Top 10 Beatles’ songs

Top 10 Beatles’ Songs

Trade ad for The Beatles’ 1964 Grammys – WikiCommons

Surely you’ve heard of The Beatles, a band which changed the music industry forever. With numerous top hits, which really were the top songs they created?

The Beatles were an English rock band formed in the Northwestern corner of the country in bustling Liverpool in the 1960s. The band was made up of John Lennon, Paul McCartney, George Harrison, and Ringo Starr. Originally created by Lennon with his high-school band-mates, he recruited McCartney to join the squad. After a successful trial on the top of a Liverpool bus, Harrison joined the band as well. The original drummer, Pete Best, was removed by The Beatles’ manager, George Martin, after hearing a recording. Ringo Starr was added, and the infamous four-some was born.

The group is potentially the most influential band of all time, creating music during the extremely important counterculture time in the USA. They allowed rock music to garner greater recognition as its’ own music genre, and combined traditional pop with rock characteristics. The group was an icon for the youth’s cultural movements during the time period, and influenced much of the younger generation with their style, lyrics, and musical arrangements.

Throughout the band’s illustrious music career, they released 227 songs spanning 10 years. With thirteen albums, there were many songs to choose from when deciding on the top hits over the years. We have compiled our choices of the top 10 Beatles’ hits – although it is extremely hard to choose just ten.

10) Help!

The Beatles in Treslong – By By Boer, Poppe de – https://hdl.handle.net/21.12102/fb9a0a5a-8c60-f9e9-af21-58a088111e6f, CC0, https://commons.wikimedia.org/w/index.php?curid=77569386

This song written by Lennon and McCartney was recorded in 1965. McCartney credits Lennon with most of the song-writing credit and coming up with most of the musical melodies. Lennon was on vocals and guitar, McCartney was background vocals and bass, Harrison was background vocals and lead guitar, and Starr was on drums and tambourine.

Lennon stated that while writing the song it was actually a cry for help, as the title would suggest. He felt insecure within his own body, he felt insecure, and he felt as if he had lost himself. He was inadvertently singing to his younger self, trying to find what made him whole again. The song is remembrance of looking back on how easy it was in the beginning, and how everything had changed now. After all, he was having to write this song because he was told to do it for the Beatles’ movie – so he felt pressured and under stress while writing.

After Lennon and McCartney finished completing the song, they performed it on guitars for Cynthia Lennon. Although originally written as a ballad, they had to speed it up in the recording process to try and make it more commercial, a tactic that Lennon said in later years he would want to change, and re-record if he ever sang it again.

The Beatles recorded Help! in just one night in April 1965 at Abbey Road. Twelve takes of the song were recorded,  and the final one was the best. The single was released in the US and the UK in July of 1965, and topped the charts in both countries. One of the band’s most popular singles, and albums, Help! was a Lennon-created song that showed his genius and depth at song writing.

9) Hey Jude

Hey Jude was a song written by McCartney to comfort Lennon’s song, Julian, during his parents’ divorce. Released in August of 1968, it was the first release on The Beatles’ new label, Apple Records. Paul McCartney was on vocals piano, and bass, Lennon on background vocals and acoustic guitar, Harrison on background vocals and electric guitar, and Starr on the drums and tambourine.

The song was a number-one hit in numerous countries all over the world, becoming the top-selling single in the UK, the US, Australia, and Canada in 1968. The run for nine-weeks at the top of the Billboard Hot 100 chart is tied for the longest run at the top of US charts.

Yesterday is a song written by Paul McCartney, and was credited to both Lennon and McCartney. First released on the Help! album in 1965, except for being released as a single in the US in September, the song reached #1 on US charts. This song was unique to the band because McCartney was the only member featured on the track. McCartney was vocals and guitar, Tony Gilbert and Sidney Sax were on violin, Kenneth Essex on viola, and Francisco Gabarro on cello.

The song’s original title was ‘Scrambled Eggs,’ and was written and played during the filming of Help!. McCartney continued practicing and singing the song while in the studio, and the producer and other band-mates heard the track. They all agreed it was time to move forward with the song.

The first recording for Yesterday was on June 14th, 1965. McCartney recorded his guitar and vocals in only two takes. Martin was the one to suggest that they use a string quartet for the other instruments, instead of Lennon on the organ. McCartney initially was unsure about the idea, but after Martin composed the background melody and showed McCartney, he was sold.

The song holds the record as the most covered song in history according to the Guinness Book of Records. It was voted the best song of the 20th century by a BBC Radio poll, and the Number 1 song of all time by MTV in 2000. The song was inducted into the Grammy Hall of Fame in 1997, showing the widespread effect of the song, the worldwide acceptance, and the influence it had on society.

7) Let It Be

The Beatles in Treslong – By Boer, Poppe de [CC0]

This infamous song, released on March 6th 1970, was written by the ever-popular Lennon-McCartney partnership. McCartney had the idea for the song after he had a dream about his mother, during a stressful period of recordings with the band. He then rehearsed the song in 1969 with The Beatles, using his mother, who had died of cancer, as the inspiration for the ‘Mother Mary’ lyric.

