The 20 Greatest Hits - The Beatles | Songs, Reviews, Credits | AllMusic The 20 Greatest Hits google+ AllMusic Review by Sharon Mawer EMI had a problem. They had the rights to the biggest group in the world ever, the Beatles , and the only way to make any new money out of them was to either rely on steady but unspectacular sales of all their catalog albums or put together a new version of a greatest-hits. When, in 1966, there was a gap in the Christmas market between Revolver and Sgt. Pepper , which wouldn't appear for a further six months, they had released the compilation A Collection of Beatles Oldies , and it hadn't worked. Considering their massive popularity at the time (although there was a bit of a backlash in the U.S.), almost anything they released should have sold, but it was a complete miscalculation; either the album market was not quite mature enough to warrant greatest-hits compilations (the first such hits collection to reach the top wouldn't occur until 1968) or many fans had already bought all the singles and did not buy into an album project.

They tried again in 1973, the tenth anniversary of Beatlemania, with 1962-1966 and 1967-1970 , two double albums commonly known as the Red and Blue albums, and these were relatively successful, hitting the chart in the same week early in May and reaching numbers three and two, respectively. Considering this was the Beatles , however, EMI was still disappointed. They had expected to rule in the charts (if not the world) in 1973, and it hadn't quite generated the excitement they'd hoped for, but the reason for this was obvious. The Red and Blue together were prohibitively expensive. Sticking to their policy of charging full price for any Beatles product, they were priced at the highest possible level for double albums, and to buy the two together was exorbitant. So when the 20th anniversary of their first hit came along in October 1982, they prepared another series of events to dominate the charts, but yet again, it all ended rather with a whimper.

The planned series of reissues, one by one of all the singles on the exact 20th anniversary started well enough with "Love Me Do" hitting number four, much better than the original number 17, but then the second single, "Please Please Me," stopped at number 29, "From Me to You" number 40, and it got progressively worse, none of the classic mid-'60s singles even reaching the top 40 throughout the 1980s. The other big project was a proper, well-researched greatest-hits package with the title leaving no doubt as to the contents, 20 Greatest Hits , and with hundreds of songs to choose from, the criteria was set for inclusion: the complete set of U.S. number one singles (of which there were exactly 20), thus excluding, of course, the U.K. number ones "From Me to You," "Yellow Submarine," "Lady Madonna," and "The Ballad of John and Yoko," but these were not considered vital to the project. Sticking with the selection criteria meant that "Please Please Me," "Magical Mystery Tour," and "Something" (the singles that topped neither the U.K.

nor the U.S.) would also be absent, but again, the album didn't need those to succeed. The running order was set to follow the chronological order that the singles hit the top in the U.S. (although EMI messed up the first four tracks, leading off with "She Loves You," followed by "Love Me Do," "I Want to Hold Your Hand," and "Can't Buy Me Love" before finally getting the order correct), and the album was released to great fanfare in mid-October 1982. It entered the chart at a disappointing number 17, peaked at number ten the following week, and 28 weeks later it was gone, never to be even issued on CD, which as a format was in its infancy. Perhaps EMI had got it wrong, and they would never be able to sell a Beatles greatest-hits compilation. They would have to wait until the 21st century to find out. Track Listing Top 50 Beatles Songs Top 50 Beatles Songs REDDIT Apple What is there to say about the Beatles that hasn’t been said? They restructured pop and rock music as we know it more than once during the brief seven years that they made records.

They were at the center of a pop-culture revolution that’s still resonating today. And every single one of their albums — from 1963′s debut, ‘Please Please Me,’ to 1970′s swan song, ‘Let It Be’ — is a classic. You can say that about a huge chunk of their tracks too, as you’ll see in our list of the Top 50 Beatles Songs. The Top 50 Beatles Songs: Tracks 30-11 | Tracks 10-1 50 Once the Beatles committed to becoming a full-time studio group, they wasted no time exploring the various shapes and colors tucked away in the technological corners. On ‘Revolver”s closing cut they tripped out, with backward loops, sped-up tapes and exotic instruments buried in the mind-exploding mix. ‘The Ballad of John and Yoko’ From: 1969 Single John Lennon ‘s whirlwind affair with Yoko Ono yielded a couple experimental records, a ton of controversy and unparalleled scrutiny from the media.

After some of the dust on the matter settled, Lennon wrote a song about it, chronicling his yearlong misadventures with messianic, winking frustration. From: ‘Sgt. Pepper’s Lonely Hearts Club Band’ (1967) One of ‘Sgt. Pepper’s” melodically cheeriest songs rides an undercurrent of melancholy, as John Lennon and Paul McCartney trade words (and moods) on the chorus. ‘Getting Better,’ like much of the album, was spearheaded by McCartney, but everyone chips in here. Generally credited as one of the first songs to include deliberate feedback, ‘I Feel Fine’ helped shape the Beatles’ declaration of independence. Within a few months they would replace their traditional forms of songwriting to include more studio effects and audio experiments. From: ‘With the Beatles’ (1963) When the Beatles made their first U.S. appearance on ‘The Ed Sullivan Show’ on Feb. 9, 1964, this was the song they started with. The two-minute pop explosion served as a perfect intro to the group and the incoming wave of Beatlemania. Recorded after the groundbreaking ‘Sgt.

