Best Selling Singles Of All Time
Have you ever wondered what the best selling singles of all time are? Look no further! Will definitely have to make a playlist with these songs! (Updated 16/7/2012)
I am going to follow suit and develop a digital singles chart – stay tuned
If you like this post, explore my site or check out my others –
- Best Selling Albums Of All Time
- Highest Selling Artists Of All Time
- Best Selling Movie Soundtracks
- ARIA Number 1s 1940 – 2011
- Official UK Number 1 Singles Chart: 1952 – 2011
- US Number 1 Singles Chart 1940 – 2011
- Longest Song in History
- Shortest Song in History
| Artist | Single | Released | Sold (Millions) |
| Bing Crosby | White Christmas | 1942 | 50 |
| Elton John | Candle in the Wind 1997″/”Something About the Way You Look Tonight | 1997 | 33 |
| Bing Crosby | Silent Night | 1935 | 30 |
| Bill Haley & His Comets | Rock Around the Clock | 1954 | 25 |
| Elvis Presley | It’s Now or Never | 1960 | 22 |
| USA for Africa | We Are the World | 1985 | 20 |
| Paul Anka | Diana | 1957 | 20 |
| The Ink Spots | If I Didn’t Care | 1936 | 19 |
| Baccara | Yes Sir, I Can Boogie | 1977 | 18 |
| Gene Autry | Rudolph the Red-Nosed Reindeer | 1949 | 18 |
| Kenny Rogers | Lady | 1980 | 16 |
| Celine Dion | My Heart Will Go On | 1998 | 15 |
| Scorpions | Wind of Change | 1991 | 14 |
| Kyu Sakamoto | Sukiyaki | 1961 | 13 |
| Andrea Bocelli and Sarah Brightman | Time to Say Goodbye | 1996 | 12 |
| Whitney Houston | I Will Always Love You | 1992 | 12 |
| Village People | Y.M.C.A. | 1978 | 12 |
| Band Aid | Do They Know It’s Christmas? | 1984 | 11.7 |
| Terry Jacks | Seasons in the Sun | 1974 | 11.5 |
| Los del Río | Macarena | 1995 | 11 |
| Roger Whittaker | The Last Farewell | 1975 | 11 |
| Biddu and Carl Douglas | Kung Fu Fighting | 1974 | 11 |
| George McCrae | Rock Your Baby | 1974 | 11 |
| The Beatles | I Want to Hold Your Hand | 1964 | 11 |
| Mills Brothers | Paper Doll | 1943 | 11 |
| Panjabi MC | Mundian To Bach Ke | 1998 | 10 |
| Cher | Believe | 1998 | 10 |
| Mariah Carey | All I Want for Christmas Is You | 1994 | 10 |
| Bryan Adams | (Everything I Do) I Do It for You | 1991 | 10 |
| Led Zeppelin | Stairway to Heaven | 1971 | 10 |
| Middle of the Road | Chirpy Chirpy Cheep Cheep | 1971 | 10 |
| Procol Harum | A Whiter Shade of Pale | 1967 | 10 |
| The Monkees | I’m a Believer | 1966 | 10 |
| Elvis Presley | Hound Dog | 1956 | 10 |
| Roy Acuff | Wabash Cannonball | 1942 | 10 |
| Britney Spears | …Baby One More Time | 1998 | 9 |
| Paul Anka | Diana | 1957 | 9 |
| Shakira | Whenever, Wherever | 2001 | 8.5 |
| Survivor | Eye of the Tiger | 1982 | 8.03 |
| Beyoncé featuring Jay-Z | Crazy in Love | 2003 | 8 |
| Ricky Martin | Livin’ la Vida Loca | 1999 | 8 |
| Aqua | Barbie Girl | 1997 | 8 |
| Nirvana | Smells Like Teen Spirit | 1991 | 8 |
| Modern Talking | You’re My Heart, You’re My Soul | 1984 | 8 |
| The Beatles | Hey Jude | 1968 | 8 |
| Mary Hopkin | Those Were the Days | 1968 | 8 |
| The Animals | The House of the Rising Sun | 1964 | 8 |
| Mahalia Jackson | Move On Up a Little Higher | 1948 | 8 |
| Shocking Blue | Venus | 1969 | 7.5 |
| Ashanti | Foolish | 2002 | 7.2 |
| Green Day | Boulevard of Broken Dreams | 2004 | 7 |
| Christina Aguilera | Genie in a Bottle | 1999 | 7 |
| Puff Daddy featuring Faith Evans and 112 | I’ll Be Missing You | 1997 | 7 |
| Andrea Bocelli | Con te partirò | 1997 | 7 |
| a-ha | Take on Me | 1985 | 7 |
| Queen | Another One Bites the Dust | 1980 | 7 |
