Forget Mariah: Beatles in a class of their own
|  | | the Beatles | | There has been a lot of talk recently in entertainment circles, including in The Windsor Star on April 3, ballyhooing how Mariah Carey's 18th chart-topper song, Touch My Body, puts her ahead of Elvis Presley's 17 No. 1 hits and brings her ever so close to matching or surpassing the Beatles' record tally of 20 No. 1 songs.
While this is an incredible feat for any artist to accomplish, let's put everything into proper perspective. From her first No. 1 hit in 1990, it has taken Mariah 18 years to get to her position today. With his untimely death in 1977, Elvis accomplished his feat in 21 years.
On the other hand, beginning in February of 1964, the Beatles hit the top of the charts 20 times in a mere six years. Not too shabby, indeed, considering Capitol and Apple records only released 30 Beatle 45 rpm records during that same period of time.
After the Beatles' breakup, from 1970 until 1987, there were an additional 16 No. 1 hits released by Paul McCartney (nine), George Harrison (three), John Lennon (two) and Ringo Starr (two). However you add it up, if there was ever any artist or act to be put up on an unreachable pedestal, the Beatles are in a class all by themselves.
Let's see if there are any others out there to go for, or surpass, 36 No. 1 hits. Any takers? Mariah is halfway there. (The Windsor Star - Mariah Connection) Food for thought: It took all four Beatles to score a total of 36 No. 1 hits. This means an average of 9 No. 1's per Beatle. Mariah alone had a total of 18 No. 1 hits. So what is a bigger accomplishment?
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