Pepper’s’ but before the fractious White Album sessions that would signal their breakup, ‘Hello Goodbye’ came during a significant period for the Beatles — still a band, but now one where Paul McCartney’s voice (both his literal and metaphorical ones) shines bright. One of the group’s earliest songs is as nostalgic as it is forward-looking. Borrowing songwriting cues from the Beatles’ rock ‘n’ roll heroes, ‘From Me to You’ sounds like a tribute to the music’s formative years. But the big hook driving it was a taste of things to come. In the U.K., ‘Drive My Car’ opened the game-changing ‘Rubber Soul,’ steering straight into a brave new world for pop artists. Staking out a firm identity on the album, the Beatles would never be the same. ‘Rubber Soul’ was the dividing line; ‘Drive My Car’ is the opening shot. ‘You’ve Got to Hide Your Love Away’ From: ‘Help!’ (1965) The Beatles met Bob Dylan while touring the U.S. in 1964. He introduced them to marijuana.

But they were also big fans of his music, especially John Lennon, who pretty much lifted Dylan’s style and sound on ‘Help!”s acoustic centerpiece ‘You’ve Got to Hide Your Love Away.’ For the most part, Ringo Starr covered old rock, country and pop hits on Beatles albums. But for ‘Yellow Submarine,’ John Lennon and Paul McCartney handed him one of their most playful songs, a singalong number loaded with sound effects and a ton of psychedelic fun. No longer content writing love songs and singing “yeah, yeah, yeah,” the Beatles got deep on ‘Rubber Soul,’ penning more personal cuts fraught with emotional baggage. John Lennon’s ‘Nowhere Man’ peeks into the soul of an everyman and discovers a dark, lonely chasm. ‘Lucy in the Sky With Diamonds’ From: ‘Sgt. Pepper’s Lonely Hearts Club Band’ (1967) John Lennon has always claimed that the inspiration behind one of ‘Sgt. Pepper’s” most popular cuts was a drawing by his son. But he isn’t fooling anyone. With its spaced-out imagery and kaleidoscopic soundscape, ‘Lucy in the Sky With Diamonds’ is an acid trip for your ears.

The Beatles were still finding their footing when they recorded ‘This Boy’ in 1963. Released as the B-side to ‘I Want to Hold Your Hand’ (and recorded during the same sessions), the song is built on an R&B rhythm inspired by Motown legend Smokey Robinson. It also features a killer vocal by John Lennon. ‘The Long and Winding Road’ From: ‘Let It Be’ (1970) The Beatles’ last single released as a group, and their final No. 1, was recorded during the tumultuous sessions that spawned the ‘Let It Be’ album. It’s one of Paul McCartney’s most gorgeous songs, buoyed by Phil Spector’s majestic, and controversial, strings. ‘We Can Work It Out’ From: 1965 Single Recorded during the ‘Rubber Soul’ sessions (and released as a single the same day as, but not included on, the album), ‘We Can Work It Out’ is stuffed with the wide-eyed wonderment that graced Beatles recordings during this fertile period. It’s one of the few songs John Lennon and Paul McCartney wrote together after they hit it big.

George Harrison ‘s bitter screed against British tax laws (and the people who enforce them) opened one of their most adventurous albums on a tough, sparring note. In addition to unveiling the magical mysteries of ‘Revolver,’ ‘Taxman’ ushered in a new era of creativity for the so-called Quiet Beatle. The Beatles reworked ‘Revolution’ so many times during the troubled White Album sessions that three versions appeared in 1968: a bluesy, acoustic crawl found on ‘The Beatles,’ a messy sound collage also on the LP and this plugged-in electric version, which was released as a single as the B-side of ‘Hey Jude.’ ‘Paperback Writer’ was the only Beatles song to reach No. 1 in 1966. But Beatlemania was far from over. The group was stretching its sound — check out the fatter bass anchoring the track — and boundaries during the era, recording the mesmerizing ‘Revolver’ before moving on to the colorful popscape of ‘Sgt. Pepper’s.’ ‘Abbey Road”s second side is mostly dominated by a multi-song suite orchestrated by Paul McCartney.

But this lovely George Harrison song opens the side with a beam of sunshine that carries in with it the Beatles’ glorious final notes. One of the Beatles’ toughest tracks is all raging guitars, scarred vocal cords and blistered fingers. Its abrasive tone rocks the tranquility found elsewhere on the White Album, while still being an integral part of that LP’s sturdy-but-crumbling structure. Top 100 Classic Rock Songs Welcome back to Ultimate Classic Rock It appears that you already have an account created within our VIP network of sites on . To keep your personal information safe, we need to verify that it's really you. To activate your account, please confirm your password. When you have confirmed your password, you will be able to log in through Facebook on both sites. Enter your password YES, Activate My Account Now! Welcome back to Ultimate Classic Rock It appears that you already have an account on this site associated with . To connect your existing account just click on the account activation button below. You will maintain your existing VIP profile. After you do this, you will be able to always log in to using your original account information.