| Chic | Le Freak | 1978 | 7 |
| Royal Scots Dragoon Guards | Amazing Grace | 1972 | 7 |
| Danyel Gérard | Butterfly | 1971 | 7 |
| Scott McKenzie | San Francisco (Be Sure to Wear Flowers in Your Hair) | 1967 | 7 |
| Scott McKenzie | San Francisco (Be Sure to Wear Flowers in Your Hair) | 1967 | 7 |
| The Beatles | Can’t Buy Me Love | 1964 | 7 |
| Julie Rogers | The Wedding | 1964 | 7 |
| Vernon Dalhart | The Prisoner’s Song | 1924 | 7 |
| John Travolta and Olivia Newton-John | You’re the One That I Want | 1978 | 6.53 |
| Britney Spears | Oops!… I Did It Again | 2000 | 6 |
| Janet Jackson | Together Again | 1997 | 6 |
| Spice Girls | Wannabe | 1996 | 6 |
| Madonna | Vogue | 1990 | 6 |
| George Michael | Careless Whisper | 1984 | 6 |
| Wings | Mull of Kintyre | 1977 | 6 |
| ABBA | Fernando | 1976 | 6 |
| Brotherhood of Man | Save Your Kisses for Me | 1976 | 6 |
| Dawn | Tie a Yellow Ribbon Round the Ole Oak Tree | 1973 | 6 |
| Dawn | Knock Three Times | 1971 | 6 |
| The New Seekers | I’d Like to Teach the World to Sing | 1971 | 6 |
| Mungo Jerry | In the Summertime | 1970 | 6 |
| Neil Diamond | Cracklin’ Rosie | 1970 | 6 |
| Simon & Garfunkel | Bridge Over Troubled Water | 1970 | 6 |
| The Archies | Sugar, Sugar | 1969 | 6 |
| The Jackson 5 | I Want You Back | 1969 | 6 |
| Harry Simeone Chorale | The Little Drummer Boy | 1958 | 6 |
| Jerry Lee Lewis | Whole Lotta Shakin’ Goin On | 1957 | 6 |
| Bing Crosby | Jingle Bells | 1943 | 6 |
| Queen | Bohemian Rhapsody | 1976 | 5.94 |
| Michael Jackson | Thriller | 1984 | 5.82 |
| Coolio ft. L.V. | Gangsta’s Paradise | 1995 | 5.7 |
| Tino Rossi | Petit Papa Noël | 1946 | 5.7 |
| T.I. | Whatever You Like | 2008 | 5.6 |
| Michael Jackson | Billie Jean | 1983 | 5.6 |
| Jeannie C. Riley | Harper Valley PTA | 1968 | 5.5 |
| Chipmunks | The Chipmunk Song (Christmas Don’t Be Late) | 1958 | 5.5 |
| Shakira | Underneath Your Clothes | 2002 | 5 |
| Kylie Minogue | Can’t Get You Out of My Head | 2001 | 5 |
| Eminem | Stan | 2000 | 5 |
| Enigma | Sadeness (Part I) | 1990 | 5 |
| Madonna | Like a Prayer | 1989 | 5 |
| Kaoma | Lambada | 1989 | 5 |
| Michael Jackson | Beat It | 1983 | 5 |
| Culture Club | Karma Chameleon | 1983 | 5 |
| Musical Youth | Pass the Dutchie | 1982 | 5 |
| ABBA | Waterloo | 1974 | 5 |
| Billy Swan | I Can Help | 1974 | 5 |
| Donny Osmond | Puppy Love | 1971 | 5 |
| Three Dog Night | Joy to the World | 1971 | 5 |
| The Jackson 5 | I’ll Be There | 1970 | 5 |
| The Partridge Family | I Think I Love You | 1970 | 5 |
| 1910 Fruitgum Company | Simon Says | 1968 | 5 |
| Tom Jones | Delilah | 1968 | 5 |
| Tommy James and the Shondells | Crimson and Clover | 1968 | 5 |
| Bee Gees | Massachusetts | 1967 | 5 |
| Engelbert Humperdinck | Release Me | 1967 | 5 |
| The Monkees | Daydream Believer | 1967 | 5 |
| Staff Sergeant Barry Sadler | Ballad of the Green Berets | 1966 | 5 |
| Nini Rosso | Il Silenzio | 1965 | 5 |
| The Beatles | She Loves You | 1963 | 5 |
| The Tornados | Telstar | 1962 | 5 |
| Elvis Presley | Surrender | 1961 | 5 |
| Elvis Presley | Are You Lonesome Tonight? | 1960 | 5 |
| Mitch Miller | March from Bridge On The River Kwai | 1957 | 5 |
| Jerry Lee Lewis | Great Balls of Fire | 1957 | 5 |
| Elvis Presley | Don’t Be Cruel | 1956 | 5 |
| Elvis Presley | Love Me Tender | 1956 | 5 |
| Gene Autry | That Silver-Haired Daddy Of Mine | 1939 | 5 |
| Gene Austin | My Blue Heaven | 1927 | 5 |
Come check out the directory for the rest of my projects and post series!
