Thursday, December 31, 2015

Amber Books: Best-Selling Albums

Amber Books:

Best-Selling Albums: From Vinyl Records to Digital Downloads

This book ranks the top albums of each decade from the 1950s through the 2010s, based on certifications from the Recording Industry Association of America (RIAA). The lists for the 1960s through the 2000s are top 20 lists, the 1950s is a top-10 ranking, and the half-decade of 2010-2015 is just a top-5 ranking.

While the RIAA offers official certifications for the United States, they don’t accurately capture real sales worldwide. Unfortunately, there isn’t any official source that certifies worldwide albums sales. As such, Dave’s Music Database offers its list of “The World’s All-Time Best-Selling Albums.” This list compiles sales estimates from multiple sources. While that makes these figures less accurate than certified sales records, it offers a closer picture of the actual best-selling albums.

Check out other album lists based on charts and sales.

Check out other publications and organizations’ best-of album lists here.

1950-1959: Top 10

    1. 16 million: Elvis Presley Elvis’ Christmas Album (1957)
    2. 5 million: Miles Davis Kind of Blue (1959)
    3. 3 million: Alan Jay Lerner & Frederick Loewe (composers) My Fair Lady (cast album, 1956)
    4. 2 million: Richard Rodgers/Oscar Hammerstein II (composers) Oklahoma! (soundtrack, 1955)
    5. 2 million: Johnny Mathis Merry Christmas (1958)
    6. 2 million: Marty Robbins Gunfighter Ballads and Trail Songs (1959)
    7. 2 million: Johnny Mathis Heavenly (1959)
    8. 1 million: Nat “King” Cole Love Is the Thing (1959)
    9. 1 million: Tennessee Ernie Ford Hymns (1957)
    10. 1 million: Meredith Willson (composer) The Music Man (cast album, 1957)

1960-1969: Top 20

* Book identifies this as released in December 1969, but sources typically identify it as a January 1970 release.

1970-1979: Top 20

1980-1989: Top 20

1990-1999: Top 20

2000-2009: Top 20

2010-2015: Top 5

    1. 14.8 million: Adele 21 (2011)
    2. 6.2 million: Michael Bublé Christmas (2011)
    3. 5.4 million: Eminem Recovery (2010)
    4. 4.9 million: Various Artists Frozen (soundtrack, 2013)
    5. 4.5 million: Taylor Swift Speak Now (2010)

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First posted 11/26/2024.

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2015: Top 25 Albums

First posted 1/8/2021.

Dave’s Music Database:

Top Albums of 2015

Based on a combination of year-end lists and overall status in Dave’s Music Database, these are the top 25 albums of 2015:

  1. Kendrick Lamar To Pimp a Butterfly
  2. Adele 25
  3. Chris Stapleton Traveller
  4. Hamilton cast album
  5. The Weeknd Beauty Behind the Madness
  6. Sufjan Stevens Carrie & Lowell
  7. Tame Impala Currents
  8. Drake If You’re Reading This, You’re Too Late
  9. Courtney Barnett Sometimes I Sit and Think and Sometimes I Just Sit
  10. Justin Bieber Purpose

  11. Alabama Shakes Sound & Color
  12. Grimes Art Angels
  13. Father John Misty I Love You, Honeybear
  14. Twenty One Pilots Blurryface
  15. Florence + the Machine How Big, How Blue, How Beautiful
  16. Jamie XX In Colour
  17. Carly Rae Jepsen Emotion
  18. Kamasi Washington The Epic
  19. Sleater-Kinney No Cities to Love
  20. Future DS2

  21. Wilco Star Wars
  22. Meghan Trainor Title
  23. Luke Bryan Kill the Lights
  24. Björk Vulnicura
  25. Dr. Dre Compton

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The Top 50 Songs of 2015

Dave’s Music Database:

Top 50 Songs of 2015

These are the top 50 songs of the year based on their overall performance in Dave’s Music Database, which is determined by combining chart data, sales figures, streaming, video views, and aggregates from year-end lists.

Check out “Top Songs and Albums of the Year” lists here.

    DMDB Top 1%:

  1. Adele “Hello”
  2. Wiz Khalifa with Charlie Puth “See You Again”
  3. The Weeknd “Can’t Feel My Face”
  4. Justin Bieber “Love Yourself”
  5. Justin Bieber “Sorry”
  6. The Weeknd “The Hills”
  7. Drake “Hotline Bling”
  8. Justin Bieber “What Do You Mean?”
  9. Lukas Graham “7 Years”
  10. Twenty One Pilots “Stressed Out”

  11. Silentó “Watch Me (Whip/Nae Nae)”

    DMDB Top 2%:

  12. Major Lazer with DJ Snake & MØ “Lean On”
  13. Ellie Goulding “Love Me Like You Do”
  14. Shawn Mendes “Stitches”
  15. Desiigner “Panda”
  16. Thomas Rhett “Die a Happy Man”
  17. Twenty One Pilots “Ride”