Best Beatles Songs - Top Ten List - TheTopTens® Best Beatles Songs The best songs from the greatest and most influential rock and roll band ever. The Top Ten 1 Hey Jude I can't describe this song its beautiful its like describing the flavor of water its really hard... The beatles will always be with me til my grace -Peace and love people Paul McCartney, you just changed the way I look at life from this song, so THANK YOU SO much, you mean a lot to me even if we've never met... I love you this is just a sing along and you can't make it better than this THANK YOU PAUL MCCARTNEY JOHN LENNON GEORGE HARRISON AND RINGO :D! If you don't know Ringo's last name, it's Star. (Star or Starr I'm not sure. ) - TheShawshankRedemptionfan321 Just so beautifully written I cannot explain. The emotions this song brings is so extravagant.

2 A Day in the Life Greatest song from the greatest album of Rock N' Roll history Its really telling what is happening everyday in our lives and it is straight for the heart I like it its too nice very very very nice The best song for me ever I love you the beatles A masterpiece that can never be recreated. This song rewrote the standards of pop (and rock) music and goes to show you how advanced The Beatles were (and this was released only in 1967! ) When I first heard this, I was simply speechless. The segue from Paul's middle bit to the main theme -- John's wailing followed by the orchestral DUH, DEE, DUM, DEE, DUM -- has to be the most spine tingling interlude in modern music. V 159 Comments 3 Let It Be Great melodic masterpiece. One of the most magnificent rock songs of all time. Never get tired of listening to it. It simply feeds my soul. I don't know why it's not #1 it's the the embodyment of hope & wisdom because without faith you have truly lost your way in life This was easily one of the Beatles most profound masterpieces.

It is, a song, that will never be forgotten, nor shall it grow old, nor shall it fade. It will simply remain one of the most meaningful and well thought songs of the ages. Kudos to Paul McCartney for vocals and to Harrison for the stellar guitar solo. Not to forget Lennon for the background vocals and Ringo on percussion. Not just the greatest Beatles song but the greatest song of all time. V 129 Comments 4 Yesterday A song that places a comforting hand on your shoulder. Absolutely mesmerizing! When the song hits your ears you are transported to another world... Most of these top ten lists, from NFL Quarterbacks, to top singers, it's like did these people graduate Kindergarten and what are they huffing, and when did they start, like around kindergarten, that's why they didn't finish, but this is a half decent list; I'm glad that MOST of the meaningless bubblegum songs are out of the top 10; however, I think this is an easy #1 (would except a day in the life... ) but not a bad top 5, then again we're dealing w/ beatle's fans which'd make up for the increase in intelligence.

- psychokiller32 The lyrics remind everyone of their life. How everything can be one way and then change before you know it. Truly gave me a sense of how change is good and needs to happen. - Unknown16 Not a Beatles fan. First time I heard this song was the Sinatra Version. I relly like the original too. V 94 Comments 5 Here Comes the Sun Love this song, it has something that changes my mood. A bad day can be changed in 3 minutes. One of the best of the Beatles and I think the best of George Here comes the sun is a beautiful song. Written by George Harrison in the album Abbey Road. An iconic album and a wonderful song. Yes! BEST SONG EVER! In my opinion this will be the ONLY music my children listen to because it is inspiring and calming. This song always makes me smile. Though most songs on this list are some of the greatest of all time. - PianoQueen V 82 Comments 6 Strawberry Fields Forever Strawberry Fields Forever is absolutely the greatest song written by the Beatles. I never get tired of it. At first listen, it's strange and absolutely nothing sounds like it. But then it evolves into this magnificent, imaginative world.

It makes you escape. A great song should be both beautiful and melodic, but also capture your attention and mesmerize. The lyrics in this song are simply incredible. To me, SFF takes the Beatles away from just being a great pop band to being the GREATEST of them all. Songs like this one take them straight to another dimension. As pretty as Hey Jude or Let It Be may sound, there isn't anything special about them. THIS SONG is special beyond words. Please put it at number 1 because it doesn't belong anywhere else. It's truly a masterpiece. Whichever Beatle wrote it, or if it was done by them all, I don't care. It's brilliant. A great fusion of Indian, avant garde, musique concrete with classical elements. This is also one of the best known psychedelic songs and with it's reverse drum loops and double fade out with a free form coda. The lyrics are dreamy this has to be one of the Beatles best songs of all time. Strawberry Fields Forever is a masterpiece. This song made the Beatles absolutely unique. There is something about it that shines more than other Beatles songs.

It's got a gorgeous melody, a very dreamy atmosphere, and the lyrics are so different. They sound very strange slipping out of the tongue, but there is great depth there. I always think this sound them took them from just a band that made hit songs to a band that made REVOLUTIONARY songs. STRAWBERRY FIELDS for the win. Not only does this song just sound great and grows on you, but it also takes you on a psychedelic journey. - lachiemc V 67 Comments 7 While My Guitar Gently Weeps The greatest ever song of the Beatles era is at NUMBER EIGHT? It is perhaps THE greatest guitar song I've heard from the 60s-70s hippy time, I can't believe its so down low in the rankings... Shame. This song brought wonder to my life. I can't believe its rank. - joshsanz Best, along with "A Day in the Life" ^^ "Let it Be". This song stood out immediately when I first listened to the White Album ^^ is also one of the many reasons that album is one of the greatest of all time.