Some interesting ones in there!If you enjoyed this post, come explore or jump straight to my posts on music or writing.
Submegmusic
This has been taken from here.
SUBMEG 
Nice try, but i can’t find Elvis in you’re list and come on…Baccara?
LikeLike
There are two Elvis songs there – Hound Dog and Surrender
LikeLike
Surely shakin stevens sold more than any of them. And as far as cultural impact goes, he made wooly jumpers popular again briefly
LikeLike
But you think about white Christmas, that is such a well known song…it is everywhere!
LikeLike
If you look at Billboard number1 list, Bing went to number one every December for 5 or 6 years. Maybe 5 or 6 years out of 8.
LikeLike
That’s looking at the top albums etc from the 40’s in case that isn’t obvious.
LikeLike
Elvis having only 2 here makes sense to me as well because there were fewer people and less disposable income in the 50’s. The list isn’t about total number ones, it’s about total sold
LikeLike
Hit it on the head Brian!
LikeLike
Cadê “Billie Jean”, “Black or White” e “Earth Song” do MJ? E “I’ll Be There” vendeu 6,1 e não 5.
LikeLike
Yes, Billie Jean is now on this list. Earth song is close, with approximately 4.5 million sales, similar to Black or White.
LikeLike
Whitney Houston!!!
LikeLike
She is in there!
LikeLike
Lol this can´t be right! Where is Michael Jackson? Come on!
LikeLike
The Jackson 5 – I Want You Back, The Jackson 5 – I’ll Be There. Of course, the majority of his sales came from album sales. The best selling album is Thriller. That’s where his sales are.
EDIT: There are now Michael Jackson singles in this list.
LikeLike
Yeah the Jackson 5, but still…. Thriller is still the most selling album out there, and the single must’ve sold more than for example Paul Anka’s Diana..
This list is not accurate!
LikeLike
I am trying to keep this as accurate as possible, but it is hard to keep track of every single song that has reached this level.
Michael Jackson’s Thriller has now achieved more than five million sales.
LikeLike
What about “We are the world” by MJ? Can’t believe i don’t find it!!!
LikeLike
This was definitely not one of his most famous tracks. There are many of his in this list, keep looking!
LikeLike
We Are The World is the number one charity song ever created. It is one of the top 30 selling singles to have sold over 10 million copies. If it’ll help, it did raise $63 million world wide. Billie Jean has sold 8 million copies. You seem to be relying on dated data. He has sold 40 million records since his death, so one could only imagine how many singles.
LikeLike
what about Irene caras ‘What a feeling” #1 in 7 countires and certified platinum here in the USA? i cant believe it did sell in the 5-6 million range
LikeLike
I would think this track would be captured on the soundtrack from the movie. This ranks as 13th of the best selling movie soundtracks. (https://submeg.com/2011/01/28/best-selling-movie-soundtracks-of-all-time/) I could not find any data suggesting that this was released as a single for sale.
LikeLike
Do they know its Christmas by Band Aid ??????
LikeLike
EDIT: This song is now on the list
LikeLike
Wat of livn la vida loca by ricky martin.that waz a hit!
LikeLike
EDIT: This song is now on the list
LikeLike
What!!? Where is Michael Jackson? That is fake
LikeLike
EDIT: Many of his singles are now in this list
LikeLike
Wikipedia says: “A second version of the song, sung partly in English, released as “Time to Say Goodbye”, paired Bocelli with English soprano Sarah Brightman, and achieved even greater success, topping charts all across Europe, including Germany, where it became the biggest-selling single in history.That version alone has now sold more than 12 million copies worldwide.”
