The Beatles Number One Hits

After seeing the commercials showing The Beatles version of Rock Band, as well as the newly re-mastered versions of all their albums, I became nostalgic and decided to buy The Beatles One – an album highlighting the number one songs that this illustrious band have had.

As I listened to the songs, my memories going back to a more innocent time in my life, I was amazed how I knew every single song on the album – that is a huge testament to the success of the band.

I can not think of any other band that has had such an influence over modern music. This hub is perhaps a personal one for me, but hopefully I can educate a few people about The Beatles.

Below I list every song on the aforementioned album; it’s amazing how much success the band has had, and even now are still having an impact on music and are still selling millions of albums.

It shows their depth of talent that each member of the band had success after the end of The Beatles. George Harrison, Ringo Starr, Paul McCartney and John Lennon will live on in the memories of millions long after they are all gone, and it is great to see a whole new generation of fans emerging thanks to products like Rock Band: The Beatles.

Released: October 5, 1962

Written By: Lennon and McCartney.

Paul McCartnery started writing this song in school in 1958, and John Lennon added to it. It was the first Beatles single and reached number one in the US in 1964.

My Notes: this song is a great example of Beatles music. It’s simple, catchy and doesn’t get too deep with the lyrics – it’s songs like this that helped the Beatles become so big; at that point they could experiment more.

Released: March 5, 1963

Written By: Lennon and McCartney

From Me to You was the first Beatles song to reach number one in the UK. It didn’t have a huge impact in the States, but made number 41 as a B side. Interestingly it was one of the last songs to be credited to McCartney / Lennon rather than the more usual Lennon / McCartney.

My Notes: Many of the early Beatles songs were simple love songs; they were simple, catchy but also romantic at time, and probably explain why so many teenage girls went crazy over their music.

Released: 23 August, 1963.

Written By: Lennon and McCartney

She Loves you was noted for being one of the five Beatles songs that formed the record of a band having the top five songs of the US charts at the same time. It was the best selling single in the UK in 1963,

My Notes: One thing I noticed very early on was that The Beatles always seemed to have an introduction to each song – something that wasn’t entirely related to the song, but always seemed to work well.

Released: October 1963

Written By: Lennon and McCartney

This is the first Beatles record using four-track equipment, and was written to break into the American market. It was the first Beatles song to hold the number one spot in the US – and stayed at number 1 for seven weeks.

My Notes: This song captures the essence of The Beatles for me; it is simplicity personified, with simple melodies and even simpler lyrics.

Released: 1964

Written By: McCartney (credited to Lennon and McCartney)

Can’t Buy Me Love became number one in the US on April 4, 1964 – on this day the Beatles held the top five positions in the US chart – no other artist has ever done this.

My Notes: Despite the simplicity of their songs and lyrics, the Bealtes were really become very sophisticated – that sounds like an oxi-moron, but essentially The Beatles knew what it took to create a hit record, and during their early years they pumped out classics like this song very easily.

Released: June 13, 1964 (released in the US first)

Written By: Lennon (credited to Lennon and McCartney)

This song featured in the soundtrack of the Beatles’ first movie. It was number one in the US and the UK.

My Notes: What I loved about the Beatles was that they took very simple themes and created a song about them; this was really a song for the working class Englishman.

Released: November 23, 1964 (US)

Written By: Lennon (credited to Lennon and McCartney)

Both Queen and Jimi Hendrix have covered this chart topping single. It was one of the first singles to use feedback as a musical ‘tool’ rather than an error in the studio.

My Notes: The Beatles were a class act producing many hits, but what most people don’t realize is how innovative they were; they stretched the bound and limits of music and introduced many techniques we take for granted these days!

Released: February 15, 1965

Written By: Lennon and McCartney.

This is the first single that demonstrated The Beatles’ desire to experiment with their music – spending six hours alone on this song, they tried many different techniques before being happy with the final version.

My Notes: This song perhaps shows how much the Bealtes were in touch with the normal guy; they seemed to understand how hard life was and managed to bring that feeling to life in a song.

Released: April 1965.

Written By: Lennon (credited to Lennon and McCartney)

Lennon has claimed that this song attributed to the rise of Heavy Metal due to its bass-lines. This was the first song in which McCartney plays lead guitar.

My Notes: I first remember hearing a cover of this song by The Carpenters and was very surprised by the speed of the song when I heard the original.

Released: 1965

Written By: Lennon (credited to Lennon and McCartney.

Heavily featured in the soundtrack for their movie, this song was number one in the US and the UK. It is ranked number 29 in Rolling Stones ‘500 greatest songs of all time’.

My Notes: It’s probably because of songs like this that I like Rush – the song starts of very fast and ‘rocky’ and then becomes more like a ballad in parts – it’s this diversity that is prevalent in many of Rush’s songs that I like so much.

Released: 1965

Written By: McCartney (credited to Lennon and McCartney)

This song is the first ballad by The Beatles and was so different to their normal music that it nearly was never released. It predominantly features the voice of Paul McCartney. It’s the most covered version of any song in history.

My Notes: This is my favorite Beatles song – it’s retrospective look at a break up, combined with the almost orchestral music make it very haunting and sad – it is pure class.

Released: Late 1965

Written By: Lennon and McCartney

Like many songs written by the Beatles, this one is supposed to allude to drugs; it hit number one in the UK and number five in the US. It is one of the songs featured in the Beatles’ rock band game.

My Notes: This isn’t one of my favorite Beatles songs – I feel that during the early years their management was forcing them to create commercial songs, rather than create songs that were innovative.

Released: Late 1965

Written By: Lennon and McCartney

This song was released as a double a-side with Day Tripper and reached number one in the UK and the US. This is really a great example of Lennon and McCartney collaboration – many of the early songs were credited to the pair, but weren’t really a collaboration.