Makes me cry, and gives me goose bumps literally every time V 101 Comments 8 Eleanor Rigby I lived through the 60's and beyond, in "the Haight" prior to the Beatles explosion. I listened over and over to all the music. It was everywhere, all the time, making life seem like a totally new dimension, like in the Wizard of Oz, but real life! Out of all the songs I heard, this one had a greater depth and meaning, now, some 50 years later. Hard to believe, but true! Seems like Yesterday, no pun intended. - jamesprestonthomas A wonderfully dramatic song and possibly the first classical music pop song. Deep meanings, fantastic lyrics. Couldn't get any better! Absolutely love this song, never gets old. This song is gorgeous, you can not stop listening at it. V 48 Comments 9 In My Life Favourite song! applies to everyone! my inspiration for so many things. I listen to it everyday and it never gets boring, you find something new in the song every time you listen This song is amazing. I always feel like I'm going to cry when I hear it. It is just so beautiful and meaningful!

we must remember this was written when lennon was 19 I want this played at my life celebration V 94 Comments 10 Come Together This song rocks the hardest! Well I'm 14 years old and this song sounds cool to me---sounds cool even to my teenage peers---sounds cool to my parents---sounds cool (virtually) to all ages;this song stands the test of time. Listen to the guitar on the line "come together! Right now over... That's pure soulful rock music! I believe that this song and "I Want you she's so heavy" are the two of the best (perhaps "coolest") song ever written by he Beatles; and these two deserves to be on top! I mean really! This is a rock anthem that will always rock you down forever. A rocker's favorite. Yeah! Rocks as hard as Metallica This song is excellent. Come on people! How can these be number 12, this song could easily enter in the top 10 Beatles song.

Everything is just perfect in here, excellent rhythm, terrif bass (probably one of the best from macca) incredible vocals (i think that these is the greatest vocals that john lennon ever recorded) I mean everything in this song is just so catchy! Really good arrangement. The drums, the unforgettable bass riff, the guitar solos, all adds up to this great masterpiece. Throughout the song, you can listen to the influence of each and every member of the Fab Four, Ringo, George, Paul and John. Powerful lyrics which catches everyone who listens to it and makes everyone reflect upon. Should be higher up the list. Such a clever arrangement and for its time so original. Full of urgency with a great driving beat. Notice the sh sound followed by a clap. So simple so clever. ? I Don't Want to Spoil the Party Why on Earth is this so low?! It's really nice song! The Contenders 11 Something It's clear that John and Paul were the strongest songwriters in the Fab Four, but we know in the later years (when they were both at their best) that they hardly listened to each other.

George spent years in the background, quietly biding his time and taking in as much information as he could from two of the greatest songwriters in history. His epic final statement is Something, which showcases all the different elements that made The Beatles so incredible: beautiful texture and instrumentation, unusual but incredibly effective chord changes, fantastic individual performances (Ringo's drums, Paul's bass, George's gorgeous solo). George mastered the art of writing a perfect Beatles song, something I don't think Paul and John could ever say they did. It's hard to compare the emotional capacity of this song to the likes of Hey Jude, Stawberry Fields, Penny Lane, etc. , but I don't know (I don't knooow! ) if any Beatles song is as perfectly written and recorded as Something. I mean, ... more So Wrong - Frank Sinatra covered George's Beatles' song, and fully and appropriately credited it to them and saluted it as in his opinion "one of the best love songs ever written" - and Sinatra mastered Many of those. - Billyv You're asking me will this song go, I don't know, I don't know, but it most certainly should.

Too good too not be in the top ten, and I know you could say that about maybe 50 of their songs, but this one especially. This is the greatest love song period! George is a great composer! The Beatles are the first ROCKERS ever and no other band will come close to them. Another great song from George, flawless. V 48 Comments 12 Help! This song reflects John Lennon and I love him to bits. The voice, the music, the beat is simply undying, they listened to it in the sixties and it is still worth listening to in the 21st century. Wow this song is pretty high on best songs list, AND is number 8 on the worst songs list. I think its one of the greatest don't know why people would or could hate this great song. When I first heard it was like a veil was opened and I could see my future it was just great. I knew what I was gonna be I was gonna be a singer. Although I may not be as good as the beatles (no one is) but I'd try my hardest! I love this song and so should all the people. I do not like this song.

Easily one of the worst Beatles songs ever V 27 Comments 13 I Am the Walrus This is a very very and interesting song! PURE POETRY! This is BY FAR the best song in all of the Beatles career and it has a strange of representing the sixties with an understanding of the only possible way of turning a completely misunderstood written language of nonsense into a waterfall of beauty and direction of the minds of geniuses like John Lennon, the greatest and most brilliant songwriter and thinker of ALL TIME! Number ONE! This song is kind of like the "Pink Elephants On Parade" of the Beatles. It's so bizarre that it actually makes you wonder if you were on something before watching the video. Seriously, I am the egg man? I am the walrus? What the fudge does that have to do with anything? I'm not saying this is bad, oh no, I'm saying that no matter how weird, scary or all-around strange it is, there is just one element that just makes you want to watch the music video again and again. This song is psychedelic genius! Great Song, great beat, great meaning (or lack of it depending on how you see it).

