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{{short description|1968 single by the Beatles}}
{{About|the song|the album of the same name|Hey Jude (Beatles album){{!}}''Hey Jude'' (Beatles album)}}
{{other uses}}
{{Featured article}}
{{Use British English|date=December 2021}}
{{Use dmy dates|date=November 2024}}
{{Infobox song
| name          = Hey Jude
| cover         = Heyjude1.png
| alt           =
| caption       = UK single A-side label
| type          = single
| artist        = [[the Beatles]]
| B-side        = [[Revolution (Beatles song)|Revolution]]
| released      = 26 August 1968
| recorded      = 31 July and 1 August 1968
| studio        = [[Trident Studios|Trident]], London
| genre         = {{hlist|[[Rock music|Rock]]|[[Pop music|pop]]|[[pop rock]]}}
| length        = 7:12
| label         = [[Apple Records|Apple]]
| writer        = [[Lennon–McCartney]]
| producer      = [[George Martin]]
| prev_title    = [[Lady Madonna]]
| prev_year     = 1968
| next_title    = [[Get Back#Single version|Get Back]]
| next_title2   = [[Don't Let Me Down (Beatles song)|Don't Let Me Down]]
| next_year     = 1969
| misc          = {{External music video|header=Promotional film|{{YouTube|A_MjCqQoLLA|"Hey Jude"}}
 }}
}}

"'''Hey Jude'''" is a song by the English [[rock music|rock]] band [[the Beatles]] that was released as a non-album single in August 1968. It was written by [[Paul McCartney]] and credited to the [[Lennon–McCartney]] partnership. The single was the Beatles' first release on their [[Apple Records|Apple]] record label and one of the "First Four" singles by Apple's roster of artists, marking the label's public launch. "Hey Jude" was a number-one hit in many countries around the world and became the year's top-selling single in the UK, the US, Australia and Canada. Its nine-week run at number one on the [[Billboard Hot 100|''Billboard'' Hot 100]] tied the all-time record in 1968 for the longest run at the top of the US charts, a record it held for nine years. It has sold approximately eight million copies and is frequently included on music critics' lists of the greatest songs of all time.

The writing and recording of "Hey Jude" coincided with a period of upheaval in The Beatles. The [[Sentimental ballad|ballad]] evolved from "Hey Jules", a song McCartney wrote to comfort [[John Lennon]]'s young son [[Julian Lennon]], after Lennon had left his wife [[Cynthia Lennon]] for the Japanese artist [[Yoko Ono]]. The lyrics espouse a positive outlook on a sad situation, while also encouraging "Jude" to pursue his opportunities to find love. After the fourth verse, the song shifts to a [[Coda (music)|coda]] featuring a "Na-na-na na" [[refrain]] that lasts for over four minutes.

"Hey Jude" was the first Beatles song to be recorded on [[eight-track recording]] equipment. The sessions took place at [[Trident Studios]] in central London, midway through the recording of the group's [[The Beatles (album)|self-titled double album]] (also known as the ''White Album''), and led to an argument between McCartney and [[George Harrison]] over the song's guitar part. [[Ringo Starr]] later left the band only to return shortly before they filmed the promotional clip for the single. The clip was directed by [[Michael Lindsay-Hogg]] and first aired on [[David Frost]]'s UK television show ''Frost on Sunday''. Contrasting with the problems afflicting the band, this performance captured the song's theme of optimism and togetherness by featuring the studio audience joining the Beatles as they sang the coda.

At over seven minutes in length, "Hey Jude" was the longest single to top the British charts up to the time.{{sfn|Lowry|2002|p=44}} Its arrangement and extended coda encouraged many imitative works through to the early 1970s. In 2013, ''[[Billboard (magazine)|Billboard]]'' magazine named it the 10th "biggest" song of all time in terms of chart success.<ref name="Bronson">{{cite magazine |first=Fred |last=Bronson |title=Hot 100 55th Anniversary: The All-Time Top 100 Songs |magazine=[[Billboard (magazine)|Billboard]] |date=2 August 2012 |access-date=9 August 2013 |url=http://www.billboard.com/articles/list/2155531/the-hot-100-all-time-top-songs?list_page=9 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20170710144317/http://www.billboard.com/articles/list/2155531/the-hot-100-all-time-top-songs?list_page=9 |archive-date=10 July 2017 |url-status=live}}</ref> McCartney has continued to perform "Hey Jude" in concert since [[Murder of John Lennon|Lennon's murder in 1980]], leading audiences in singing the coda. Julian Lennon and McCartney have each purchased memorabilia related to the song's creation.

==Inspiration and writing==
{{quote box|quote=I started with the idea "Hey Jules," which was Julian, don't make it bad, take a sad song and make it better. Hey, try and deal with this terrible thing. I knew it was not going to be easy for him. I always feel sorry for kids in divorces ...{{sfn|Miles|1997|p=465}}|source=– [[Paul McCartney]], 1997|width=25%|align=left|style=padding:8px;}}
In May 1968,{{sfn|Riley|2011|p=397}} [[John Lennon]] and his wife [[Cynthia Lennon]] separated due to his affair with artist [[Yoko Ono]].{{sfn|Womack|2014|p=389}} The following month, [[Paul McCartney]] drove out to visit the Lennons' five-year-old son [[Julian Lennon]],<ref>{{cite magazine |title=The Beatles, 'Hey Jude' |magazine=[[Rolling Stone]] |date=7 April 2011 |access-date=14 August 2007 |url=https://www.rollingstone.com/music/lists/the-500-greatest-songs-of-all-time-20110407/the-beatles-hey-jude-20110516 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20121019192602/http://www.rollingstone.com/music/lists/the-500-greatest-songs-of-all-time-20110407/the-beatles-hey-jude-20110516 |archive-date=19 October 2012 |url-status=live}}</ref> at [[Kenwood, St. George's Hill|Kenwood]], the family's home in [[Weybridge]].{{sfn|Sounes|2010|pp=208, 221}} Cynthia had been part of [[the Beatles]]' social circle since before the band's rise to fame in 1963;{{sfn|Sounes|2010|p=221}} McCartney later said he found it "a bit much for them suddenly to be ''[[Persona non grata|personae non gratae]]'' and out of my life".{{sfn|Miles|1997|p=465}} Cynthia Lennon recalled of McCartney's surprise visit: "I was touched by his obvious concern for our welfare ... On the journey down he composed 'Hey Jude' in the car. I will never forget Paul's gesture of care and concern in coming to see us."<ref>{{cite news |first=John |last=Kehe |title=Paul McCartney: 40 career highlights on his birthday |newspaper=[[The Christian Science Monitor]] |date=17 June 2012 |access-date=23 March 2019 |url=https://www.csmonitor.com/Books/2012/0617/Paul-McCartney-40-career-highlights-on-his-birthday/Hey-Jude-single-1968 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20190323174420/https://www.csmonitor.com/Books/2012/0617/Paul-McCartney-40-career-highlights-on-his-birthday/Hey-Jude-single-1968 |archive-date=23 March 2019 |url-status=live}}</ref> The song's original title was "Hey Jules", and it was intended to comfort Julian from the stress of his parents' separation.{{sfn|Womack|2014|p=389}} McCartney said, "I knew it was not going to be easy for him", and that he changed the name from "Jules" to "Jude" "because I thought that sounded a bit better".{{sfn|Miles|1997|p=465}}

According to music journalist Chris Hunt, in the weeks after writing the song, McCartney "test[ed] his latest composition on anyone too polite to refuse. And that meant {{em|everyone}}."<ref name="Hunt/MojoSpecial">Hunt, Chris. "Here Comes the Son". In: {{harvnb|''Mojo Special Limited Edition''|2003|p=39}}.</ref> On 30 June, after recording the [[Black Dyke Mills Band]]'s rendition of his instrumental "Thingumybob" in [[Yorkshire]],{{sfn|Miles|2001|p=302}} McCartney stopped at the village of [[Harrold, Bedfordshire|Harrold]] in [[Bedfordshire]] and performed "Hey Jude" at a local pub.{{sfn|Norman|2016|pp=336–37}} He also regaled members of [[the Bonzo Dog Band]] with the song while producing their single "[[I'm the Urban Spaceman]]", in London, and interrupted a recording session by [[the Barron Knights]] to do the same.<ref name="Hunt/MojoSpecial"/> Ron Griffiths of the group the Iveys – soon to be known as [[Badfinger]] and, like the Black Dyke Mills Band, an early signing to the Beatles' new record label [[Apple Records]] – recalled that on one of their first days in the studio, McCartney "gave us a full concert rendition of 'Hey Jude{{'"}}.{{sfn|Matovina|2000|pp=42, 45}}{{refn|group=nb|Griffith added that he and his fellow Iveys were "gob-smacked" by the performance.{{sfn|Matovina|2000|p=42}}}}

{{quote box|quote=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 {{em|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.{{sfn|Sheff|2000|p=186}}|source=– [[John Lennon]], 1980|width=25%|align=right|style=padding:8px;}}
The intensity of Lennon and Ono's relationship made any songwriting collaboration between Lennon and McCartney impossible.{{sfn|Gould|2007|pp=481, 513–14}}{{sfn|Clayson|2003a|pp=126–27}} In support of his friend nevertheless, McCartney let the couple stay at his house in [[St John's Wood]], but amidst growing tensions, the couple soon moved out.{{sfn|Doggett|2011|pp=48–49}}{{sfn|Sounes|2010|pp=219–20}} McCartney presented "Hey Jude" to Lennon on 26 July,{{sfn|Everett|1999|p=192}} when he and Ono visited McCartney's home.{{sfn|Spizer|2003|p=32}} McCartney assured him that he would "fix" the line "the movement you need is on your shoulder", reasoning that "it's a stupid expression; it sounds like a parrot." According to McCartney, Lennon replied: "You won't, you know. That's the best line in the song."{{sfn|The Beatles|2000|p=297}} McCartney retained the phrase.{{sfn|Womack|2014|p=389}}{{refn|group=nb|He later said of his subsequent live performances of the song: "that's the line when I think of John, and sometimes I get a little emotional during that moment."{{sfn|The Beatles|2000|p=297}}}} Although McCartney originally wrote "Hey Jude" for Julian, Lennon thought it had actually been written for him.{{sfn|Everett|1999|p=192}} In a 1980 interview, Lennon stated that he "always heard it as a song to me" and contended that, on one level, McCartney was giving his blessing to Lennon and Ono's relationship, while, on another, he was disappointed to be usurped as Lennon's friend and creative partner.{{sfn|Spizer|2003|p=32}}

[[File:Memo called Paul McCartney's 'Hey Jude' lyrics.jpg|thumb|left|upright=0.9|'Hey Jude' memo, written by McCartney]]
Other people believed McCartney wrote the song about them, including Judith Simons, a journalist with the ''[[Daily Express]]''.<ref>{{cite book |first=Bill |last=Harry |author-link=Bill Harry |year=2000 |title=The Beatles Encyclopedia: Revised and Updated |publisher=[[Virgin Books|Virgin Publishing]] |location=London |page=517 |isbn=0-7535-0481-2}}</ref> Still others, including Lennon, have speculated that in the lyrics to "Hey Jude", McCartney's failing long-term relationship with [[Jane Asher]] provided an unconscious "message to himself".<ref name="Unterberger/AM">{{cite web |first=Richie |last=Unterberger |author-link=Richie Unterberger |title=The Beatles 'Hey Jude' |website=[[AllMusic]] |url=https://www.allmusic.com/song/hey-jude-mt0002046073 |access-date=22 March 2019 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20171003125419/http://www.allmusic.com/song/hey-jude-mt0002046073 |archive-date=3 October 2017 |url-status=live}}</ref> McCartney and Asher had announced their engagement on 25 December 1967,{{sfn|Carr|Tyler|1978|p=70}} yet he began an affair with [[Linda McCartney|Linda Eastman]] in June 1968;{{sfn|Sounes|2010|pp=213–14}} that same month, [[Personal relationships of Paul McCartney#Asher, Eastman and Schwartz|Francie Schwartz]], an American who was in London to discuss a film proposal with Apple, began living with McCartney in St John's Wood.{{sfn|Doggett|2011|pp=47–48}}{{sfn|Sounes|2010|pp=212–13, 215}} When Lennon mentioned that he thought the song was about him and Ono, McCartney denied it and told Lennon he had written the song about himself.{{sfn|Hertsgaard|1995|p=236}}{{refn|group=nb|In a 1971 interview with [[Jonathan Cott]], Lennon recalled his and McCartney's conversation: "Ah, it's me! I said, it's {{em|me}}! He says, no it's {{em|me}}. I said, check, we're going through the same bit."{{sfn|Schaffner|1978|p=108}}}}

