No band will ever be bigger than The Beatles; their record-holding 20 No. 1 hits on the US chart prove it. But which Beatle wrote the most No. 1 hits? In this article, we will dive into John Lennon, Paul McCartney, George Harrison, and Ringo Starr’s No 1. hit songs – both as members of The Beatles and as solo artists – to find out how many No 1. hit songs each Fab Four has written.
Rules
In total, The Beatles had 20 No. 1 hits on the US Billboard Hot 100 and 18 No. 1 hits on the UK Singles/Record Retailer Chart. It’s important to note that The Beatles also had several No. 1 hits on other US and UK charts, like NME, Melody Maker, and Cash Box, but those aren’t included in this article. The Beatles’ No. 1 hits in other countries aren’t included either.
It’s also important to note that all songs Lennon and McCartney wrote for The Beatles were credited to Lennon-McCartney, even if they had little contribution to a song (for example: “Yesterday” is credited to Lennon-McCartney, but was written solely by Paul McCartney). In this article, we will take into account who was the primary songwriter of a Beatles song. Furthermore, if the charts at the time combined double A-side singles and ranked it as one, both songs count as a No. 1 hit. With that being said, let’s find out which Beatles member wrote the most No. 1 hits.
Most No. 1 Hits With The Beatles
Paul McCartney wrote the most No. 1 hits for The Beatles. In total, he co-wrote 6 No. 1 hits together with John Lennon and wrote 12 No. 1 hits as the primary songwriter. Together, it totals 18 No. 1 hits for McCartney with The Beatles.
McCartney’s first No. 1 hit with The Beatles was “From Me to You” (UK Singles Chart, co-written with Lennon). His final No. 1 hit with The Beatles was “The Long and Winding Road” (US Billboard Hot 100). McCartney’s biggest hit chart-wise was “Hey Jude”, which claimed the No. 1 spot for 9 weeks in the United States.
John Lennon co-wrote 6 No. 1 hits with McCartney and wrote 9 No. 1 hits as the primary songwriter. Together, it totals 15 No. 1 hits for Lennon with The Beatles.
Lennon’s first No. 1 hit with The Beatles was “From Me to You” (UK Singles Chart, co-written with McCartney). His last No. 1 hit with The Beatles was “Now and Then” (UK Singles Chart). Lennon’s biggest hits chart-wise were “I Want to Hold Your Hand” and “From Me To You” (both co-written with McCartney), which topped the charts for 7 weeks.
George Harrison wrote 2 No. 1 hits for The Beatles, although with some important side notes. “Something” initially peaked at number 3 on the US Billboard Hot 100, but reached No. 1 together with “Come Together” after Billboard decided to rank double A-sides as one.
Harrison’s second No. 1 hit, “For Your Blue”, was released as the B-side to “The Long and Winding Road”, but became popular enough to rank as a double-sided hit. As a result, “For Your Blue” was listed with “The Long and Winding Road” when it reached the top of the US Billboard Hot 100.
Total No. 1 Hits With The Beatles Per Member
- Paul McCartney: 18 No. 1 hit songs (6 co-written with Lennon, 12 as the primary songwriter)
- John Lennon: 15 No. 1 hit songs (6 co-written with McCartney, 9 as the primary songwriter)
- George Harrison: 2 No. 1 hit songs (although questionable, especially “For Your Blue”)
- Ringo Starr: 0 No. 1 hit songs
Non-Beatles No. 1 Hit Songs
Paul McCartney had 12 No. 1 hits on both the US Billboard Hot 100 and UK Singles Chart combined. If you count double A-sides – which I did with The Beatles’ No. 1 Hits – McCartney had 13 No. 1 hit songs. He achieved his No. 1 hits as a solo artist and as a member of Wings. McCartney’s most successful single chart-wise was double A-side single “Mull of Kintyre/Girls’ School”, which topped the UK charts for 9 weeks.
John Lennon had 4 No. 1 hits on both the US Billboard Hot 100 and UK Singles Chart combined as a solo artist. Lennon’s most notable chart-topper was “(Just Like) Starting Over”, which topped the charts worldwide after his life was tragically cut short in 1980.
George Harrison had 3 No. 1 hits on both the US Billboard Hot 100 and UK Singles Chart combined as a solo artist. If you count double A-sides, Harrison had 4 No. 1 hit songs. Harrison’s most successful single chart-wise was “My Sweet Lord”, which topped the UK charts for 6 weeks total.
Ringo Starr had 2 No. 1 hits as a solo artist. Both “Photograph” and “You’re Sixteen” topped the US Billboard Hot 100 for a single week. “Photograph” was co-written with George Harrison, which technically means Harrison had 5 No. 1 hit songs as a solo artist. “You’re Sixteen” was a cover originally written by the Sherman Brothers.
Lennon/McCartney also wrote 2 No. 1 hits for other artists. “Bad to Me” (primarily written by Lennon and a No. 1 hit for Billy J. Kramer) and “A World Without Love” (written by Paul McCartney and a No. 1 hit for Peter and Gordon).
Non-Beatles No. 1 Hit Songs Per Member
- Paul McCartney: 14 No. 1 hit songs
- John Lennon: 5 No. 1 hit songs
- George Harrison: 5 No. 1 hit songs
- Ringo Starr: 2 No. 1 hit songs (1 if you don’t count covers)
Total No. 1 Hit Songs Per Member
The total No. 1 hit songs per member based on the US Billboard Hot 100 and UK Singles Chart, counting primary songwriting contributions for The Beatles, solo No. 1 hits, and No.1 hits written for other artists, is as follows:
- Paul McCartney: 32 total No. 1 hit songs
- John Lennon: 20 total No. 1 hit songs
- George Harrison: 7 total No. 1 hit songs
- Ringo Starr: 2 total No. 1 hit songs
Obviously, this list would’ve been much bigger had we included cover songs and No. 1 hits on other charts. What do who ultimately learn from these numbers? Well, that the Beatles’ impact on popular music was astronomical.
(If I made a mistake, please let me know in the comments below!)
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