A recent Stylus Counsel column I wrote — in which I compared the number of hit albums and singles by Taylor Swift to Paul McCartney, Madonna, Michael Jackson, Elvis Presley and Ed Sheeran — got at least one Beatles fan all fired up.
Tinnitist reader Steve wrote to me suggesting that if I took a look at the songs Macca wrote for other artists — or covers of his songs — Sir Paul may well have more hits than T.Swizzle.
Well, he already does — so, no need. But this notion did give me an idea: Take a look at the top Beatle-penned songs and figure out who the biggest hitmaker in the band was — Paul, John Lennon or maybe even George Harrison. I’m guessing it’s Paul, but I’m still curious to see the numbers.
So: The list below encompasses songs by the original band as well as solo material and stuff from Wings, Plastic Ono Band, Travelling Wilburys, The Fireman — and songs written or co-written by a Beatle but covered by a different artist. And, yeah — I’m disregarding the official Lennon-McCartney songwriting credit on most Beatles songs, and instead assigning a point to the individual who was the well-documented songwriter. In cases where more than one Beatle wrote the song, each gets a point.
But first, here are the Top 50 Beatle-penned songs on Spotify as of March 2023. The number at the end reflects total streams of the noted version of the song (some tracks have multiple remasters, stereo or mono mixes and remixes, so I made sure to indicate which one it is). Strangely, there were no doubles in the top 50, apart from With A Little Help From My Friends and the cover by Joe Cocker.
1 | The Beatles | Here Comes The Sun (2009 remaster) 1.2 billion
2 | Rihanna, Kanye West & Paul McCartney | FourFiveSeconds 1.1 billion
3 | The Beatles | Come Together (2009 remaster) 701 million
4 | The Beatles | Let It Be (2009 remaster) 649 million
5 | John Lennon | Imagine (2010 remaster) 630 million
6 | The Beatles | Yesterday (2009 remaster) 605 million
7 | John Lennon & Yoko Ono | Happy Xmas (War Is Over) (2010 remaster) 567 million
8 | The Beatles | Hey Jude (2015 mix) 564 million
9 | George Harrison | My Sweet Lord (2014 remaster) 498 million
10 | Paul McCartney | Wonderful Christmastime (edited 2011 remaster) 495 million
11 | The Beatles | Blackbird (2009 remaster) 426 million
12 | The Beatles | I Want To Hold Your Hand (2009 remaster) 396 million
13 | The Beatles | In My Life (2009 remaster) 363 million
14 | The Beatles | Help! (2009 remaster) 307 million
15 | The Beatles | Something (2009 remaster) 303 million
16 | John Lennon | Woman (2010 remaster) 278 million
17 | Wings | Band On The Run (2010 remaster) 267 million
18 | The Beatles | Eleanor Rigby (2009 remaster) 256 million
19 | The Beatles | While My Guitar Gently Weeps (2009 remaster) 254 million
20 | The Beatles | Ob-La-Di-Ob-La-Da (2009 remaster) 244 million
21 | The Beatles | Love Me Do (2009 remaster) 223 million
22 | The Beatles | A Hard Day’s Night (2009 remaster) 211 million
23 | The Beatles | Strawberry Fields Forever (2009 remaster) 201 million
24 | The Beatles | Norwegian Wood (This Bird Has Flown) (2009 remaster) 195 million
25 | The Beatles | All You Need Is Love (2015 mix) 192 million
26 | Traveling Wilburys | The End Of The Line 189 million
27 | The Beatles | Lucy In The Sky With Diamonds (2009 remaster) 176 million
28 | The Beatles | And I Love Her (2009 remaster) 175 million
29 | The Beatles with Billy Preston | Get Back (2015 mix) 174 million
30 | The Beatles | I Saw Her Standing There (2009 remaster) 172 million
31 | Joe Cocker | With A Little Help From My Friends 171 million
32 | The Beatles | Day Tripper (2009 remaster) 169 million
33 | The Beatles | All My Loving (2009 remaster) 162 million
34 | The Beatles | She Loves You (2009 remaster) 161 million
35 | Kanye West | All Day 160 million
36 | The Beatles | Don’t Let Me Down (2009 remaster) 158 million
37 | The Beatles | Can’t Buy Me Love (2009 remaster) 156 million
38 | Paul McCartney | Live And Let Die (2003 live) 155 million
39 | The Beatles | Ticket To Ride (2009 remaster) 154 million
40 | The Beatles | Penny Lane (2009 remaster) 153 million
41 | The Beatles | Yellow Submarine (2009 remaster) 145 million
42 | The Beatles | Eight Days A Week (2009 remaster) 144 million
43 | The Beatles | Hello, Goodbye (2015 mix) 142 million
44 | The Beatles | Oh! Darling (2009 remaster) 139 million
45 | The Beatles | Michelle (2009 remaster) 137 million
46 | John Lennon | Beautiful Boy (2010 remaster) (Darling Boy) 135 million
47 | Paul McCartney | Maybe I’m Amazed (2011 remaster) 134 million
48 | The Beatles | Across The Universe (2009 remaster) 133 million
49 | The Beatles | With A Little Help From My Friends (2009 remaster) 130 million
50 | The Beatles | Back In The U.S.S.R. (2009 remaster) 128 million
Interesting to note is Twist And Shout (450 million) would have come in at No. 11, but it’s a cover — written by Phil Medley and Bert Berns, it was originally a hit for The Isley Brothers. Another notable cover which couldn’t be included was Harrison’s 1987 hit, Got My Mind Set On You (251 million). It was written by Rudy Clark and originally recorded by James Ray in 1962.
Ringo Starr didn’t have a hand in the songwriting of any of the top-50 streaming songs. He sang No. 41 and No. 49, though — and his big self-penned hit Octopus’s Garden sits just a little outside the Top 50 at 87 million streams. Harrison is next with five songs in the Top 50 — including the most-streamed Beatles song of all.
In the end, McCartney edged Lennon just slightly, with 30 songs to John’s 24. Of course, Lennon was at a slight disadvantage, having been dead for 44 years. Still, it’s an interesting list, because these are the beloved Beatles tracks, not necessarily the biggest hits. The Beatles had 29 No. 1 hits. Seven of them are not among the 50 most-popular streams — Please Please Me, From Me To You, I Feel Fine, We Can Work It Out, Paperback Writer, Lady Madonna and The Ballad Of John and Yoko.
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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.