McCartney and Harrison played various instruments in this song,  taking turns at the vocals, lead guitar, bass guitar, and maracas. Ringo Starr was the percussion man, playing the drums, and Lennon was in charge of background vocals. The band also enlisted Billy Preston for the organ and electric piano, and Linda McCartney did some background vocals.

This song was written at a time when McCartney felt isolated as a band member, feeling like he was the only one pushing to keep the band together. Although remaining positive in the eye of the public, he felt insecure by the slow falling-out of the group. ‘Let It Be’ symbolizes the disintegration of one of the most influential bands of all time and the acceptance of the dissolution.

6) Strawberry Fields Forever

This song was written by John Lennon, and once again credited to the Lennon-McCartney partnership. This song represented the departure from the style of the previous singles and transcended into a psychedelic genre.

Strawberry Fields was the name of a children’s home near John Lennon’s home in Woolton. He and his friends used to play in the area behind the home while he was growing up, and the name stuck with him into his adult life. He began writing the song while in Spain in 1966, after a slightly tumultuous touring period for the band.

The theme of the song was a nostalgic look at the band’s past in Liverpool, reminiscing on the summers of playing and exploring with his friends. With an LSD-infused lens cast over the song, it turned from a straightforward message into a hallucinogenic and trippy song, creating a psychedelic masterpiece.

5) I Want To Hold Your Hand

This song was yet again written by the Lennon-McCartney duo, this time in the basement of a house on Wimpole Street, London. After a few flops in the US, the band wanted to come up with the epitome of a pop song to top the charts in the US – and they succeeded.

Recorded in October of 1963 at Abbey Road, this was the first song the band recorded using four-track technology. After 17 takes, the song was completed. Lennon was vocals and rhythm guitar, McCartney was vocals and bass guitar, Harrison was lead guitar and hand-claps, and Ringo was drums.

In the UK, this song almost shot to the #1 spot on the day of release – if it hadn’t been for the Beatles’ other song, ‘She Loves You.’ This song was the group’s first American #1 hit, and became the best-selling single worldwide for the band, selling over 12 million copies.

4) In My Life

Written by Lennon-McCartney, this song was written mostly by the former, describing memories of his time growing up in Liverpool. Lennon referred to this song as his major piece of work, since he put pen-to-paper about his real life. He opened up about his childhood and mentioned numerous places he had visited in the city.

Lennon and McCartney later disputed about how much the latter had to do with influencing the final product of the song. Later research and song composition analysis shows that McCartney had a high percentage of influence on the bridge, and was influenced by the style of Smokey Robinson and the Miracles.

The song was recorded on October 18th 1965, with Lennon singing lead and playing rhythm guitar, McCartney harmonizing and playing bass, Harrison harmonizing and playing lead guitar, and Starr playing the drums and bells. Their producer, George Martin, was also in the song as the piano and tambourine.

This song was ranked in Rolling Stone’s ‘Top 500 Greatest Songs of All Time’ as #23, and is regarded as the 160th most celebrated song in popular music history.

3) Something

Beatles at the George Washington Hotel – By Vern Barchard [CC0]

This song differs from the previous ones, as it was written by George Harrison, the lead guitarist. The composition of this song made Harrison regarded as one of the Beatles’ principal songwriters.’ Something’ was written during the 1968 sessions for the White Album, but wasn’t finished until the following year. While Harrison was writing it, he was influenced by Ray Charles, using his voice as a way to figure out the melodies and the notes to use. Lennon and McCartney highly-praised Harrison for his creation, with McCartney saying it was ‘the best he’s written.’

2) Come Together

Written by McCartney-Lennon, this song was created to act as a political cry and support for the activist Timothy Leary. The funky and bluesy edge made it a great song for dancing and became a popular track amongst the public.

The song was created for Leary’s campaign against Reagan as the governor of California. Lennon offered to help the campaign, but it, unfortunately, ended when Leary was jailed for possession of cannabis. This prompted Lennon to record the song with the band, citing Lennon’s last politicized stance within the band.

The song reached the top of the US charts and peaked at #4 in the UK after the release. It was used as the opening track on Abbey Road which was debuted in 1969.

1) While My Guitar Gently Weeps

 

Billy Preston George Harrison Gerald Ford – By David Hume Kennerly [Public domain]

This song from the 1968 album was written by George Harrison, serving as a look into the disharmony within the band following the return from studying meditation in India in early 1968. The band was differing on many opinions, and disintegrating in front of the public’s eyes. The initial reluctance to record and collaborate on the song shows the current state of the band and prompted Harrison to look outwards, connecting with Eric Clapton to contribute to the recording. Harrison began writing the song while at his mother’s house in Warrington, thinking about the Book of Changes, which features the concept that whatever happens is meant to be. The presence of Clapton on guitar prompted McCartney and Lennon to give the song the recognition it deserved, as they joined in with the creative process. On September 5th, the band underwent 28 takes, with Harrison on acoustic guitar and guide vocals, Lennon on guitar, McCartney on piano, Starr on drums, and Clapton on lead guitar. Rolling Stone listed the song as #136 on ‘The 500 Greatest Songs of All Time” and was ranked 42nd in Guitar World’s list of ‘100 Greatest Guitar Solos’ in 2008.