If any suspicions existed that The Beatles were a stale, old legacy band at the start of the 21st century, the release of their record-breaking compilation album of No. 1 hits certainly squashed that assumption. Released on the 30th anniversary of the band’s infamous 1970 breakup, 1 featured 27 songs by the Fab Four, all of which topped the charts in the mid- to late 1960s.
Videos by American Songwriter
Technicalities around A-sides vs. B-sides meant some iconic songs, like “Please Please Me” and “Strawberry Fields Forever”, didn’t make the cut. But even without these tracks, the CD is still full of great tunes, including “She Loves You”, “I Want to Hold Your Hand”, “Yesterday”, “Yellow Submarine”, “Hey Jude”, “The Ballad of John and Yoko”, “Something”, and “Let It Be”, among others. Unsurprisingly, given the chart-topping tracklist, the CD performed exceptionally well.
1 became the best-selling album of the decade worldwide, topping the charts in 23 countries, from the U.S. to the band’s native U.K. to New Zealand to South Korea and beyond. For younger music lovers, the compilation album was an impressive first introduction to the band that broke up years before they were even born. For older Beatlemaniacs, the CD was a convenient collection of the band’s best songs, all in one spot.
The Compilation Let Fans Hear (And See) the Beatles Again
A lot happened in between The Beatles’ last days as a band and when the compilation album, 1, came out—for better or worse. Tragically, John Lennon wasn’t around to see his former band break their record of having No. 1 albums in non-consecutive decades, as he died in 1980. The ex-bandmates experienced plenty of other heartbreaks, including the death of Paul McCartney’s first wife, Linda McCartney, in 1998. From a global perspective, we had seen wars, new technology, and massive cultural shifts that made Y2K almost unrecognizable compared to the 1960s.
In addition to providing new masters of (almost) all of The Beatles’ chart-topping hits, this compilation album also included a deluxe version with mini-promotional videos the band made after they stopped touring in the late 60s. “These videos and films are spectacular reminders of the era we lived in,” Paul McCartney said of the compilation. “They also rock!” Ringo Starr added, “I think it’s really interesting to see the videos we made, some of them incredible and some of them really incredible.”
For some musical context, The Beatles’ 1 went up against Jay-Z’s The Dynasty: Roc La Familia, R. Kelly’s TP-2.com, and Limp Bizkit’s Chocolate Starfish and the Hot Dog Flavored Water. Needless to say, The Beatles were a notable exception to what was then dominating the mainstream. Blame it on nostalgia, clever marketing, or the fact that the songs really were just that good, but The Beatles’ 2000 compilation album proved that even after 30 years, Beatlemania was still alive and well in the world.
Photo by Chris Walter/Getty Images
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