Records and Firsts of the Beatles

Paul McCartney, John Lennon, George Harrison, and Ringo Starr have accomplished an amazing amount of things in their short period of time together as a band. They've done so much, and even if you're the type of person not to be impressed by statistics, just listening to their music is enough. They're amazing.

The following information was gathered from various forums.

"In the first week of April 1964, the Beatles had the Top Five best-selling singles in the U.S.; they also had the first two slots on the album charts, as well as other entries throughout the Billboard Top 100. No one had ever dominated the market for popular music so heavily; it's doubtful that anyone ever will again. The Beatles themselves would continue to reach number one with most of their singles and albums until their 1970 breakup... the Beatles would be hugely influential on the folk-rock explosion of 1965. The Beatles' success, too, had begun to open the U.S. market for fellow Brits like the Rolling Stones, the Animals, and the Kinks, and inspired young American groups like the Beau Brummels, Lovin' Spoonful, and others to mount a challenge of their own with self-penned material that owed a great debt to Lennon-McCartney...They were also pushing the limits of studio rock by devising new guitar and bass textures, experimenting with distortion and multi-tracking, and using unconventional (for rock) instruments like the sitar. ...Hazy hard guitars and thicker vocal arrangements formed the bed of these increasingly imagistic, ambitious lyrics; the group's eclecticism now encompassed everything from singalong novelties ("Yellow Submarine") and string quartet-backed character sketches ("Eleanor Rigby") to Indian-influenced swirls of echo and backward tapes ("Tomorrow Never Knows"). Some would complain that the Beatles had abandoned the earthy rock of their roots for clever mannerism. But Revolver, like virtually all of the group's singles and albums from "She Loves You" on, would be a worldwide chart-topper. ...The appearance of the "Penny Lane"/"Strawberry Fields Forever" single in February 1967 squelched these concerns. Frequently cited as the strongest double A-side ever, the Beatles were now pushing forward into unabashedly psychedelic territory in their use of orchestral arrangements and Mellotron, without abandoning their grasp of memorable melody and immediately accessible lyrical messages. ...When the Beatles premiered their hippie anthem "All You Need Is Love" as part of a worldwide TV broadcast, they had been truly anointed as spokespersons for their generation (a role they had not actively sought), and it seemed they could do no wrong. ...Judged solely on musical merit, The White Album, a double LP released in late 1968, was a triumph. While largely abandoning their psychedelic instruments to return to guitar-based rock, they maintained their whimsical eclecticism, proving themselves masters of everything from blues-rock to vaudeville. As individual songwriters, too, it contains some of their finest work (as does the brilliant non-LP single from this era, "Hey Jude"/"Revolution")."

--"8 Days A Week" was the first song to fade in.
--"I Feel Fine" was the first song ever to feature feedback.
--They were the first band to use backwards recording.
--Sgt. Pepper was the first album to have the entire lyrics printed on it.
--"She's a Woman" was the first song to use the phrase "turns me on." Heh.

~ Became the first BAND to write their own songs and to make it a standard for other bands as well to write their own material
~ First and ONLY band to own the top 5 on billboard in 1964
~ Without the Beatles, the music industry wouldn't be what it is now. We would be listening to the singing nuns...
~ Influenced pop culture: long hair, rebel against society and authority ~ Were aware of global issues: Vietnam, Civil Rights in the states...
~ John and Paul were the best songwriting duo with over 20 #1 songs
~ Broke standards such as how long a typical song should be ("Hey Jude" at #1 and clocking in at over 7 mins.)
~ Best selling band of all time with 1.2 million albums sold as of 2003
~ Sgt. Pepper-- birth of the concept album...and the album cover as an art form
~ Ed Sullivan-- biggest number of viewers ever because of the Beatles. Not to mention the performance itself was imitated by Nirvana and Outkast
~ "Yesterday" is the most covered song, with more than 3,000 versions. Does any other band have a song like that?
~ "A Hard Day's Night" is considered the first music video. That movie has inspired Mike Myers and Cameron Crowe, just to name a few.
~ You wouldn't be popular if you weren't referenced in other medias, such as "The Simpsons". And they were...A LOT.
~ They are mentioned in songs by other artists, such as Bush, Shania Twain, and U2.
~ Used various instruments, such as the sitar
~ Their music is timeless. Every generation will always go back to the Beatles.
~ First band to break in America, which is the hardest country to break in. After the Beatles came the British invasion.

