The Beatles top 30 songs, and best Beatle covers and vocal performance lists

Obsessing is okay (I keep telling myself)...

Below, I have compiled several lists of Beatles songs. Two lists of the top thirty. One list is for songs written by John Lennon and the other is by Paul McCartney, thirty each — well, not quite.

As is commonly known, they co-wrote plenty of songs. Some are absolute collaborations, but many of the Beatles' songs are oriented more toward one writer or the other. Some were essentially solo songs, and some were somewhat co-written. The lists contain twenty-seven each, plus another list of six that are true co-writes (so, thirty each - kinda sorta). Also, I have listed George Harrison’s top six songs as a Beatle.

For those who may wonder how the Lennon/McCartney partnership was created, it was agreed to over a handshake. That agreement lasted throughout the tenure of the band. But many of the songs credited to both were not fully co-written.

If you watch the Get Back movie directed by Peter Jackson, you will see that Harrison received help from both Lennon and McCartney. This is in contrast to the legend about McCartney not helping Harrison and Lennon dismissing his songs outright. Not true. McCartney’s bass and Ringo Starr’s drumming on Something make the classic song complete. Without the melodic bass (almost another song altogether), Something is worthy of being a B-side only.

Harrison established Harrisongs for the same reason Lennon and McCartney created Maclen and also Northern Songs, for publishing rights. Like many of their songs, there was help from the others. For example, McCartney played lead guitar, backing vocals and bass on Harrison’s Taxman. Or Ballad of John and Yoko was played by only McCartney on bass and drums and Lennon on lead and rhythm guitars, while Lennon sang lead and McCartney harmonized.

The only Beatle on Harrison’s Within You Without You was Harrison; otherwise, it was a bunch of Indian musicians that he brought in. Only McCartney and Starr played on Why Don’t We Do It In The Road.

In all fairness, Harrison’s guitar and some of his bass playing complemented McCartney and Lennon’s songs well. Plus, Harrison assisted Starr with writing Octopus’s Garden but did not receive writing credit. So, they often worked together.

George Martin did not receive writing credit, but he was indeed the fifth Beatle. He played piano on several songs and directed classical musicians, writing chord charts, arranging, and producing. Martin scored the movie Yellow Submarine. Half of the album — also called Yellow Submarine — was written by Martin; there, he indeed received credit.

They played musical chairs. See what I did there?

Also, I have listed the top seventeen vocal performances by the Beatles. And the top ten vocal performances of Beatles songs by other artists (covers).

How do I measure the songs? They are weighted by personal preference, complexity, creativity, melody, message, groundbreaking changes and harmonies.

Special Beatles sauce

Of course, there is the special Beatles sauce. What is the special Beatles sauce? It is difficult to encapsulate in a word, phrase, or sentence. However, there are ingredients added by any of the members, including Martin, which set their music apart.

For example, Dear Prudence speeds up partway through, which is a technical no-no, but they did not care. In some songs, some instrumentation is buried in the mix, but colours the song. There are ingredients in songs that make them special; otherwise, they may be simply “good” rather than “great,” for example, Norwegian Wood. Lennon felt the song was missing something. Harrison added the sitar. Ta-da! Complete.

The opening piano to Ob-La-Di, Ob-La-Da was by Lennon, who allegedly did not like the song, but was happy to add the raucous intro. McCartney’s song And I Love Her only became great when Harrison added the arpeggios and the intro and outro. I Am the Walrus was split in half by two very different versions, especially considering the time signature. Martin joined the first half of one and the second half of another take, and then matched their speed (by a very manual process). It is exceedingly difficult to tell if there is a difference.

I did not include covers of songs not written by The Beatles, like Twist and Shout and Rock ‘n Roll Music, both of which I like more than the Isley Brothers and Chuck Berry originals, respectively. But, alas, they are not their songs. Same with Buddy Holly’s Words of Love, which I love.

There are songs the Beatles did not release but wrote for other artists. I added a few favourites.

They hastily wrote songs for fill, for example, Sgt. Pepper’s Lonely Hearts Club Band Reprise or I Don’t Want to Spoil the Party. Whereas something like Being for the Benefit of Mr. Kite! and I Am the Walrus took magic by Martin, as well as Geoff Emerick, one of their longtime engineers.

The top thirty lists are not about number-one hits, but some of the songs did go Number one. I debated having songs like Her Majesty and Maggie May, which are short, filler ditties. Then there was You Know My Name (Look Up My Number), Mick Jagger added vocals, and Brian Jones added saxophone. At any rate, you would not drive around with your windows open singing along to You Know My Name (Look Up My Number).

I considered some songs that they wrote, but saved for when they went solo, like McCartney’s number one hit Another Day, Lennon’s anthem Give Peace a Chance, or Harrison’s big hit, All Things Must Pass. But in the end, they were not strictly speaking Beatles songs.

I like Octopus’s Garden, but to me it is similar to Maxwell’s Silver Hammer, good, but almost novelty. I wish Starr had finished writing Taking a Trip to Carolina, which became Octopus’s Garden. It is not quite worth listing, as is.