    DMDB Top 5%:

  18. Mike Posner “I Took a Pill in Ibiza”
  19. Disturbed “The Sound of Silence”
  20. X Ambassadors “Renegades”

  21. Jason Derulo “Want to Want Me”
  22. Little Big Town “Girl Crush”
  23. Rihanna with Kanye West & Paul McCartney “Four Five Seconds”
  24. Alan Walker “Faded”
  25. Coldplay with Beyoncé “Hymn for the Weekend”
  26. Chris Stapleton “Tennessee Whiskey”
  27. Rachel Platten “Fight Song”
  28. DNCE “Cake by the Ocean”
  29. Alessia Cara “Scars to Your Beautiful”
  30. Flo Rida “My House”

  31. Alessia Cara “Here”
  32. David Bowie “Lazarus”
  33. Adele “Send My Love to Your New Lover”
  34. The Chainsmokers with Rozes “Roses”
  35. Skrillex with Diplo & Justin Bieber “Where Are Ü Now”
  36. Kendrick Lamar “Alright”
  37. Coldplay “Adventure of a Lifetime”
  38. Calvin Harris & Disciples “How Deep Is Your Love”
  39. Beck “Dreams”
  40. G-Eazy with Bebe Rexha “Me, Myself & I”

  41. Charlie Puth & Meghan Trainor “Marvin Gaye”
  42. Selena Gomez with A$AP Rocky “Good for You”
  43. Mumford & Sons “Believe”
  44. David Bowie “Blackstar”
  45. Adele “When We Were Young”
  46. Andy Grammar “Honey I’m Good”
  47. Meghan Trainor & John Legend “Like I’m Gonna Lose You”
  48. Post Malone “White Iverson”
  49. Kendrick Lamar “King Kunta”
  50. Sam Hunt “Take Your Time”

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First posted 12/26/2021; last updated 1/17/2023.

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Honor Roll of Hits: Top 300 Songs

Honor Roll of Hits:

Top 300 Songs

In the 2015 edition of Joel Whitburn’s Top Pop Singles 1955-2015, 300 songs are noted and ranked for awards and list appearances: ASCAP, BMI, Country Music Association Awards, Grammys, the Grammy Hall of Fame, Kennedy Center Honors, National Recording Registry, NPR, Oscars, Rock and Roll Hall of Fame, RIAA/NEA, and Rolling Stone.

Click here to see other lists from publications and/or organizations.

1. Aretha Franklin “Respect” (1967)
2. Otis Redding “(Sittin’ on) The Dock of the Bay” (1968)
3. Roy Orbison “(Oh) Pretty Woman” (1964)
4. Bobby Darin “Mack the Knife” (1959)
5. Tina Turner “What’s Love Got to Do with It?” (1984)
6. Al Green “Let’s Stay Together” (1971)
7. Carl Perkins “Blue Suede Shoes” (1956)
8. The Rolling Stones “(I Can’t Get No) Satisfaction” (1965)
9. The Righteous Brothers “You’ve Lost That Lovin’ Feelin’” (1965)
10. The Temptations “My Girl” (1964)

11. Simon and Garfunkel “The Sounds of Silence” (1965)
12. Martha & the Vandellas “Dancing in the Street” (1964)
13. Ben E. King “Stand by Me” (1961)
14. Ray Charles “What’d I Say” (1959)
15. George Jones “He Stopped Loving Her Today” (1980)
16. Bill Haley & the Comets “We’re Gonna Rock Around the Clock” (1954)
17. The Doors “Light My Fire” (1967)
18. Jerry Lee Lewis “Great Balls of Fire” (1957)
19. The Ronettes “Be My Baby” (1963)
20. Marvin Gaye “What’s Going On” (1971)

21. The Miracles “The Tracks of My Tears” (1965)
22. The Sugarhill Gang “Rapper’s Delight” (1979)
23. The Beatles “Yesterday” (1965)
24. James Taylor “Fire and Rain” (1970)
25. The Impressions “People Get Ready” (1965)
26. Grandmaster Flash & the Furious Five “The Message” (1982)
27. Simon & Garfunkel “Bridge Over Troubled Water” (1970)
28. Gloria Gaynor “I Will Survive” (1978)
29. Eagles “Hotel California” (1976)
30. Elvis Presley “Hound Dog” (1956)

31. Roberta Flack “Killing Me Softly with His Song” (1973)
32. Fats Domino “Blueberry Hill” (1956)
33. Willie Nelson “Always on My Mind” (1982)
34. Little Richard “Tutti Frutti” (1955)
35. Chubby Checker “The Twist” (1960)
36. Stevie Wonder “Superstition” (1972)
37. The Beach Boys “Good Vibrations” (1966)
38. Creedence Clearwater Revival “Proud Mary” (1969)
39. Buddy Holly & the Crickets “Peggy Sue” (1957)
40. The Penguins “Earth Angel (Will You Be Mine)” (1954)