Author [[Mark Hertsgaard]] has commented that "many of the song's lyrics do seem directed more at a grown man on the verge of a powerful new love, especially the lines 'you have found her now go and get her' and 'you're waiting for someone to perform with.{{'"}}{{sfn|Hertsgaard|1995|p=236}} Music critic and author [[Tim Riley (music critic)|Tim Riley]] writes: "If the song is about self-worth and self-consolation in the face of hardship, the vocal performance itself conveys much of the journey. He begins by singing to comfort someone else, finds himself weighing his own feelings in the process, and finally, in the repeated refrains that nurture his own approbation, he comes to believe in himself."{{sfn|Riley|2002|p=255}}
{{clear}}

==Production==

===EMI rehearsals===
Having earmarked the song for release as a single, the Beatles recorded "Hey Jude" during the sessions for their [[The Beatles (album)|self-titled double album]], commonly known as "the ''White Album''".{{sfn|Lewisohn|1988|p=145}}{{sfn|Spitz|2005|p=782}} The sessions were marked by an element of discord within the group for the first time, partly as a result of Ono's constant presence at Lennon's side.{{sfn|Hertsgaard|1996|pp=247, 251}}{{sfn|Doggett|2011|pp=44–45}} The strained relations were also reflective of the four band members' divergence following their [[The Beatles in India|communal trip to Rishikesh]] in the spring of 1968 to study [[Transcendental Meditation]].{{sfn|Schaffner|1978|pp=88–89}}

The Beatles first taped 25 [[take]]s of the song at [[Abbey Road Studios|EMI Studios]] in London over two nights, 29 and 30 July 1968,{{sfn|Lewisohn|1988|p=145}} with [[George Martin]] as their producer.{{sfn|Womack|2014|pp=389–90}} These dates served as rehearsals, however, since they planned to record the master track at [[Trident Studios]] to utilise their [[Multitrack recording|eight-track recording machine]] (EMI was still limited to four-tracks).{{sfn|Lewisohn|1988|p=145}} The first two takes from 29 July, which author and critic [[Kenneth Womack]] describes as a "jovial" session,{{sfn|Womack|2014|p=390}} have been released on the [[The Beatles (album)#2018 50th Anniversary Edition bonus tracks|50th Anniversary box set]] of the ''White Album'' in 2018 and the ''[[Anthology 3]]'' compilation in 1996, respectively.<ref>{{cite AV media notes |first=Kevin |last=Howlett |year=2018 |title=The Beatles |title-link=The Beatles (album)#2018 50th Anniversary Box Set bonus tracks |others=[[The Beatles]] |publisher=Apple Corps Limited |type=booklet}}</ref><ref>{{cite AV media notes |first=Mark |last=Lewisohn |author-link=Mark Lewisohn |year=1996 |title=Anthology 3 |publisher=Apple Records |location=London |title-link=Anthology 3 |others=[[The Beatles]] |type=booklet |page=14 |id=34451}}</ref>

The 30 July rehearsals were filmed for a short documentary titled ''Music!'',{{sfn|Miles|2001|p=304}}{{sfn|Winn|2009|p=197}} which was produced by the National Music Council of Great Britain.{{sfn|Leng|2006|p=35}} This was the first time that the Beatles had permitted a camera crew to film them developing a song in the studio.{{sfn|Spizer|2003|p=32}} The film shows only three of the Beatles performing "Hey Jude", as [[George Harrison]] remained in the studio control room,{{sfn|Everett|1999|p=194}} with Martin and EMI recording engineer [[Ken Scott]].{{sfn|Riley|2011|p=407}}{{refn|group=nb|Released in October 1969,{{sfn|Everett|1999|p=194}} the documentary was shown in UK cinemas as the opening presentation for ''[[The Producers (1967 film)|The Producers]]''.{{sfn|Winn|2009|p=197}} In the United States, it was broadcast as an episode of the [[NBC]] television series ''Experiment in TV''{{sfn|Castleman|Podrazik|1976|p=260}} in February 1970.{{sfn|Winn|2009|p=197}}}} During the rehearsals that day,{{sfn|Riley|2011|p=407}} Harrison and McCartney had a heated disagreement over the lead guitar part for the song.{{sfn|Womack|2014|p=390}} Harrison's idea was to play a guitar phrase as a response to each line of the vocal,{{sfn|The Beatles|2000|p=316}} which did not fit with McCartney's conception of the song's arrangement, and he vetoed it.{{sfn|Lewisohn|1988|p=146}}{{sfn|Miles|1997|p=466}} Author Simon Leng views this as indicative of how Harrison was increasingly allowed little room to develop ideas on McCartney compositions, whereas he was free to create empathetic guitar parts for Lennon's songs of the period.{{sfn|Leng|2006|pp=34–35}} In a 1994 interview, McCartney said, "looking back on it, I think, Okay. Well, it was bossy, but it was ballsy of me, because I could have bowed to the pressure."{{sfn|Miles|1997|p=466}} [[Ron Richards (producer)|Ron Richards]], a record producer who worked with Martin at both [[Parlophone]] and [[Associated Independent Recording]],<ref>{{cite book |first1=George |last1=Martin |author-link=George Martin |first2=Jeremy |last2=Hornsby |year=1994 |title=All You Need Is Ears |publisher=[[St. Martin's Press]] |location=New York, NY |pages=137, 183 |isbn=0-312-11482-6}}</ref> said McCartney was "oblivious to anyone else's feelings in the studio", and that he was driven to making the best possible record, at almost any cost.{{sfn|Spitz|2005|p=783}}{{refn|group=nb|Described by [[Ian MacDonald]] as "a tense moment",{{sfn|MacDonald|1998|p=267fn}} this disagreement between Harrison and McCartney was recalled by the pair in a similar argument they had while filming ''[[Let It Be (1970 film)|Let It Be]]'' in January 1969,{{sfn|Everett|1999|p=194}} regarding the lead guitar part on "[[Two of Us (Beatles song)|Two of Us]]".{{sfn|Sounes|2010|p=237}} Partly as a result of McCartney's criticism, Harrison briefly quit the band four days later on 10 January.{{sfn|Everett|1999|p=194}}{{sfn|Miles|2001|p=328}}}}

===Trident Studios recording===
The Beatles recorded the master track for "Hey Jude" at Trident, where McCartney and Harrison had each produced sessions for their Apple artists,{{sfn|Spizer|2003|p=33}} on 31 July.{{sfn|Miles|2001|p=304}} Trident's founder, [[Norman Sheffield]], recalled that [[Mal Evans]], the Beatles' aide and former roadie, insisted that some marijuana plants he had brought be placed in the studio to make the place "soft", consistent with the band's wishes.{{sfn|Sheffield|2013|p=15}} Barry Sheffield served as recording engineer for the session. The line-up on the basic track was McCartney on piano and lead vocal, Lennon on acoustic guitar, Harrison on electric guitar, and [[Ringo Starr]] on drums.{{sfn|Lewisohn|1988|p=146}}{{sfn|Winn|2009|p=198}} The Beatles recorded four takes of "Hey Jude", the first of which was selected as the master.{{sfn|Lewisohn|1988|p=146}}{{sfn|Winn|2009|p=198}} With drums intended to be absent for the first two verses, McCartney began this take unaware that Starr had just left for a toilet break.{{sfn|Spizer|2003|p=33}} Starr soon returned – "tiptoeing past my back rather quickly", in McCartney's recollection – and performed his cue perfectly.{{sfn|Miles|1997|p=466}}

[[File:The former Trident Studios building, St Anne's Court, Soho, London 2018.jpg|thumb|upright=0.75|right|The former Trident Studios building at [[St Anne's Court]] in [[Soho]] (pictured in 2018), where "Hey Jude" was recorded]]
On 1 August, the group carried out [[Overdubbing|overdubs]] on the basic track, again at Trident. These additions included McCartney's lead vocal and bass guitar; backing vocals from Lennon, McCartney and Harrison; and tambourine,{{sfn|Everett|1999|p=194}} played by Starr.{{sfn|MacDonald|1998|p=264}} McCartney's vocal over the long [[Coda (music)|coda]], starting at around three minutes into the song, included a series of improvised shrieks that he later described as "[[Cary Grant]] on heat!"{{sfn|Spizer|2003|p=33}} They then added a 36-piece orchestra over the coda, scored by Martin.{{sfn|Lewisohn|1988|p=146}} The orchestra consisted of ten violins, three violas, three cellos, two flutes, one contra bassoon, one bassoon, two clarinets, one contra bass clarinet, four trumpets, four trombones, two horns, percussion and two string basses.{{sfn|MacDonald|1998|p=264}} According to Norman Sheffield, there was dissension initially among the orchestral musicians, some of whom "were looking down their noses at the Beatles, I think". Sheffield recalls that McCartney ensured their cooperation by demanding: "Do you guys want to get fucking paid or not?"{{sfn|Sheffield|2013|p=18}} During the first few takes, McCartney was unhappy about the lack of energy and passion in the orchestra's performance, so he stood up on the grand piano and started conducting the musicians from there.{{sfn|Sheffield|2013|pp=18–19}}

The Beatles then asked the orchestra members if they would clap their hands and sing along to the refrain in the coda. All but one of the musicians complied (for a double fee), with the abstainer reportedly saying, "I'm not going to clap my hands and sing Paul McCartney's bloody song!"{{sfn|Lewisohn|1988|p=146}} Apple Records assistant Chris O'Dell says she joined the cast of backing singers on the song;{{sfn|O'Dell|2009|pp=74–75}} one of the label's first signings, [[Jackie Lomax]], also recalled participating.<ref>{{cite magazine |first=Terry |last=Staunton |title=Jackie Lomax: ''Is This What You Want?'' |magazine=[[Record Collector]] |date=July 2004 |via=[[Rock's Backpages]] |url-access=subscription |access-date=17 June 2015 |url=http://www.rocksbackpages.com/Library/Article/jackie-lomax-is-this-what-you-want |archive-date=11 June 2015 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20150611024428/http://www.rocksbackpages.com/Library/Article/jackie-lomax-is-this-what-you-want |url-status=live}}</ref>

"Hey Jude" was the first Beatles song to be recorded on eight-track equipment.{{sfn|Winn|2009|p=198}} Trident Studios were paid £25 per hour by EMI for the sessions. Sheffield said that the studio earned about £1,000 in total, but by having the Beatles record there, and in turn raving about the facility, the value was incalculable.{{sfn|Sheffield|2013|p=20}} The band carried out further work at Trident during 1968,{{sfn|Miles|2001|pp=308, 311}} and Apple artists such as Lomax, [[Mary Hopkin]], [[Billy Preston]] and the Iveys all recorded there over the next year.{{sfn|O'Dell|2009|pp=73, 92}}{{refn|group=nb|McCartney wrote the foreword to Sheffield's 2013 biography ''Life on Two Legs'' in which he recalls his pleasure in recording the track at Trident.{{sfn|Sheffield|2013|pp=9–10}}}}

===Mixing===
Scott, Martin and the Beatles mixed the finished recording at Abbey Road.<ref name="Hunt/MojoSpecial"/> The transfer of the Trident master tape to [[Acetate disc|acetate]] proved problematic due to the recording sounding murky when played back on EMI's equipment.<ref name="Hunt/MojoSpecial"/> The issue was resolved with the help of [[Geoff Emerick]],{{sfn|Riley|2011|p=408}} whom Scott had recently replaced as the Beatles' principal recording engineer.<ref>{{cite magazine |first=Damian |last=Fanelli |title=Abbey Road Engineer Ken Scott Discusses Recording the Beatles' White Album, Says Sessions Were a Blast |magazine=[[Guitar World]] |date=30 April 2012 |access-date=19 June 2015 |url=https://www.guitarworld.com/interview-abbey-road-engineer-ken-scott-discusses-recording-beatles-white-album-says-sessions-were-blast |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20141129065902/http://www.guitarworld.com/interview-abbey-road-engineer-ken-scott-discusses-recording-beatles-white-album-says-sessions-were-blast |archive-date=29 November 2014}}</ref> Emerick happened to be visiting Abbey Road,{{sfn|Riley|2011|pp=407–08}} having recently refused to work with the Beatles any longer, due to the tension and abuse that had become commonplace at their recording sessions.{{sfn|Lewisohn|1988|p=143}}{{sfn|Miles|2001|p=303}} A stereo mix of "Hey Jude" was then completed on 2 August and the mono version on 8 August.{{sfn|Everett|1999|p=195}}{{refn|group=nb|Writing in his 2006 memoir, Emerick says that "Obviously something at Trident had been misaligned", and the solution for "Hey Jude" was to add "massive amounts of treble [[Equalization (audio)|equalization]]".{{sfn|Emerick|Massey|2006|p=260}}}}

