If you sit for a moment and think about it, it would seem like nearly every song from The Beatles that you’ve ever heard likely hit the No. 1 spot on the Billboard charts. But that just isn’t the case, of course. No group could be that popular, that lucky—though, of anyone, The Beatles came the closest.
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While The Beatles do boast the most No. 1 hit songs on the Billboard Hot 100 with 20 (heck, the band even released a popular album in 2000 just called 1 that featured all of said songs and more), there were many excellent tunes from the former Mop Tops that didn’t hit the ultimate spot on the Hot 100.
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1. “Eleanor Rigby”
Released on the Fab Four’s 1966 album, Revolver, this song is a masterpiece. It talks of loneliness while being built with rich vocal harmonies from Paul McCartney and a cornucopia of instruments. It also peaked at No. 11 on the Billboard Hot 100 charts.
2. “Strawberry Fields Forever”
Released in 1967 as a standalone single (along with its Double-A side “Penny Lane”), this psychedelic track penned by John Lennon peaked at No. 8 on the Billboard Hot 100. Yet, it remains one of the band’s most surreal and iconic songs.
3. “Here Comes the Sun”
Released on the Beatles’ 1969 LP, Abbey Road, this song was penned by lead guitarist George Harrison while staying at Eric Clapton’s home on a day he wanted to get away from his Fab Four bandmates. The day playing hooky was one of several moments that spelled the end of the band near the conclusion of the decade. With a new hope in his heart, Harrison wrote a song about the oncoming light. Its highest mark on the Billboard Hot 100 (Recurrents) came in 2010 when it hit No. 2.
4. “While My Guitar Gently Weeps”
Another song brought to life by Harrison, this track was released on the 1968 double album, The Beatles, which is more commonly known as The White Album. While the recording features an uncredited lead from Clapton, the song is about the sadness in the world and the laziness and inability of common people to correct them. The song has not charted on the Billboard Hot 100.
5. “Yellow Submarine”
Released on the 1966 album Revolver, this song features the dulcet tones of one Ringo Starr, normally the band’s drummer. But it was written as a kids’ song by McCartney and Lennon. But that wasn’t enough for the song to just barely miss the top spot in the United States, with it peaking at No. 2 on the Billboard Hot 100.
6. “With a Little Help from My Friends”
The second song on the band’s 1967 album Sgt. Pepper’s Lonely Hearts Club Band, this track was also famously sung by Starr. And since the Fab Four released it, there have been several notable cover versions, perhaps most famously by Joe Cocker, whose version hit No. 1 on the U.K. Singles chart but just No. 68 on the Billboard Hot 100. As for The Beatles, their version didn’t make the chart.
7. “Sgt. Pepper’s Lonely Hearts Club Band”
From The Beatles’ 1967 album Sgt. Pepper’s Lonely Hearts Club Band, it makes sense that this song, despite its title and sound being immediately recognizable, never hit No. 1. It is an intro tune to the concept album and not, say, a standalone single. Nevertheless, the titular track hit No. 71 on the Billboard Hot 100.
8. “In My Life”
From the band’s 1965 album Rubber Soul, this song was written by Lennon and is said to be his most autobiographical. Lennon also called it his “first real major piece of work.” In 2010, the eerie-yet-beautiful song hit No. 9 on the Billboard Hot 100 Recurrents chart.
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