41. Billy Joel “Piano Man” (1974)
42. Bo Diddley “Bo Diddley” (1955)
43. Elvis Presley “Don’t Be Cruel” (1956)
44. The Police “Every Breath You Take” (1983)
45. Marvin Gaye “I Heard It Through the Grapevine” (1968)
46. Percy Sledge “When a Man Loves a Woman” (1966)
47. The Kingsmen “Louie Louie” (1963)
48. Bob Dylan “Like a Rolling Stone” (1965)
49. The Mamas & Papas “California Dreamin’” (1966)
50. Van Morrison “Brown-Eyed Girl” (1967)

51. Johnny Cash “I Walk the Line” (1956)
52. Bob Dylan “Blowin’ in the Wind” (1963)
53. Sam Cooke “You Send Me” (1957)
54. John Lennon “Imagine” (1971)
55. Derek & the Dominos “Layla” (1971)
56. The Flamingos “I Only Have Eyes for You” (1959)
57. Ritchie Valens “La Bamba” (1958)
58. Sam Cooke “A Change Is Gonna Come” (1965)
59. The Kingston Trio “Tom Dooley” (1958)
60. Sam & Dave “Soul Man” (1967)

61. B.B. King “The Thrill Is Gone” (1969)
62. Elvis Presley “Heartbreak Hotel” (1956)
63. Ray Charles “I Can’t Stop Loving You” (1962)
64. Isaac Hayes “Theme from Shaft” (1971)
65. The Temptations “Papa Was a Rollin' Stone” (1972)
66. Ray Charles “Georgia on My Mind” (1960)
67. Tammy Wynette “Stand by Your Man” (1968)
68. Joan Jett and the Blackhearts “I Love Rock and Roll” (1981)
69. The Beatles “I Want to Hold Your Hand” (1963)
70. Michael Jackson “Beat It” (1982)

71. The Shirelles “Will You Love Me Tomorrow” (1960)
72. Buddy Holly & the Crickets “That’ll Be the Day” (1957)
73. The Jackson 5 “I Want You Back” (1969)
74. 86. Steppenwolf “Born to Be Wild” (1968)
75. Prince & the Revolution “Purple Rain” (1984)
76. Jerry Lee Lewis “Whole Lotta Shakin’ Goin’ On” (1957)
77. Booker T. & the MG’s “Green Onions” (1962)
78. Queen “We Will Rock You” / “We Are the Champions” (1977)
79. Roger Miller “King of the Road” (1965)
80. Stan Getz & Astrud Gilberto “The Girl from Ipanema” (1964)

81. Nirvana “Smells Like Teen Spirit” (1991)
82. Chuck Berry “Johnny B. Goode” (1958)
83. The Drifters “On Broadway” (1963)
84. The Five Satins “In the Still of the Nite (I’ll Remember)” (1956)
85. Michael Jackson “Billie Jean” (1982)
86. The Animals “The House of the Rising Sun” (1964)
87. Four Tops “Reach Out (I’ll Be There)” (1966)
88. Elvis Presley “Suspicious Minds” (1969)
89. James Brown “I Got You” (I Feel Good)” (1965)
90. Chuck Berry “Maybellene” (1955)

91. Frankie Lymon & The Teenagers “Why Do Fools Fall in Love?” (1956)
92. The Kinks “You Really Got Me” (1964)
93. Elton John “Your Song” (1970)
94. Henry Mancini with Audrey Hepburn “Moon River” (1961)
95. Patsy Cline “I Fall to Pieces” (1961)
96. The Staple Singers “Respect Yourself” (1971)
97. Lynyrd Skynyrd “Free Bird” (1973)
98. Wilson Pickett “In the Midnight Hour” (1965)
99. Bruce Springsteen “Born to Run” (1975)
100. Chuck Berry “Roll Over Beethoven” (1956)

101. The Isley Brothers “Shout (Parts 1 and 2)” (1959)
102. Creedence Clearwater Revival “Fortunate Son” (1969)
103. Led Zeppelin “Stairway to Heaven” (1971)
104. Bob Dylan “The Times They Are A-Changin’” (1964)
105. The Everly Brothers “All I Have to Do Is Dream” (1958)
106. The Platters “The Great Pretender” (1955)
107. Dion “Runaround Sue” (1961)
108. Blondie “Heart of Glass” (1978)
109. Little Eva “The Loco-Motion” (1962)
110. The Byrds “Mr. Tambourine Man” (1965)

111. The Beach Boys “California Girls” (1965)
112. Dionne Warwick “Walk on By” (1964)
113. Buffalo Springfield “For What It’s Worth” (1967)
114. Eddie Cochran “Summertime Blues” (1958)
115. Patsy Cline “Crazy” (1961)
116. Fats Domino “Ain't That a Shame” (1955)
117. The Jimi Hendrix Experience “Purple Haze” (1967)
118. The Jimi Hendrix Experience “All Along the Watchtower” (1968)
119. Loretta Lynn “Coal Miner's Daughter” (1970)
120. Howlin’ Wolf “Smokestack Lightning” (1956)