In 7 years, they turned out 12 albums, plus about 2 original singles a year. Who in the world can boast that kind of productivity when they're writing their own songs, playing their own instruments, and touring the world? None of this taking 5 years off to write and record like artists do now.

Not only have they influenced about every song you'll ever hear on the radio now; they also directly influenced some of the biggest names in the industry now. I mean, Sting heard the Beatles and decided he wanted to do that for a living. That's just how great they were.

1) Most No. 1 hit singles in America, 20 (second place: Elvis, 17)
2) Most No. 1 hit albums in America, 19 (second place: Elvis, 10)
3) Most No. 1 hit albums in Britain, 15 (second place: Stones, 10)
4) Most weeks spent in the American albums chart, 1955 (second place: Elvis, 1858)
5) Most weeks spent in the British albums chart, 1285 (second place: Queen, 1200)
6) Most weeks spent at No. 1 in the American albums chart, 132 (second place: Elvis, 67)
7) Most weeks spent at No. 1 in the British albums chart, 174 (second place: Abba, 55)
8) Most songs in the American singles chart at the same time, 14 (second place: Elvis, 9)
9) Most songs in the American Top 40 at the same time, 7 (second place: Elvis)
10) Most songs in the American Top 10 at the same time, 5 (second place: Bee Gees)
11) Most new chart hits in the American singles chart within a calendar year, 30 (second place: Elvis)
12) Only act to replace itself at No. 1 two times (second place: Elvis, Boyz II Men)
13) Most complete domination of the British charts (No. 1 & 2 in the singles chart, No. 1 & 2 in the LP chart, No. 1, 2 & 3 in the EP chart all at the same time)
14) Most complete domination of the American charts (No. 1, 2, 3, 4 & 5 in the singles chart and No. 1 & 2 in the LP chart at the same time)
15) Most American No. 1 hit singles within a calendar year: 6 (second place: Elvis, 4)
16) Largest one-day sales figure for a single in the US: Can`t Buy Me Love (940,255 copies sold the day of release)
17) Best-selling album in British History, Sgt. Pepper`s Lonely Hearts Club Band
18) Best-selling act in American history, 193.5 million certified record sales (second place: Elvis, 151 million)
19) Best-selling act in British history, over 40 million records sold in Britain
20) The Beatles` American album sales are equal to 328 Gold awards (second place: Garth Brooks and Led Zeppelin, 210 Gold awards)
21) The Beatles` American album sales are equal to 164 platinum awards (second place: Garth Brooks and Led Zeppelin, 105 platinum awards)
22) Fastest selling album in history, "Beatles 1"
23) Most consecutive No. 1 hit singles in Britain, 11
24) Most consecutive No. 1 hit albums in America, 8
25) Most consecutive weeks spent at No. 1 in the British album charts, 51
26) Most weeks at No. 1 in the British albums chart within a calendar year, 40
27) Most transatlantic No. 1 hit singles, 12
28) Top-selling singles in Britain and America in the 1960s (She Loves You and I Want To Hold Your Hand)
29) Top-selling single and album of the 1960s globally (I Want To Hold Your Hand and Sgt. Pepper`s Lonely Hearts Club Band)
30) Most million-selling singles in Britain

