Which Beatle member had the most number-one hits?
The Beatles really knew how to make a hit single. From the dawn of their career in the early 1960s to their climactic final album, the Fab Four rarely faltered, releasing such iconic hits as ‘Please Please Me’, ‘Nowhere Man’, ‘Strawberry Fields Forever’ and ‘Let It Be’.
Pinpointing exactly how many number-one singles The Beatles had is harder than you might think. Let’s not forget that the official UK Singles chart wasn’t established until February 1969, by which time The Beatles were already nearing the end of their career. Then there’s the band’s penchant for releasing double A-sides, which makes things even more complicated.
Luckily for us, Beatles producer George Martin put together the 1 compilation album, which includes all of the songs that went to number one on the Billboard Hot 100 or the Record Retailer Chart.
While this led to some notable omissions, it does offer us a starting point in establishing how many numebr ones the Beatles had as a band and how many each individual member wrote. We’ll then we attempting to decipher which Beatle had the most number ones in total, including solo singles.
How many numbers-ones did The Beatles have?
The Beatles had 32 number ones in total. Using Martin’s measure, three songs aren’t included: ‘Please Please Me’, ‘Strawberry Fields Forever’ and ‘For You Blue’, the first two of which missed the top spot on the Record Retailer chart and the latter because Capitol Records considered ‘For You Blue’ a B-side to ‘The Long and Winding Road’ as opposed to a double A-side. We’ll be including them on this list, however.
The Beatles’ first number-one single was ‘Please Please Me’. It’s said that George Martin congratulated the band on obtaining their first hit record after they’d finished recording it in the studio. In the end, his prediction proved correct. The band’s final number one, meanwhile, was ‘For You Blue’.
Which Beatle had the most number ones with the band?
Paul McCartney might have gained a reputation as the hard-working Beatle, but back in the 1960s, he was in stiff competition with his co-writing partner John Lennon. In the end, of course, Paul did win out.
He began with ‘Can’t Buy Me Love’ and ‘Love Me Do‘, penning the enormously successful ‘Yesterday’ in 1965. By the time The Beatles parted ways, Paul had written no less than ten number-one songs with him as the primary songwriter. When it comes to who wrote the most songs, however, we’re looking at John Lennon, who composed 66 (to Paul’s 60) songs recorded by The Beatles. George Harrison, meanwhile, contributed 27 songs in total.
How many number ones did The Beatles have as solo artists?
As the Beatle with the longest solo career, it’s no surprise Paul McCartney has the most solo number one singles. Paul can lay claim to nine number-one songs outside of The Beatles. His biggest hit was Wings’ ‘Silly Love Songs’, which held the top spot for five non-consecutive weeks in May, June and July of 1976.
George Harrison, the first Beatle to achieve a number-one single as a solo artist, is in second place with three number-one solo hits. These include ‘My Sweet Lord’ from All Things Must Pass, ‘Give Me Love (Give Me Peace on Earth)’ from Living in the Material World, and ‘Got My Mind Set On You’ from Cloud Nine.
Ringo Starr and John Lennon are in joint third place with two number-one solo hits each. Lennon bagged the top spot in the US with ‘Whatever Gets You Thru the Night’ from 1974 and ‘(Just Like) Starting Over’ from 1980. Starr also won two US number ones with ‘Photograph’ and ‘You’re Sixteen’, both featured on his Ringo album.
Which Beatle has had the most number ones in total?
Paul McCartney has the most number ones in total, having written ten for The Beatles (when credited as a lead songwriter) and nine as a solo artist or with Wings. That brings his total to 19. If you count singles on which he was credited as a co-writer, that number jumps up to 32, 20 of which were with The Beatles.
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