What are George Harrison’s most popular songs? Here’s the answer: ranked by both record sales and streaming, here are the loudest monsters by the Quiet Beatle. (If you’d like to know more about the methodology used for these rankings, there’s an explanation at the bottom of this essay.)

1. ☀️🎸 “Here Comes the Sun” (1969, Abbey Road)

The undisputed champion of Harrison’s catalog—and indeed, the entire Beatles catalog (Beatles era and post-Beatles). As of today, the remastered 2009 version of “Here Comes the Sun” has 1.6 billion streams on Spotify, making it one of the most-streamed classic rock songs in history. It became the first Beatles song to reach 1 billion Spotify streams in May 2023, and notably, the first song from the 1960s to achieve that milestone. In 1994, BMI reported it had been played more than 2 million times on US radio, and it’s certified triple platinum in the UK.

Harrison wrote the song in Eric Clapton’s garden on a sunny spring day, playing truant from a tedious Apple Corps business meeting. The track features his acoustic guitar work, a Moog synthesizer (which Harrison had introduced to the band), and intricate time signature changes influenced by Indian classical music. Its message of hope after darkness has resonated with every generation since, and music journalists have cited its streaming dominance as evidence that Harrison has emerged as “Gen Z’s favorite Beatle.”

Indeed, the song is timeless. When I first played it for my daughter, who was about twelve years old at the time, she knew it already—but had assumed that it was a current song, not a Beatles song from decades ago.

And, for perspective, what is the all-time most-streamed song on Spotify? It’s “Blinding Lights” by The Weeknd, with 5,142,522,381 streams. So, The Weeknd’s 2019 synth-pop anthem has more than three times that total of “Here Comes the Sun.”

Last year, the race for number-one was remarkably close: Billie Eilish’s “Birds of a Feather” became the most-streamed song on Spotify, just barely topping Sabrina Carpenter’s “Espresso.”

2. 💕🎵 “Something” (1969, Abbey Road)

Frank Sinatra called it “the greatest love song of the past fifty years,” and it remains one of the most covered songs in pop history, with over 150 recorded versions by artists ranging from Sinatra himself to James Brown to Elvis Presley. It appeared as a double A-side with John Lennon’s “Come Together” in the US, where it reached number one—the first Harrison composition to top the American charts. George wrote the song for first wife, Pattie Boyd, and it features one of his most elegant guitar solos, a melody he said came to him during a session break while working on the White Album. Combined with “Here Comes the Sun,” it finally earned Harrison recognition as a songwriter on par with Lennon and McCartney. The track consistently ranks among the most-streamed Beatles songs on Spotify and remains a staple of wedding playlists worldwide.

3. 🙏✨ “My Sweet Lord” (1970, All Things Must Pass)

Harrison’s signature solo song has accumulated approximately 666 million streams on Spotify. With 7.75 million physical sales, “My Sweet Lord” stands as one of the best-selling singles of the 1970s and was the first number one hit by any ex-Beatle. The song blends Hindu chants of “Hare Krishna” with the Hebrew “Hallelujah,” reflecting Harrison’s desire to transcend religious boundaries—he wanted listeners to be singing a mantra before they realized what was happening. The track features Eric Clapton, Billy Preston, Ringo Starr, and members of Badfinger, all wrapped in Phil Spector’s Wall of Sound production. Its success was later shadowed by a plagiarism lawsuit—Harrison was found to have “subconsciously” copied the melody from “He’s So Fine” by the Chiffons—but the song’s spiritual sincerity and gorgeous slide guitar work have kept it beloved for over five decades.

4. 🎸😢 “While My Guitar Gently Weeps” (1968, The White Album)

One of the most beloved Beatles deep cuts and a showcase for Harrison’s maturing songwriting during the band’s later years. The song features an iconic, weeping guitar solo performed by Eric Clapton—the only time a guest musician played lead guitar on a Beatles recording. Harrison wrote it after opening a book randomly and seeing the phrase “gently weeps,” and he decided to write a song based on the concept that everything in the universe is connected. The track exists in multiple versions, from the stripped-down acoustic demo (later released on Anthology 3) to the lush, orchestrated album version. It consistently ranks among the top-streamed Beatles tracks on Spotify and has been covered by artists from Santana to Jeff Healey to Prince, whose blistering live version at the 2004 Rock and Roll Hall of Fame induction remains legendary.

5. 🎹🔥 “Got My Mind Set on You” (1987, Cloud Nine)

Harrison’s triumphant comeback single after a five-year hiatus from recording became his third US number one hit and reached number two in the UK. The song is actually a cover of an obscure 1962 R&B track by James Ray, reworked by Harrison and producer Jeff Lynne into a propulsive, radio-friendly pop gem. The accompanying music video, featuring Harrison in a room full of animatronic animals and furniture, became an MTV staple and introduced him to a younger audience unfamiliar with his Beatles and early solo work. The Cloud Nine album marked a creative renaissance for Harrison, pairing him with Lynne’s pristine production style and leading directly to the formation of the Traveling Wilburys the following year. The single’s success proved Harrison could compete on contemporary radio alongside artists half his age.

