At the end of February, Taylor Swift officially knocked The Beatles out of No. 1 in a category many probably thought nobody ever would — the most weeks in the Top 10 of the Billboard 100. The 34 year old has released 11 studio albums, re-recorded four of them, and issued four live albums. Her next album, The Tortured Poets Department, drops April 19. Incidentally, it will be her first studio album without a single-word title.
So far, of her 19 albums, she’s had 16 in the Top 10 of the Billboard 100 for a combined 384 weeks. The Beatles’ record was 382 weeks. The Fabs didn’t have a career as long as Swift, but Paul McCartney certainly has, so perhaps it’s better to compare Sir Paul with T.Swizzle. Macca was Swift’s age in 1977. His career started in 1957 and Swift’s in 2004 — so that works out to a nice 20 years in both cases.
With The Beatles, McCartney had 18 No. 1 albums in the U.K. and 16 in the U.S. during that time period. Don’t forget, there were separate American and British releases for many years — so, two chances to chart. Anyway, technically it works out to 34 No. 1 albums. But really, it’s 12 truly different No. 1 albums. There were 20 No. 1 Beatles singles in the U.S. and 17 in the U.K. As a member of Wings or as a solo artist, McCartney had three No. 1 albums in the U.K. and six in the U.S. During the same time period (1957-1977) he had one No. 1 hit in the U.K. and five in the U.S. Adding them up:
U.S. No. 1 albums: 22
U.K. No. 1 albums: 21
U.S. No. 1 singles: 25
U.K. No. 1 singles: 18
Swift’s numbers are impressive, but not really in the same territory:
U.S. No. 1 albums: 13
U.K. No. 1 albums: 11
U.S. No. 1 singles: 10
U.K. No. 1 singles: 4
But that’s just her — a solo artist, without the likes of John Lennon, George Harrison, Ringo Starr or even Denny Laine to bolster your talent. So perhaps it’s more accurate to compare Swift with another solo artist — Elvis Presley from 1954 to 1969, the year Elvis turned 34. He didn’t have any No. 1s after that year, anyway, except two singles in the U.K.:
U.S. No. 1 albums: 4
U.K. No. 1 albums: 4
U.S. No. 1 singles: 18
U.K. No. 1 singles: 15
And there you have it. Swift has topped The Beatles on the Billboard 100 and she blows away Elvis when it comes to No. 1 albums. The King still has her beat with singles, though. By 1969, Elvis’s best years were behind him. The ’68 Comeback Special was awesome — arguably his last great triumph. But the release of Suspicious Minds in 1969 — at least for me — signals his last great hit and the beginning of the caricature years. There is no doubt in my mind that Swift’s best work probably still lies ahead.
Let’s compare the No. 1s of another record-setter, the late Michael Jackson. The “Prince of Pop” turned 34 in 1992. He’d been active in the music business for 20 years by 1984 when you factor in The Jackson 5. But, for comparison’s sake, we’ll just examine his solo output from his debut in 1972 to Dangerous in 1991-’92:
U.S. No. 1 albums: 3
U.K. No. 1 albums: 3
U.S. No. 1 singles: 11
U.K. No. 1 singles: 4
Swift and Jackson are neck-and-neck in the singles dept. but she absolutely obliterates him when it comes to No. 1 albums. While Swift’s sophomore album was her first No. 1, Jackson didn’t get one until his sixth — 1983’s Thriller.
Perhaps we should now compare her to another pop diva, rather than a dude. Madonna is the first one who springs to mind. Like Jackson, Madge turned 34 in 1992 but hadn’t been making music nearly as long. She marked 20 years in the business in 1999, but we’ll examine the period from her debut album in 1983 to 1992’s Erotica:
U.S. No. 1 albums: 3
U.K. No. 1 albums: 3
U.S. No. 1 singles: 10
U.K. No. 1 singles: 7
Again, Swift and Madonna are close in the singles category, but Swizzle is totally in another category when it comes to No. 1 albums. Madge’s numbers are pretty close to Jackson’s.
One more: Let’s take a look at the other huge star of the moment, Ed Sheeran. He’s one year younger than Swift and has been in the business since 2004 just like her. He has seven studio albums to Swift’s 11.
U.S. No. 1 albums: 4
U.K. No. 1 albums: 7
U.S. No. 1 singles: 2
U.K. No. 1 singles: 11
The only place Teddy has her beat is with No. 1 hit singles in the U.K. Fair enough — he’s from there. She has him 10 to 2 with No. 1 singles in her home country, though. Seems to me, she’s the bigger star. An incredible career. Unbelievable achievements. Go, T!
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Area Resident is an Ottawa-based journalist, recording artist, music collector and re-seller. Hear (and buy) his music on Bandcamp, email him HERE, follow him on Instagram and check him out on Discogs.