This should be number one John Lennon style trolling, brilliant! V 41 Comments 14 I Want to Hold Your Hand I want to hold your hand is a fun and playful song that is also very cool sounding. This is definitely one of the Beatles best songs. Written by John Lennon and Paul McCartney in the album Past Masters Volume 1. For me one of the best songs ever made. Listen how the base plays a lick when the other instruments are 'low'. Everything works together perfectly. And it's not just the same chord progression looped throughout the whole song, no the chorus is a little bit different each time. A masterpiece! this songs, let them go the U. S. A whithout this, you will don't know that the beatles exist so... put it on TOP 10! - andres101 The first song that came to my mind when you mention the beatles V 56 Comments 16 Lucy in the Sky with Diamonds I absolutely love this song! Should be in the Top 5 along with Help!

and Strawberry Fields Forever in my opinion this song is 1 of the best beatles songs "Picture yourself in a boat on a river, with tangerine trees, and marmalade skies. Somebody calls you, you answer quite slowly, a girl with kaleidoscope eyes... " This song reminds me of LSD. It's a good song lol. - Ajkloth V 21 Comments 17 With A Little Help From My Friends This is the best song of all time it's so nice and it is true you get by with a little help from your friends. It helped me lots not joking this song should be in the top 10 THIS IS THE BEST SONG OF ALL TIME I REPEAT BEST SONG OF ALL TIME. NEED MORE VOTES I BEET YOU GET BY WIT A LITTLE HELP FROM YOUR FRIENDS god I love that song so much AND I NEED SOMEONE TO LOVE TOO it's the best vote x Fantastic song deserves to be great and is a truly inspirational song from a truly inspirational band 'simply the best'! Deserves to be higher up the list. You know, there is a couple Beatles songs I like.

First off I like prog rock and hard rock more than Beatles slow rock/pop but this song really is inspiring it seems to knock off every other Beatles song. You will find maybe 1 or 2 songs on an album that are greatly underrated but are amazing songs. Like something for nothing by rush, great song so underrated. Personally I think all of rush is underrated. This song is great great rythym good lyrics just blows by all their other stuff. Ringo is adorable V 17 Comments 18 Tomorrow Never Knows A difficult song for many to like due to its lack of a recognizable or catchy melody (in my view), but for crazy, creative and experimental musicianship it is simply phenomenal. It sounds nothing at all like a song of the 60s. It could equally have been written recently or in the future and still sound contemporary. A song written around a single chord and driven along relentlessly by drum and bass style break beats, in 1965, 30 years before mainstream music develops the drum and bass style! Honestly where on earth were these guys getting this from? You just got to listen and admire the sheer creativity and innovation.

- gotlbh The amazing backdrop of Indian classical instruments merged eloquently with Ringo's unorthodox drum play makes this song loud but still soul engrossing. The voices of John and Paul feels warm when heard with a backdrop of a flanged instrument play. There is a method in the chaos if you can notice it. It is one of those songs which will have polarizing listener's opinion. This would be the best Beatles track, in my opinion. Released in 1966, the Beatles opened up the scene for real psychedelic music. Always ahead of their time, the Beatles played numerous instruments on limited tracks, played sections backwards and included noise, like whistles, horns, traffic, talking. Revolver was where the Beatles really experimented with sound and became the best and most influential band of all time. Best Beatles song.. So innovative and creative V 12 Comments 19 Helter Skelter This song along with You Really Got Me, Black Sabbath and Born To Be Wild created metal. I guess Deep Purple and Zeppelin helped too. Slash (Guns n' Roses) says this is one of his top 3 songs. Probably the heaviest Beatles song. Very catchy!

Well, for me is the best song because is very moove and very... Rare because Paul sings that so good and I love it so Ringo plays the drums very well and so I love it And on this day, heavy metal was born - marmalade_skies V 8 Comments 20 Across the Universe My all time favourite Beatles song. It's so dreamy. The lyrics are so weird and yet kind of meaningful. I just love everything about it, but I still don't know what jai guru deva means... Think I'm gonna Google it... This song is my favourite tune by the beatles. Although it is a very hard decision with so many amazing songs... Happiness is a warm gun, I'm so tired, a day in the life, the list really goes on forever. I'd recommend this song to anyone it has a really dreamy feel to it and makes me feel very nostalgic for some reason. It's wonderful to think this song has been play into space... It makes me cry every time I heard it, and it gaves me a lot of bravery.

For rock2metal and evrybody who doesn't know what jai guru deva om means : It's in sanskrit, and it means "thank you guru Dev". The Beatles met this guy during their journey in India, and he had a great infuence on their music and their way too see the life, I think. (I'm sorry if I made some mistakes, but I'm french, I'm 16, and yeah, I love the Beatles too! ) A song that catures the late sound of the Beatles and George. So sweet and trippy. USA TODAY picks the 20 best Beatles songs – USATODAY.com By Robert Whitaker, Getty Images Circa 1965: Paul McCartney, left, and John Lennon in a rehearsal studio. Sponsored Links 1. Ticket to Ride No single better reflects the mix of ambition, tension and pure pop genius that made The Beatles unique than Ticket to Ride. John Lennon and Paul McCartney have disputed the authorship of this chart-topping, spine-tingling hit from 1965's Help!

