The Beatles: All US Number Ones Ranked Worst To Best

6. Penny Lane

13th Number One, 1967 - Written by Paul McCartney

Despite being a number one hit, Penny Lane is an oft-overlooked song, doomed to live in the shadow of its B-side, the critically acclaimed, Lennon-composed Strawberry Fields Forever. But Penny Lane is one of The Beatles' best chart-toppers - that chorus alone guarantees it.

Inspired by a street in Liverpool where Paul used to come off the bus before visiting John, Penny Lane is rare amongst these twenty singles for its evoked nostalgia, a theme generally unaddressed by The Beatles outside of a romantic context. With its depiction of a normal day in a small town where everyone knows everyone, the song makes you feel right at home, even if your physical setting is a much different one.

Fun Fact: The street signs at the real Penny Lane have a history of being stolen, so much so that the town's officials quit replacing them and stuck to painting the street's name on the side of buildings.

Contributor

Renato hails from Portugal but is obsessed with the US and UK charts, because why not? He also writes books with dozens of protagonists and will be remiss if you can't remember every single one of their names.