Some songs should not have been on an album, and some should have. For example, Revolution #9 could and really should have been replaced with Hey Jude. The avant-garde, Wild Honey Pie, should have been replaced by Lady Madonna.

Anyway, what would your lists look like? Which are your favourite Beatles songs?

Lennon

Norwegian Wood
In My Life
Strawberry Fields Forever
A Day in the Life
Revolution
Across the Universe
Don’t Let Me Down
Sexy Sadie
Yer Blues
Because
Dear Prudence
I Want You (She’s So Heavy)
Hey Bulldog
Day Tripper
Lucy in the Sky with Diamonds
Nowhere Man
Ticket to Ride
I Feel Fine
Good Morning, Good Morning
You're Going to Lose That Girl
She Said She Said
Rain
One After 909
Mean Mr. Mustard
You’ve Got to Hide Your Love Away
Glass Onion
All You Need is Love

McCartney

Eleanor Rigby
Blackbird
Hey Jude
Martha My Dear
Let it Be
Penny Lane
Fool on the Hill
Get Back
Helter Skelter
I Saw Her Standing There
Got to Get You Into My Life
I’ve Just Seen a Face
Here, There and Everywhere
Oh Darling
She’s Leaving Home
The Long and Winding Road
Two of Us
Paperback Writer
Hello Goodbye
Drive My Car
Ob-La-Di, Ob-La-Da
You Never Give Me Your Money
Rocky Racoon
When I’m 64
I’m Down
The End
Michelle

Harrison

Here Comes the Sun
While My Guitar Gently Weeps
Something
Savoy Truffle
Within Without You
Taxman

Lennon and McCartney

She Loves You
I Want To Hold Your Hand
Eight Days a Week
We Can Work It Out
Getting Better
With a Little Help From My Friends

Lennon and McCartney (joined by two different songs)

Baby, You're a Rich Man
A Day In The Life
I’ve Got a Feeling
Happiness Is A Warm Gun
You Never Give Me Your Money blends into Sun King
Golden Slumbers /Carry That Weight /The End

Written for other artists not covered by The Beatles

A World Without Love (Peter and Gordon)
Come and Get It (Badfinger)
Goodbye (Mary Hopkin)
I Wanna Be Your Man (Rolling Stones)

Three were written by McCartney alone. I Wanna Be Your Man was a Lennon/McCartney collaboration and was finished on-site and given to the Rolling Stones, which became their first hit.

Best vocal performances of Beatles songs by a Beatle

While it would be unfair to compare McCartney’s richer, more soulful voice to Lennon’s more linear and nasal sound from a technical perspective, I have considered delivery. Lennon could sound haunting, raging, and very rock ‘n roll-like. He could sound a little like Chuck Berry and could harmonize well. So, linear is a great counterpoint to the thick and soulful McCartney. Harrison could harmonize very well, but his lead vocal was never on par with the other two; it was unique. Starr could sing too, but struggled with being off-key, exacerbated by nervousness, yet some of his vocals were strong because the songs were written in a key catered to his ability.

Oh Darling — McCartney (Blues, some screaming)
Because and Sun King — Three-part harmony
Helter Skelter — McCartney (screaming)
A Day in the Life — Lennon (haunting)
This Boy — Three-part harmony
Long Tall Sally — McCartney
Twist and Shout — Lennon (with a cold, in one take)
I’m So Tired — Lennon (effectively sounds tired)
Yer Blues — Lennon
I’m Down — McCartney (screaming)
Hey Jude — McCartney
Golden Slumbers and You Never Give Me Your Money — McCartney
Mr. Moonlight — Lennon
Don’t Let Me Down — Lennon
Here Comes the Sun — Harrison (Harrison created a unique vocal sound that other rock bands copied)
With a Little Help From My Friends — Starr (for giving it a good go and for the support the others provided in harmony)
I’ve Got a Feeling — McCartney (Not so much Lennon’s effort though)

Beatle songs covered by other artists

It is a challenge for other artists to give Beatles songs the special sauce to match. Even singers who are just as good or perhaps more skilled often struggle to compete. But in some cases, there are strong versions that are worth noting. The Beatles have been covered so many times that no one knows the number. There is a Wikipedia page and dedicated Beatles sites, but they all differ.

One thing we know is that Yesterday is the most covered song in music history with over 3000 editions.

Yesterday — Marvin Gaye (McCartney’s favourite)
Here There and Everywhere — Sarah Vaughan
Come Together — Aerosmith
Here Comes the Sun — Nina Simone
Across the Universe — Fiona Apple
Blackbird — Emma Stevens (in the Canadian indigenous Mi'kmaq language)
Don’t Let Me Down — John Mayer and Keith Urban (live only)
And I Love Her — Pat Metheny or Chet Atkins — a tie!
With A Little Help From My Friends — Joe Cocker
Eleanor Rigby — Wes Montgomery

How are my lists compared to yours?