Of course they can't. They were ordinary middle of the road pop as the Hollies were.

Nov 1963, The Beatles performing on The Royal Variety Show with a quiet audience. An excellent live performance when they could be heard!
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-4tItQYu1Hs

Just one year after their first single Love Me Do, then From me to You, She Loves You and their first LP Please Please Me.
I'd have liked to see people like next generation ABBA perform on stage with just that sound equipment and nothing else they and others were using for enhancement by then..

In terms of longevity yes, but when it comes to record sales The Rolling Stones (93.9m certified sales) are only at No.13 of the top selling artists of all time - The Beatles still out-selling them (257.7m sales). Sales are surely a fair indicator of popularity - you don't tend to buy music by an artist you don't like!

Sure The Rolling Stones endure and remain extremely popular, but their record sales lag far behind The Beatles, as well as 11 other artists, 5 of whom are not still performing/alive/together. http://www.statisticbrain.com/top-se...s-of-all-time/

Over rated I say, there were many other great bands around then and just like today, the music industry and playlists for radio are selective

There were many great bands that followed them, and developed as time passed. The sheer pace of how music developed from 1963 to 1970 was incredible, and The Beatles were at the forefront of that.

So many of those great bands were inspired by them, and the way they were allowed to develop meant record companies allowed so may others to do the same, which was a reason so much great music was forthcoming.

The Beatles cannot be over rated. People can not like them, but what they did cannot be argued with.

I can’t believe you’ve posted that;

Bonzo’s frontman, Viv Stanshall, was a musical genius;

…who else could have said ”Tubular Bells!” with such aplomb.

I tend to treat those sales lists with a fair degree of cynicism;

…Mariah Carey 128M certified sales! what???, and Pink Floyd only 114M certified sales.

That’s got to tell you something ;

….and who exactly ‘certified’ the ‘sales’ whatever that means; ….(was it Mariah Carey herself ?).

Seems quite low - The Guinness Book of World Records states Carey has sold over 200m.

ETA: I feel sorry for the eardrums of all those people

oh, I think they can be DP.

I'm struggling to think of any of her songs apart from that Christmas one

Wtf Mariah Carey above Queen, Rolling Stones and AC/DC that's crazy.

It's quite a feat to remember which note she started bawling before she mangled it with several others.
This is so funny and it's also in the wrong key so she zooms up a descant and screeches even louder.
Poor old Oh Holy Night gets murdered.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=BEJmP8T07JU

I’m even struggling to remember anything about that Xmas song;

… but I’ll never forget the truly vomitous video that accompanied it.

it was a reworking of "all i want for christmas is my two front teeth"

Where is Shirley Bassey on the list i'm sure she's over 100 million sales. And Mariah's voice is crap compared to Shirley.

Only Whitney can hold a candle to Shirley.

Whitney was mainly known for nicking Dolly Parton's song, where is Dolly on the list ?

I blame her for all these young people who think they can sing by attempting vocal acrobatics, scaling every note they can possibly find in every line If you've got a good voice, less is more - there's no need to show off. Practising your scales isn't singing

Yep pretty much...

I think those who compile the list have a prejudice against huge fun bags!!


Jealous women or small handed men

I like Shirley but give me Barbra any day. Having said that, to me Ella Fitzgerald is a singer that's never been beaten yet.

....you're not wrong there,...she should be up in court for that !

Why are all these warbling women being mentioned on a Beatles thread??

Yeah those are great singers also. Did you watch the David Williams interview show with Shirley, itv christmas eve. ? It can't be denied her voice is awesome at nearly 80. I'm someone who can appreciate just about all types of music and genres.

Shirley was a big fan of Ella'a to.

just googled her and she's only on a paltry 40m she should have worn a santa hat and hollered a bit more

you highlight a misconception , a misunderstanding of how it really was at the time.

the beatles lead the way.... others followed... i know it sounds like hyperbole but just research the facts. thatll tell you why the beatles were the best group ever....and as such cannot be 'overrated' (unless you mean by overrated that you dont like them as much as others groups).

it's about are they the best, so you have to mention their competition, and Mariah is a huge contender

…perhaps it’s to counter-balance Ringos’ dubious vocal offerings.