Hans J. Hoffmann/ullstein bild via Getty Images
Hans J. Hoffmann/ullstein bild via Getty ImagesSunday marked the 50th anniversary of the U.S. release of “Hey Jude,” The Beatles‘ most successful chart single.
The song, which is perhaps among the most beloved rock sing-alongs of all time, reached #1 on the Billboard Hot 100 on September 28, 1968, and spent nine weeks at the top of the chart. At seven minutes and 11 seconds, it was among the longest tracks ever to hit #1 on the tally. The song also was The Beatles’ first single to be released on the band’s Apple Records label.
Paul McCartney says he wrote the song to cheer up John Lennon‘s young son Julian as he was driving to visit the child and Lennon’s then-wife Cynthia as John and Cynthia were in the process of divorcing.
As McCartney recalled in The Beatles’ Anthology documentary, “I had about an hour’s drive…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: ‘Come on, man, your parents got divorced. I know you’re not happy, but you’ll be OK.'”
“Hey Jude” has sold more than 4 million copies in the U.S. alone, and it landed at #8 on Rolling Stone‘s 2010 list of “The 500 Greatest Songs of All Time.”
While initially available only as a single, “Hey Jude” was eventually released on the 1970 Beatles singles and B-sides compilation Hey Jude. It now also appears on the band’s Past Masters and 1 compilations.
The Beatles never performed “Hey Jude” in concert, since the band had stopped playing live by the time they recorded it, but they did film a soundstage performance of the tune as a promotional video. McCartney still regularly features it in his set at his solo shows.
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