The global sensation that was The Beatles coming to an end was expected but heart breaking. Though they were only making albums together for around six years, their music was some of the most influential music of all time. Out of their discography together, songs like “Hey Jude,” “Yesterday,” and “Let It Be” stand out as some of the best songs of all time. John Lennon, Paul McCartney, George Harrison, and Ringo Starr made amazing music together, but after the split, they continued to make solo music and music with different bands. McCartney famously started the band Wings, Lennon formed the Plastic Ono Band, Harrison played with the Traveling Wilburys alongside Bob Dylan, and Starr stayed solo for a while before forming His All-Starr Band. All Beatles made solo music, which is to be focused on, but who made the best music? Which song was each of their bests without the other three fourths of the Fab Four?
Beginning with the infamous John Lennon, he created eight studio albums before his death on December 8th of 1980. Contained in these albums are many songs which are beautiful and poetic, and some which are controversial. Some of the most popular include “Imagine,” “Beautiful Boy (Darling Boy),” and “Happy Xmas (War Is Over),” while controversial songs include “How Do You Sleep” (A song critiquing Paul McCartney), and “God,” a song which critiques religion. My personal favorite John Lennon song is “(Forgive Me) My Little Flower Princess.” While the song is short, it is extremely unique to me and I love how Lennon’s voice sounds on the track. Despite this, the most beloved song overall is “Imagine” which is surprising due its political themes. The song speaks about religion, capitalism, and nationalism in a negative light, encouraging the listener to imagine a world without these burdens. The short-lived career of John Lennon was truly beautiful despite its controversies and imperfections.
Moving on to Paul McCartney, it is important to mention the popularity that his band, Wings, accumulated over their career. Many of Paul McCartney’s most popular songs are his songs from Wings. McCartney, however, also has many albums directly credited to him. Some of his popular songs include “Wonderful Christmastime,” “FourFiveSeconds,” a song which features both Kanye West and Rihanna, and “Band On The Run,” which is a song with Wings. A McCartney song which is less popular but deserves to be mentioned is his song “Too Many People.” This song was a jab at John Lennon which led John to release the aforementioned “How Do You Sleep?” My personal favorite Paul McCartney song is “Smile Away” off of the beautiful album titled Ram which features his now deceased wife, Linda McCartney. This album also includes other masterpieces like “Uncle Albert/Admiral Halsey – Medley” and “3 Legs.” The most popular Paul McCartney song is, surprisingly to me, “FourFiveSeconds” with Kanye West and Rihanna. This is likely because the song has the sound of a song which would be popular in the current era, while also featuring two other extremely popular artists. Paul McCartney will hopefully continue to create his masterful music for as long as we are lucky enough to have him with us.
As for George Harrison, many people believe that his solo career was the best out of all four Beatles, and I can’t help but agree. During the 1960s, George Harrison wrote only about 10% of The Beatles’ discography, which I believe is a tragedy. Harrison was overlooked within The Beatles, that is but a fact, and after his eager departure from the band, he made music with his band the Traveling Wilburys, which included legends such as Harrison himself, Tom Petty, and of course, Bob Dylan. The music made with the band was astonishing, but Harrison’s solo music, according to many fans, outshines all of that. The album All Things Must Pass was a work of art that was appreciated by many fans. Songs such as “My Sweet Lord,” a song about Harrison’s Hindu religion, “Give Me Love (Give Me Peace On Earth),” and “Got My Mind Set On You” lead Harrison’s discography in popularity and, in my opinion, for good reason. Another song to be mentioned for controversial reasons would be the song “Wah-Wah” which was written in spite of Paul McCartney and even featured Ringo Starr on drums. This song was a big deal to George because it explained his negative feelings for Paul McCartney at the time, but also showed George’s feelings about keeping his own peace. My all time favorite George Harrison song was extremely hard to choose, but I finally landed on the choice of “Here Comes The Moon,” an homage to his previously written “Here Comes The Sun.” Harrison’s most popular solo song is another one of my favorites, “My Sweet Lord.” This is, again, for good reason in my opinion. Having written many of The Beatles’ best songs like the aforementioned “Here Comes The Sun,” “Something,” “I Me Mine,” “While My Guitar Gently Weeps,” and “Within You Without You,” Harrison was destined to be a successful solo artist. His quiet love for nature and humanity made him a lyrical genius and since his death on November 29th, 2001, the world continues to love the Quiet Beatle.
Lastly, but certainly not least, is my personal favorite Beatle, Ringo Starr. Unfortunately, many people are unaware of the career that the Funny Beatle has created for himself. Before Ringo Starr, or Richard Starkey, created his All-Starr Band which included Ringo of course, the beloved Steven Tyler of Aerosmith, Ringo’s son Zak Starkey, and many more Starrs, he had started a solo career. During this career, Starr released over twenty albums filled with both covers of songs written by others, and songs written by Ringo himself. Some of the most popular include two songs he co-wrote with his best friend George Harrison,“Photograph” and “It Don’t Come Easy,” along with a cover of a song by the Sherman Brothers, “You’re Sixteen (You’re Beautiful And You’re Mine).” The love and peace keeper had many underrated songs that reference his former band mates such as “Never Without You” which was written after the death of Starr’s favorite band mate, George Harrison. This song brings tears to my eyes personally since Ringo sings so lovingly of his pal George and clearly was heartbroken over his death. My personal favorite Ringo song was extremely hard to choose but one that I find very personal was a cover he did of Sorrells Pickard’s song “$15 Draw.” Songs like “Snookeroo,” written by Elton John for Starr, “Back Off Boogaloo,” written completely by Ringo, and “I’m The Greatest,” written by John Lennon in a rare Beatles collaboration after the split, show the personality of the Funny Beatle very clearly. Ringo’s music, as it always has, promotes his two favorite things in the entire world: peace and love.
Overall, the success of the isolated Fab Four was astronomical. The songwriting skills of Lennon and McCartney that were shown constantly during their time together continued to shine, while the genius of George Harrison got to shine even brighter alone. Ringo’s career, although less popular, is still extremely successful and his skills behind a microphone were shown more while apart from his former bandmates as well. Truly, there has never been, and likely never will be another band as popular as The Beatles and we are lucky to live with the art they created.
