The highest-earning songs of all time

Imagine if you could write one perfect song that would earn enough money for you to live like royalty for the rest of your life. Such is the case for many of the songwriters on this list, but, being talented geniuses, they kept on working for the love of the music rather than packing it in and retiring in style.

In some cases, a cover became far more successful than the original song. That might cause a little sting for the true owner, but the massive yearly royalty checks are probably an effective salve!

Intrigued? Click through this gallery to discover the most commercially-successful songs in history.

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