121. The Champs “Tequila” (1958)
122. The Box Tops “The Letter” (1967)
123. Barbra Streisand “The Way We Were” (1973)
124. U2 “I Still Haven’t Found What I’m Looking For” (1987)
125. Mary Wells “My Guy” (1964)
126. The Supremes “Where Did Our Love Go” (1964)
127. Frank Sinatra “Strangers in the Night” (1966)
128. Eric Clapton “Tears in Heaven” (1992)
129. Roy Orbison “Crying” (1961)
130. R.E.M. “Losing My Religion” (1991)

131. Run-D.M.C. with Aerosmith’s Steven Tyler & Joe Perry “Walk This Way” (1986)
132. Jackie Wilson “Your Love Keeps Lifting Me Higher and Higher” (1967)
133. Lynyrd Skynrd “Sweet Home Alabama” (1974)
134. M.C. Hammer “U Can’t Touch This” (1990)
135. Jefferson Airplane “White Rabbit” (1967)
136. Bruce Springsteen “Born in the U.S.A.” (1984)
137. Crosby, Stills & Nash with Neil Young “Ohio” (1970)
138. Charlie Rich “Behind Closed Doors” (1973)
139. Muddy Waters “Hoochie Coochie Man” (1954)
140. T-Bone Walker “Call It Stormy Monday” (1947)

141. John Lee Hooker “Boogie Chillen'“ (1949)
142. Hank Williams “I'm So Lonesome I Could Cry” (1949)
143. Muddy Waters “Got My Mojo Working” (1957)
144. Gladys Knight & the Pips “Midnight Train to Georgia” (1973)
145. Bette Midler “Wind Beneath My Wings (aka "Hero")” (1989)
146. Aretha Franklin “Chain of Fools” (1967)
147. Marvin Gaye “Sexual Healing” (1982)
148. Big Brother & The Holding Company “Piece of My Heart” (1968)
149. Santana & Rob Thomas “Smooth” (1999)
150. The Beatles “Hey Jude” (1968)

151. Bee Gees “Stayin’ Alive” (1977)
152. Bobby Gentry “Ode to Billie Joe” (1967)
153. Stevie Wonder “You Are the Sunshine of My Life” (1972)
154. James Brown “Papa's Got a Brand New Bag” (1965)
155. Sammi Smith “Help Me Make It Through the Night” (1971)
156. Flatt & Scruggs with the Foggy Mountain Boys “Foggy Mountain Breakdown” (1950)
157. Rod Stewart “Maggie May” (1971)
158. Don McLean “American Pie” (1971)
159. The Rolling Stones “Honky Tonk Women” (1969)
160. Bill Withers “Lean on Me” (1972)

161. The Beatles “Help!” (1964)
162. The Supremes “Stop! In the Name of Love” (1965)
163. Abba “Dancing Queen” (1976)
164. The Everly Brothers “Bye Bye Love” (1957)
165. Sister Sledge “We Are Family” (1979)
166. Roy Orbison “Only the Lonely” (1960)
167. The Drifters “There Goes My Baby” (1959)
168. Billy Joel “Just the Way You Are” (1977)
169. Led Zeppelin “Whole Lotta Love” (1969)
170. Edwin Hawkins Singers “Oh Happy Day” (1969)

171. Little Richard “Long Tall Sally” (1956)
172. Gene Vincent & His Blue Caps “Be-Bop-A-Lula” (1956)
173. The 5th Dimension “Up, Up and Away” (1967)
174. Queen “Bohemian Rhapsody” (1975)
175. Hank Williams “Lovesick Blues” (1949)
176. Etta James “At Last” (1961)
177. James Brown “Please Please Please” (1956)
178. Whitney Houston “I Will Always Love You” (1992)
179. Prince “When Doves Cry” (1984)
180. Johnny Horton “The Battle of New Orleans” (1959)

181. The Everly Brothers “Wake Up Little Susie” (1957)
182. Del Shannon “Runaway” (1961)
183. Pink Floyd “Another Brick in the Wall Part II” (1979)
184. The Beatles “Let It Be” (1970)
185. The Crystals “He's a Rebel” (1962)
186. Wilbert Harrison “Kansas City” (1959)
187. Louis Armstrong “Hello Dolly!” (1964)
188. The Coasters “Yakety Yak” (1958)
189. The Shangri-La’s “Leader of the Pack” (1964)
190. Cyndi Lauper “Girls Just Want to Have Fun” (1983)

