The Beatles’ success is not only attributed to their musical genius but also their enduring and unmatched cultural influence on the music world. However, when words fall short, the statistics do the talking.
The quartet is considered the most successful band of all time, with an astonishing 600 million albums sold globally. With 20 number one hits on the Billboard Hot 100, the Fab Four’s innovative music revolutionised the industry and rewrote the history books of music.
Undoubtedly, The Beatles are among the most influential and triumphant bands to have ever existed, dominating the 1960s and shaping the musical narrative for subsequent generations. Yet, much of the band’s success was in the pre-digital streaming era.
The Beatles were masters of vinyl records, cassette tapes, CDs, and radio airplay, long before contemporary streaming platforms emerged as the main avenues for music consumption.
Despite this, unsurprisingly, The Beatles continue to thrive in today’s streaming age, with their songs amassing hundreds of millions – and in some instances, billions – of streams.
According to Spotify – a leading global music streaming platform – there is one Beatles song that boasts a staggering 1.5 billion streams, firmly securing its position as the legendary band’s most streamed song.
The twist? The song doesn’t even feature Beatles frontman John Lennon.
With an astounding 1.549 billion streams, Here Comes The Sun clinches the title as The Beatles’ most streamed song. This iconic track was penned and sung by George Harrison in the garden of fellow music legend, Eric Clapton.
Over time, Here Comes the Sun has garnered extensive acclaim from music critics. Alongside his other renowned Abbey Road track, Something, it propelled George Harrison to a level of songwriting recognition previously only enjoyed by his bandmates, John Lennon and Paul McCartney.
In May 2023, it carved out a place in history as the first Beatles song to cross the one billion stream mark on Spotify.
Interestingly, the song was never released as a single in the UK, similar to Paul McCartney’s masterpiece Yesterday. It debuted as the opening track on the second side of The Beatles’ 1969 LP Abbey Road, and is one of the few songs by the band that doesn’t feature John Lennon.
During the early part of 1969, George was navigating a challenging phase in his life – having briefly left The Beatles, undertaking tonsil removal surgery and facing arrest for marijuana possession.
In his memoir ‘I, Me, Mine’, George Harrison shed light on the tense environment The Beatles were enduring which inspired him to write the song: “Here Comes the Sun was written at the time when Apple was getting like school, where we had to go and be businessmen: ‘Sign this’ and ‘sign that.’ Anyway, it seems as if winter in England goes on forever, by the time spring comes you really deserve it.
“So one day I decided I was going to sag off Apple and I went over to Eric Clapton’s house. The relief of not having to go see all those dopey accountants was wonderful, and I walked around the garden with one of Eric’s acoustic guitars and wrote Here Comes the Sun.”
In the acclaimed Martin Scorsese documentary from 2011, ‘George Harrison: Living in the Material World’, Eric Clapton remarked on the creativity of his friend: “He was just a magical guy and he would show up, get out of the car with his guitar and come in and start playing … I just watched this thing come to life. I felt very proud that it was my garden that was inspiring it.”