We get research e-mails all.the.time. A lot of the research is based on Google searches. Instead of saying it’s the “most searched” something, it’s the “most popular” something. I get it. I’m not here to split hairs, until now: What are Michigan’s most popular Beatles songs?  I’m sorry, Google, but I beg to differ.

This is a Friendly Beatles’ Songs Discussion – Peace and Love

To be clear, I’m not here to crap on any Beatles songs.  I’m actually here to celebrate Global Beatles Day (June 25th).  Global Beatles Day is a day to celebrate Beatles’ music and their messages of peace and love.  That doesn’t mean every song had that message, but a lot of them did.

On June 25th, 1967, The Beatles performed the song “All You Need Is Love” on the BBC’s Our World Program. This program was designed to show how our world could communicate using satellite technology. Contributions from 18 countries comprised the 120-minute program.  As part of the UK’s contribution, the Beatles performed (for the first time) “All You Need Is Love,” a song that John Lennon wrote for the program.  The program was viewed on 170 million televisions around the world.

The Beatles wanted a natural concert setting for the song so they invited some friends.  Mick Jagger, Keith Richards, Eric Clapton, Keith Moon, and Grahm Nash were among the attendees (from nightswithAliceCooper.com)  Now back to my previous scheduled question:

What Would You Say is Michigan’s Most Popular Beatles Song?

According to greatlakesstakes.com these are the most popular Beatles songs (based on Google searches).

• #3 "Let It Be"

  How can you not respect “Let It Be?” Paul McCartney wrote it for his mother, Mary who passed away when he was just 14 years old. According to Paul, he was inspired to write the song by a dream. He was anxious and troubled and his mother came to him in the dream to “whisper words of wisdom.” Paul talks about the inspiration behind “Let It Be” and so many other songs in the most amazing episode of Carpool Karaoke with James Corden. I’m pretty sure I’ve watched this a dozen times and I still love it.

• #2 "Come Together"

  “Come Together” started out as a campaign song for Timothy Leary’s run for Governor in California back in 1969.  Interesting side note:  When “Come Together was recorded, it was the first recording session where John Lennon was an “active” attendee since a car accident he and Yoko On had gotten into two weeks before.  John got 17 stitches.  Yoko Ono was pregnant and being more closely monitored.  John wanted her to be at the recording session…to the point of having a bed brought in for her so that she could get the bedrest doctors had advised (beatlesbooks.com) and be present at the session.

   

   

• #1 "Love Me Do"

  “Love Me Do” was The Beatles’ first release.  John Lennon and Paul McCartney wrote this when they were teenagers which is amazing.  It’s a great song, but I would not rate “Love Me Do” as the most popular Beatles song in Michigan.  Would it not make sense that the writing of The Beatles evolved and improved throughout their career? Below I give some examples of other metrics that explain why I feel this info might be flawed.

• "Here Comes The Sun"

  Back in May of this year, “Here Comes the Sun” became the first Beatles song to cross the one billion stream mark on Spotify. Speaking as a Michigander, it definitely one of my favorite / most popular Beatles songs.  This song is nothing but good vibes.  George Harrison was the most underrated of the Beatles in my book.  You can check out the amazing story of how George wrote the song when you CLICK HERE.

• "Hey Jude"

  As far as the charts go, “Hey Jude” is the Beatles’ most popular song.  It stayed on the Billboard Hot 100 chart for 19 weeks… 9 of those at number one (faroutmagazine.co.uk).  That makes it the longest-charting single of any Beatles song.

• "She Loves You"

  Highest selling doesn’t necessarily equal most popular, but here, in the States, “She Loves You” was the Beatles’ highest-selling song according to officialcharts.com. I think it’s worth noting though, singles sales are just one metric.  People who bought whole albums don’t factor into this.  The highest-selling Beatles album is Sgt. Pepper’s Lonely Hearts Club Band with more than 32 million copies sold (Faroutmagazine.co.uk).  The White Album is number three and Abbey Road is number two.  Also worth noting, in this time-frame, singles were everything.  The move to album-oriented rock had not been established.

• "Don't Let Me Down"

  Having watched the Beatles documentary, Get Back, this song truly holds a lot of meaning. I don’t know if that’s a factor with other YouTube users too, but the most popular (viewed) Beatles song on YouTube is “Don’t Let Me Down” with more than 440 million views. The difficulty with YouTube is that there are multiple entries for pretty much EVERY Beatles song.

• "Birthday"

  As far as being the “most popular” (most requested) song on the WCSX request lines… yep, it’s “Birthday.”  If it’s the most requested Beatles song, why don’t you hear me playing it?  I will tell you what I tell people who call and want to request it for their birthday or someone else’s: We all have a birthday.  If I play it for one, why shouldn’t I play it for another?  It opens a giant can of worms where “Birthday” gets played every day.  We do play a snippet of the birthday song as part of an intro for our classic rock artists’ birthdays, but as far as the whole song…  It’s the most requested Beatles song that I never play.  I know I sound like a jerk, but people who call in are actually very cool and understanding about the reasoning.

• What Beatles Song Is Most Popular With This Michigander?

  Honestly, I’d be hard-pressed to answer.  I love “Blackbird,” “Here Comes The Sun,” and “While My Guitar Gently Weeps” as far as the more mellow Beatles songs go.  My personal favorite that no one ever mentions is actually “Tomorrow Never Knows.” It was written by John Lennon who referred to it as “my first psychedelic song.” (Songfacts.com)

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