191. The Miracles “Shop Around” (1960)
192. Aaron Neville “Tell It Like It Is” (1966)
193. Procol Harum “A Whiter Shade of Pale” (1967)
194. Harry Nilsson “Everybody's Talkin'“ (1968)
195. Jackie Wilson “Lonely Teardrops” (1958)
196. Spencer Davis Group “Gimme Some Lovin'“ (1966)
197. Sly & the Family Stone “Dance to the Music” (1968)
198. The Beatles “Strawberry Fields Forever” (1967)
199. Bruce Springsteen “Streets of Philadelphia” (1994)
200. The Lovin’ Spoonful “Do You Believe in Magic” (1965)

201. Bobby Fuller Four “I Fought the Law” (1966)
202. Ben E. King “Spanish Harlem” (1960)
203. The Animals “We Gotta Get Out of This Place” (1965)
204. The Byrds “Eight Miles High” (1966)
205. Lou Reed “Walk on the Wild Side” (1973)
206. Johnny Cash “Ring of Fire” (1963)
207. Tony Bennett “I Left My Heart in San Francisco” (1962)
208. Otis Redding “I've Been Loving You Too Long” (1965)
209. Otis Redding “Try a Little Tenderness” (1966)
210. Glen Campbell “By the Time I Get to Phoenix” (1967)

211. John Lee Hooker “Boom Boom” (1962)
212. The Who “My Generation” (1965)
213. Ike & Tina Turner “River Deep, Mountain High” (1966)
214. Big Joe Turner “Shake, Rattle and Roll” (1954)
215. Bob Marley & the Wailers “No Woman No Cry” (1974)
216. Johnny Cash “Folsom Prison Blues” (1955)
217. Robert Johnson “I Believe I'll Dust My Broom” (1936)
218. OutKast “Hey Ya!” (2003)
219. USA for Africa “We Are the World” (1985)
220. The Drifters “Save the Last Dance for Me” (1960)

221. The Turtles “Happy Together” (1967)
222. Edwin Starr “War” (1970)
223. Simon & Garfunkel “Mrs. Robinson” (1968)
224. Celine Dion “My Heart Will Go On” (1997)
225. Kool & The Gang “Celebration” (1980)
226. Janis Joplin “Me and Bobby McGee” (1971)
227. Chic “Good Times” (1979)
228. The Staple Singers “I'll Take You There” (1972)
229. Neil Young “Heart of Gold” (1972)
230. Shania Twain “You’re Still the One” (1997)

231. Gnarls Barkley “Crazy” (2006)
232. Lady Antebellum “Need You Now” (2009)
233. The Ventures “Walk Don't Run” (1960)
234. Beck “Loser” (1993)
235. Fleetwood Mac “Go Your Own Way” (1977)
236. James Brown “Get Up I Feel Like Being Like a Sex Machine” (1970)
237. Dave Brubeck Quartet “Take Five “ (1959)
238. The Police “Roxanne” (1978)
239. The Drifters “Money Honey” (1953)
240. Bob Marley & the Wailers “Get Up Stand Up” (1973)

241. Jimmy Cliff “Many Rivers to Cross” (1969)
242. Dionne Warwick & Friends “That's What Friends Are For” (1985)
243. Sly & the Family Stone “Everyday People” (1968)
244. Carpenters “They Long to Be Close to You “ (1970)
245. Joe Cocker & Jennifer Warnes “Up Where We Belong” (1982)
246. Lauryn “Doo Wop (That Thing)” (1998)
247. Eurythmics “Sweet Dreams Are Made of This” (1983)
248. Earth, Wind & Fire “Shining Star” (1975)
249. Carpenters “We've Only Just Begun” (1970)
250. The Drifters “Up on the Roof” (1962)

251. Lee Ann Womack & Sons of the Desert “I Hope You Dance” (2000)
252. Marvin Gaye & Tammi Terrell “Ain't No Mountain High Enough” (1967)
253. Louis Armstrong “What a Wonderful World” (1967)
254. Merle Haggard “Mama Tried” (1968)
255. Howlin’ Wolf “Spoonful” (1960)
256. Little Walter Jacobs & His Night Cats “Juke” (1952)
257. Jackie Brenston & His Delta Cats “Rocket 88” (1951)
258. Public Enemy “Fight the Power” (1989)
259. Irene Cara “Flashdance...What a Feelin’” (1983)
260. Carole King “It’s Too Late” (1971)

261. B.J. Thomas “Raindrops Keep Falling on My Head” (1969)
262. Bobby McFerrin “Don't Worry Be Happy” (1988)
263. Marty Robbins “El Paso” (1959)
264. Petula Clark “Downtown” (1964)
265. Ray Charles “Hit the Road Jack” (1961)
266. Bruce Springsteen “Dancing in the Dark” (1984)
267. The Isley Brothers “It's Your Thing” (1969)
268. Bill Withers “Ain't No Sunshine” (1971)
269. Eric Clapton “Change the World” (1996)
270. Tracy Chapman “Fast Car” (1988)