Lennon maintained that McCartney's contribution was essentially Ringo Starr 's propulsive drum part, a key element in the production, which prefigures a heavier, more muscular rock sound. The bridge is just as brilliant: The band suddenly, frantically picks up the pace, and the tune becomes precociously groovy even as it reflects the nervous desperation lurking beneath that soaring melody and majestic arrangement. The first Beatles song that ran over three minutes long, Ticket to Ride is perfection all the way through. VIDEO: The Beatles through the years 2. I Want to Hold Your Hand There are few things as blissful, or as hard to pull off, as a happy pop song, free of sentimentality or snark. No rock group is responsible for more such treasures than The Beatles; a number of them are on this list, none more effervescent than 1963's I Want to Hold Your Hand, the band's first No. 1 hit in the USA. Fittingly, the song that allowed The Beatles to conquer America was a joint effort between Lennon and McCartney, who wrote it sitting together in the basement of McCartney's then-girlfriend Jane Asher 's parents.

Hand's joyful simplicity is deceptive; there are tricky chord shifts and syncopated (hand-clapped) rhythms within rhythms. But the effect is unfussy exuberance — just try listening to it without grinning. Special edition: The Beatles The Beatles special edition celebrates the 50th anniversary of rock's greatest band. This 48-page edition, on newsstands now, covers the band's history and impact on music and society. 3. A Day in the Life Had The Beatles split up after the 1967 release of Sgt. Pepper's Lonely Hearts Club Band, this closing track would have been the ideal coda to an amazing career. Instead, A Day In the Life was at once a summation of the band's distinctive strengths — Lennon and McCartney's songcraft, at another collaborative peak; the intuition and invention that enabled the four musicians and their studio colleagues to push the experimental envelope — and a sign that The Beatles' creative juices were still flowing in full force. The gorgeous apocalyptic meltdown that concludes Sgt. Pepper's psychedelic trip begins through Lennon's eyes and voice. He adapted the creepy opening scenarios from real-life incidents.

McCartney conceived the middle section that interrupts the disturbing dream and introduces classical elements — preparing the listener, almost, for the teeming buildup that ends with the longest, starkest piano chord in pop history. 4. Eleanor Rigby With this single from 1966's Revolver, The Beatles secured their place in the pantheon of great musical storytellers — and Lennon and McCartney (particularly the latter, Rigby's primary writer) proved a flair for the theatrical pop song rare among their contemporaries, even those who drew deftly on the narrative traditions of folk and blues. It's hard to imagine a more chillingly, thrillingly dramatic evocation of loneliness than poor Ms. Rigby's tale. Of course, a good chunk of credit is due producer George Martin , who had a double string quartet replace band members for the piercing instrumentals. McCartney's lead vocal is hauntingly matter-of-fact, heightening the impact when he's joined by Lennon and George Harrison in their bracing lamentations of all the lonely people. 5. Norwegian Wood An extramarital affair — engaged in by Lennon, Norwegian Wood's principal writer — inspired this exquisite acoustic ballad from 1965's Rubber Soul .

The seemingly straightforward arrangement features Harrison on sitar, his first use of that instrument on a Beatles recording, and evidence of the growing interest in Eastern music and culture that would have an influence on the band inside and outside the recording studio. The lyrics, about a close but brief encounter with an independent and cosmopolitan woman, are pure Lennon: witty, a tad rueful and finally poignant without stooping to sentiment. The simple but sumptuous melody follows the song's journey from wry jocularity to wistful resignation. 6. Penny Lane McCartney crafted the shiny gem that is Penny Lane in homage to the Liverpool where he and Lennon grew up. (The title refers to a part of Lennon's old neighborhood.) There is certainly a childlike innocence and ebullience to this No. 1 hit from 1967's Magical Mystery Tour . But once again, those qualities belie a marked sophistication, and some sweat: Behind his breezy vocal, you can hear McCartney multitasking on several instruments — he plays three separate parts on the piano alone. One signature feature of the arrangement was added after the basic track had been recorded: After hearing a British chamber orchestra broadcast of Bach's Brandenburg Concerto No.

2, McCartney arranged for David Mason , a classical musician who performed in the orchestra, to play the whimsical piccolo trumpet solo. 7. Hey Jude Few back stories are better known than the one behind Hey Jude, the rousing seven-minute epic that gave The Beatles their lengthiest No. 1 hit, in more than one respect: It spent nine weeks in that position in 1968. After Lennon split with his first wife, Cynthia, McCartney was inspired by thoughts of the couple's young son, Julian. The song was conceived, famously, as Hey Jules. Granted, the resulting plea to "take a sad song and make it better" seems more like advice to a lovesick pal. It has been speculated that the increasingly strained relationships in McCartney's band also could have been a factor. But no matter: Like its final, wordless refrain, Jude's pull — at once comforting and energizing — requires no literal translation. 8. Strawberry Fields Forever Recorded early in the Sgt. Pepper sessions, Strawberry Fields Forever instead wound up a 1967 single, on the opposite side of Penny Lane— try topping that double bill — and later on Magical Mystery Tour.