*Most Billboard US #1 singles – 20
*Most Cash Box US #1 singles – 22
*Most Record World US #1 singles – 23
*Most UK #1 Albums – 15
*Most Billboard US #1 albums – 19
*Most Cash Box US #1 albums – 15
*Most Record World US #1 albums – 17
*Most weeks spent in the UK album chart – 1,260 weeks
*Most weeks spent in the Billboard US album chart by a Group – 1,985 weeks
*Most weeks spent in the Billboard US Singles chart by a Group – 629 weeks
*Most weeks spent in the UK singles chart by a Group – 456 weeks
*Most weeks at #1 position in the UK album chart – 174 weeks
*Most weeks at #1 position in the Billboard US album chart – 132 weeks
*Highest jump to #1 in the Billboard US singles chart – 27 to 1 (Can't Buy Me Love, April 4, 1964)
*Most songs in the Billboard Top 100 singles chart – 14 (April 11, 1964)
*Most songs in the Billboard Top 40 singles chart – 7 (April 11 & April 25, 1964)
*Most songs in the Billboard Top 20 singles chart – 6 (April 11 & 18, 1964)
*Most songs in the Billboard Top 10 singles chart – 5 (April 4 & 11, 1964)
*Most songs in the US Top 5 singles chart – 5 (April 4, 1964)
*Most chart entries in the Billboard US singles chart within a calendar year – 30 (1964)
*Only act that replaced itself at the #1 position two times in the Billboard US singles chart (March 21 & April 4, 1964)
*Most UK #1 EPs (Extended Play) – 8
*Most weeks at #1 position in the UK EP chart – 63 weeks
*Most complete ever domination of the three UK charts (singles, albums, EPs): the Beatles had the #1 UK single, the #2 UK single, the #1 UK album, the #2 UK album, the #1 UK EP, the #2 UK EP & the #3 UK EP for three weeks from December 12, 1963 to December 26, 1963
*Most complete ever domination of the Billboard US Singles & Albums chart: the Beatles had the #1, the #2, the #3, the #4 & the #5 US singles as well as the #1 & the #2 US albums for one week (April 4, 1964)
*Most complete ever domination of the UK and US singles chart: the Beatles had the UK #1 single, the UK #1 & UK #2 album, the #1 UK EP, the US #1 to US #5 singles & the US #1 and US #2 albums at once (April 4, 1964)
*The Beatles held the #1 and #2 positions in the Billboard US albums chart for 9 consecutive weeks on two separate occasions (March 2 to April 27, 1964, as well as August 29 to October 24, 1964)
*Most Billboard US #1 albums within a calendar year – 3 (1964, 1965, 1966)
*Most Billboard US #1 singles within a calendar year – 6 (1964)
*Most Billboard US #1 albums within a 12 month period – 4 (February 15, 1964 to February 15, 1965 as well as January 9, 1965 to January 9, 1966 as well as September 11, 1965 to September 11, 1966)
*Largest one week singles sales in the UK – 970,000 (I Want To Hold Your Hand)*
*Largest one week singles sales in the US – 940,225 (Can`t Buy Me Love)*
*Largest advance sale in the UK for a single – 1,400,000 (Can`t Buy Me Love)*
*Largest international singles advance sale – 2,100,000 (Can`t Buy Me Love)*
*Largest advance order for a single in the US – 1,700,000 (Can`t Buy Me Love)*
*Best selling album in the UK ever – Sgt. Pepper`s Lonely Hearts Club Band (approx. 4.5 million)
*Act with the most RIAA diamond awards for album sales exceeding 10 million in the US (five)
*Act with the highest RIAA certified album sales – 163.5 million
*The RIAA certified album sales are equal to 328 Gold albums (a record)
*The RIAA certified album sales are equal to 161 Platinum albums (a record)
*Act with the highest RIAA combined album and singles sales – 192.5 million
*Fastest selling album in history – Beatles 1 (20 million in 9 weeks)
*Most UK singles chart top ten hits by a Group – 28
*Most Billboard US singles chart top ten hits by a Group – 34
*Most consecutive UK singles chart top ten hits by a Group – 24
*Most weeks spent at #1 position in the UK singles chart by a Group – 69
*Most weeks spent at #1 position in the UK singles chart within a calendar year by a Group – 16
*Most consecutive #1 hits in the UK singles chart – 11 (from "From Me To You" in 1963 to "Yellow Sumbarine" in 1966)
