What are the highest earning songs of all time?
The art of creating a perfect single has always circled back to one’s love of making music. Although it might be easy to put a melody in a decent song, there are only a few times when bands can harness that kind of magic and have it relate to millions around the world. Though the audience validation may be one thing, the amount of money earned from singles by The Beatles and The Police is a different matter entirely.
Throughout the history of popular music, the rules of releasing singles have always been like The Wild West. Even though things might seem to line up in a certain way at one time, opportunities can often take a turn in a different direction as soon as trends change, with audiences chasing after the next big thing before moving on to something different.
For all of the great music that has come and gone throughout the years, a handful of tunes have become the most profitable songs of all time, whether it’s due to the massive charm behind them or the inner workings of wise business decisions. Although the songs may run the gamut of genres, each benefited from a certain X-factor that’s impossible to put into words.
While it would be easy to say that the royalties to ‘Happy Birthday’ were among the most highly regarded songs of all time, the first significant pop single that got that treatment came from Bing Crosby’s ‘White Christmas’ in the 1950s. Capturing the perfect yuletide spirit, the song would become of holiday celebrations for decades. That same mentality would continue with Mel Torme’s ‘The Christmas Song’ and Haven Gillespie’s ‘Santa Claus is Comin To Town’, each serving as a great nod to the holiday season.
Outside of the seasonal singles, though, the biggest pop songs begin with tracks like ‘Yesterday’ by The Beatles. Emerging as a soft ballad from Paul McCartney, the Fab Four classic would become one of the most covered songs of all time, which would earn over $30million on its own for the Liverpool quartet.
Sting had a similar story when working on the song ‘Every Breath You Take’ with The Police. Featuring a simple chord progression and a wicked approach to lyrics, the track would become a staple of the 1980s pop scene, played upwards of a million times on the radio before the decade had even finished.
Even though The Beatles and Sting got their point across through the power of melody, many artists have seen their songs taken to a different place thanks to external circumstances. Through the likes of movie soundtracks, films like The Bodyguard and Ghost have turned Dolly Parton’s ‘I Will Always Love You’ and The Righteous Brothers’ ‘Unchained Melody’ to the top of the charts. The aftermath of certain global events is also in play here, like ‘Candle in the Wind’ by Elton John surging in popularity after being rewritten in tribute to Princess Diana.
Aside from the reasons why the songs have made it to the forefront of the music world, the core similarity between all of the songs comes from their simplicity. Even though artists might like to use their songs as an excuse to show off their musical prowess, nothing can beat the power of a simple melody that millions of people can sing along with.
The highest-earning songs of all time
- ‘I Will Always Love You’ – Dolly Parton
- ‘Candle In the Wind’ – Elton John
- ‘The Christmas Song’ – Mel Torme
- ‘Oh Pretty Woman’ – Roy Orbison
- ‘Every Breath You Take’ – The Police
- ‘Santa Claus is Comin’ To Town’ – Haven Gillespie
- ‘Stand By Me’ – Ben E King
- ‘Unchained Melody’ – The Righteous Brothers
- ‘Yesterday’ – The Beatles
- ‘You’ve Lost That Loving Feelin’ – The Righteous Brothers
- ‘White Christmas’ – Bing Crosby
- ‘Happy Birthday’ – The Hill Sisters