Every No. 1 American Hit by the Beatles Ranked
In 1966, the Beatles famously stopped touring, despite being arguably the biggest musical act in the entire world with millions of fans who wanted nothing more than to see the Fab Four perform live.
The decision to quit touring was made for a multitude of reasons, as the members of the Beatles explained in subsequent years, but one thing was abundantly clear: the band felt far more comfortable in a studio setting than anywhere else. That was where the magic happened.
"We feel that only through recordings do people listen to us, so that is the most important form of communication," Paul McCartney said to Hit Parader in May of 1967. "Now we take time because we haven't any pressing engagements like tours to limit us. All we want is to make one track better than the last. We make all 'A' sides and never go into the studio thinking 'This will be our next single.' We just make tracks, then listen to them and decide from what we have what will be a single, what will go on to an LP."
This attitude worked out in the Beatles favor, to put it mildly, both in their native U.K. and across the big pond in the U.S. At the time of this writing, the Beatles have the most No. 1 hits on the American Billboard chart, with 20 songs having reached the coveted position.
We've decided to rank them, taking into consideration their craftsmanship and impact as a hit single, particularly as it pertained to American audiences.
20. "The Long and Winding Road / "For You Blue"
If anything, the announcement of the Beatles' breakup in April of 1970 only further propelled the success of their final album, Let It Be, which was released in the U.S. on May 18 of that year. A week prior to that, "The Long and Winding Road" was released as a single with the B-side "For You Blue." Both songs performed well enough on the radio that Billboard charted them together, resulting in the Beatles 20th and final No. 1 hit in the U.S.
19. "Hello, Goodbye"
"Hello, Goodbye" is notable for being the Beatles' first release following the death of manager Brian Epstein. It was, admittedly, not John Lennon's favorite, to put it kindly. "That's another McCartney. Smells a mile away, doesn’t it?" he later recalled. "An attempt to write a single. It wasn't a great piece; the best bit was the end, which we all ad-libbed in the studio, where I played the piano." The attempt worked anyway, spending three weeks at the No. 1 spot.
Source: Allison Rapp/ultimateclassicrock.com
