Would the Beatles "A Day in the Life" been a number one song if released as a single in 1967 when Sgt Pepper was released? It's sort of like if "Stairway to Heaven" had been released as a single would that song had gone number one.

There is a reason those two songs weren't released as singles: because their song structure makes them just very un-singley. Singles are for the most part always the most "pop" tracks on the album. Deep cuts like those were meant to be played by late-night DJs that you only heard at night because your AM radio would pick up stations hundreds of miles away.

I think "I Am the Walrus" is a prime example of why "A Day in the Life" would not have been a #1 hit.

As a B-side, "I Am the Walrus" was eligible to chart on the Billboard Hot 100, like many other B-sides had for the Beatles:

“You Can’t Do That” (B-side to “Can’t Buy Me Love”) #48
“Thank You Girl” (B-side to “Do You Want to Know a Secret”) #35
“I Should Have Known Better” (B-side to “A Hard Day’s Night”) #53
“If I Fell” (B-side to “And I Love Her”) #53
“Slow Down” (B-side to “Matchbox”) #25
“She’s a Woman” (B-side to “I Feel Fine”) #4
“I Don’t Want to Spoil the Party” (B-side to “Eight Days a Week”) #39
“Yes It Is” (B-side to “Ticket to Ride”) #46
“Act Naturally” (B-side to “Yesterday”) #47
“Rain” (B-side to “Paperback Writer”) #23
“Baby, You’re a Rich Man” (B-side to “All You Need Is Love”) #34

The A-side, "Hello, Goodbye" was a #1 hit, but "I Am the Walrus" wasn't able to make it any higher than #56 on the charts.

But what is interesting is that aside from "Rain," not one of the higher-charting B-sides has since gained a strong following from either critics or hardcore Beatles fans--something "I Am the Walrus" could easily brag about (if songs could brag).

There are a number of Beatles songs that are beloved and considered among the best--but only by those critics and beloved fans: "Happiness Is a Warm Gun," "Helter Skelter," "Tomorrow Never Knows," "Dear Prudence," and even arguably "Across the Universe" and "While My Guitar Gently Weeps." These are recordings you most likely haven't heard on any pop or oldies radio stations. "I Am the Walrus" and "A Day in the Life" fall into this category.

More mainstream (and sometimes sappy or corny) material like "She's a Woman," "I Don't Want to Spoil the Party," "You Can't Do That," "If I Fell," "I Should Have Known Better," "Ob-La-Di, Ob-La-Da," "When I'm Sixty-Four," are more likely to be heard on such stations, yet will never appear any higher on "best Beatles songs lists" than the previously-mentioned critics' darling songs.


If you were to ask me which Beatles songs could have been #1 hits had they been released as singles, the song that pops into my head instantly is "Michelle." The song made #1 in many countries where it was released as a single, got plenty of airplay, and won the group their only Grammy for Song of the Year. It seems the only two countries where "Michelle" wasn't a #1 hit was the UK and US, where it wasn't released as a single. Their cover of "Rock and Roll Music" also has a similar situation.

In terms of later works, I think "Here Comes the Sun" was their most missed opportunity for a #1 hit. Other songs I think could have been top ten: "Good Day Sunshine," "Lucy in the Sky with Diamonds," "Back in the USSR," "Ob-la-di, Ob-la-da"...I could go on for awhile. It makes me wish that the Billboard rules were similar back then as to what they are now (where album tracks can make the Hot 100 without being promoted as a single). It would be neat to see how many hit songs they would have, as it seemed pretty much anything eligible became a hit.

I think that the heft of The Beatles was so great in 1967 that they probably could have pulled off A Day in the Life as a #1 single. I think the closest comparison one could make would be Strawberry Fields Forever; while not a #1 single it's self, it did crack the T10 amidst a period of Beatle controversy (lennon's jesus comments). Considering that Sgt. Peppers jumpstarted the psychedellic era, I think it could have hit #1.

Ditto. A Day In The Life isn't one of their poppier songs. There isn't some punchy line in the chorus you can repeat over and over.

Or are they?

boy, that one really challenged my patience for a couple of weeks while following one of my most beloved radio shows back in spring '92, the official UK Top 40 hosted by BFBS..