Musicologist [[Walter Everett (musicologist)|Walter Everett]] writes that the song's "most commented-on feature" is its considerable length, at 7:11.{{sfn|Everett|1999|p=192}} Like McCartney,{{sfn|Spizer|2003|p=32}} Martin was concerned that radio stations would not play the track because of the length, but Lennon insisted: "They will if it's us."<ref name="RS GreatestBeatlesSongs"/> According to [[Ken Mansfield]], Apple's US manager, McCartney remained unconvinced until Mansfield previewed the record for some American disc jockeys and reported that they were highly enthusiastic about the song.{{sfn|Spizer|2003|p=34}} "Hey Jude" was one second longer than [[Richard Harris]]'s recent hit recording of "[[MacArthur Park (song)|MacArthur Park]]",{{sfn|Du Noyer|1996|p=56}} the composer of which, [[Jimmy Webb]], was a visitor to the studio around this time.{{sfn|MacDonald|1998|p=266fn}} According to Webb, Martin admitted to him that "Hey Jude" was only allowed to run over seven minutes because of the success of "MacArthur Park".<ref>{{cite news |first=Dave |last=Simpson |title=How we made MacArthur Park |newspaper=[[The Guardian]] |date=11 November 2014 |access-date=16 December 2014 |url=https://www.theguardian.com/culture/2013/nov/11/how-we-made-macarthur-park |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20141217000242/http://www.theguardian.com/culture/2013/nov/11/how-we-made-macarthur-park |archive-date=17 December 2014 |url-status=live}}</ref>{{refn|group=nb|McCartney recalled that the Beatles had not planned for the coda to last four minutes, but he was "having such fun ad-libbing" that they kept the performance going.{{sfn|Sullivan|2013|p=117}}}} Pleased with the result, McCartney played an acetate copy of "Hey Jude" at a party held by [[Mick Jagger]], at Vesuvio's nightclub in central London, to celebrate the completion of [[the Rolling Stones]]' ''[[Beggars Banquet]]'' album. The song upstaged the Stones' album and, in author John Winn's description, "reportedly ruin[ed]" the party.{{sfn|Winn|2009|p=147}}

In the song's final bridge section, at 2:58, the spoken phrase "Fucking hell!" appears, uttered by Lennon.{{sfn|Womack|2014|p=391}} Scott admits that although he was told about it, he could not hear the words originally.<ref name="Hunt/MojoSpecial"/> [[Malcolm Toft]], the mix engineer on the Trident recording,<ref>{{cite magazine |title=Malcolm Toft: MTA & Trident |date=July 1994 |magazine=[[Sound on Sound]] |access-date=22 June 2015 |url=http://www.soundonsound.com/sos/1994_articles/jul94/malcolmtoft.html |archive-date=22 June 2015 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20150622043908/http://www.soundonsound.com/sos/1994_articles/jul94/malcolmtoft.html |url-status=live}}</ref> recalled that Lennon was overdubbing his harmony vocal when, in reaction to the volume being too loud in his headphones, he first called out "Whoa!" then, two seconds later, swore as he pulled the headphones off.{{sfn|Ryan|Kehew|2006|pp=488–89}}{{refn|group=nb|Toft adds: "because it had been bounced down [mixed] with the main vocal, it could not be removed. I just managed to bring the fader down for a split second on the mix to try to lessen the effect."{{sfn|Ryan|Kehew|2006|pp=488–89}}}} In his 2021 book ''[[The Lyrics: 1956 to the Present|The Lyrics]]'', however, McCartney recalls that he uttered the expletive (rather than Lennon) when he missed a piano chord.<ref>{{cite book |last=McCartney |first=Paul |title=The Lyrics: 1956 to the Present |date=2021 |publisher=Liveright |isbn=9781324091134 |page=283}}</ref>

==Composition and structure==
"Hey Jude" begins with McCartney singing lead vocals and playing the piano. The patterns he plays are based on three chords: F, C and B{{music|flat}} (I, V and IV).{{sfn|Lowry|2002|p=44}} The main chord progression is "flipped on its head", in Hertsgaard's words, for the coda, since the C chord is replaced by E{{music|flat}}.{{sfn|Hertsgaard|1995|pp=249–250}} Everett comments that McCartney's melody over the verses borrows in part from [[John Ireland (composer)|John Ireland]]'s 1907 [[Liturgical music|liturgical]] piece ''Te Deum'', as well as (with the first change to a B{{music|flat}} chord) suggesting the influence of [[the Drifters]]' 1960 hit "[[Save the Last Dance for Me]]".{{sfn|Everett|1999|p=192}}{{refn|group=nb|McCartney later acknowledged that part of the verse for "Hey Jude" originated from "when I was fooling around with 'Save the Last Dance for Me' on guitar".{{sfn|Clayson|2003a|pp=99–100}}}}

The second verse of the song adds accompaniment from acoustic guitar and tambourine. Tim Riley writes that, with the "restrained tom-tom and cymbal fill" that introduces the drum part, "the piano shifts downward to add a flat seventh to the tonic chord, making the downbeat of the bridge the point of arrival ('And any time you feel the {{em|pain}}{{'}})."{{sfn|Riley|2002|p=252}} At the end of each bridge, McCartney sings a brief phrase ("Na-na-na na ..."), supported by an electric guitar fill,{{sfn|Everett|1999|p=194}} before playing a piano fill that leads to the next verse. According to Riley, this vocal phrase serves to "reorient the harmony for the verse as the piano figure turns upside down into a vocal aside". Additional musical details, such as tambourine on the third verse and subtle harmonies accompanying the lead vocal, are added to sustain interest throughout the four-verse, two-bridge song.{{sfn|Riley|2002|p=253}}

The verse-bridge structure persists for approximately three minutes, after which the band leads into a four-minute-long coda, consisting of nineteen rounds of the song's double [[plagal cadence]].{{sfn|Everett|1999|p=192}} During this coda, the rest of the band, backed by an orchestra that also provides backing vocals, repeats the phrase "Na-na-na na" followed by the words "hey Jude" until the song gradually fades out.{{refn|group=nb|Author [[John Kruth]] writes that McCartney might have taken the idea for the closing refrain from [[Cannibal & the Headhunters]]' 1965 hit "[[Land of a Thousand Dances]]", the main [[Hook (music)|hook]] of which is a series of "extended 'nah nah nah nah nahs{{'"}}. This band, whom McCartney nicknamed "the Nah Nah Boys", were his choice for the Beatles' support act on their [[The Beatles' 1965 US tour|1965 US tour]].{{sfn|Kruth|2015|pp=22–23}}}} In his analysis of the composition, musicologist [[Alan W. Pollack|Alan Pollack]] comments on the unusual structure of "Hey Jude", in that it uses a "binary form that combines a fully developed, hymn-like song together with an extended, [[mantra]]-like jam on a simple chord progression".<ref name="Pollack"/>

Riley considers that the coda's repeated chord sequence (I–{{music|flat}}VII–IV–I) "answers all the musical questions raised at the beginnings and ends of bridges", since "The flat seventh that posed dominant turns into bridges now has an entire chord built on it." This three-chord refrain allows McCartney "a bedding ... to leap about on vocally",{{sfn|Riley|2002|p=254}} so he ad-libs his vocal performance for the rest of the song. In Riley's estimation, the song "becomes a tour of Paul's vocal range: from the graceful inviting tones of the opening verse, through the mounting excitement of the song itself, to the surging raves of the coda".{{sfn|Riley|2002|p=255}}

==Release==
{{quote box|quote=[The Beatles] are confident and cheerful and the human condition will be thrilled by the coming results of their willing and enduring Beatle bondage ... they will give all of us new wonders to soothe our pain.{{sfn|Doggett|2011|pp=49, 359}}|source=– [[Derek Taylor]], "Hey Jude" press release, August 1968|width=25%|align=right|style=padding:8px;}}
"Hey Jude" was released on a 7-inch single on 26 August 1968 in the United States and 30 August in the United Kingdom,{{sfn|Castleman|Podrazik|1976|pp=67–68}} backed with "[[Revolution (Beatles song)|Revolution]]" on the [[A-side and B-side|B-side]].{{sfn|Lewisohn|1988|p=200}} It was one of four singles issued simultaneously to launch Apple Records – the others being Mary Hopkin's "[[Those Were the Days (song)|Those Were the Days]]", Jackie Lomax's "[[Sour Milk Sea]]", and the Black Dyke Mills Band's "Thingumybob".{{sfn|Miles|2001|p=306}} In advance of the release date, Apple declared 11–18 August to be "National Apple Week" in the UK,{{sfn|Miles|2001|p=306}}<ref>Black, Johnny. "A Slice of History". In: {{harvnb|''Mojo Special Limited Edition''|2003|p=90}}.</ref> and sent gift-wrapped boxes of the records, marked "Our First Four", to [[Queen Elizabeth II]] and other members of the [[British Royal Family|royal family]], and to [[Harold Wilson]], the prime minister.{{sfn|Schaffner|1978|p=111}} The release was promoted by [[Derek Taylor]], who, in author [[Peter Doggett]]'s description, "hyped the first Apple records with typical elan".{{sfn|Doggett|2011|p=49}} "Hey Jude" was the first of the four singles, since it was still designated as an EMI/Parlophone release in the UK and a [[Capitol Records|Capitol]] release in the US, but with the Apple Records logo now added.{{sfn|Sounes|2010|p=223}}{{refn|group=nb|The catalogue numbers for "Hey Jude"/"Revolution" – Apple 5722 in the UK and 2276 in the US – were consistent with the numerical sequencing of the Beatles' previous releases on Parlophone and Capitol. Apple's other three debut singles followed a new sequencing, starting with "Those Were the Days", which was issued as Apple 2 and Apple 1801.{{sfn|Castleman|Podrazik|1976|p=301}}}} In the US, "Hey Jude" was the first Capitol-distributed Beatles single to be issued without a picture sleeve.{{sfn|Spizer|2003|p=36}} Instead, the record was presented in a black sleeve bearing the words "The Beatles on Apple".{{sfn|Spizer|2003|p=36}}

Author [[Philip Norman (author)|Philip Norman]] comments that aside from "Sour Milk Sea", which Harrison wrote and produced, the first Apple A-sides were all "either written, vocalised, discovered or produced" by McCartney.{{sfn|Norman|2016|p=337}} Lennon wanted "Revolution" to be the A-side of the Beatles single, but his bandmates opted for "Hey Jude".{{sfn|Riley|2011|pp=406, 408}}{{sfn|Spizer|2003|p=34}} In his 1970 interview with ''[[Rolling Stone]]'', he said "Hey Jude" was worthy of an A-side, "but we could have had both."<ref>{{cite book |first=Jann S. |last=Wenner |author-link=Jann Wenner |year=2000 |title=Lennon Remembers (Full interview from Lennon's 1970 interview in Rolling Stone magazine) |publisher=Verso |location=London |page=[https://archive.org/details/lennonremembers00lenn_0/page/110 110] |isbn=1-85984-600-9 |url=https://archive.org/details/lennonremembers00lenn_0/page/110}}</ref> In 1980, he told ''[[Playboy]]'' he still disagreed with the decision.{{sfn|Sheff|2000|p=187}}

