Don’s Top 10: The Beatles Solo All-Time Top 10

(1982) First single from "Thriller", which was criticized at the time as a poor first single choice. Hey, it was understandable! The superstar pairing was a dream come true. Classic just for the line "But Paul, I'm a lover, not a fighter!"

(1988) A surprise hit song for George, who hadn't had a top 5 hit in seven years with this infectious ditty hit big. A song first done by James Ray in the early 60s. The Beatles never forrgot all the American R&B tunes they fell in love with before they hit it big.

(1974) Back-to-back #1 hits for Ringo after "Photograph" in late '73, this hit the top in early '74. From the "Ringo" album produced by Richard Perry, the closest we came to a group reunion in the 70s. All four of the boys were on the album, just not all at the same time. This was first hit hit for Johnny Burnette in 1960.

(1973) First single from "Red Rose Speedway", & the first #1 hit for Paul's new band, Wings, with James McCullough, former Moody Blue Denny Laine, & wife Linda.

(1970) The post-Beatles song that most sounds like a Beatles song. A beautiful song of faith that never gets old.

(1980) If you bought the single (& many did; it hit #1), you got TWO versions of this song. One side was a studio version by "Paul McCartney", which sounded drastically different from the live version on the flip side, "Coming Up (Live At Glascow)", by "Paul McCartney & Wings". Around the world, the studio version was the hit, but here in the states, 99% of radio played the live version.

(1976) I remember there being some hate for this smash when first out in the late spring of '76. It gave ammunition to Paul's critics who felt he was too schmaltzy & syrupy. But it came out at the same time as the start of McCartney's world tour, & the public ate it up..

(1980) After a five year hiatus from music to raise his young son Sean, John returned to the aspotlight in a big way with the "Double Fantasy" album & this first single, which, truth be told, was moving up steadily but kinda slowly when our world was shattered by unspeakable evil December 8, 1980. All of a sudden, this took on huge poingnancy.

(1984) Very good video, but what if this smash was a duet by Joe Blow & Biff Barf? Would it have been a monster #1 record? No. It's OK.

(1982) Derided at the time for being a dated ode to brotherhood, record buyers didn't care & made it a seven-week #1 & the biggest hit by a Beatle after the group broke up.