What are The Beatles' biggest songs?
2 September 2023, 19:00
The Liverpool band changed the face of pop and rock music in the 1960s. But which are their most-played songs in the digital age? Radio X adds up the streams and views - and you may be surprised by some of the results.
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The Beatles - Here Comes The Sun: release date 26th September 1969 (Abbey Road album)
The Beatles - Here Comes The Sun (2019 Mix)
George Harrison's ode to the coming of Spring is by far and away the most popular Beatles song in the 21st Century. It was never issued as a single in the UK and only appeared as the opening track on side two of the Abbey Road album; despite this, the song has been certified double Platinum by the BPI, receiving the award in August 2021. Here Comes The Sun is the only Beatles track to have over a billion streams on Spotify and has notched up 264 million views on YouTube, even though it doesn't have an "official" video.
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The Beatles - Hey Jude: release date 30th August 1968
The Beatles - Hey Jude
The first single to be issued on The Beatles' own Apple label in August 1968, this tribute to John Lennon's son Julian went to No 1 for two weeks and has since been given a Platinum award for selling over 1.1 million units. On Spotify, the song has been streamed over 600 million times and viewed on YouTube over 430 million times.
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The Beatles - Let It Be: release date 6th March 1970 (single)
Let It Be (2021 Mix)
The title track of The Beatles' posthumously-released album was issued just before Paul McCartney announce he'd left the band. Despite only making No 2 in the contemporary charts, the song has been certified Platinum in the UK and has been streamed over 670 million times and viewed over 200 million times on YouTube.
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The Beatles - Come Together: released 6th October 1969 (single)
The Beatles - Come Together
The opening track of The Beatles' Abbey Road album was unusual in that it was released as a single (a double 'A' side with Something) after it had already been made available on an album. This would explain the track's underwhelming chart position of No 4, but it topped the Billboard and Cash Box charts in the US and has been since certified Platinum in the UK. In the digital age, this powerful Lennon tune has been streamed over 650 million times and viewed on the Beatles' official YouTube channel over 158 million times.
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The Beatles - Yesterday: release date 6th August 1965 (Help! album)
Yesterday (Remastered 2009)
Never issued as a single in the UK during The Beatles' lifetime, this solo Paul McCartney performance went on to become one of the most-covered songs of all time. Released as a single in the US, it topped the Billboard and Cash Box charts and was certified Platinum in this country in August 2023. It's been viewed as a video over 66 million times and had over 540 million streams.
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The Beatles - Twist And Shout: release date 22nd March 1963
Twist And Shout (Remastered 2009)
The final, storming track on The Beatles' debut album Please Please Me, this cover of an R&B classic made famous by the Isley Brothers was issued as the lead track on an EP of the same name in the UK in July of 1963. Finally certified Platinum in April 2022, the song has been streamed over 390 million times and watched on YouTube over 59 million times.
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The Beatles - Help!: release date 23rd July 1965
The Beatles - Help!
The title track of The Beatles' second film and fifth studio album, this brutally-honest John Lennon track was also released as a single and spent three weeks at the top of the UK charts in the summer of 1965. The song has been watched on the band's official YouTube channel over 141 million times and enjoyed over 295 million Spotify streams.
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The Beatles - Blackbird: release date 22nd November 1968
Blackbird (Remastered 2009)
A Paul McCartney track from the mammoth double "White Album" from November 1968, the musician's continued inclusion of this acoustic song in his live set has meant generations of new fans. Within four days of the "White Album"'s release, over 3 million people in the US owned a copy of Blackbird and has since been certified Platinum a colossal 24 times Platinum in that country. In the digital age, Blackbird has been streamed over 377 million times and viewed on YouTube over 141 million times.
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The Beatles - I Want To Hold Your Hand: release date 29th November 1963
I Want To Hold Your Hand (Remastered 2015)
The song that broke The Beatles in America, this single had over a million pre-orders in the UK, but was kept off No 1 in the charts by one of the band's own singles: She Loves You. It's sold over 1.8 million copies at home and 5 million the USA and has been streamed 375 million times and viewed over 32 million times.
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The Beatles - Something: release date 26th September 1969 (Abbey Road album)
The Beatles - Something
Another George Harrison song in the Beatles' Top 10 biggest tunes, this Abbey Road track was issued as a single with Come Together and marked the only time a Harrison song appeared on a Beatles A-side in their lifetime. Covered by such artists as Frank Sinatra, James Brown, Smokey Robinson and Elvis Presley, in the modern era, Something has been streamed on Spotify over 282 million times and viewed on YouTube over 110 million times.