Doggett describes "Hey Jude" as a song that "glowed with optimism after a summer that had burned with anxiety and rage within the group and in the troubled world beyond".{{sfn|Doggett|2011|pp=49–50}} The single's release coincided with the violent subjugation of [[Vietnam War]] protestors at the [[1968 Democratic National Convention|Democratic National Convention]] in Chicago, and condemnation in the West of the Soviet-led [[Warsaw Pact invasion of Czechoslovakia|invasion of Czechoslovakia]] and its crushing of attempts to introduce democratic reforms there.{{sfn|Gould|2007|pp=493–94}} In this climate, Lennon's espousal of a pacifist agenda over violent confrontation in "Revolution" drew heavy criticism from [[New Left]] activists.{{sfn|MacDonald|2005|p=17}} By contrast, with its more universal message, "Hey Jude" was adopted as an anthem by Czech citizens in their struggle.{{sfn|Courrier|2009|pp=207–08}}

The song was first released on an album in February 1970, as the title track to Capitol's North American compilation ''[[Hey Jude (Beatles album)|Hey Jude]]''.{{sfn|Everett|1999|p=273}}{{sfn|Spizer|2003|pp=185–86}} The album was conceived as a way to generate income for the Beatles by [[Allen Klein]],{{sfn|Doggett|2011|p=112}}{{sfn|Miles|2001|p=370}} the American businessman who, despite McCartney's strong opposition, the other Beatles had appointed to manage the ailing Apple organisation in 1969. The first UK album release of the song was in 1973 on the Beatles' ''[[1967–1970]]'' compilation, and the first release on CD was in 1988 when it was included on the ''[[Past Masters, Volume Two]]'' compilation. It was also released on ''[[20 Greatest Hits (Beatles album)|20 Greatest Hits]]'', the ''1967–1970'' double CD and the single-CD compilation ''[[1 (Beatles album)|1]]''.{{sfn|Womack|2014|p=392}}

==Promotion==
===Apple shop window graffiti===
A failed early promotional attempt for the single took place after the Beatles' all-night recording session on 7–8 August 1968.{{sfn|Miles|2001|pp=305–06}} With [[Apple Boutique]] having closed a week before, McCartney and Francie Schwartz painted ''Hey Jude/Revolution'' across its large, [[whitewash]]ed shop windows.{{sfn|Sounes|2010|p=222}}{{sfn|Norman|2016|pp=338–39}} The words were mistaken for [[anti-Semitism|antisemitic]] graffiti (since ''Jude'' means "Jew" in German),{{sfn|Sounes|2010|p=222}} leading to complaints from the local Jewish community,{{sfn|Miles|2001|p=306}}{{sfn|Womack|2014|pp=391–92}} and the windows being smashed by a passer-by.{{sfn|Norman|2016|p=339}}

Discussing the episode in ''[[The Beatles Anthology (book)|The Beatles Anthology]]'', McCartney explained that he had been motivated by the location – "Great opportunity. [[Baker Street]], millions of buses going around{{nbsp}}..." – and added: "I had no idea it meant 'Jew', but if you look at footage of [[Nazi Germany]], {{'}}''Juden Raus''{{'}} was written in whitewashed windows with a [[Star of David]]. I swear it never occurred to me."{{sfn|The Beatles|2000|p=297}} According to [[Barry Miles]], McCartney caused further controversy in his comments to Alan Smith of the ''NME'' that month, when, in an interview designed to promote the single,<ref>{{cite magazine |first=Ian |last=Fortnam |title=You Say You Want a Revolution ... |magazine=[[Classic Rock (magazine)|Classic Rock]] |date=October 2014 |page=41}}</ref> he said: "Starvation in India doesn't worry me one bit, not one iota ... And it doesn't worry you, if you're honest. You just pose."{{sfn|Miles|2001|p=306}}{{refn|group=nb|Having told Smith, "The truth about me is that I'm pleasantly insincere", McCartney said: "You can't pretend to me that an [[Oxfam]] ad can reach down into the depths of your soul and actually make you feel for those [starving] people – more, for instance, than you feel about getting a new car."{{sfn|Miles|2001|p=306}}}}

===Promotional film===
[[File:Beatles "Hey Jude" promo clip.jpg|thumb|upright=1.5|The Beatles performing in the "Hey Jude" promotional film, surrounded by members of the studio audience]]
The Beatles hired [[Michael Lindsay-Hogg]] to shoot promotional clips for "Hey Jude" and "Revolution", after he had previously directed the clips for "[[Paperback Writer]]" and "[[Rain (Beatles song)|Rain]]" in 1966.<ref>{{cite news |first=Neil |last=McCormick |title=Did the Beatles invent the pop video? |newspaper=[[The Daily Telegraph]] |date=11 November 2015 |access-date=21 March 2019 |url=https://www.telegraph.co.uk/music/artists/did-the-beatles-invent-the-pop-video/ |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20190329195138/https://www.telegraph.co.uk/music/artists/did-the-beatles-invent-the-pop-video/ |archive-date=29 March 2019 |url-status=live}}</ref>{{sfn|Spizer|2003|pp=34–35}} For "Hey Jude", they settled on the idea of shooting with a live, albeit controlled, audience.<ref name="Cushley/MojoSpecial"/> In the clip, the Beatles are first seen by themselves, performing the initial chorus and verses, before the audience moves forward and joins them in singing the coda.{{sfn|Spizer|2003|p=35}} The decision was made to hire an orchestra and for the vocals to be sung live, to circumvent the [[Musicians' Union (United Kingdom)|Musicians' Union]]'s ban on miming on television, but otherwise the Beatles performed to a backing track.{{sfn|Miles|2001|p=309}} Lindsay-Hogg shot the clip at [[Twickenham Film Studios]] on 4 September 1968.{{sfn|Winn|2009|p=208}} Tony Bramwell, a friend of the Beatles, later described the set as "the piano, there; drums, there; and orchestra in two tiers at the back."<ref>{{cite web |title=Oral history of the Beatles' Hey Jude |work=[[CBC Radio]] |date=5 September 2018 |access-date=9 September 2018 |url=https://www.cbc.ca/radio/q/tuesday-september-4-2018-alan-lee-esi-edugyan-and-more-1.4808886/oral-history-of-the-beatles-hey-jude-1.4808892}}</ref><ref name="Cushley/MojoSpecial">Cushley, Joe. "Boys on Film". In: {{harvnb|''Mojo Special Limited Edition''|2003|p=31}}.</ref> The event marked Starr's return to the group,{{sfn|Lewisohn|1988|p=151}} after McCartney's criticism of his drumming had led to him walking out during a session for the ''White Album'' track "[[Back in the U.S.S.R.]]"{{sfn|Hertsgaard|1996|pp=250–51}}{{sfn|Clayson|2003b|pp=183–84}} Starr was absent for two weeks.{{sfn|Lewisohn|1988|p=151}}

The final edit was a combination of two different takes{{sfn|Spizer|2003|p=35}} and included "introductions" to the song by [[David Frost]] (who introduced the Beatles as "the greatest tea-room orchestra in the world"){{sfn|Winn|2009|p=208}} and [[Cliff Richard]], for their respective TV programmes.<ref name="Pinchabout">{{cite news |first=Emma |last=Pinchabout |date=6 March 2009 |title=Marc Sinden on John Lennon: We were in the presence of God |newspaper=[[Liverpool Daily Post]] |access-date=10 May 2019 |url=http://www.liverpooldailypost.co.uk/liverpool-life-features/liverpool-special-features/2009/03/06/marc-sinden-on-john-lennon-we-were-in-the-presence-of-god-92534-23077241 |archive-date=10 March 2009 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20090310053521/http://www.liverpooldailypost.co.uk/liverpool-life-features/liverpool-special-features/2009/03/06/marc-sinden-on-john-lennon-we-were-in-the-presence-of-god-92534-23077241}}</ref> It first aired in the UK on ''Frost on Sunday'' on 8 September 1968,{{sfn|Miles|2001|p=309}} two weeks after Lennon and Ono had appeared on the show to promote their views on [[performance art]] and the [[avant-garde]].{{sfn|Norman|2016|p=338}} The "Hey Jude" clip was broadcast in the United States on ''[[The Smothers Brothers Comedy Hour]]'' on 6 October.{{sfn|Schultheiss|1980|p=222}}

According to Riley, the ''Frost on Sunday'' broadcast "kicked 'Hey Jude' into the stratosphere" in terms of popularity.{{sfn|Riley|2011|p=412}} Norman comments that it evoked "palpable general relief" for viewers who had watched Frost's show two weeks before, as Lennon now adopted a supporting role to McCartney, and Ono was "nowhere in sight".{{sfn|Norman|2016|p=338}} Hertsgaard pairs the band's performance with the release of the animated film ''[[Yellow Submarine (film)|Yellow Submarine]]'' as two events that created "a state of nirvana" for Beatles fans, in contrast with the problems besetting the band regarding Ono's influence and Apple.{{sfn|Hertsgaard|1996|pp=247, 250}} Referring to the sight of the Beatles engulfed by a crowd made up of "young, old, male, female, black, brown, and white" fans, Hertsgaard describes the promotional clip as "a quintessential sixties moment, a touching tableau of contentment and togetherness".{{sfn|Hertsgaard|1996|p=250}}

The 4 September 1968 promo clip is included in the Beatles' 2015 video compilation ''1'', while the three-disc versions of that compilation, titled ''1+'', also include an alternate video, with a different introduction and vocal, from the same date.<ref>{{cite web |first=Matt |last=Rowe |title=The Beatles 1 to Be Reissued with New Audio Remixes... and Videos |work=The Morton Report |date=18 September 2015 |access-date=1 January 2016 |url=http://www.themortonreport.com/entertainment/music/the-beatles-1-to-be-reissued-with-new-audio-remixesand-videos |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20151229085947/http://www.themortonreport.com/entertainment/music/the-beatles-1-to-be-reissued-with-new-audio-remixesand-videos/ |archive-date=29 December 2015 |url-status=live}}</ref>

==Critical reception==
In his contemporary review of the single, Derek Johnson of ''[[NME]]'' wrote: "The intriguing features of 'Hey Jude' are its extreme length and the 40-piece orchestral accompaniment – and personally I would have preferred it without either!" While he viewed the track overall as "a beautiful, compelling song", and the first three minutes as "absolutely sensational", Johnson rued the long coda's "vocal improvisations on the basically repetitive four-bar chorus".<ref>{{cite magazine |first=Derek |last=Johnson |title=The Beatles 'Hey Jude'/'Revolution' (Apple) |magazine=[[NME]] |date=31 August 1968 |page=6}}</ref> Johnson nevertheless concluded that "Hey Jude" and "Revolution" "prove beyond a shadow of a doubt that the Beatles are still streets ahead of their rivals".<ref>{{cite book |editor-first=Steve |editor-last=Sutherland |year=2003 |title=NME Originals: Lennon |publisher=IPC Ignite! |location=London |page=51}}</ref> [[Chris Welch]] of ''[[Melody Maker]]'' said he had initially been unimpressed, but came to greatly admire "Hey Jude" for its "slow, heavy, piano-ridden beat, sensuous, soulful vocals and nice thumpy drums". He added that the track would have benefited from being edited in length, as the climactic ending was "a couple of minutes too long".<ref>{{cite magazine |first=Chris |last=Welch |title=Yes, They Do Grow on You! |magazine=[[Melody Maker]] |date=31 August 1968 |page=17}}</ref>

''[[Cashbox (magazine)|Cash Box]]''{{'}}s reviewer said that the extended fadeout, having been a device pioneered by the Beatles on "[[All You Need Is Love]]", "becomes something of an art form" in "Hey Jude", comprising a "trance-like ceremonial that becomes almost timeless in its continuity".<ref>{{cite magazine |title=Cash Box Record Reviews |magazine=[[Cashbox (magazine)|Cash Box]] |date=7 September 1968 |page=20 |url=https://worldradiohistory.com/Archive-All-Music/Cash-Box/60s/1968/CB-1968-09-07.pdf}}</ref> ''[[Time (magazine)|Time]]'' magazine described it as "a fadeout that engagingly spoofs the fadeout as a gimmick for ending [[Pop music|pop]] records". The reviewer contrasted "Hey Jude" with "Revolution", saying that McCartney's song "urges activism of a different sort" by "liltingly exhort[ing] a friend to overcome his fears and commit himself in love".<ref name="Time">{{cite magazine |author=Time staff |title=Recordings: Apples for the Beatles |magazine=[[Time (magazine)|Time]] |page=59 |date=6 September 1968 |access-date=9 August 2007 |url-access=subscription |url=http://content.time.com/time/magazine/article/0,9171,900338,00.html |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20140710205920/http://content.time.com/time/magazine/article/0,9171,900338,00.html |archive-date=10 July 2014 |url-status=live}}</ref> Catherine Manfredi of ''[[Rolling Stone]]'' also read the lyrics as a message from McCartney to Lennon to end his negative relationships with women: "to break the old pattern; to really go through with love". Manfredi commented on the duality of the song's eponymous protagonist as a representation of good, in [[Jude the Apostle|Saint Jude]], "the Patron of that which is called Impossible", and of evil, in [[Judas Iscariot]].<ref>{{cite magazine |first=Catherine |last=Manfredi |title=Singles |magazine=[[Rolling Stone]] |date=12 October 1968 |page=12}}</ref> Other commentators interpreted "Hey Jude" as being directed at [[Bob Dylan]], then semi-retired in [[Woodstock, New York|Woodstock]].{{sfn|MacDonald|1998|p=266}}{{sfn|Carr|Tyler|1978|p=73}}