*Most consecutive #1 hits in the Billboard US singles chart by a Group – 6 (from "I Feel Fine" to "We Can Work It Out" – record held together with the Bee Gees)
*Most consecutive #1 hit albums in the Billboard US albums chart – 8 (from "Beatles VI" to "The Beatles" – this run was interrupted by "Yellow Submarine", which stalled at #2, behind the Beatles` own "White Album" in February 1969)
*Most #1 hits in the UK singles chart within a calendar year by a Group – 3 (1963, 1964, 1965)
*First act to debut at #1 in the UK album chart (August 14, 1965)
*Most weeks spent on the UK singles chart during the 1960s by a Group – 333 weeks
*Most weeks spent on the UK album chart during the 1960s by a Group – 435 weeks
*Most consecutive weeks at the #1 position in the UK album chart – 51 weeks (May 11, 1963 to May 2, 1964)
*Most weeks at #1 in the UK album chart within a calendar year – 40 weeks (1964)
*Most #1 albums in the UK album chart within a calendar year – 3 (1965)
*First act to replace itself at #1 position in the UK singles chart (December 12, 1963)
*First act to replace itself at the #1 position in the UK album chart (December 7, 1963 as well as December 19, 1964)
*Album that spent the most weeks at #1 in the UK album chart by a Group – Please Please Me (30 weeks)
*Non-Soundtrack Album that spent the most consecutive weeks at #1 in the UK album chart – Please Please Me (30 weeks)
*Act with the most #1 debuts in the history of the UK album chart – 8 (record held together with David Bowie)
*First Group to debut at #1 in the UK singles chart (April 23, 1969)
*Group that spent the most consecutive weeks in the UK singles chart – 105 weeks (from October 11, 1962 to October 15, 1964)
*George Martin is the most successful producer in the UK & US Singles chart with 28 UK #1 hit singles and 24 Billboard US #1 hit singles
*Group with the most #2 hits in the UK singles chart – 5 (record held together with Queen and Sweet)
*Top selling single in the UK of the 1960s ("She Loves You" – "I Want to Hold Your Hand" holds seconds place)
*Top selling single in the US of the 1960s ("I Want To Hold Your Hand" – "Hey Jude" holds second place)
*Top selling album in the UK of the 1960s ("Sgt. Pepper`s Lonely Heart Club Band")
*Top selling album in the US of the 1960s ("Sgt. Pepper`s Lonely Hearts Club Band")
*Worldwide top selling single of the 1960s ("I Want To Hold Your Hand")
*Worldwide top selling album of the 1960s ("Sgt. Pepper`s Lonely Hearts Club Band")
*Most #1 hit singles in Germany – 12
*Most #1 hit albums in Germany by a non-German act – 11
*Most #1 hit singles in Australia – 23
*Most #1 hit singles in Sweden – 18
*Most #1 hit singles in Canada – 22
*Most #1 hit singles in Holland – 23
*Most top ten hit singles in Germany by a non-German act – 30
*Most weeks at #1 position in the German album chart – 113 weeks
*Most million selling singles in the UK – 5
*Most million selling singles in the US – 29 (record held together with Elvis Presley)
*Highest sales within a calendar year in the US – approx. 35 million (1964)
*Highest sales within a calendar year worldwide – approx. 75 million (1964)
*Only Group whose members all had solo Billboard US #1 singles
*Highest number of worldwide sales - 1 billion
*Most covered song in history – Yesterday (over 2,500 cover versions)
*Beatles songs have been played on US radio more often than anybody else`s songs (according to BMI, the top 20 of Beatles songs accumulate more than 60 million radio performances)
*Paul McCartney is the artist who wrote the most #1 hit singles in the Billboard US singles chart – 32 (second place John Lennon – 26)
*Paul McCartney is the artist who wrote the most #1 hit singles in the UK singles chart – 26 (second place John Lennon – 25)
*Paul McCartney spent 1797 weeks in the UK album chart (Beatles + Wings + Paul Solo – second place John Lennon 1592 weeks)
*Most simultaneous weeks at the top of the UK singles and album chart – 45 weeks