# What is the most recorded song? **URL:** \ **Category:** Factual Questions\ **Created:** [March 5, 2004, 7:35am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-is-the-most-recorded-song/232672 "2004-03-05T07:35:13Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 18\ **Page:** 1
**Author:** ![Rayman1313](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/r/ee59a6/32.png) [@Rayman1313](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Rayman1313)\ **Post date:** [March 5, 2004, 7:35am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-is-the-most-recorded-song/232672/1 "2004-03-05T07:35:13Z")
I’m not talking about the most covered (i.e. songs song on stage before an audience), but rather straight up recorded material like the Lococmotion for example. I can probably think of 4 different artists that have recorded Locomotion. Surely there must be more out there. For example I know that the Beatles song Across the Universe has been recorded by at least 2 other artists. Any ideas? ---
**Author:** ![Shrinking\_Violet](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/df705f/32.png) [@Shrinking\_Violet](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Shrinking_Violet)\ **Post date:** [March 5, 2004, 7:49am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-is-the-most-recorded-song/232672/2 "2004-03-05T07:49:59Z")
> [@Rayman1313](#): > > I’m not talking about the most covered (i.e. songs song on stage before an audience), but rather straight up recorded material like the Lococmotion for example. I can probably think of 4 different artists that have recorded Locomotion. Surely there must be more out there. For example I know that the Beatles song Across the Universe has been recorded by at least 2 other artists. Any ideas? According to a cached page on Google, it’s Paul McCartney’s “Yesterday”. Sorry, can’t make link work … :rolleyes: ---
**Author:** ![Shrinking\_Violet](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/df705f/32.png) [@Shrinking\_Violet](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Shrinking_Violet)\ **Post date:** [March 5, 2004, 7:51am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-is-the-most-recorded-song/232672/3 "2004-03-05T07:51:33Z")
Oops - it says “over 3000 released recorded versions by artists from every end of the music spectrum”. ---
**Author:** ![ccwaterback](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/df705f/32.png) [@ccwaterback](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/ccwaterback)\ **Post date:** [March 5, 2004, 10:49am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-is-the-most-recorded-song/232672/4 "2004-03-05T10:49:39Z")
I think second place would be some Christmas song. Like … chestnuts roasting on an open fire, jack frost nipping at your nose … ---
**Author:** ![Aro](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/b3f665/32.png) [@Aro](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Aro)\ **Post date:** [March 5, 2004, 11:35am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-is-the-most-recorded-song/232672/5 "2004-03-05T11:35:04Z")
This was asked a [while back](http://boards.straightdope.com/sdmb/showthread.php?t=123117&highlight=Yesterday+song) and it was discussed that while _“Yesterday”_ may be the most covered song still in copyright, the actual most ‘covered’ may be a Christmas song, perhaps _‘Silent Night’._ (see post by **astorian** ). I guess it all depends on the definition of ‘covered’. ---
**Author:** ![j\_sum1](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/j/8baadc/32.png) [@j\_sum1](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/j_sum1)\ **Post date:** [March 5, 2004, 1:48pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-is-the-most-recorded-song/232672/6 "2004-03-05T13:48:39Z")
I had heard (can’t remember cite, sorry) thzt _Amazing Grace_ was the most recorded song ever. If thta’s not correct, then it probably sets a pretty high benchmark. ---
**Author:** ![astorian](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/ad7895/32.png) [@astorian](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/astorian)\ **Post date:** [March 5, 2004, 1:49pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-is-the-most-recorded-song/232672/7 "2004-03-05T13:49:28Z")
As Aro notes, most sources will say that the Beatles’ “Yesterday” is the song that’s been recorded by the most diffferent artists, but I suspect (perhaps wrongly) that it’s merely the most-reorded song that’s still be kept track of. That is, Paul McCartney is still entitled to rpyalties for that song, so there are agencies keeping track of how often it’s recorded and how often it’s played on the radio. However, there are many other popular songs that get recorded all the time, but which have been in the public domain for so long that no one bothers to keep track of them. Every winter, since the dawn of recording, there have been hundreds of new Christmas albums by every imaginable recording artist, and most of those albums re-use the same old chestnuts (“Silent Night,” “O Come All Ye Faithful,” “Joy to the World, etc.”). So, my guess is that one of the Christmas standards is the most-recorded song ever. But since ASCAP isn’t monitoring them, I’d have a tough time proving it! ---
**Author:** ![j\_sum1](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/j/8baadc/32.png) [@j\_sum1](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/j_sum1)\ **Post date:** [March 5, 2004, 1:49pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-is-the-most-recorded-song/232672/8 "2004-03-05T13:49:46Z")
Learn to type and preview **j\_sum1**!! ---