Writing in 1971, [[Robert Christgau]] of ''[[The Village Voice]]'' called it "one of [McCartney's] truest and most forthright love songs" and said that McCartney's romantic side was ill-served by the inclusion of {{"'}}[[I Will]]', a piece of fluff" on ''The Beatles''.<ref>{{cite news |first=Robert |last=Christgau |author-link=Robert Christgau |title=Now That We Can't Be Beatles Fans Anymore |newspaper=[[The Village Voice]] |date=25 March 2020 |orig-year=30 September 1971 |access-date=26 August 2020 |url=https://www.villagevoice.com/2020/03/25/now-that-we-cant-be-beatles-fans-anymore/|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20200325225205/https://www.villagevoice.com/2020/03/25/now-that-we-cant-be-beatles-fans-anymore/|url-status=dead|archive-date=25 March 2020}}</ref> In their 1975 book ''[[The Beatles: An Illustrated Record]]'', critics [[Roy Carr]] and [[Tony Tyler]] wrote that "Hey Jude" "promised great things" for the ill-conceived Apple enterprise and described the song as "the last great Beatles single recorded ''specifically'' for the 45s market". They commented also that "the epic proportions of the piece" encouraged many imitators, yet these other artists "[failed] to capture the gentleness and sympathy of the Beatles' communal feel".{{sfn|Carr|Tyler|1978|p=73}} Walter Everett admires the melody as a "marvel of construction, contrasting wide leaps with stepwise motions, sustained tones with rapid movement, syllabic with melismatic word-setting, and tension ... with resolution".{{sfn|Everett|1999|p=192}} He cites [[Van Morrison]]'s "[[Astral Weeks (song)|Astral Weeks]]", [[Donovan]]'s "[[Atlantis (Donovan song)|Atlantis]]", [[the Moody Blues]]' "[[Never Comes the Day]]" and [[the Allman Brothers]]' "Revival" among the many songs with "mantralike repeated sections" that followed the release of "Hey Jude".{{sfn|Everett|1999|p=195}}{{refn|group=nb|The long ending on [[Simon & Garfunkel]]'s 1969 single "[[The Boxer]]" resulted from [[Art Garfunkel]] and producer [[Roy Halee]] seeking to re-create the expansiveness of "Hey Jude{{"'}}s coda.{{sfn|Sullivan|2013|p=228}}}} In his entry for the song in his 1993 book ''Rock and Roll: The 100 Best Singles'', [[Paul Williams (Crawdaddy)|Paul Williams]] describes it as a "song about breathing". He adds: {{"'}}Hey Jude' kicks ass like [[Van Gogh]] or [[Beethoven]] in their prime. It is, let's say, one of the wonders of this corner of creation ... It opens out like the sky at night or the idea of the existence of God."{{sfn|Sullivan|2013|p=116}}

Alan Pollack highlights the song as "such a good illustration of two compositional lessons – how to fill a large canvas with simple means, and how to use diverse elements such as harmony, bassline, and orchestration to articulate form and contrast."<ref name="Pollack">{{cite web |first=Alan W. |last=Pollack |title=Notes on 'Hey Jude' |year=2000 |website=Soundscapes |access-date=27 August 2009 |url=http://www.icce.rug.nl/~soundscapes/DATABASES/AWP/hj.shtml |archive-date=31 August 2009 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20090831125904/http://www.icce.rug.nl/~soundscapes/DATABASES/AWP/hj.shtml |url-status=dead}}</ref> Pollack says that the long coda provides "an astonishingly transcendental effect",<ref name="Pollack"/> while [[AllMusic]]'s [[Richie Unterberger]] similarly opines: "What could have very easily been boring is instead hypnotic because McCartney varies the vocal with some of the greatest nonsense scatting ever heard in [[Rock music|rock]], ranging from mantra-like chants to soulful lines to [[James Brown]] power screams."<ref name="Unterberger/AM"/> In his book ''[[Revolution in the Head]]'', [[Ian MacDonald]] wrote that the "pseudo-[[Soul music|soul]] shrieking in the fade-out may be a blemish" but he praised the song as "a [[Pop rock|pop/rock]] hybrid drawing on the best of both idioms".{{sfn|MacDonald|1998|p=265}} MacDonald concluded: {{"'}}Hey Jude' strikes a universal note, touching on an archetypal moment in male sexual psychology with a gentle wisdom one might properly call inspired."{{sfn|MacDonald|1998|p=266}} Lennon said the song was "one of [McCartney's] masterpieces".{{sfn|Sheff|2000|p=186}}

==Commercial performance==
The single was a highly successful debut for Apple Records,{{sfn|Doggett|2011|p=52}}{{sfn|Sullivan|2013|p=118}} a result that contrasted with the public embarrassment the band faced after the recent closure of their short-lived retail venture, Apple Boutique.{{sfn|Riley|2011|p=408}} In the description of music journalist [[Paul Du Noyer]], the song's "monumental quality ... amazed the public in 1968"; in addition, the release silenced detractors in the British mainstream press who had relished the opportunity to criticise the band for their December 1967 television special, ''[[Magical Mystery Tour (film)|Magical Mystery Tour]]'', and their trip to Rishikesh in early 1968.{{sfn|Du Noyer|1996|pp=54–55}} In the US, the single similarly brought an end to speculation that the Beatles' popularity might be diminishing, after "[[Lady Madonna]]" had peaked at number 4.{{sfn|Spizer|2003|p=31}}

"Hey Jude" reached the top of Britain's ''[[Record Retailer]]'' chart (subsequently adopted as the [[UK Singles Chart]]) in September 1968. It lasted two weeks on top before being replaced by Hopkin's "Those Were the Days",{{sfn|Norman|2016|p=338}} which McCartney helped promote.{{sfn|Miles|2001|pp=309, 311}} "Hey Jude" was certified [[RIAA certification|gold]] by the [[Recording Industry Association of America]] (RIAA) on 13 September; that same week, ''NME'' reported that two million copies of the single had been sold.{{sfn|Schultheiss|1980|p=220}} The song entered the [[Billboard Hot 100|''Billboard'' Hot 100]] in the US on 14 September, beginning a nineteen-week chart run there.{{sfn|Castleman|Podrazik|1976|p=350}} It reached number one on 28 September and held that position for nine weeks,{{sfn|Norman|2016|p=338}} for three of which "Those Were the Days" held the number-two spot.{{sfn|Castleman|Podrazik|1976|p=350}} This was the longest run at number one for a single in the US until 1977.{{sfn|Everett|1999|p=195}}{{sfn|Womack|2014|p=392}} The song was the 16th number-one hit there for the Beatles.<ref name="Brownfield/SEP">{{cite magazine |first=Troy |last=Brownfield |title=50 Years Ago: The Beatles Release Two Classics on One Single |magazine=[[The Saturday Evening Post]] |date=24 August 2018 |access-date=14 June 2019 |url=https://www.saturdayeveningpost.com/2018/08/50-years-ago-beatles-release-two-classics-one-single-2/}}</ref> ''Billboard'' ranked it as the [[Billboard Year-End Hot 100 singles of 1968|number-one song for 1968]].<ref name="Brownfield/SEP"/> In Australia, "Hey Jude" was number one for 13 weeks, which remained a record there until [[ABBA]]'s "[[Fernando (song)|Fernando]]" in 1976.{{sfn|Sullivan|2013|p=116}} It also topped the charts in Belgium, Brazil, Canada (3 weeks), Denmark, France, the [[Irish Singles Chart]], Malaysia, the Netherlands, New Zealand, Norway, the Philippines, Singapore, Spain, Sweden, Switzerland, and [[West Germany]].{{sfn|Sullivan|2013|p=116}}

On 30 November 1968, ''NME'' reported that sales had reached nearly six million copies worldwide.{{sfn|Schultheiss|1980|p=226}}{{sfn|Miles|2001|p=321}} By 1999, "Hey Jude" had sold an estimated eight million copies worldwide.{{sfn|Everett|1999|p=195}} That year, it was certified [[RIAA certification|4× platinum]] by the RIAA, representing four million units shipped in the US.<ref>{{cite web |title=Gold & Platinum – The Beatles – Hey Jude |publisher=[[Recording Industry Association of America]] |access-date=20 May 2016 |url=https://www.riaa.com/gold-platinum/?tab_active=default-award&ar=the+beatles&ti=hey+jude |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20160603023907/http://www.riaa.com/gold-platinum/?tab_active=default-award&ar=the+beatles&ti=hey+jude |archive-date=3 June 2016 |url-status=live}}</ref> As of December 2018, "Hey Jude" was the 54th-best-selling single of all time in the UK – one of six Beatles songs included on the top sales rankings published by the [[Official Charts Company]].<ref>{{cite web |first=Justin |last=Myers |title=The best-selling singles of all time on the Official UK Chart |publisher=[[Official Charts Company]] |date=14 December 2018 |access-date=10 February 2019 |url=https://www.officialcharts.com/chart-news/the-best-selling-singles-of-all-time-on-the-official-uk-chart__21298/ |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20190301171831/https://www.officialcharts.com/chart-news/the-best-selling-singles-of-all-time-on-the-official-uk-chart__21298/ |archive-date=1 March 2019 |url-status=live}}</ref> It has since been described as an international global hit.<ref>{{Cite book |title=The Cambridge Companion to the Beatles |chapter=On their way home: the Beatles in 1969 and 1970 |chapter-url=https://books.google.com/books?id=vW75rdouJD0C&pg=PA128 |page=128 |isbn=978-0-521-86965-2 |last1=Womack |first1=Kenneth |date=12 November 2009 |publisher=Cambridge University Press}}</ref><ref>{{Cite book |last=Womack |first=Kenneth |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=yU2WDwAAQBAJ&dq=hey+jude+global+hit&pg=PA10 |title=Solid State: The Story of "Abbey Road" and the End of the Beatles |date=15 October 2019 |publisher=Cornell University Press |isbn=978-1-5017-4686-4 |page=10 |language=en}}</ref>

==Awards and accolades==
"Hey Jude" was nominated for the [[11th Annual Grammy Awards|Grammy Awards of 1969]] in the categories of [[Grammy Award for Record of the Year|Record of the Year]], [[Grammy Award for Song of the Year|Song of the Year]] and [[Grammy Award for Best Pop Performance by a Duo or Group with Vocals|Best Pop Performance by a Duo or Group with Vocal]], but failed to win any of them.<ref>{{cite news |title=Awards Database |newspaper=[[Los Angeles Times]] |year=2007 |access-date=4 March 2007 |url=http://theenvelope.latimes.com/factsheets/awardsdb/env-awards-db-search,0,7169155.htmlstory?searchtype=all&query=the+beatles&x=26&y=17 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20080312031100/http://theenvelope.latimes.com/factsheets/awardsdb/env-awards-db-search,0,7169155.htmlstory?searchtype=all&query=the+beatles&x=26&y=17 |archive-date=12 March 2008 |url-status=dead}}</ref> In the 1968 ''NME'' Readers' Poll, "Hey Jude" was named the best single of the year,{{sfn|Miles|2001|p=322}} and the song also won the 1968 [[Ivor Novello Awards|Ivor Novello Award]] for "A-Side With the Highest Sales".<ref>{{cite web |title=The Ivor Novello Awards 1968 |year=2006 |work=This Day in Music |url-status=dead |url=http://www.thisdayinmusic.com/cont/awards/awards68.html |archive-date=4 November 2007 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20071104022551/http://www.thisdayinmusic.com/cont/awards/awards68.html}}</ref> "Hey Jude" was inducted into the [[National Academy of Recording Arts and Sciences]] [[Grammy Hall of Fame]] in 2001{{sfn|Womack|2014|p=391}} and it is one of the [[Rock and Roll Hall of Fame]]'s "500 Songs That Shaped [[Rock and roll|Rock & Roll]]".{{sfn|Sullivan|2013|p=116}}

