The Beatles were one of the most successful musical acts when it came to collecting Hot 100 hits during their heyday. The band pushed pretty much every single they released to the ranking of the most-consumed songs in the U.S. for nearly a decade. While many of their beloved smashes reached the competitive tally, plenty of other well-known tunes from the group never had a chance to shine on the chart, based on how it was arranged at the time.
This week, one of The Beatles’ most recognizable songs finds a home on the Hot 100. It does so thanks to an inventive and beautiful cover from one of the biggest musical stars in the world—and it reaches a new peak thanks to the reworking.
A cover of The Beatles’ “Blackbird” by Beyoncé debuts on the Hot 100 this week. The tune opens at No. 27 on the ranking of the most-consumed songs in the U.S.
Beyoncé’s take on the Beatles classic sticks pretty close to the original, though she does make it her own in some ways. For starters, she changed the name, but only slightly. To help differentiate it from the classic, and to keep it in the same format as her other tracks on her latest album, she’s added a second “i,” calling it “Blackbiird.”
Also, Beyoncé’s “Blackbiird” is not a solo track. She invited several Black women in the country world to join her on the tune, helping all of them reach the Hot 100 for the first time. Her song features Tanner Adell, Brittney Spencer, Tiera Kennedy, and Reyna Roberts.
The original Beatles “Blackbird” was credited to the band, but it was really a solitary effort. Paul McCartney wrote it, and he both sang all the lyrics and played all the instruments.
Beyoncé’s version of “Blackbird” is not the first to reach the Hot 100, but it’s now the highest-rising. The cast of the TV show Glee covered the tune, and their rendition peaked at No. 37. The Beatles’ track never landed on the chart, as it wasn’t spun off as a single. Back in the ‘60s, only singles reached the Hot 100, though now, because of digital sales of individual tunes and streaming, any cut is eligible for the list.