Fields also nodded to Lennon and McCartney's youth, this time from the former's perspective, but ultimately, it was more a fantasy than a recollection. "Strawberry Fields is just anywhere you want to go," Lennon told Rolling Stone in 1968. And what a glorious, freaky destination the song is, its swirling textures and tuneful dissonance steeped in the psychedelia that The Beatles were popularizing. Little wonder those rumors arose that the song announces McCartney's death; Lennon's hallucination is as eerie as it is exhilarating. 9. While My Guitar Gently Weeps George Harrison crafted several Beatles favorites, none more robust than this 1968 classic, featured on The Beatles (aka The White Album). Inspired by Harrison's increasing interest in Eastern philosophy, Guitar features a gentle, piano-dominated intro. As the arrangement acquires muscle and steam, a compelling tension creeps into the vocals, highlighting the lyrics' mix of frustrated idealism and knowing sadness. Harrison famously recruited Eric Clapton to contribute the keening, doleful solo that embodies the song's title. 10.

The Fool On the Hill 1967's The Fool On the Hill is as evocative a character study as Eleanor Rigby, though the character here is drawn with a lighter hand and heart. McCartney, the main writer, has said he was inspired by the Maharishi Mahesh Yogi , and the lyrics finally convey more admiration than pity. But the melody — one of McCartney's most sublime — has a gently plaintive quality that's reinforced by the breezy but bittersweet arrangement, with its flourishes of flute and penny whistle. Little wonder that The Fool on the Hill, featured on Magical Mystery Tour (and in the film), has been covered by artists ranging from Sergio Mendes to Aretha Franklin to Bjork. 11. Abbey Road Medley Released in the fall of 1969, Abbey Road was the last album recorded by The Beatles, and it climaxes with a 16-minute series of short songs blended by McCartney and producer George Martin. Veering in mood from anguished to impish, from frantic to exultant, it's a final, furious rush of creative energy and irresistible melodrama.

The medley segues from McCartney's You Never Give Me Your Money (a nod to the group's music business woes) to Lennon's dreamy Sun King and quirky Mean Mr. Mustard and Polythene Pam. She Came In Through the Bathroom Window, Golden Slumbers and Carry That Weight are vintage McCartney, rocking hard and sweetly. And in The End: "The love you take is equal to the love you make." 12. Girl Is there a great pop song more ineffably melancholy than Girl? A sort of bluer companion piece to Norwegian Wood—Girl was also written chiefly by Lennon, and is included on Rubber Soul as well — this lean, haunting ballad explores a dilemma that has plagued moony young men since time began. But in addressing the problem of women — can't live with 'em, can't live without 'em — Lennon manages to seem at once more profound and less self-pitying than most. He apparently still had some learning to do, though. In a Rolling Stone interview shortly before he was murdered, Lennon referenced Girl in describing Woman, an equally awestruck but more appreciative song on his 1980 album Double Fantasy .

"This is the grown-up version of Girl," Lennon said. 13. I Saw Her Standing There The opening track of 1963 debut album Please Please Me wound up on the B-side of I Want to Hold Your Hand in the USA. The pairing was appropriate: I Saw Her Standing There has a similarly relentless energy and easy but masterful musicality, from its infectious melody line to its Chuck Berry-inspired rhythms. There's also that same sense of unbridled joy and, frankly, youthful lust. After McCartney wrote the opening line "She was just 17," he and Lennon went through several alternatives for a follow-up before hitting upon "You know what I mean," one of the most loaded lyrics on the charts at the time. 14. Please Please Me Please Please Me was The Beatles' first No. 1 hit in the U.K. and, after a slow start, helped solidify their early success here when re-released in 1964. Sheer carnal desire was once again the source.

As originally crafted by Lennon, the song was slower and more deliberate; one can only imagine how hot and bothered he sounded singing, "Come on, come on." Martin advised picking up the pace; Starr came through with a whip-smart beat, Lennon and Harrison with buoyant harmonies inspired by the Everly Brothers . The result is a shot of giddy intensity as clean and thrilling as it is naughtily insinuating. 15. Let It Be It's not surprising that LetIt Be has an elegiac flavor. McCartney wrote it after having a dream about his mother, who had died when he was a teenager. Perhaps not coincidentally, this occurred during The Beatles' tortured dissolution process: By the time Let It Be was unveiled as a single — in March 1970, more than a year after it was recorded — the group had reached the end of its long and winding road. (An alternate version appears on the album of the same name, released in May, a month after McCartney formally announced their split.) Yet like Hey Jude, its cousin in structure and spirit, Let ItBe is ultimately about spiritual affirmation — finding light in darkness.