In 2001, the 1968 release of "Hey Jude" on Apple Records was inducted into the Grammy Hall of Fame.<ref>{{Cite web |url=https://www.grammy.com/awards/hall-of-fame-award |title=GRAMMY Hall Of Fame &#124; Hall of Fame Artists &#124; GRAMMY.com |website=www.grammy.com}}</ref>

In 2004, ''Rolling Stone'' ranked "Hey Jude" at number eight on the "[[Rolling Stone's 500 Greatest Songs of All Time|500 Greatest Songs of All Time]]",{{sfn|Womack|2014|p=391}} making it the highest-placed Beatles song on the list;<ref>{{cite magazine |title=The RS 500 Greatest Songs of All Time (1–500) |magazine=[[Rolling Stone]] |url=https://www.rollingstone.com/news/coverstory/500songs/page/1 |archive-date=23 October 2006 |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20061023195417/http://www.rollingstone.com/news/coverstory/500songs/page/1}}</ref> it dropped to number 89 in the 2021 revised list.<ref>{{cite magazine |title=The 500 Greatest Songs of All Time > The Beatles, 'Hey Jude' |magazine=[[Rolling Stone]] |date=15 September 2021 |access-date=16 September 2021 |url=https://www.rollingstone.com/music/music-lists/best-songs-of-all-time-1224767/the-beatles-hey-jude-2-1225249/}}</ref> Among its many appearances in other best-song-of-all-time lists, [[VH1]] placed it ninth in 2000{{sfn|Sullivan|2013|p=116}} and ''[[Mojo (magazine)|Mojo]]'' ranked it at number 29 in the same year,{{sfn|Womack|2014|p=391}} having placed the song seventh in a 1997 list of "The 100 Greatest Singles of All Time". In 1976, ''NME'' ranked it 38th on the magazine's "Top 100 Singles of All Time", and the track appeared at number 77 on the same publication's "The 500 Greatest Songs of All Time" in 2014. In January 2001, "Hey Jude" came in third on [[Channel 4]]'s list of the "100 Greatest Singles".<ref>{{cite web |title=Channel 4: The 100 best singles |website=ProcolHarum.com |year=2006 |access-date=20 January 2006 |url=http://www.procolharum.com/99/awsop_gb+mf-100-bestlist.htm |archive-date=27 April 2006 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20060427222707/http://www.procolharum.com/99/awsop_gb+mf-100-bestlist.htm |url-status=live}}</ref> The Amusement & Music Operators Association ranks "Hey Jude" as the 11th-best [[jukebox]] single of all time.<ref>{{cite web |title=AMOA announces top 40 jukebox singles of all time |year=2006 |publisher=[[Broadcast Music, Inc.|BMI]] |url-status=dead |url=http://www.bmi.com/awards/jukebox.asp |archive-date=7 February 2005 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20050207065755/http://www.bmi.com/awards/jukebox.asp}}</ref> In 2008, the song appeared in eighth place on ''Billboard''{{'}}s "All Time Hot 100 Songs".{{sfn|Womack|2014|p=391}}

In July 2006, ''Mojo'' placed "Hey Jude" at number 12 on its list of "The 101 Greatest Beatles Songs".<ref>{{cite magazine |first=Phil |last=Alexander |display-authors=etal |title=The 101 Greatest Beatles Songs |magazine=[[Mojo (magazine)|Mojo]] |date=July 2006 |page=92}}</ref> On a similar list compiled four years later, ''Rolling Stone'' ranked the song at number seven.{{sfn|Womack|2014|p=391}}<ref name="RS GreatestBeatlesSongs">{{cite magazine |author=Rolling Stone staff |title=100 Greatest Beatles Songs: 7. Hey Jude |magazine=[[Rolling Stone]] |date=19 September 2011 |access-date=23 March 2019 |url=https://www.rollingstone.com/music/lists/100-greatest-beatles-songs-20110919/hey-jude-19691231 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20171124155754/http://www.rollingstone.com/music/lists/100-greatest-beatles-songs-20110919/hey-jude-19691231 |archive-date=24 November 2017 |url-status=live}}</ref> In 2015, the [[ITV (TV network)|ITV]] program ''The Nation's Favourite Beatles Number One'' ranked "Hey Jude" in first place.<ref>{{cite magazine |first=David |last=Renshaw |title='Hey Jude' voted UK's favourite Beatles Number One by ITV viewers |magazine=[[NME]] |date=12 November 2015 |access-date=21 December 2015 |url=https://www.nme.com/news/the-beatles/89666 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20151222125232/http://www.nme.com/news/the-beatles/89666 |archive-date=22 December 2015 |url-status=live}}</ref> In 2018, the music staff of ''[[Time Out London]]'' ranked it at number 49 on their list of the best Beatles songs. Writing in the magazine, Nick Levine said: "Don't allow yourself to overlook this song because of its sheer ubiquity ... 'Hey Jude' is a huge-hearted, super-emotional epic that climaxes with one of pop's most legendary hooks."<ref>{{cite web |title=The 50 Best Beatles songs |website=[[Time Out London]] |date=24 May 2018 |access-date=11 December 2018 |url=https://www.timeout.com/london/music/the-best-beatles-songs |archive-date=15 December 2018 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20181215173746/https://www.timeout.com/london/music/the-best-beatles-songs}}</ref>

==Auctioned lyrics and memorabilia==
[[File:Julian Lennon.jpg|thumb|upright|Julian Lennon (pictured at the [[John Lennon Peace Monument]] in 2010) bid successfully for the Beatles' recording notes for the song at an auction in 1996.]]
In his 1996 article about the single's release, for ''Mojo'', [[Paul Du Noyer]] said that the writing of "Hey Jude" had become "one of the best-known stories in Beatles folklore".{{sfn|Du Noyer|1996|p=55}} In a 2005 interview, Ono said that for McCartney and for Julian and Cynthia Lennon, the scenario was akin to a [[drama]], in that "Each person has something to be totally miserable about, because of the way they were put into this play. I have incredible sympathy for each of them."{{sfn|Doggett|2011|p=340}} Du Noyer quoted Cynthia Lennon as saying of "Hey Jude", "it always bring tears to my eyes, that song."{{sfn|Du Noyer|1996|p=55}}

Julian discovered that "Hey Jude" had been written for him almost 20 years after the fact. He recalled of his and McCartney's relationship: "Paul and I used to hang about quite a bit – more than Dad and I did. We had a great friendship going and there seems to be far more pictures of me and Paul playing together at that age than there are pictures of me and my dad."<ref>{{cite news |first=Justin Wm. |last=Moyer |title=How Cynthia Lennon's doomed marriage to John Lennon inspired 'Hey Jude' |newspaper=[[The Washington Post]] |date=2 April 2015 |access-date=23 March 2019 |url=https://www.washingtonpost.com/news/morning-mix/wp/2015/04/02/how-cynthia-lennons-doomed-marriage-to-john-lennon-inspired-hey-jude/ |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20190323182436/https://www.washingtonpost.com/news/morning-mix/wp/2015/04/02/how-cynthia-lennons-doomed-marriage-to-john-lennon-inspired-hey-jude/ |archive-date=23 March 2019 |url-status=live}}</ref> In 1996, Julian paid {{GBPConvert|25000|year=1996|to=USD|showdate=no|r=-3}} for the recording notes to "Hey Jude" at an auction.{{sfn|Everett|1999|p=347}} He spent a further {{GBPConvert|35000|year=1996|to=USD|showdate=no|r=-3}} at the auction, buying John Lennon memorabilia. John Cousins, Julian Lennon's manager, stated at the time: "He has a few photographs of his father, but not very much else. He is collecting for personal reasons; these are family heirlooms if you like."<ref>{{cite news |title=Lennon and son finally work it out |newspaper=[[The Sunday Times]] |via=Heyjules.com |date=29 September 1996 |access-date=4 March 2007 |url=http://heyjules.com/19931997/articles/1996sept29times.html |archive-date=27 September 2007 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20070927105212/http://heyjules.com/19931997/articles/1996sept29times.html |url-status=dead}}</ref>

In 2002, the original handwritten lyrics for the song were nearly auctioned off at [[Christie's]] in London.{{sfn|Womack|2014|p=392}} The sheet of notepaper with the scrawled lyrics had been expected to fetch up to {{GBPConvert|80000|year=2002}} at the auction, which was scheduled for 30 April 2002. McCartney went to court to stop the auction, claiming the paper had disappeared from his West London home. Richard Morgan, representing Christie's, said McCartney had provided no evidence that he had ever owned the piece of paper on which the lyrics were written. The courts decided in McCartney's favour and prohibited the sale of the lyrics. They had been sent to Christie's for auction by Frenchman Florrent Tessier, who said he purchased the piece of paper at a street market stall in London for {{GBPConvert|10|year=1973|to=USD|showdate=no}} in the early 1970s.<ref>{{cite press release |first=Jane |last=Wardell |title=McCartney in 'Hey Jude' Battle |date=30 April 2002 |publisher=[[CBS News]] |agency=[[Associated Press]] |url=https://www.cbsnews.com/news/mccartney-in-hey-jude-battle/ |url-status=live |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20020605195221/http://www.cbsnews.com/stories/2002/04/30/entertainment/main507573.shtml |archive-date=5 June 2002}}</ref> In the original catalogue for the auction, Julian Lennon had written, "It's very strange to think that someone has written a song about you. It still touches me."{{sfn|Womack|2014|p=392}}

Along with "[[Yesterday (Beatles song)|Yesterday]]", "Hey Jude" was one of the songs that McCartney has highlighted when attempting to have some of the official Beatles songwriting credits changed to [[Lennon–McCartney|McCartney–Lennon]].{{sfn|Doggett|2011|p=340}}{{sfn|Clayson|2003a|p=270}} McCartney applied the revised credit to this and 18 other Lennon–McCartney songs on his 2002 live album ''[[Back in the U.S.]]'',{{sfn|Kimsey|2006|p=197}} attracting criticism from Ono, as Lennon's widow,<ref>{{cite web |first=Gilbert |last=Garcia |title=The Ballad of Paul and Yoko |website=[[Salon.com]] |date=28 January 2003 |access-date=13 May 2019 |url=http://www.salon.com/2003/01/27/paul_yoko/ |archive-date=7 July 2012 |archive-url=https://archive.today/20120707150733/http://www.salon.com/2003/01/27/paul_yoko/ |url-status=live}}</ref> and from Starr, the only other surviving member of the Beatles.{{sfn|Doggett|2011|pp=340–41}}{{sfn|Sounes|2010|p=518}}

In April 2020, the handwritten lyrics used during the original recording sold for $910,000 at auction via [[Julien's Auctions]] ({{Inflation|US|910,000|2020|r=-4|fmt=eq}}).<ref>{{cite magazine |first=Daniel |last=Kreps |title=Paul McCartney's Handwritten 'Hey Jude' Lyrics Sell for $910,000 at Beatles Auction |magazine=[[Rolling Stone]] |date=11 April 2020 |access-date=9 May 2022 |url=https://www.rollingstone.com/music/music-news/paul-mccartney-handwritten-hey-jude-lyrics-beatles-auction-982255/}}</ref>

