Hey Jude – Beatles

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