After The Beatles

Following all of the (deserved) hoopla over the 50th Anniversary of Beatlemania,  I've been listening to music from John, Paul, George and Ringo.  From AFTER the Beatles' breakup.  And although Paul has had the most success, all 4 of the group made a pretty big mark.

I put together a playlist, 6 hits from each ex-Beatle, just looking at the 6 years between 1970 and 1975 (to keep it manageable):

• My Love - Paul.  4 wks at #1 in 1973, 18 wks on the charts.
• Band On The Run  - Paul. 1 wk at #1 in 1974, 18 wks on the charts.
• Photograph - Ringo. 1 wk at #1 in 1973, 16 wks on the charts.
• My Sweet Lord - George. 4 wks at #1 in 1971, 15 wks on the charts.
• You're Sixteen - Ringo. 1 wk at #1 in 1974, 15 wks on the charts.
• Whatever Gets You Thru The Night - John.  1 wk at #1 in 1974, 15 wks on the charts.
• Give Me Love (Give Me Peace On Earth) - George. 1 wk at #1 in 1973, 14 wks on the charts.
• Uncle Albert/Admiral Halsey - Paul. 1 wk at #1 in September 1971, 13 wks on the charts.
• Live And Let Die - Paul.  #2 in 1973, 14 wks on the charts.
• No No Song - Ringo.  #3 in 1975, 14 wks on the charts.
• Instant Karma (We All Shine On) - John.  #3 in 1970, 13 wks on the charts.
• Imagine - John.  #3 in 1971, 9 wks on the charts.
• It Don't Come Easy - Ringo.  #4 in 1971, 12 wks on the charts.
• Oh My My - Ringo.  #5 in 1974, 14 wks on the charts.
• Another Day - Paul.   #5 in 1971, 12 wks on the charts.
• #9 Dream - John.  #9 in 1975, 12 wks on the charts.
• Back Off Boogaloo - Ringo.  #9 in 1972, 10 wks on the charts.
• Helen Wheels - Paul.  #10 in 1974, 13 wks on the charts.
• What Is Life - George.  #10 in 1971, 9 wks on the charts.
• Power To The People - John.  #11 in 1971, 9 wks on the charts.
• Dark Horse - George.  #15 in 1975, 10 weeks on the charts.
• Mind Games - John.  #18 in 1973, 13 wks on the charts.
• You - George. #20 in 1975, 10 wks on the charts.
• Bangla-Desh  - George.  #23 in 1971, 7 wks on the charts.

That's a pretty strong slate of songs, in a pretty short period of time.  8 Chart toppers, and 19 Top Tens in 6 years?  I doubt any group (or ex-group) can come close to matching that.  And they didn't stop in 1975, either.


I've been trying to think of some other band that had notable (much less comparable) success after a breakup, but I'm struggling.  Closest I can come up with is Buffalo Springfield, and that's not all that close.