271. Roger Miller “Dang Me” (1964)
272. Tom Petty “Free Fallin’“ (1989)
273. Jimmy Buffett “Margaritaville” (1977)
274. Stevie Wonder “Living for the City” (1973)
275. Four Tops “Baby I Need Your Loving” (1964)
276. Kenny Rogers “The Gambler” (1978)
277. Sam Cooke “Wonderful World” (1960)
278. Willie Nelson “On the Road Again” (1980)
279. U2 “Beautiful Day” (2000)
280. R.E.M. “Radio Free Europe” (1983)

281. Bo Diddley “I'm a Man” (1955)
282. Randy Newman “Sail Away” (1972)
283. Elvis Presley “Jailhouse Rock” (1957)
284. Chic “Le Freak” (1978)
285. The Fifth Dimension “Aquarius/Let the Sunshine In” (1969)
286. Bonnie Raitt “Something To Talk About” (1991)
287. Missy “Misdemeanor” Elliott “Get Ur Freak On” (2001)
288. Eagles “Take It Easy” (1972)
289. Little Big Town “Girl Crush” (2014)
290. Henry Mancini “Days of Wine and Roses, The” (1963)

291. Ray Charles “I Gotta Woman” (1955)
292. Beyoncé with Jay-Z “Crazy in Love” (2003)
293. The Everly Brothers “Cathy's Clown” (1960)
294. The Four Seasons “Big Girls Don’t Cry” (1962)
295. Van Halen “Jump” (1983)
296. The Young Rascals “Groovin’” (1967)
297. Gene Chandler “Duke of Earl” (1962)
298. The Byrds “Turn! Turn! Turn! (To Everything There Is a Season)” (1965)
299. Johnny Mathis “Chances Are “ (1957)
300. The Moody Blues “Nights in White Satin” (1967)

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First posted 4/10/2021.

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Sunday, December 20, 2015

Today in Music (1965): The Who released their debut album, My Generation

My Generation

The Who

Released: December 20, 1965

Peak: -- US, 5 UK, -- CN, 153 AU Click for codes to charts.

Sales (in millions): -- US, 0.1 UK, -- world (includes US and UK)

Genre: classic rock

Tracks:

Click on a song titled for more details.
  1. Out in the Street [2:30]
  2. I Don’t Mind [2:32]
  3. The Good’s Gone [3:59]
  4. La-La-La Lies [2:12]
  5. Much Too Much [2:45]
  6. My Generation [3:15]
  7. The Kids Are Alright [2:42]
  8. Please, Please, Please [2:45]
  9. It’s Not True [2:30]
  10. I’m a Man [3:23]
  11. A Legal Matter [2:47]
  12. The Ox [3:49]

Total Running Time: 33:59

Also from This Era:

The Players:

  • Roger Daltrey (vocals)
  • Pete Townshend (guitar, vocals)
  • John Entwistle (bass)
  • Keith Moon (drums)

Rating:

3.976 out of 5.00 (average of 26 ratings)

Awards:

(Click on award to learn more).

About the Album

“An explosive debut, and the hardest mod pop recorded by anyone. At the time of its release, it also had the most ferociously powerful guitars and drums yet captured on a rock record. Pete Townshend's exhilarating chord crunches and guitar distortions threaten to leap off the grooves on My Generation and Out in the Street.” AM

“Keith Moon attacks the drums with a lightning, ruthless finesse throughout. Some ‘Maximum R&B’ influence lingered in the two James Brown covers, but much of Townshend's original material fused Beatlesque hooks and power chords with anthemic mod lyrics, with The Good's Gone, Much Too Much, La La La Lies, and especially The Kids Are Alright being highlights.” AM

“A Legal Matter hinted at more ambitious lyrical concerns, and The Ox was instrumental mayhem that pushed the envelope of 1965 amplification with its guitar feedback and nonstop crashing drum rolls. While the execution was sometimes crude, and the songwriting not as sophisticated as it would shortly become, the Who never surpassed the pure energy level of this record.” AM

U.S. Version

The U.S. version of the album, which was called The Who Sings My Generation, omitted “I’m a Man,” put “The Ox” before “A Legal Matter,” and added “Circles” at the end.

Reissue

The 2002 2-CD Deluxe Version maintains the original UK track listing, adds “Circles” on the end, and then includes a whopping 17 bonus tracks. Among the extras are alternate versions of “Anyway, Anyhow, Anywhere,” “Instant Party,” “I Don’t Mind,” “The Good’s Gone,” “A Legal Matter,” and two versions of “My Generation.” Also included are “I Can’t Explain,” “Bald Headed Woman,” “Daddy Rollin’ Stone,” “Leaving Here,” “Lubie (Come Back Home),” “Shout and Shimmy,” “Heat Wave,” “Motoring,” and “Anytime You Want Me” (2 versions).

The Songs

Here’s a breakdown of each of the individual songs.