==Cover versions and McCartney live performances==
In 1968, [[Rhythm and blues|R&B]] singer [[Wilson Pickett]] released a cover of the song from his album ''[[Hey Jude (Wilson Pickett album)|Hey Jude]]'' recorded at [[FAME Studios]], with a guitar part played by a young [[Duane Allman]], who recommended the song to Pickett.{{sfn|Fletcher|2016|pp=139–41}} [[Eric Clapton]] commented, "I remember hearing [it] and calling either [[Ahmet Ertegun]] or [[Tom Dowd]] and saying, 'Who's that guitar player?' ... To this day, I've never heard better rock guitar playing on an R&B record. It's the best."<ref>{{cite magazine |first=Damian |last=Fanelli |title=Eric Clapton's Favorite R&B Guitar Solo – Duane Allman Guests on Wilson Pickett's Cover of 'Hey Jude' |magazine=[[Guitar World]] |date=29 October 2014 |access-date=5 July 2015 |url=https://www.guitarworld.com/listen-eric-clapton-s-favorite-rb-guitar-solo-duane-allman-guests-wilson-picketts-cover-hey-jude |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20150706124233/http://www.guitarworld.com/listen-eric-clapton-s-favorite-rb-guitar-solo-duane-allman-guests-wilson-picketts-cover-hey-jude |archive-date=6 July 2015}}</ref> Session musician [[Jimmy Johnson (session guitarist)|Jimmy Johnson]], who played on the recording, said that Allman's solo "created [[Southern rock]]".{{sfn|Fletcher|2016|p=141}} Pickett's version reached number 23 on the Hot 100 and 13 on the ''Billboard'' [[Hot R&B/Hip-Hop Songs|R&B chart]].<ref>{{cite web |title=Wilson Pickett – Awards |website=[[AllMusic]] |url=http://www.allmusic.com/artist/wilson-pickett-mn0000677781/awards |archive-date=13 July 2015 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20150713185834/http://www.allmusic.com/artist/wilson-pickett-mn0000677781/awards}}</ref>

"Hey Jude" was one of the few Beatles songs that [[Elvis Presley]] covered, when he rehearsed the track at his 1969 [[From Elvis in Memphis#Recording|Memphis sessions]] with producer [[Chips Moman]], a recording that appeared on the 1972 album ''[[Elvis Now]]''.{{sfn|Simpson|2004|pp=132, 147, 212}} A [[Medley (music)|medley]] of "Yesterday" and "Hey Jude" was included on the 1999 reissue of Presley's 1970 live album ''[[On Stage (Elvis Presley album)|On Stage]]''.<ref>{{cite web |first=Bruce |last=Eder |title=Elvis Presley – On Stage: February 1970 [Expanded] |website=[[AllMusic]] |url=https://www.allmusic.com/album/release/on-stage-february-1970-expanded-mr0001185742 |access-date=20 June 2015 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20191008165718/https://www.allmusic.com/album/release/on-stage-february-1970-expanded-mr0001185742 |archive-date=8 October 2019 |url-status=live}}</ref> [[Katy Perry]] performed "Hey Jude" as part of the 2012 [[MusiCares Person of the Year]] concert honouring McCartney.<ref>{{cite web |title=Katy Perry Sings 'Hey Jude,' Pays Tribute to Sir Paul McCartney, The MusiCares Person of the Year (PHOTOS) |work=[[The Huffington Post]] |date=11 February 2012 |access-date=31 August 2013 |url=https://www.huffingtonpost.com/2012/02/11/katy-perry-tribute-paul-mccartney_n_1270493.html |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20131022003643/http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2012/02/11/katy-perry-tribute-paul-mccartney_n_1270493.html |archive-date=22 October 2013 |url-status=live}}</ref>

McCartney played "Hey Jude" throughout his [[The Paul McCartney World Tour|1989–90 world tour]], his first tour since [[Murder of John Lennon|Lennon's murder in 1980]].{{sfn|Badman|2001|p=430–31}} McCartney had considered including it as the closing song on his band [[Paul McCartney and Wings|Wings]]' 1975 [[Wings Over the World tour|Wings Over the World Tour]], but decided that "it just didn't feel right."{{sfn|Schaffner|1978|p=182}} He has continued to feature the song in his concerts,{{sfn|Womack|2014|p=392}} leading the audience in organised singalongs whereby different segments of the crowd – such as those in a certain section of the venue, then only men followed by only the women – chant the "Na-na-na na" refrain.{{sfn|Sounes|2010|pp=444–45, 513}} He performed the song at the [[White House]] in June 2010, and at the end of the [[2012 Summer Olympics opening ceremony|opening ceremony]] of the [[2012 Summer Olympics]] in London.<ref>{{cite web |title=Paul McCartney performs 'Hey Jude' at the Gershwin Prize |format=MP4 |work=The White House |date=2 June 2010 |access-date=1 February 2022 |url=https://obamawhitehouse.archives.gov/realitycheck/node/118357}}</ref><ref>{{cite news |first1=Robert |last1=Mendick |first2=Bryony |last2=Gordon |author-link2=Bryony Gordon |title=London 2012 Olympics: velodrome rocks as Team GB takes home haul of medals |newspaper=[[The Daily Telegraph]] |date=4 August 2012 |access-date=31 July 2013 |url=https://www.telegraph.co.uk/sport/olympics/cycling/9452751/London-2012-Olympics-velodrome-rocks-as-Team-GB-takes-home-haul-of-medals.html |archive-date=9 September 2012 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20120909085005/http://www.telegraph.co.uk/sport/olympics/cycling/9452751/London-2012-Olympics-velodrome-rocks-as-Team-GB-takes-home-haul-of-medals.html |url-status=live}}</ref>

==Personnel==
According to [[Ian MacDonald]]{{sfn|MacDonald|2005|pp=302–304}} and [[Mark Lewisohn]]:{{sfn|Lewisohn|1988|p=146}}

'''The Beatles'''
* [[Paul McCartney]]{{nbsp}}– lead vocal, piano, bass guitar, handclaps
* [[John Lennon]]{{nbsp}}– backing vocal, acoustic guitar, handclaps
* [[George Harrison]]{{nbsp}}– backing vocal, electric guitar, handclaps
* [[Ringo Starr]]{{nbsp}}– backing vocal, drums, [[tambourine]], handclaps

'''Additional musicians'''
* Uncredited 36-piece orchestra{{nbsp}}– 10 [[violin]]s, three [[viola]]s, three [[cello]]s, two [[double bass]]es, two [[flute]]s, two [[clarinet]]s, one [[bass clarinet]], one [[bassoon]], one [[contrabassoon]], four [[trumpet]]s, two [[French horn|horns]], four [[trombone]]s, and one [[percussion instrument]]; 35 of these musicians on additional backing vocals and handclaps

==Charts==
{{col-begin}}
{{col-2}}

===Weekly charts===
{|class="wikitable sortable plainrowheaders" style="text-align:center"
!Chart (1968–1969)
!Peak<br />position
|-
!scope="row"|Australia ([[Kent Music Report]])<ref name="Kent">{{cite book |first=David |last=Kent |author-link=David Kent (historian) |year=1993 |title=Australian Chart Book 1970–1992 |publisher=Australian Chart Book |location=[[St Ives, New South Wales|St Ives, N.S.W.]] |isbn=0-646-11917-6}}</ref>
|1
|-
!scope="row"|Australia ([[Go-Set|Go-Set National Top 40]])<ref>{{cite magazine |title=Go-Set National Top 40 |magazine=[[Go-Set]] |via=Poparchives.com.au |date=9 October 1968 |access-date=31 July 2013 |url=http://www.poparchives.com.au/gosetcharts/1968/19681009.html |archive-date=29 September 2013 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20130929024914/http://www.poparchives.com.au/gosetcharts/1968/19681009.html |url-status=live}}</ref>
|1
|-
{{single chart|Austria|1|artist=The Beatles|song=Hey Jude|rowheader=true|access-date=31 July 2013}}
|-
{{single chart|Flanders|1|artist=The Beatles|song=Hey Jude|rowheader=true|access-date=31 July 2013}}
|-
{{single chart|Wallonia|1|artist=The Beatles|song=Hey Jude|rowheader=true|access-date=20 June 2017}}
|-
{{single chart|Canadatopsingles|1|chartid=5854|rowheader=true|access-date=31 July 2013}}
|-
!scope="row"|Finland ([[The Official Finnish Charts|Suomen virallinen lista]])<ref>{{cite book |first=Jake |last=Nyman |year=2005 |title=Suomi soi 4: Suuri suomalainen listakirja |edition=1st |publisher=Tammi |location=Helsinki |isbn=951-31-2503-3 |language=fi}}</ref>
|5
|-
!scope="row"|France ([[Syndicat National de l'Édition Phonographique|SNICOP]] Hit Parade Officiel)<ref>{{cite magazine |title=Hits of the World |magazine=Billboard |date=7 December 1968 |volume=80 |issue=49 |page=68 |issn=0006-2510 |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=oyIEAAAAMBAJ&q=%22france%22&pg=PA68}}</ref>
|2
|-
!scope="row" | Indonesia ([[:id:Aktuil|Aktuil]])<ref name="Indonesia">{{cite web |url=https://museummusikindonesia.id/2020/08/08/aktuil-no-22-tahun-1968/ |title=Aktuil Magazine 22 |author=Aktuil |date=1968}}</ref>
| style="text-align:center;"|5
|-
{{single chart|Ireland2|1|song=Hey Jude|rowheader=true|access-date=31 July 2013}}
|-
!scope="row"|Italy (''[[Musica e Dischi]]'')<ref>{{cite web |url=http://www.musicaedischi.it/classifiche_archivio.php |title=Classifiche |work=[[Musica e dischi]] |language=it |access-date=31 May 2022}} Set "Tipo" on "Singoli". Then, in the "Titolo" field, search "Hey Jude".</ref>
|4
|-
!scope="row"|Japan ([[Oricon|Oricon International Chart]])<ref name="JAP">{{cite web |title=Japan #1 IMPORT DISKS by Oricon Hot Singles |website=Hbr3.sakura.ne.jp |access-date=20 May 2016 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20100911211711/http://www18.ocn.ne.jp/~hbr/JPP1_e.htm |archive-date=11 September 2010 |url=http://www.hbr3.sakura.ne.jp/JPP1_e.htm |language=ja}}</ref>
|1
|-
!scope="row"|Japan ([[Oricon Singles Chart]])<ref name="JAP"/>
|5
|-
{{single chart|Dutch40|1|year=1968|week=37|rowheader=true|access-date=31 July 2013|refname="Dutch40"}}
|-
{{single chart|Dutch100|1|artist=The Beatles|song=Hey Jude|rowheader=true|access-date=31 July 2013}}
|-
!scope="row"|New Zealand ([[Recorded Music NZ|RIANZ]])<ref>{{cite book |first=Dean |last=Scapolo |year=2007 |title=The Complete New Zealand Music Charts |chapter=Top 50 Singles – October 1968 |edition=1st |location=[[Wellington]] |publisher=Transpress |isbn=978-1-877443-00-8}}</ref>
|1
|-
{{single chart|Norway|1|artist=The Beatles|song=Hey Jude|rowheader=true|access-date=31 July 2013}}
|-
!scope="row"|Rhodesia (''[[Lyons Maid]]'')<ref>{{cite book |last=Kimberley |first=C |title=Zimbabwe: Singles Chart Book |year=2000 |page=10 |language=en}}</ref>
|1
|-
!scope="row"|Spain ([[Productores de Música de España|AFE]])<ref>{{cite book |first=Fernando |last=Salaverri |date=September 2005 |title=Sólo éxitos: año a año, 1959–2002 |edition=1st |publisher=Fundación Autor-SGAE |location=Spain |isbn=84-8048-639-2 |language=es}}</ref>
|1
|-
!scope="row"|Sweden ([[Kvällstoppen]])<ref>{{Cite book |last=Hallberg |first=Eric |title=Eric Hallberg presenterar Kvällstoppen i P 3: Sveriges radios topplista över veckans 20 mest sålda skivor 10. 7. 1962 - 19. 8. 1975 |publisher=Drift Musik |year=1993 |pages=130 |isbn=9163021404 |location=}}</ref>
|1
|-
!scope="row"|Sweden (''[[Tio i Topp]]'')<ref>{{Cite book |last1=Hallberg |first1=Eric |title=Eric Hallberg, Ulf Henningsson presenterar Tio i topp med de utslagna på försök: 1961 - 74 |last2=Henningsson |first2=Ulf |publisher=Premium Publishing |year=1998 |isbn=919727125X |location= |pages=53}}</ref>
|1
|-
{{single chart|Switzerland|1|artist=The Beatles|song=Hey Jude|rowheader=true|access-date=31 July 2013}}
|-
{{single chart|UK|1|date=19680914|rowheader=true|refname=UK1|access-date=31 July 2013}}
|-
!scope="row"|US [[Billboard Hot 100|''Billboard'' Hot 100]]<ref>{{cite magazine |title=Hot 100 |magazine=[[Billboard (magazine)|Billboard]] |date=28 September 1968 |page=82 |issn=0006-2510 |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=xQoEAAAAMBAJ&pg=PA82}}</ref>
|1
|-
!scope="row"|US ''[[Cashbox (magazine)|Cash Box]]'' Top 100<ref>{{cite magazine |title=CASH BOX Top 100 Singles – Week ending SEPTEMBER 21, 1968 |magazine=[[Cashbox (magazine)|Cash Box]] |url=http://cashboxmagazine.com/archives/60s_files/19680921.html |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20120930234604/http://cashboxmagazine.com/archives/60s_files/19680921.html |archive-date=30 September 2012}}</ref>
|1
|-
!scope="row"|US ''[[Record World]]'' 100 Top Pops<ref>{{cite magazine |title=100 Top Pops |magazine=[[Record World]] |page=33 |date=28 September 1968 |access-date=9 September 2017 |via=AmericanRadioHistory.Com |url=https://worldradiohistory.com/Archive-All-Music/Record-World/60s/68/RW-1968-09-28.pdf}}</ref>
|1
|-
{{single chart|West Germany|1|artist=The Beatles|song=Hey Jude|songid=51|rowheader=true|access-date=31 July 2013}}
|-
!scope="row"|Yugoslavia ([[Džuboks]])<ref>{{cite magazine |title=Hits of the World |magazine=Billboard |date=21 December 1968 |volume=80 |issue=51 |page=58 |issn=0006-2510 |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=_0QEAAAAMBAJ&q=%22yugoslavia%22&pg=PA58}}</ref>
|1
|}