Musically, the track is even more firmly rooted in McCartney's affection for R&B and its gospel roots: When Billy Preston's church-like organ segues into Harrison's heavenly guitar, we're indeed assured that there will be answer. 16. Here, There and Everywhere 1966 marked the release of at least two revolutionary pop albums, The Beatles' Revolver and the Beach Boys' Pet Sounds. McCartney has often cited his deep admiration for the latter, which he heard before its release, and he was under the spell of the California boys' creative mastermind, Brian Wilson , when he crafted the rhapsodic, subtly intricate ballad Here, There and Everywhere. Everywhere is, of course, unmistakably McCartney's creation: a love song with a seamless melody and an unabashedly open-hearted message. It's hardly the most sonically adventurous track on Revolver, but certainly one of the most memorable. 17. Drive My Car The Beatles' most overtly sexual hit is, fittingly, also its funkiest. Harrison came up with the sizzling bass and guitar parts for Drive My Car, which opens the British version of Rubber Soul— criminally, the track was cut from the album's U.S.

release — while listening to Otis Redding 's original 1965 recording of Respect. McCartney had begun writing the song en route to a session with Lennon, who borrowed the title from an old blues metaphor for, well, you know. The end product made I Saw Her Standing There seem chaste in comparison. 18. A Hard Day's Night The Beatles' third album, 1964's A Hard Day's Night, was a soundtrack for the mockumentary film of the same name. The Fab Four 's fame had reached such a ridiculous extreme that some degree of self-parody was in order, but Night's relentless, irrepressible energy suggests that the band also was infected and empowered by that enthusiasm. Lennon, who would get in trouble by calling The Beatles "more popular than Jesus," was the lead writer, and Harrison was crucial in contributing the exuberant one-chord guitar intro, the chugging solo and the chiming fade-out — all three among the most instantly recognizable sequences in rock 'n' roll. 19.

Come Together Lennon conceived ComeTogether as a theme song for counterculture icon Timothy Leary 's short-lived bid for governor of California, announced in 1969. (His opponent would have been Ronald Reagan.) Instead, Leary was jailed on charges of marijuana possession, and Come Together became the crisp, thumping anthem that opens Abbey Road. Chuck Berry 's publisher noticed a resemblance to Berry's 1956 recording You Can't Catch Me, from which Lennon borrowed four words; a resulting lawsuit was settled out of court. But thanks in part to McCartney — who slowed down the tempo and added the thick, bluesy bass line —Come Together took on a different, heavier exuberance, and a crackling power that transcends the seeming nonsense of the variously interpreted lyrics. 6 September 1963: UK EP release: The Beatles' Hits | The Beatles Bible Side one contained From Me To You and its b-side Thank You Girl . The second side featured Please Please Me and Love Me Do . The Beatles' Hits EP first charted on 21 September 1963, and spent three weeks at number one from 2 November. In all it spent 43 weeks in the EP chart.

It also spent 18 weeks in the singles chart, peaking at number 14. The version of Love Me Do was the album one featuring Andy White on drums. All tracks were credited to songwriters McCartney - Lennon . Released by Parlophone, the EP's serial number was GEP 8880. The front cover picture was taken by Angus McBean, and the sleeve notes were by Tony Barrow. The four numbers on this EP have been selected from The Lennon & McCartney Songbook. If that description sounds a trifle pompous perhaps I may suggest you preserve this sleeve for ten years, exhume it from your collection somewhere around the middle of 1973 and write me a very nasty letter if the pop people of the 70's aren't talking with respect about at least two of these titles as "early examples of modern beat standards taken from The Lennon & McCartney Songbook". The success of The Beatles as a bill-topping, chart-topping team of vocalist/instrumentalist entertainers hasn't been far short of unique.

What makes this foursome's history quite unprecedented is the fact that two of the boys write (with an output rate which is prolific-plus!) all the songs which The Beatles take to the top of the hit parade. We've had successful songwriters before and we've had golden-touch recording stars before but the two entirely different facts of Tin Pan Alley fame have never before combined themselves so brilliantly in the all-round, do-it-yourself versatility of a single singing/playing/composing unit. Chronologically speaking, this exciting little session starts with Love Me Do. In the autumn of '62 this number went out to the disc stores on the top deck of The Beatles' first Parlophone single. 48 hours later it had notched up sufficient sales to put it into the charts. Next came Please Please Me which stayed in the charts throughout February and March of 1963, reached the coveted Number One slot, earned The Beatles their first Silver Disc award and eventually gave its name to a twelve-inch LP programme which was destined to become one of the fastest-selling album releases of the year. For their third single The Beatles coupled From Me To You with Thank You Girl.

The former zoomed to the pop peak in the middle of April and defended its mighty position against all comers for a total of seven spectacular weeks. (Incidentally it was Do You Want To Know A Secret , another item from The Lennon & McCartney Songbook, which replaced From Me To You at the Number One position in June!) Thank You Girl found another way of proving its undoubted popularity by making a prolonged appearance amongst the nation's list of best-selling sheet music. P.S. In case you still doubt my opening paragraph prophesy, you should know that Messrs. Lennon & McCartney have written enough songs to keep them in singles and albums from now until 1973 even if their composing talent were to wither and die in the immediate future! Tony Barrow

Question: What word was common to three of the titles of the Beatles’ first six Top 20 hits?
Answer: LOVE