I Can’t Explain

The Who

Writer(s): Pete Townshend

Released: single (12/19/1964), Meaty, Beaty, Big and Bouncy (compilation, 1971), Hooligans (compilation, 1981), Who’s Better Who’s Best (compilation, 1988), My Generation: The Very Best of (compilation, 1996), The Ultimate Collection (compilation, 2002), Then & Now (compilation, 2004), Greatest Hits (compilation, 2009), Hits 50! (compilation, 2014)

B-side: “Bald Headed Woman”

Peak: 93 BB, 57 CB, 72 HR, 2 CL, 8 UK, 87 AU, 7 DF Click for codes to charts.

Sales (in millions): --

Airplay/Streaming (in millions): -- radio, 14.0 video, 33.54 streaming

Awards:

(Click on award to learn more).

About the Song:

Critic Dave Marsh said, “’I Can’t Explain’ changed my life the first time I heard it, when I was fifteen, by giving me a sound whose power I’ve spent a whole lot of the rest of my life searching to renew. It was the first record I’d heard that revealed British rock with the same purifying intensity as soul and fifties rock and roll…If some aspects of what makes ‘I Can’t Explain’ great have grown fuzzier with the passage of time, the central kernel of its greatness has become more obvious: Keith Moon plays lead drums the way other bands had people playing lead guitar…The sheer audacity of that act remains amazing and inspiring.” DM

Anyway, Anyhow, Anywhere

The Who

Writer(s): Pete Townshend, Roger Daltrey

Released: single (UK, 5/21/1965), single (US, 6/5/1965), Meaty, Beaty, Big and Bouncy (compilation, 1971), Who’s Better Who’s Best (compilation, 1988), My Generation: The Very Best of (compilation, 1996), The Ultimate Collection (compilation, 2002), Hits 50! (compilation, 2014)

B-side: “Daddy Rolling Stone” (UK), “Anytime You Want Me” (US)

Peak: 26 CL, 10 UK, 8 DF Click for codes to charts.

Sales (in millions): --

Airplay/Streaming (in millions): -- radio, 0.29 video, 2.09 streaming

Awards:

(Click on award to learn more).

About the Song:

“Anyway, Anyhow, Anywhere” was the only time Roger Daltrey and Pete Townshend wrote a song together. WK The song is notable as one of the first to feature recorded guitar feedback. WK It also features piano from Rock and Roll Hall of Famer Nicky Hopkins, who also played with the Beatles, the Rolling Stones, and the Kinks.

Out in the Street

The Who

Writer(s): Pete Townshend

Released: B-side of “My Generation” (11/20/1965), My Generation (12/20/1965)

Peak: -- Click for codes to charts.

Sales (in millions): --

Airplay/Streaming (in millions): -- radio, -- video, 0.82 streaming

I Don’t Mind

The Who

Writer(s): James Brown

Released: My Generation (12/20/1965)

Peak: -- Click for codes to charts.

Sales (in millions): --

Airplay/Streaming (in millions): -- radio, -- video, 0.78 streaming

The Good’s Gone

The Who

Writer(s): Pete Townshend

Released: My Generation (12/20/1965)

Peak: -- Click for codes to charts.

Sales (in millions): --

Airplay/Streaming (in millions): -- radio, -- video, 0.69 streaming

La-La-La Lies

The Who

Writer(s): Pete Townshend

Released: My Generation (12/20/1965)

Peak: -- Click for codes to charts.

Sales (in millions): --

Airplay/Streaming (in millions): -- radio, -- video, 0.67 streaming

Much Too Much

The Who

Writer(s): Pete Townshend

Released: My Generation (12/20/1965)

Peak: -- Click for codes to charts.

Sales (in millions): --

Airplay/Streaming (in millions): -- radio, -- video, 0.43 streaming

My Generation

The Who

Writer(s): Pete Townshend (see lyrics here)

Released: single (UK, 10/29/1965), single (US, 11/20/1965), My Generation (12/20/1965), Meaty, Beaty, Big and Bouncy (compilation, 1971), Greatest Hits (compilation, 1983), Who’s Better Who’s Best (compilation, 1988), My Generation: The Very Best of (compilation, 1996), The Ultimate Collection (compilation, 2002), Then & Now (compilation, 2004), Greatest Hits (compilation, 2009), Hits 50! (compilation, 2014)

B-side: “Shout and Shimmy” (UK), “Out in the Street” (US)

Peak: 74 BB, 99 CB, 79 HR, 1 CL, 2 UK, 3 CN, 2 AU, 1 DF Click for codes to charts.

Sales (in millions): -- US, 0.25 UK

Airplay/Streaming (in millions): -- radio, 23.11 video, 260.30 streaming

Awards:

(Click on award to learn more).