Just curious … I didn’t see it on your list. (Credos on this site and your responses .. awesome!)
LikeLike
Hadn’t seen that one; what is the original song? Will have to add it in and advise those that have collated the data that there could be an extra song to add.
LikeLike
There’s one more missing from the list: Joe Dolce: Shaddup You Face. It has about 6 million sales and is still the highest selling Australian produced single ever.
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Shaddap_You_Face
LikeLike
There is no reference to where that value has been pulled from. If there is a reference to the total sales, I will add it in.
LikeLike
That’s just in the UK. If you factor in sales from the rest of the world, the song sold 11.7 million copies. (http://books.google.com.pe/books?ei=AD5FT7-CEompiQK84cHqDg&id=bCmp92JXMjsC&dq=soft+cell+%22Tainted+Love%22+single+sold+million+copies&q=best-selling+single#search_anchor)
LikeLike
This is for Tainted Love – Soft Cell? If so then I shall update. Cheers for the reference!
LikeLike
hey fella Bobby Goldsborro would be upset with you…..check the sales…it was released twice
LikeLike
Which song in particular?? I’ll check it out!
LikeLike
“Honey” released 1968 and again in 1970s
LikeLike
Hi Paul, I’ve tried searching for sales figures – but have come up with blanks! Have you got any data on the total sales for this song? It needs to have at least 5 million sales to make it onto the list. Cheers
LikeLike
where is Ozzy Osbourne?
LikeLike
Black Sabbath – Paranoid: 4 million sales.
Black Sabbath – Iron Man: ?
If more sales data can be found I will update.
LikeLike
A few surprises there, great list thanks for that !
LikeLike
No worries! If there are songs that you think are missing, let me know!
LikeLike
Mrs brown you’ve got a lovely daughter… How many millions … I’ve read variations up to 13 ?
LikeLike
How is it that Paul anka’s .. Diana . Is reputed to have sold 20,million and also 9 million … Has it actually sold 29 million.?
LikeLike
excellent and thorough collection of data.
LikeLike
Where is Patti Page’s 10 million seller THE TENNESSEE WALTZ?
LikeLike
I shall look it up; if you have a reference, I will add it in!
LikeLike
Well it’s a nice list – and the same as wikipedia use. But I’m afraid there’s some singles missing: Did you know that Teixeirinha’s “Coracao de Luto” has sold somewhere between 25 to 35 mill. copies – and should be either number two or three on the list? Keep searching!
LikeLike
Yes, it is the same list, but I try to add in more that I find around the place.
Really, nice I will look it up and find out, thanks!
LikeLike
Cool list but You should update it.:) Some new songs came out and some older songs were sold more.:)
LikeLike
Hi Mare,
Yes I will have to update this list. I have been away from this site for a while, as I’ve had to focus on other things, but I am back now. Feel free to make suggestions of what you would like to see!
Submeg
LikeLike
Amazing Wings biggest seller only made it to #33 in US.
LikeLike
PRETTY WOMAN FROM ROY ORBISON WAS THE 15TH BEST SELLING SINGLE OF ALL TIME ON A RECENT TV PROGRAM,CANT SEE IT HERE.
LikeLike
Thanks Edward, do you have a reference for it? If so, I’ll add it straight in, otherwise I will have to research it. Thanks for the heads up!
LikeLike
Did I miss the Beatles?
LikeLike
Hi Steve,
Aren’t there any Beatles in there?
Regards,
Leigh
LikeLike
Hey man cool list but You maybe should check some titles and certification again and some new songs maybe. “Royals”from that Lorde girl is sold over 7 mill.. Whitney Houston Ï will always…” is sold esp after her death to 20 mill making it the best selling female single It was it on NBC also hers I wanna dance with… is sold 8..than Mariah’s all I want for Xmass is sold more than 12.;)
LikeLike
Hey Steve,
Thanks for the feedback! I know there are heaps of songs that I have to add – I’ve been extremely busy! Do you have any references for these values?
Submeg
LikeLike
Europe…The final countdown ????
LikeLike
Good point, I shall have to look for the sales. Thanks!
Submeg
LikeLike
Ketchup Song – 7 million copies
LikeLike