6. 🕊️🌍 “Give Me Love (Give Me Peace on Earth)” (1973, Living in the Material World)

This gentle prayer of a song knocked Paul McCartney’s “My Love” off the top of the US charts in 1973, giving Harrison his second solo number one. Remarkably, it held the top spot on Billboard’s singles chart simultaneously with its parent album at number one on the albums chart—a feat Harrison had also accomplished with “My Sweet Lord” and All Things Must Pass. The song reflects Harrison’s deepening spiritual practice, with lyrics about being freed from karma and the cycle of rebirth. Musically, it’s built around his signature slide guitar and a simple, ascending melody that makes the plea feel both personal and universal. Harrison later described it as “a prayer and personal statement between me, the Lord, and whoever likes it.”

7. 🎺💫 “What Is Life” (1970, All Things Must Pass)

A top ten hit on both sides of the Atlantic, “What Is Life” opens with one of Harrison’s most electrifying guitar riffs before exploding into a wall of horns, strings, and the catchiest chorus he ever wrote. Phil Spector’s production is at its most exuberant here, layering multiple guitars (including contributions from Eric Clapton), a driving string arrangement, and Harrison’s impassioned vocal into something approaching pop perfection. The song walks the same path of personal reflection as much of All Things Must Pass but wraps it in an irresistible pop hook. It has appeared in numerous films and commercials over the decades. The track exemplifies his gift for balancing spiritual searching with pure musical joy.

8. 🍂🌅 “All Things Must Pass” (1970, All Things Must Pass)

The title track of Harrison’s landmark triple album—the most successful solo album by any ex-Beatle—is a meditation on impermanence that has only grown more poignant since his death in 2001. Harrison wrote the song during the Beatles years, but Lennon and McCartney vetoed it, forcing George to stockpile it along with dozens of other compositions that would eventually launch his solo debut. The lyrics, inspired by Timothy Leary’s adaptation of the Tao Te Ching, reflect Harrison’s acceptance that both suffering and joy are temporary states. The production is more restrained than much of the album, letting the acoustic guitar and Harrison’s weary vocal carry the weight of the message. It has become something of an anthem for loss and resilience, frequently played at memorials and moments of reflection.

9. 💔🎹 “Isn’t It a Pity” (1970, All Things Must Pass)

Released as the B-side to “My Sweet Lord,” this sprawling seven-minute track appears twice on All Things Must Pass in different versions, reflecting Harrison’s belief in its importance. The song laments how people hurt each other and fail to appreciate what they have—themes that resonated with the Beatles’ acrimonious breakup earlier that year. The arrangement builds gradually from sparse piano and guitar to a massive, swirling coda that echoes the fade-out of “Hey Jude,” complete with backing vocals chanting “isn’t it a pity” over and over. Harrison had written the song years earlier and offered it to the Beatles multiple times, but Lennon and McCartney always passed on it. Its inclusion on his debut solo album felt like vindication, proof that he had been sitting on material equal to anything his bandmates had released.

10. 🕯️💔 “All Those Years Ago” (1981)

Harrison recorded this moving tribute to John Lennon less than a year after John’s murder in December 1980, and fittingly, it became an unofficial Beatles reunion: Paul McCartney provided backing vocals, Ringo Starr played drums, and the song reached number two on the Billboard Hot 100. Harrison had originally written the track for Ringo to sing on his own album, but after Lennon’s death, George rewrote the lyrics to address his fallen friend directly. Lines like “you were the one who imagined it all” reference Lennon’s “Imagine” while gently chiding those who dismissed John’s message of peace. The single was rush-released to capitalize on the public’s grief, but its emotion feels genuine rather than exploitative. It remained the closest thing to a Beatles reunion recording until “Free as a Bird” and “Real Love” emerged from Lennon’s demos in the mid-1990s.

Honorable mentions: 🌏 “Bangla Desh” (a Top 30 charity single and pop music’s first major benefit record), 💨 “Blow Away,” 🎩 “When We Was Fab” (a nostalgic look back at Beatlemania produced with Jeff Lynne), and his Traveling Wilburys collaborations like 📦 “Handle with Care” and 🛤️ “End of the Line.”

A Note on Sources and Methodology

These rankings are based on sales, not necessarily fan favorites—although they match up pretty well. Anyway, this list is based on multiple industry sources that track music sales and streaming data. Spotify, the world’s largest audio streaming platform, provides real-time play counts that have become the primary metric for measuring a song’s contemporary popularity. Historical sales data comes from organizations like the Recording Industry Association of America (RIAA), which certifies gold, platinum, and multi-platinum records based on physical units shipped and sold. The UK’s Official Charts Company and BMI (Broadcast Music, Inc.) track radio airplay and chart performance. ChartMasters, a music analytics site, aggregates streaming data across platforms and calculates equivalent album sales (EAS), which combines physical sales, downloads, and streams into a single metric. These numbers shift daily as streaming continues, but the rankings reflect the most current data.

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