**Author:** ![awldune](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/c77e96/32.png) [@awldune](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/awldune)\ **Post date:** [March 5, 2004, 3:49pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-is-the-most-recorded-song/232672/9 "2004-03-05T15:49:09Z")
Depending on your definition of “recording”, I imagine that the video archives at the various TV networks contain millions of live performances of _The Star-Spangled Banner_ (or whatever the name of the US national anthem is) in coverage of sporting events, parades, inaugurations, etc. ---
**Author:** ![awldune](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/c77e96/32.png) [@awldune](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/awldune)\ **Post date:** [March 5, 2004, 3:52pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-is-the-most-recorded-song/232672/10 "2004-03-05T15:52:13Z")
Whoops, looks like the OP was counting this sort of thing out. ---
**Author:** ![mascaroni](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/dc4da7/32.png) [@mascaroni](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/mascaroni)\ **Post date:** [March 5, 2004, 4:48pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-is-the-most-recorded-song/232672/11 "2004-03-05T16:48:14Z")
‘Amazing Grace’ might be in the frame… If, as I infer from your question, you mean the most recorded song that charted/sold a considerable amount of copies… ‘Unchained Melody’ has charted in the UK in at least eight different versions. ---
**Author:** ![silenus](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/silenus/32/166_2.png) [@silenus](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/silenus)\ **Post date:** [March 5, 2004, 5:33pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-is-the-most-recorded-song/232672/12 "2004-03-05T17:33:03Z")
“The No. 1 recorded song in history remains White Christmas (35+ million copies sold since 1942).” From this site: [http://history.acusd.edu/gen/recording/notes.html](http://history.acusd.edu/gen/recording/notes.html) ---
**Author:** ![Rayman1313](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/r/ee59a6/32.png) [@Rayman1313](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Rayman1313)\ **Post date:** [March 8, 2004, 5:08am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-is-the-most-recorded-song/232672/13 "2004-03-08T05:08:32Z")
See, I’ve been told time and again that Stairway to Heaven was the most covered. Also, I did mean the most covered POP song. I kinda figure that technically, with tv and movies Happy Birthday is the most covered. Everyone and their mother sings _that_ song. 🙂 ---
**Author:** ![Zaphod7](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/z/df788c/32.png) [@Zaphod7](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Zaphod7)\ **Post date:** [March 8, 2004, 5:21am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-is-the-most-recorded-song/232672/14 "2004-03-08T05:21:41Z")
> [@astorian](#): > > That is, Paul McCartney is still entitled to rpyalties for that song, so there are agencies keeping track of how often it’s recorded and how often it’s played on the radio. bit of a hijack but: Didnt Paul mcCartney sell the royalties etc to michael Jackson of most of the BEatles songs including Yesterday? Zaphod7 ---
**Author:** ![Rayman1313](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/r/ee59a6/32.png) [@Rayman1313](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Rayman1313)\ **Post date:** [March 8, 2004, 5:24am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-is-the-most-recorded-song/232672/15 "2004-03-08T05:24:53Z")
No, Jackson bought the Beatles catalog out from under Paul. Many bad feelings abound from that act to this day. ---
**Author:** ![Sofa\_King](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/58956e/32.png) [@Sofa\_King](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Sofa_King)\ **Post date:** [March 8, 2004, 5:43am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-is-the-most-recorded-song/232672/16 "2004-03-08T05:43:32Z")
An honorable mention is probably deserving of the song “Body and Soul,” which appears to have been some sort of recording rite-of-passage for jazz, big band, and swing acts for most of the 20th Century. Perhaps someone can help me with this poorly remembered anecdote. A friend of mine once told me that the host of a daily jazz radio show (in Philadelphia, perhaps?) made a tradition of playing a different version of “Body and Soul” at the same time every day, five days a week, for years running _without ever repeating a recording_. ---
**Author:** ![Walloon](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/w/fbc32d/32.png) [@Walloon](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Walloon)\ **Post date:** [March 8, 2004, 8:24am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-is-the-most-recorded-song/232672/17 "2004-03-08T08:24:56Z")
Although Michael Jackson bought the publishing rights to the Lennon-McCartney songs, Paul McCartney, and John Lennon’s estate, still get royalties from those songs. ---
**Author:** ![quiltguy154](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/q/ad7895/32.png) [@quiltguy154](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/quiltguy154)\ **Post date:** [March 8, 2004, 11:00am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-is-the-most-recorded-song/232672/18 "2004-03-08T11:00:01Z")
The champ for many years,IMS, was “Stardust” by Hoagie Carmichael. Didn’t realize it had been bested.