My Notes: What I like most about the Beatles is their ability to embed multiple styles in one song; this is catchy, but also has a great ‘ballad’ like chorus.

Released: 1966

Written By: Lennon and McCartney

This is the eleventh single released by the Beatles. It was number one in the US and UK as well as many other countries. It was one of the first songs they wrote that was not a love song. Frank Sinatra’s Strangers in the Night knocked it of the number one spot in the US.

My Notes: when I first heard this song I didn’t really like it, but it grows on you. It is a very catchy song, and is a great example of the harmonies that the Beatles could produce.

Released: August 5, 1966

Written By: McCartney (credited to Lennon and McCartney)

This song hit number one in the UK but was not successful in the US; some argue that Lennon’s famous Jesus quote killed off any chances of success for this song. It is one of the first songs to feature Ringo Starr as the vocalist.

My Notes: There’s something about this song that makes it amazing – it perhaps is its Disneyesque quality that draws you in, or even the strabge ‘childlike’ quality that Ringo Starr’s voice imbues into a song.

Released: 1966

Written By: McCartney

Eleanor Rigby really shows the transformation that was going on with The Beatles. They had left behind their pop sound and were experimenting with many different musical genres. This is one of the deepest song they wrote, with profound lyrics about lonliness.

My Notes: This is really an amazing song on many levels. Musically it is fantastic and showed how well orchestral music could be integrated with rock music’ lyrically it began to show the depth of skills that McCartney had.

Released: 1967

Written By: McCartney

Under pressure from the record company after not releasing a song for several months, this song was released. It was included on their ‘Magical Mystery Tour’.

My Notes; This song really is a ‘non existant’ song for me – it was commerically successful, but it is so much like many other Beatles songs that it fades away for me – this song signalled the nearing of the end of the band for me.

Released: July 7, 1967

Written By: Lennon (credited to Lennon and McCartney)

This song was written and performed on the first live global TV link – ‘Our World’. It reached number one in the UK and  US. 

My Notes: This song was a foreshadow of what was to come from Lennon; it commented that love was important in the world and over-rode any other needs.

Released: November 24, 1967

Written By: McCartney (credited to Lennon and McCartney)

This song was written to explain the simplicity of everything and for how there are equal and opposites for everything you see and do.

My Notes: While the lyrics are intriguing to this song, I feel that this song took experimentation just a little too far.

Released: March 1968

Written By: Lennon and McCartney

This song was recorded just before the band left for India. It reached number one in the UK and number four in the US. All songs released after this one were released with the Apple Records label.

My Notes: this is quite a catchy song, but I feel it didn’t quite have the edge that I loved from The Beatles.

Released: August 26, 1968

Written By: McCartney (credited to Lennon and McCartney)

This ballad was written to comfort Julian Lennon during his parents divorce. It is one of the longest Beatles songs, and predominantly features McCartney’s vocals an piano. It is the first song released on the Apple Records label. It was number one of the UK and US charts.

My Notes: there’s something about this song that sets it apart from most songs; the music is amazing, and the lyrics are powerful and subtle. Despite being seven minutes long, it really has a great story to tell.

Released: April 11, 1969 (My second birthday!)

Written By: McCartney (credited to Lennon and McCartney)

This song formed part of the album ‘Let it Be’ which was the last album before the Beatles split. This was the first true ‘stereo’ single released by The Beatles and was number one in the US and the UK.

My Notes: I appreciate the many different genres that the Beatles influenced, and this one probably is the closet to the genre I love most, progressive rock – it has undertones of traditional rock and roll, but adds a subtle edge.

Released: May 1969

Written By: Lennon (credited to Lennon and McCartney)

This intensely personal song chronicles the events surrounding John Lennon’s marriage to Yoko Ono. It is more of a poem than a song, and was the last number one in the UK for the Beatles.

My Notes:Out of all the songs that reached number one I feel this is the most undeserving; it seemed to me to be a self indulgent song written for Lennon and Yoko Ono.

Released: 1969

Written By: Harrison

This is the first song written by George Harrison and is acclaimed as his best by Lennon and McCartney. It is the only song written by Harrison (while in the Beatles) to top the US charts.

This song has been covered by many greats including Elvis Presley, Frank Sinatra, James Brown and Julio Iglesia.

My Notes; George Harrison is one of my favorite arists of all time; while Lennon and McCartney deservedly got most of the accolades, this talented man sat back quietly and didn’t really show his full range of talent until the Beatles broke up. His unassuming manner make him perhaps the most endearing member of The Beatles.

Released: September 1968

Written By: Lennon (credited to Lennon and McCartney)

This song was a double A sided single with the song ‘Something’. It hit number one in the US but was only number ten in the UK.

My Notes: This song has so many sides to it; it is very experimental and is somehow catchy. It shows the inherent talent of the Beatles and their ability to change and adapt.

Released: May 8, 1970

Written By: McCartney (credited to Lennon and McCartney)

This song is the title track to the Beatles final studio album and was released shortly after the group’s breakup.

My Notes: This song really shows the direction that Paul McCartney was heading; it’s melodic tones combined with the deep lyrics make this one of the better latter Beatles songs.

Released: May 23, 1970

Written By: McCArtney (credited to Lennon and McCartney)

This ballad was the last number one Beatles song in the US. It became one of the sic resons that McCartney sited in the legal case to break up the Beatles as a legal entity.

My Notes: This song really could have been releasef by Wings – it really is predominantly a McCartney song and is so far removed from classic Beatles that it was obvious that McCartney was concentrating on his career outside of the Beatles.