Chart Position: 1
- Lead vocals: Paul McCartney
- Written by John Lennon and Paul McCartney
- Backing vocals: John Lennon, George Harrison, Ringo Starr and a large gathering of friends and well-wishers
- Keyboards: Paul McCartney
- Guitar: John Lennon and George Harrison
- #1 bestseller for 1968
- #8 on Rolling Stone magazines list of 500 greatest songs
- Over 4 million singles sold worldwide
- Topped the Billboard charts for a then-record 7 weeks
- #8 on Billboard magazines 100 all-time top songs
- #5 on Q magazines list of greatest singles of all time
- At 7:14 minutes this is the longest #1 single ever
- This is the ‘A’ side of ‘Revolution’ (1968)
- McCartney’s early version of this song was written to six year old Julian Lennon, John’s son, to sing to him because he was distraught over his parent’s marriage problems
- The name in the title changed from ‘Jules’ to ‘Jude’ as the song developed to ‘give it a more country-western feel’ according to McCartney
- John Lennon loved the song and interpreted it as a message to him
- Not available on LP until the 1970 LP ‘Hey Jude’
- John Lennon can be heard uttering a profanity when he masks a mistake right before the beginning of the refrain
- Julian Lennon did not know the song was about him until he was in his twenties
- Recorded in London U.K.
- Produced by George Martin
- This is the Beatles biggest U.S. hit single
- Later recorded by Wilson Pickett (1969), Chet Atkins, O.C. Smith, Ray Stevens, Sonny and Cher, Tom Jones, Stars on 45 and many more
