A song may evoke a memory of a specific event. For instance, you may remember the week of April 13, 1968, when Bobby Goldsboro's "Honey" was the top song in the nation. Many associate it with the assassination of Martin Luther King Jr., especially with its sad melody. Yet that is just one reason that a song may engrave itself in the nation's collective mind so strongly that it sells 10 million copies or more.
"Candle in the Wind 97"
According to Everyhit.com, the biggest hit single of all time is "Candle in the Wind '97" by Elton John. He and his partner, Bernie Taupin, originally wrote the song in 1973 to honor Marilyn Monroe. It was a hit again in the mid-1980s, when the British singer performed it live.
In 1997, after Princess Diana's death in a tragic car accident, John and Taupin rewrote the lyrics. The song was a hit again. At 37 million copies, as Everyhit.com indicates, it is the best international seller of all time. The record spoke to those grieving over the death of someone so young, beautiful and compassionate.
"White Christmas"
"White Christmas," from 1942, by Bing Crosby, was the brain child of Irving Berlin. It captured the imagination of many, because, as music historian Jeff Westover suggests, it zeroed in on the feelings of American men going off to the battlefields of World War II. It sold 30 million copies.
"Rock Around the Clock"
Bill Haley and his Comets recorded this song in May 1954, according to History.com. However, it did not chart well until a year later, when the producers of the movie "Blackboard Jungle" used it. Everyhit.com says that this song sold 17 million copies.
"I Want to Hold Your Hand"
According to Songfacts.com, Beatles members John Lennon and Paul McCartney wrote "I Wanna Hold Your Hand" in McCartney's girlfriend's basement. It is the song that introduced the world to the Beatles in late 1963. It became a No. 1 song the following year. It sold 12 million copies.
"Hey Jude"
"Hey Jude," another Beatles classic, was a song McCartney wrote to comfort Lennon's son Julian after his parents' divorce. It was No.1 in the United States for nine weeks in the fall of 1968. It became the No. 1 song of that that year. It sold 10 million copies.
"It's Now Or Never"
The 1960 Elvis Presley hit, a tie with "Hey Jude" at No. 5, first experienced popularity as "O Sole Mio," when Italian Guiseppe Anselmi first recorded it. In 1949, Tony Martin released it as "There's No Tomorrow."
"I Will Always Love You
Dolly Parton first wrote this song in 1974. Whitney Houston released it in 1992 as part of "The Bodyguard" soundtrack. It is also No. 5 worldwide, tying with both the Beatles and the Elvis song.
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