About the Song:

“This was punk before its time – but not even the Sex Pistols were as negative as this.” HL This song captured in the studio the “atmosphere of chaos and disorder” TC which the Who brought to the stage with their “gear-trashing finales.” RS500 This was “a good nominee for rock’s most explosive expression of adolescent rebellion.” AMG It was “the ultimate teen anthem in 1965, and it still holds that spot today.” DT

Guitarist and songwriter Pete Townshend told Rolling Stone that it “was very much about trying to find a place in society…I was very, very lost.” RS500 His efforts were to capture the fear about “ the impending strictures of adult life, famously captured in the line ‘Hope I die ’fore I get old.’” RS500 Rumor has it that Townsend was on a train from London to Southampton, on his way to a television appearance on his twentieth birthday when he penned the song. RS500 Manager Kit Lambert had urged Townshend “to make a statement” SJ and, as Townsend said in 1967, “’It’s the only really successful social comment I’ve ever made.” SJ

Bob Dylan said, “Pete seems to have a chip on his shoulder in this song. But he’s not totally confident; he’s somewhat back on his heels. There’s a certain defensiveness. He knows people put him down just because he gets around. Perhaps he feels like he will never measure up or he knows they resent his generation’s newly abundant leisure time. He wishes they would just disappear, fade away…We all rail at the previous generation but somehow know it’s only a matter of time until we will become them ourselves.” BD

Musically, the song’s energy matched “the Who’s live gear-trashing finales.” SS The song not only sports “Townshend spewing feedback all over Keith Moon’s avalanche drumming,” RS500 but, thanks to John Entwistle, “the first ever bass solo on a pop record.” TB Of course, what made the song truly iconic was the stuttered vocal of Roger Daltrey. Lambert had suggested the style to “sound like a British kid on speed.” SF The fumbled words starting off with“F” sound like they’ll be obsence TC and end up symbolizing “the barely articulated frustration of youth.” AMG The BBC briefly banned the record because they thought the stammering was covering for bad language. SS

The song began life as a slow-talking blues based on a Jimmy Reed melody. SS It went through months of being reworked RS500 with the band attempting to record it on three different occasions AMG before getting it in two takes on October 13, 1965. RS500

The Kids Are Alright

The Who

Writer(s): Pete Townshend

Released: single (US, July 1966), single (UK, 8/12/1966), My Generation (12/20/1965), Meaty, Beaty, Big and Bouncy (compilation, 1971), Who’s Better Who’s Best (compilation, 1988), The Ultimate Collection (compilation, 2002), Then & Now (compilation, 2004), Greatest Hits (compilation, 2009), Hits 50! (compilation, 2014)

B-side: “A Legal Matter” (US), “The Ox” (UK)

Peak: 85 CB, 98 HR, 11 CL, 41 UK, 7 DF Click for codes to charts.

Sales (in millions): --

Airplay/Streaming (in millions): -- radio, 8.4 video, 9.59 streaming

Awards:

(Click on award to learn more).

About the Song:

“The Kids Are Alright” wasn’t a major single, peaking at a mere #41 in the UK and missing the Billboard Hot 100 in America entirely. However, that song and “My Generation” “became anthems for the band and the Mod subculture of Britain in the 1960s.” WK It would also become the name for a 1979 documentary about the band.

Please, Please, Please

The Who

Writer(s): James Brown, John Tery

Released: My Generation (12/20/1965)

Peak: -- Click for codes to charts.

Sales (in millions): --

Airplay/Streaming (in millions): -- radio, -- video, 0.52 streaming

It’s Not True

The Who

Writer(s): Pete Townshend

Released: My Generation (12/20/1965)

Peak: -- Click for codes to charts.

Sales (in millions): --

Airplay/Streaming (in millions): -- radio, -- video, 0.45 streaming

I’m a Man

The Who

Writer(s): Bo Diddley

Released: My Generation (12/20/1965)

Peak: -- Click for codes to charts.

Sales (in millions): --

Airplay/Streaming (in millions): -- radio, -- video, 0.37 streaming

A Legal Matter

The Who

Writer(s): Pete Townshend

Released: single (3/7/1966), B-side of “The Kids Are Alright” (US, July 1966), My Generation (12/20/1965), Meaty, Beaty, Big and Bouncy (compilation, 1971), The Ultimate Collection (compilation, 2002)

B-side: “Instant Party”

Peak: 42 CL, 32 UK, 83 AU, 29 DF Click for codes to charts.

Sales (in millions): --

Airplay/Streaming (in millions): -- radio, -- video, 1.47 streaming

The Ox

The Who

Writer(s): Pete Townshend, John Entwistle, Keith Moon, Nicky Hopkins

Released: B-side of “The Kids Are Alright” (UK, 8/12/1966), My Generation (12/20/1965)

Peak: -- Click for codes to charts.

Sales (in millions): --

Airplay/Streaming (in millions): -- radio, -- video, 1.15 streaming

Resources/References:

Related DMDB Pages:

First posted 5/19/2010; last updated 9/1/2025.

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