Hey Jude: Introduction

“Hey Jude” is a Beatles’ single that reached the top of the charts in 11 countries across the world in 1968. The song also appears on a few of their albums. The B-side is the heavy version of “Revolution,” so the single release was a classic and a “must-have” record in the 1960s.

In Detail

• Release Date: August 26, 1968
• Format: 7-inch Single (A-side); (B-side is “Revolution”)
• Recorded: July 29, 30 and 31; August 1, 1968
• Studio: Trident Studios, London
• Genre: Pop rock
• Track Duration: 7:11
• Record Label: Apple
• Songwriters: Lennon-McCartney
• Producer: George Martin
• Engineers: Ken Scott, Barry Sheffield

Performers And Instruments

• Paul McCartney: lead vocals, piano, bass guitar, and also the handclaps
• George Harrison: backing vocals, electric guitar, as well as the handclaps
• John Lennon: backing vocals, acoustic guitar, and also the handclaps
• Ringo Starr: backing vocals, drums, tambourine, as well as the handclaps

Other Performers

• Uncredited 36-piece orchestra: 10 violins, three violas, three cellos, two double basses, two flutes, two clarinets, one bass clarinet, one bassoon, one contrabassoon, four trumpets, two horns, four trombones, and one percussion instrument; 35 of these musicians on additional backing vocals as well as handclaps

Where To Find “Hey Jude”

You can still buy this song on the following releases:

**For those who only require the original version of the song, avoid Anthology 3 and the Love album (see below).

Hey Jude: Background

Written entirely by Paul McCartney with credits going to Lennon-McCartney, “Hey Jude” is The Beatles’ most successful single. It also was the first release on The Beatles’ own record label, Apple.

“Hey Jude is a damn good set of lyrics, and I made no contribution to that.”

John Lennon
All We Are Saying, David Sheff

John Lennon separated from his wife Cynthia in May 1968 due to his affair with Yoko Ono. So, in June, Paul McCartney drove to their family home, Kenwood, in Weybridge to offer comfort, especially to Lennon’s son, Julian.

While he continued on his journey, his thoughts turned to song, and he started to compose a song, especially for Julian.

The ballad would have to be one of optimism while also encouraging “Jude” to pursue his opportunities to find love.

“I thought, as a friend of the family, I would motor out to Weybridge and tell them that everything was all right—to try and cheer them up, basically, and see how they were.

I had about an hour’s drive, I would always turn the radio off and try and make up songs, just in case [then] I started singing: ‘Hey Jules, don’t make it bad, take a sad song, and make it better…’ It was optimistic, a hopeful message for Julian.”

Paul McCartney
Anthology

John Lennon’s Reaction

Despite this being 1968, a time when The Beatles were showing signs of stress and there were rumours of the band breaking up, they still had to have some form of working relationship. John Lennon, as well as others, think that McCartney wrote the song about John Lennon himself.

“He said it was written about Julian, my child; he knew I was splitting with Cyn and leaving Julian. He was driving over to say hi to Julian. He’d been like an uncle to him. You know, Paul was always good with kids. And so he came up with Hey Jude.

But I always heard it as a song to me. If you think about it… Yoko’s just come into the picture. He’s saying, ‘Hey, Jude, hey, John.’ I know I’m sounding like one of those fans who reads things into it, but you can hear it as a song to me. The words ‘go out and get her’—subconsciously, he was saying, Go ahead, leave me.

On a conscious level, he didn’t want me to go ahead. The angel in him was saying, ‘Bless you.’ The devil in him didn’t like it at all because he didn’t want to lose his partner.”

John Lennon, 1980
All We Are Saying, David Sheff

Promotional Video

The Beatles made two music videos for the song on September 4, 1968, and the promotional video is a composite edit of the two different takes. Both were for different shows, so they had different introductions from both David Frost and Cliff Richard.

The official release familiar to us on YouTube (below) is that for David Frost’s “Frost on Sunday” show airing on September 8th. His introduction describes The Beatles as “the greatest tea-room orchestra in the world.” The video shows the band singing on their own at first, but just as the long coda kicks in, the mixed audience comes up close to the band members.

Recording Studio

The Beatles began rehearsing “Hey Jude” on July 29, 1968, in the EMI Studios and continued the next day. However, even though they taped the sessions, the band wanted to use Trident Studios in London to record the song. Take 2 from July 29th is now available on their 1996 album, “Anthology 2.” There is also a much shorter version on their 2006 album, “Love.”

In the early 1960s, single releases on 7″ vinyl records were not usually over three minutes long. This was due to engineering limitations at the time in both cutting and playback on domestic record players. However, improved mastering techniques and other advances enabled recording artists to increase the duration of their records by the mid-sixties.

“It was a long song. In fact, after I timed it, I actually said, ‘You can’t make a single that long.’ I was shouted down by the boys—not for the first time in my life—and John asked: ‘Why not?’ I couldn’t think of a good answer, really—except the pathetic one that disc jockeys wouldn’t play it. He said, ‘They will if it’s us.’ And, of course, he was absolutely right.”

George Martin
Anthology

At seven minutes and eleven seconds long, “Hey Jude” was the longest single to top the charts so far.

Chart Success

As a result of its commercial success in the 1960s, “Hey Jude” remains The Beatles most successful single of all time.

Take A Listen to “Hey Jude.”

Finally, what do you think about this song? Also, let us know your thoughts about the official video.