Top 10 Beatles Songs

Most critics agree that The Beatles are the greatest rock band of all time.  Even if you disagree with that assessment, they are undoubtedly one of the most important rock bands of all time.  When you consider the amount and quality of the music they produced in just 8 short years (1962-70), it is truly phenomenal.  However, it wasn’t just the hit songs or the fashion changes or the screaming girls.  It was how their music evolved over that time, from simple bubble gum pop/rock songs like “I Want to Hold Your Hand” and “She Loves You” to deeper, more complex songs like those on “Revolver,” “Sgt. Pepper” or “Abbey Road”.  Working with esteemed, Hall of Fame producer George Martin, they set new standards for what could be accomplished in the studio and what popular music sounded like - and they did it while still churning out timeless music, not to mention countless hits.

My parents were big fans of The Beatles, as am I and as are my kids.  In fact, my son had to pick a public figure on which to do research and put together an acrostics project for his 7^th grade Challenge Language Arts class.  He could have chosen any famous person or event in history, but he chose The Beatles.  The simple fact that a middle schooler who was born 33 years after the band broke up would choose them as his research project topic speaks volumes about their historical importance and the enduring legacy of their music.

In memory of the aforementioned unofficial “Fifth Beatle,” George Martin, who died yesterday, I give you my top 10 favorite Beatles songs:

10.          “Day Tripper”

9.            “Nowhere Man”
8.            “Help!”
7.            “Yesterday”
6.            “In My Life”
5.            “Hey Jude”
4.            “Something”
3.            “Eleanor Rigby”
2.            “Here Comes The Sun”
1.            “Let It Be”

Honorable Mention (in no particular order):  “Paperback Writer,” “A Hard Day’s Night,” “Norwegian Wood,” “Twist and Shout” (if for no other reason than the parade scene in “Ferris Bueller’s Day Off”) and “Got to Get You Into My Life”.

I’d be interested to hear what your choices would be.  Feel free to leave your selections in the comments or reply to this post on Facebook or Twitter.

As always, thanks for reading!