To build up a body of work should be the only true directive of an artist. Fame and fortune are certainly alluring, but a true creative must look toward the lasting legacy their creations will leave, not the money they put in the coffers. The catalogue of The Beatles is undoubtedly one of the most impressive in musical history, rich and robust in every sense of the word, it is certainly one of the most expertly balanced between critical and commercial canons of pop music the world has ever known.
With such a richly intense offering, the Fab Four could put many of their albums up as some of the best ever made. But what might be called one of their fans’ favourites is altogether different. While the debate rumbles on between their devoted fan base, what were John Lennon, George Harrison, Paul McCartney, and Ringo Starr’s favourite record they ever made with The Beatles?
As a single unit under the moniker of The Beatles, the four individuals may have at many crucial times moved as one, at one time they’d even consider themselves family. But in truth, their individualism would often lead them down different paths. After all, the personalities of the individual Beatles are part of what endeared them to so many hearts across the world during their explosion in the swinging sixties and still some near-six decades later.
While some of the perceptions of the Fab Four were down to the marketing of the incredible manager Brian Epstein, it was certainly true that their different tastes and talents were an organic evolution of not only the band but the members as people in their own right. It was a happy accident that saw The Beatles excel across four different points.
This led to a beautiful tapestry of all four members’ songwriting expertise. Of course, John Lennon and Paul McCartney will always be remembered as the principal songwriters in the band, but George Harrison and Ringo Starr’s contributions can not be underestimated, especially Harrison’s, as he continued to improve his songwriting.
It’s a fact that can be seen in the bandmates’ selections of their favourite Beatles albums. While you might expect four individuals to like different things, variety is the spice of life and all that jazz, but it’s the reasons for their choices that we found very insightful.
Simply put, if you were to gather a swathe of Beatles fans, there is a good chance that they would find value in a whole variety of their albums, and an even greater chance that they would, therefore, put the most outstanding value in some wildly different options. For some, nostalgia would play a part, for others, commercial value or critical appreciation are the biggest draws. For the Beatles themselves, it is all about how they feel.
The Beatles’ favourite Beatles albums:
John Lennon’s favourite Beatles album:
The tensions over songwriting would be a consistent feature in the latter years of The Beatles and eventually lead to their disbandment. Much of this stemmed from the blessed issue that all four members were handy with the pen but it also led to searing jealousy rearing its ugly head from time to time.
In a 1971 interview Lennon, never afraid to speak his mind, suggested that Paul never liked The White Album because the band members were all following their own talents and doing their own songs—not working as a group. “[Paul] wanted it to be more a group thing, which really means more Paul. So he never liked that album.”
In the same interview, Lennon, perhaps having his own spurt of jealousy, proclaimed The White Album to be his favourite. He said, “I always preferred it to all the other albums, including Pepper, because I thought the music was better. The Pepper myth is bigger, but the music on the White Album is far superior, I think.” It’s difficult to know how Lennon would have felt about all the work of the group had he lived beyond 1980.
His tragic murder stopped his continued maturity and therefore, knowing how he felt about the records he made with his friends as he approached a grander age is beyond us. But one thing is for sure, Lennon always valued truth over anything else, and for him, The White Album was him as close to his truth on record as possible.
