.1 PLR Top 400 of the Last 40 Years (2025) 400
2025 86 Qfm96 Qfm96 Memorial Day 500 (2025) 498
2025 304 Q104.3 Q104.3 Top 1,043 Classic Rock Songs of All Time (2025) 1043
2026 143 WMGK WMGK Philly 500 (2026) 500
2026 426 102.5 WDVE DVE Memorial Day 500 (2026) 500
2026 266 100.7 KSLX KSLX Arizona 500 (2026) 500

Also listed as: Learning To Fly.

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