Yet Another Entry on The Beatles

As regular readers know, I am a big fan of the world's greatest rock & roll band, The Beatles, so allow me to recommend yet another publication on the Fab Four.  It is a tabloid published by USA Today on The Beatles in celebration of "The 50th Anniversary of Rock's Greatest Band".  Now available at your local newsstand for $4.95.  It is done in typical USA Today fashion - short stories, lots of pictures, and lots of charts and lists.


The paper lists "The 20 Best" Beatles songs.  I'll list them with no comment, and let the debate begin:

1. Ticket to Ride
2. I Want to Hold Your Hand
3. A Day in the Life
4. Elanor Rigby
5. Norwegian Wood
6. Penny Lane
7. Hey, Jude
8. Strawberry Fields Forever
9. While My Guitar Gently Weeps
10. The Fool on the Hill
11. Abbey Road medley
12. Girl
13. I Saw Her Standing There
14. Please Please Me
15. Let It Be
16. Here, There and Everywhere
17. Drive My Car
18. A Hard Day's Night
19. Come Together
20. Here Comes the Sun

OK, a few comments:

• Hard to argue the greatness of any of these songs, but another list of 20 completely different songs would still be pretty good, I'll bet.
• The only one that I would say doesn't belong here is Drive My Car.
• Never saw Ticket to Ride rated so high on lists like this
• Why does "Hello, Good-bye" never appear on any of these lists?  I have it in my own personal top ten.
• Think I'll put together a playlist of these 20 songs.  Would make a damn fine CD for me to listen to as I drive my car.

The magazine also debates which is The Beatles greatest album.  In 2003 Rolling Stone rated the 500 Greatest Albums.  In that poll, Sgt. Pepper ranked #1 with Revolver at #3, Rubber Soul at #5, and the White Album at #10.  In a 2011 Rolling Stone readers' poll, Revolver had moved to #1, edging out Abbey Road by two votes, with The White Album third, and Sgt. Pepper fourth.  Other sources had always ranked Sgt. Pepper at the top, but more recent polls (since 2010) have Revolver moving into the top spot.  Nine different music critics and historians debate this issue.  Very interesting stuff.

Anyway, always a fun topic and, as I have said before, anything that prompts you to start playing this music again is worthwhile.