20 Greatest Hits
20 Greatest Hits is a Beatles compilation gathering songs that reached number one on the singles charts in the UK and the US. It came out in October 1982 on Capitol Records, timed to mark twenty years since the band's first record, "Love Me Do", appeared in the UK in October 1962.
It has a small place in the band's catalogue as the last Beatles album to be issued in different US and UK versions, since some hits, "Eight Days a Week" and "Yesterday" among them, were never singles in Britain. A cassette-style oddity adds a footnote: a handful of 8-track copies were made available through Capitol Special Markets in early 1983, and only around ten to fifteen are thought to survive. The two editions were later combined to form the 2000 compilation 1.
20 Greatest Hits: tracklist and credits
20 tracks · 1:01:22Tracklist
- 1She Loves YouJohn Lennon and Paul McCartney2:21
- 2Love Me DoJohn Lennon and Paul McCartney2:21
- 3I Want to Hold Your HandJohn Lennon and Paul McCartney2:27
- 4Can’t Buy Me LoveJohn Lennon and Paul McCartney2:13
- 5A Hard Day’s NightJohn Lennon and Paul McCartney2:29
- 6I Feel FineJohn Lennon and Paul McCartney2:18
- 7Eight Days a WeekJohn Lennon and Paul McCartney2:43
- 8Ticket to RideJohn Lennon and Paul McCartney3:09
- 9HelpJohn Lennon and Paul McCartney2:19
- 10YesterdayJohn Lennon and Paul McCartney2:06
- 11We Can Work It OutJohn Lennon and Paul McCartney2:15
- 12Paperback WriterJohn Lennon and Paul McCartney2:18
- 13Penny LaneJohn Lennon and Paul McCartney3:01
- 14All You Need Is LoveJohn Lennon and Paul McCartney3:46
- 15Hello GoodbyeJohn Lennon and Paul McCartney3:28
- 16Hey JudeJohn Lennon and Paul McCartney7:06
- 17Get BackJohn Lennon and Paul McCartney3:07
- 18Come TogetherJohn Lennon and Paul McCartney4:17
- 19Let It BeJohn Lennon and Paul McCartney4:03
- 20The Long and Winding RoadJohn Lennon and Paul McCartney3:35
- Produced by
- George Martin, Phil Spector, George Martin and Phil Spector (US edition: side 2 track 8)
- Recorded at
- Abbey Road Studios: Studio 2, Abbey Road Studios: Studio 3, Olympic Sound Studios, Abbey Road Studios: Studio 1, Trident Studios, Apple Studios, EMI, Trident and Apple studios, London and Pathé Marconi Studio, Paris
- Recorded
- 11 September 1962 – 1 April 1970
- Mixed at
- Abbey Road Studios: Studio 1, Abbey Road Studios: Studio 2
- Engineered by
- Norman Smith, Geoff Emerick, Malcolm Davies, Ken Scott, Phil McDonald, Eddie Kramer, Barry Sheffield, Glyn Johns, Peter Bown
- Labels
- Capitol Records, Capitol (US), Parlophone (UK)
- Length
- 1:01:22
Line-up
- George Harrison · handclaps, electric guitar, 12 string guitar, vocals, tambourine, background vocals, effects, violin, guitar
- John Lennon · handclaps, electric guitar, lead vocals, acoustic guitar, harmonium, background vocals, tambourine, congas, piano, effects, harpsichord, banjo, organ, electric piano, bass guitar, electric bass guitar
- Paul McCartney · handclaps, electric bass guitar, background vocals, lead vocals, vocals, electric guitar, acoustic guitar, harmonium, piano, effects, double bass, bass guitar, congas, electric piano, maracas
- Ringo Starr · drums (drum set), handclaps, cowbell, tambourine, tubular bells, effects, maracas, background vocals
- George Martin · piano · guest
- Norman Smith · bongos · guest
- Kenneth Essex · viola · guest
- Francisco Gabarro · cello · guest
- Tony Gilbert · violin · guest
- Sidney Sax · violin · guest
- Leon Calvert · flugelhorn, trumpet · guest
- Dick Morgan · cor anglais, oboe · guest
- Mike Winfield · cor anglais, oboe · guest
- Duncan Campbell · trumpet · guest
- Freddy Clayton · trumpet · guest
- Bert Courtley · trumpet · guest
- Phil Goody · flute, piccolo · guest
- Manny Winters · flute · guest
- Ray Swinfield · flute, piccolo · guest
- Dennis Walton · flute · guest
- Frank Clarke · double bass · guest
- David Mason · piccolo trumpet · guest
- Eric Bowie · violin · guest
- Jack Emblow · accordion · guest
- Patrick Halling · violin · guest
- Don Honeywill · tenor saxophone · guest
- Rex Morris · tenor saxophone · guest
- Harold Spain · trombone · guest
- Evan Watkins · trombone · guest
- Stanley Woods · trumpet · guest
- Jane Asher · background vocals · guest
- Pattie Boyd · background vocals · guest
- Eric Clapton · background vocals · guest
- Marianne Faithfull · background vocals · guest
- Mick Jagger · background vocals · guest
- Mike McGear · background vocals · guest
- Keith Moon · background vocals · guest
- Graham Nash · background vocals · guest
- Keith Richards · background vocals · guest
- Gary Walker · background vocals · guest
- Leo Birnbaum · viola · guest
- Ken Essex · viola · guest
- Billy Preston · electric piano, organ · guest
- Linda McCartney · background vocals · guest
Certifications
| Region | Certification |
|---|---|
| Canada · 1995 | 3× Platinum |
| United Kingdom · 1983 | Platinum |
| United States · 1997 | 2× Platinum |
From MusicBrainz, Wikipedia and Wikidata. Only what the sources record is shown.
Released the same week
Also released on 18 October
Every year →More from The Beatles
Full discography →The best of 1982
All of 1982 →More on Capitol Records
The label →Releases and pressings
How we know the release date musicbrainz 1982-10-18 vs wikidata 1982-10-11
| Source | Date | Note |
|---|---|---|
| MusicBrainz | 18 October 1982 | |
| Wikipedia infobox | 1982 | |
| Wikidata | 11 October 1982 | |
| US release | 1982 | earliest US date |
| UK / Europe release | 18 October 1982 | earliest UK or European date |
5 editions
| Date | Country | Label | Barcode | Kind |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1982 | US | Capitol Records | other | |
| 1982 | CA | Capitol Records | other | |
| 1982 | DE | Odeon | other | |
| 18 October 1982 | GB | Parlophone | original | |
| 1986 | US | Capitol Records | other |
Cover art sources
coverartarchive · native: native 3600x3600, downscaled to 3000
| Source | Size | Verdict |
|---|---|---|
| coverartarchive ✓ | 3600×3600 | native: native 3600x3600, downscaled to 3000 |