Turns out John Lennon led the pack, having sung lead on 109 Beatles tunes. Paul McCartney was a very close 2nd with 98. But while Lennon dominated the early Beatles albums (songs like “Please Please Me”), McCartney tended to sing more leads on the band's later recordings.
John Lennon was the clear frontman in the early days, taking the majority of the lead vocals. Even though Paul McCartney had his share of lead vocals from 1963-65, he was often sharing the spotlight with Lennon.
McCartney was more melodic and covered a broader range of topics in his lyrics. Lennon was more musically raw and his lyrics more personal. If that analysis failed, the song's lead vocalist was usually the primary writer.
Paul McCartney: Paul's massive success with The Beatles and subsequent massive solo success leads me to believe he was the most talented Beatle. Unlike the others, a ton of his solo work still sounds great today. “Band on the Run”, “Live and Let Die”, “My Love”, “Uncle Albert, Admiral Halsey” immediately come to mind.
George Harrison at 75: How the quietest Beatle became the most popular one of all.
Jimmy Tarbuck, the Liverpudlian comedian – who was a schoolmate of John Lennon's – was referred to jokingly as the Fifth Beatle, as he became famous at around the same time, emulated their hairstyle and clothes, and had the same type of accent.
Or, 'Can you make it sound nasally? ' Despite the fact that [John] was one of the greatest rock 'n' roll singers of all time, he hated the sound of his own voice,” he added.
Paul McCartney was certainly the most attractive, at least when he was younger, which is the reason Paul was often called as the “Cute Beatle.” Plus, Paul took good care of himself so well and he often stood out as being the best dressed Beatles member.
Turns out John Lennon led the pack, having sung lead on 109 Beatles tunes. Paul McCartney was a very close 2nd with 98. But while Lennon dominated the early Beatles albums (songs like “Please Please Me”), McCartney tended to sing more leads on the band's later recordings.
In many respects Paul McCartney was the group's most rounded musician, and possibly even its best guitarist. It was he that devised many of the riffs and even played some of the most memorable solos, such as on Taxman (Revolver), Ticket To Ride and his killer Epiphone Casino riff on Paperback Writer.
Harrison and Lennon were possibly the closest friends in the group at the time — and following the band's breakup with the guitarist notoriously featuring Lennon's famed Paul McCartney attack song — but their relationship was dramatically withering.
George Harrison, the quiet Beatle.
Of people who are at least somewhat familiar with the Beatles, 43% say they love McCartney, while somewhat fewer say they love each of the three other band members, including John Lennon (34% love him), Ringo Starr (32%), and George Harrison (31%).
It's easy to see why those two extremely popular British bands were pitted against each other, but when it came to innovations in the songwriting, arrangements, and production of pop music in the 1960s, The Beatles' greatest rivals were The Beach Boys.
In 1968 McCartney started a secret affair with American star Francie Schwartz. Asher found out when she returned from an acting job early and found the Beatle in bed with Schwartz.
Paul McCartney: US$1.2 billion
The Beatles' other singer-songwriter icon, Paul McCartney, surpassed his fellow millionaire band members to become a billionaire, and to this day is the richest rock star of all time.
Lennon-McCartney is likely one of the most famous songwriting credits in music. John Lennon and Paul McCartney wrote lyrics and music for almost 200 songs and The Beatles have sold hundreds of millions of albums.
I owe a lot of what I do to Little Richard and his style, and he knew it. He would say, 'I taught Paul everything he knows'”.
John Lennon, who wrote his first song in 1957 (“Hello Little Girl”), wrote most of the songs for the band (31%), as well as 35% of the songs that reached the Top 100.
Whilst there are a couple of figures that made strong claims, including Chuck Berry whom Lennon once described as rock and roll incarnate, we think it's safe to say that old 'Slowhand' himself, Eric Clapton, was Lennon's favourite ever guitarist.
But while there's plenty of incredible musicians on Harrison's list, there can only be one true favourite, and that has to be Gary Moore.