THE BEATLESMORE POPULAR THAN JESUS?�e Beatles made the news when on July 29, 1966, a magazine called “DATEbook” published a quote from an earlier interview with John Lennon in which he said,

Weʼre more popular than Jesus now. I donʼt know which will go first, rock and roll or Christianity.

But were the Beatles more popular than Jesus? A�er all, the Beatles are still to this day the best-selling music artist of all time. Read more to �nd out.

“ ” THE NUMBER ONES

HOW THE BEATLES EVOLVED

MORE POPULAR THAN JESUS?

BY KRISTEN LONGSOURCES: BILLBOARD.COM, BUSINESSWEEK

HOW THE BEATLES RULED THE CHARTS1964

1970

1965

1966

1967

1968

1969

1971

A. FIRST U.S. NUMBER ONE HIT “I Want to Hold Your Hand was released in December 1963 but didnʼt hit number one until January 18. It stayed on the charts for a total of 15 weeks.

D. LAST U.S. NUMBER ONE HIT “The Long and Winding Road” was the last number one hit of The Beatles while they were still together. It entered the charts on May 23, 1970 and peaked at number one on June 13. It spent a total of 10 weeks on the charts.

C. LONGEST TIME ON CHARTS“Hey Jude” was released on September 14, 1968, and stayed on the charts until January 18, 1969. It spent a total of 19 weeks on the chart, which is more than any other Beatles song. Even more impressive, “Hey Jude” was at number one for nine of those 19 weeks.

B. MOST SONGS ON THE CHARTSDuring the week of April 4, 1964, The Beatles accomplished a feat never matched by any other artist to date: They held 12 positions on the singles chart, including the top five. The songs in the top five were “Canʼt Buy Me Love,” “Twist and Shout,” “She Loves You,” “I Want to Hold Your Hand,” and “Please Please Me.”

TIME ON THE U.S. HOT 100 CHARTTIME AT NUMBER ONE

OTHER FACTS AND FEATSThe Beatles hold many records both in the U.S. and abroad. Here is just a sampling of the U.S. records that they hold:

SINGLES:Most number one singles (20 songs)

Most weeks at number one (59 weeks)

Most weeks on the Hot 100 (609 weeks)

Most chart entries within a calendar year (30 charted songs in 1964)

Most songs in the Hot 100 at the same time (14 songs on April 11, 1964)

ALBUMS:Most number one albums (19 albums)

Most weeks at number one (609 weeks)

Most consecutive number one albums (8 consecutive number one albums from 1965 to 1968)

A

B

C

D

50

40

30

20

10

1

CH

ART

PO

SITI

ON

This chart shows the top five songs that stayed the longest at number one on the U.S. Billboard charts. The Beatles had 20 number one hits in the U.S.

I Want to Hold Your Hand (1964)

WEEK 1 WEEK 5 WEEK 10 WEEK 15 WEEK 19

Hey Jude (1968)

Get Back (1969)

Canʼt Buy Me Love (1964)

Yesterday (1965)

Phase One (1958-63)

Phase Three (1966-68)

Phase Four (1968-70)

ALBUMS RELEASEDPlease Please MeMeet the Beatles

ALBUMS RELEASEDA Hard Dayʼs NightHelp!Beatles for SaleRubber SoulRevolver

Phase Two (1964-66)

ALBUMS RELEASEDSgt. Pepperʼs Lonely Hearts Club BandMagical Mystery Tour

ALBUMS RELEASEDYellow SubmarineThe Beatles (White Album)Abbey RoadLet It Be

SONGS ON THE CHARTS

40

SONGS ON THE CHARTS

12

SONGS ON THE CHARTS

10

The Beatles came into their own during these years with their new-found popularity. Their albums reveal an increasingly wholistic sound, but The Beatles began to have problems with commercialism vs. creativity.

The Beatles began to face backlash in response to Lennonʼs infamous comment about Jesus. They also began to become more experimental in their music, adding classical influences, as well as delving into psychedelic rock.

The Beatles, originally named The Quarrymen, started their careers with small-scale tours in the UK and Germany. their first recording session was at Abbey Road Studios in London in June 1962. Their first hit in the UK was “Love Me Do.” They didnʼt have a hit in the U.S. until “I Want to Hold Your Hand” was released in December 1963.

The group began to fall apart as each member began to go his own separate way in terms of musical influences, drug use and, of course, women. Their final album, “Let It Be,” was released on May 8, 1970.

NUMBER ONES

11

NUMBER ONES

4

NUMBER ONES

5

The lowest estimation of Bibles distributed is

More than 83 million are distributed globally every year.

Estimations of the total number of Beatlesʼ albums sold are around

1 billion. 2.5 billion.

15,400,000 33,200,000results on Google for “Jesus.”results on Google for “Beatles.”

There areThere are

Given Jesusʼs 1,900 year head start, he is the clear winner.

However, The Beatles are still the best-selling artist of all time with 20 number one hits, 19 number one albums, and the most time spent at number one on the U.S. Billboard charts.