About “Hey Jude”

Originally titled “Hey Jules,” named after John Lennon’s son Julian, this song was written by Paul McCartney to comfort him during John and Cynthia’s divorce. John Lennon stated that he thought the song was written as a form of blessing from Paul McCartney for his and Yoko’s relationship. They were touched by McCartney’s act and Cynthia said she would always remember his “gesture of care and concern in coming to see us.”

While it was being recorded, producer George Martin voiced his discontent with the abnormal song length. Coming in at over seven minutes long–with four of those minutes comprising the outro–Martin expressed the opinion that radio DJs would not play the song. Lennon responded with: “They will if it’s us.”

Once released, the song performed absolutely fantastically. With its seven-minute runtime, it became the longest single to top the British music charts in its day. In the United States, the song spent nine weeks at #1, making it the best-performing Beatles single. Additionally, at the time it tied for the record of longest-sitting chart-topping single.

The reaction to the song did not wane. It stayed as The Beatles' best performing U.S. single and is considered by many music critics as being one of the best songs of all time. Rolling Stone lists it at #8. It sits at #10 on Billboard’s 55th Anniversary countdown. In addition, the song is the most referenced musical performance.