{|class="wikitable sortable plainrowheaders" style="text-align:center"
!Year
!Chart
!Peak<br />position
|-
|rowspan="3"|1976
{{single chart|Dutch40|20|year=1976|week=23|rowheader=true|access-date=31 July 2013}}
|-
{{single chart|Dutch100|16|artist=The Beatles|song=Hey Jude|rowheader=true|access-date=31 July 2013}}
|-
{{single chart|UK|12|date=19760417|rowheader=true|refname=UK12|access-date=31 July 2013}}
|-
|1988
{{single chart|UK|52|date=19880904|artist=Beatles|rowheader=true|refname=UK52|access-date=31 July 2013}}
|-
|rowspan="4"|2010
!scope="row"|Belgium ([[Ultratop|Back Catalogue Singles]] Flanders)<ref>{{cite web |title=50 Back Catalogue Singles – 27/11/11 |publisher=[[Ultratop]]. Hung Medien |access-date=16 July 2013 |url=http://www.ultratop.be/nl/weekchart.asp?cat=sb&year=2010&date=20101127 |archive-date=16 October 2013 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20131016140440/http://www.ultratop.be/nl/weekchart.asp?cat=sb&year=2010&date=20101127 |url-status=live}}</ref>
|4
|-
{{single chart|Dutch100|59|artist=The Beatles|song=Hey Jude|rowheader=true|access-date=31 July 2013}}
|-
{{single chart|UK|40|date=20101127|artist=Beatles|rowheader=true|refname=UK40|access-date=31 July 2013}}
|-
!scope="row"|US [[Billboard Hot 100|''Billboard'' Hot 100 Recurrents]]<ref>{{cite magazine |title=The Beatles Chart History (Hot 100 Recurrents) |magazine=Billboard |access-date=2 February 2022 |url=https://www.billboard.com/artist/the-beatles/chart-history/bbr/}}</ref>
|align="center"|14
|-
|2011
{{single chart|Dutch100|99|artist=The Beatles|song=Hey Jude|rowheader=true|access-date=31 July 2013}}
|-
|rowspan="2"|2012
!scope="row"|[[Japan Hot 100]] Singles<ref>{{cite web |title=The Beatles – Awards |website=[[AllMusic]] |access-date=31 July 2013 |url=https://www.allmusic.com/artist/the-beatles-mn0000754032/awards |archive-date=2 June 2012 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20120602172107/http://www.allmusic.com/artist/the-beatles-mn0000754032/awards |url-status=live}}</ref>
|53
|-
{{single chart|France|174|artist=The Beatles|song=Hey Jude|rowheader=true|access-date=31 July 2013}}
|-
|2019
{{single chart|Billboardrocksongs|16|artist=The Beatles|song=Hey Jude|rowheader=true|access-date=2 May 2021}}
|}
{{col-2}}

===Year-end charts===
{|class="wikitable sortable plainrowheaders" style="text-align:center"
!Chart (1968)
!Rank
|-
!scope="row"|Australia ([[Kent Music Report]])<ref name="Kent"/>
|1
|-
!scope="row"|Australia ([[Go-Set|Go-Set National Top 40]])<ref>{{cite web |title=Top 40 for 1968 |magazine=[[Go-Set]] |via=Poparchives.com.au |access-date=28 August 2014 |archive-date=27 March 2015 |url=http://www.poparchives.com.au/gosetcharts/1968/top1968.html |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20150327103947/http://www.poparchives.com.au/gosetcharts/1968/top1968.html |url-status=live}}</ref>
|23
|-
!scope="row"|Austria ([[Ö3 Austria Top 40]])<ref>{{cite web |title=Jahreshitparade 1968 |publisher=Austriancharts.at. Hung Medien |access-date=28 August 2014 |url=http://www.austriancharts.at/1968_single.asp |archive-date=5 September 2014 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20140905202820/http://www.austriancharts.at/1968_single.asp |url-status=live |language=de}}</ref>
|6
|-
!scope="row"|Belgium ([[Ultratop|Ultratop 50]] Flanders)<ref>{{cite web |title=Jaaroverzichten 1968 |publisher=[[Ultratop]]. Hung Medien |access-date=28 August 2014 |url=http://www.ultratop.be/nl/annual.asp?year=1968 |archive-date=9 August 2014 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20140809143336/http://www.ultratop.be/nl/annual.asp?year=1968 |url-status=live |language=nl}}</ref>
|11
|-
!scope="row"|Canada Top Singles (''[[RPM (magazine)|RPM]]'')<ref>{{cite magazine |title=The RPM 100 Top Singles of 1968 |magazine=[[RPM (magazine)|RPM]] |volume=10 |issue=19 |date=6 January 1969 |url=http://www.bac-lac.gc.ca/eng/discover/films-videos-sound-recordings/rpm/Pages/image.aspx?Image=nlc008388.5867&URLjpg=http%3a%2f%2fwww.collectionscanada.gc.ca%2fobj%2f028020%2ff4%2fnlc008388.5867.gif&Ecopy=nlc008388.5867 |access-date=20 May 2016 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20161007062140/http://www.bac-lac.gc.ca/eng/discover/films-videos-sound-recordings/rpm/Pages/image.aspx?Image=nlc008388.5867&URLjpg=http%3a%2f%2fwww.collectionscanada.gc.ca%2fobj%2f028020%2ff4%2fnlc008388.5867.gif&Ecopy=nlc008388.5867 |archive-date=7 October 2016 |url-status=live}}</ref>
|1
|-
!scope="row"|Netherlands ([[Dutch Top 40]])<ref>{{cite web |title=Top 100-Jaaroverzicht van 1968 |publisher=[[Dutch Top 40]] |access-date=28 August 2014 |url=http://www.top40.nl/bijzondere-lijsten/top-100-jaaroverzichten/1968 |archive-date=20 December 2014 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20141220210619/http://www.top40.nl/bijzondere-lijsten/top-100-jaaroverzichten/1968 |url-status=live |language=nl}}</ref>
|4
|-
!scope="row"|Switzerland ([[Swiss Hitparade|Schweizer Hitparade]])<ref>{{cite web |title=Schweizer Jahreshitparade 1968 |publisher=Hitparade.ch. Hung Medien |access-date=28 August 2014 |url=http://hitparade.ch/year.asp?key=1968 |archive-date=27 December 2013 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20131227014646/http://hitparade.ch/year.asp?key=1968 |url-status=live |language=de}}</ref>
|8
|-
!scope="row"|UK Singles ([[UK Singles Chart|Official Charts Company]])<ref>{{cite web |first=Dan |last=Lane |title=The biggest selling singles of every year revealed! (1952–2011) |publisher=[[Official Charts Company]] |date=18 November 2012 |access-date=28 August 2014 |url=http://www.officialcharts.com/chart-news/the-biggest-selling-singles-of-every-year-revealed-1952-2011-1720/ |archive-date=9 July 2014 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20140709100702/http://www.officialcharts.com/chart-news/the-biggest-selling-singles-of-every-year-revealed-1952-2011-1720/ |url-status=live}}</ref>
|1
|-
!scope="row"|US [[Billboard Hot 100|''Billboard'' Hot 100]]<ref>{{cite magazine |title=The Billboard Hot 100 – 1968 |magazine=[[Billboard (magazine)|Billboard]] |year=2007 |url-status=dead |url=https://www.billboard.com/bbcom/charts/yearend_chart_display.jsp?f=The%20Billboard%20Hot%20100&g=Year-end%20Singles&year=1968 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20061020163744/http://www.billboard.com/bbcom/charts/yearend_chart_display.jsp?f=The%2BBillboard%2BHot%2B100&g=Year-end%2BSingles&year=1968 |archive-date=20 October 2006}}</ref>
|1
|-
!scope="row"|US ''[[Cashbox (magazine)|Cash Box]]''<ref>{{cite magazine |title=The CASH BOX Year-End Charts: 1968 |magazine=[[Cashbox (magazine)|Cash Box]] |url=http://cashboxmagazine.com/archives/60s_files/1968YESP.html |archive-date=14 August 2012 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20120814104559/http://cashboxmagazine.com/archives/60s_files/1968YESP.html}}</ref>
|1
|}

{|class="wikitable plainrowheaders" style="text-align:center"
!Chart (1969)
!Rank
|-
!scope="row"|Australia ([[Go-Set|Go-Set National Top 40]])<ref>{{cite magazine |title=Top 40 for 1969 |magazine=[[Go-Set]] |via=Poparchives.com.au |access-date=28 August 2014 |url=http://www.poparchives.com.au/gosetcharts/1969/top1969.html |archive-date=28 March 2015 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20150328001018/http://www.poparchives.com.au/gosetcharts/1969/top1969.html |url-status=live}}</ref>
|35
|-
|}

{{col-end}}

==Certifications and sales==
{{Certification Table Top}}
{{Certification Table Entry|region=Australia|type=single|artist=The Beatles|title=Hey Jude|nocert=yes|relyear=1968|salesamount=280,000|salesref=<ref>{{cite magazine |first=Glen |last=Baker |title=ABBA: The World > Australia |magazine=Billboard |volume=91 |issue=36 |page=ABBA-24 |date=8 November 1979 |access-date=8 December 2021 |issn=0006-2510 |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=6CMEAAAAMBAJ}}</ref>}}
{{Certification Table Entry|region=Canada|type=single|artist=The Beatles|title=Hey Jude|relyear=1968|nocert=true|salesamount=300,000|salesref=<ref name="sales">{{cite book |first=Joseph |last=Murrells |year=1985 |title=Million Selling Records from the 1900s to the 1980s : An Illustrated Directory |publisher=Arco Pub. |page=256 |quote=British sales at year's end were around 800,000, Europe and Japan combined over 1,500,000, Canada over 300,000 |isbn=0-214-20480-4}}</ref>}}
{{Certification Table Entry|region=Denmark|type=single|artist=The Beatles|title=Hey Jude|award=Gold|relyear=1968|certyear=2024|id=14003|accessdate=10 June 2024}}
{{Certification Table Entry|region=France|type=single|artist=The Beatles|title=Hey Jude|nocert=yes|relyear=1968|salesamount=250,000|salesref=<ref name="topfrance1968">{{cite web |url=http://www.top-france.fr/html/annuel/1968.htm |title=TOP – 1968 |work=40 ans de tubes : 1960–2000 : les meilleures ventes de 45 tours & CD singles |author=[[Syndicat National de l'Édition Phonographique]] (SNEP) |editor=Fabrice Ferment |access-date=17 May 2023 |language=fr |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20220227220855/http://www.top-france.fr/html/annuel/1968.htm |archive-date=27 February 2022 |via=Top-France.fr |oclc=469523661}}</ref>}}
{{Certification Table Entry|region=Italy|type=single|artist=The Beatles|title=Hey Jude|award=Platinum|relyear=1968|certyear=2024|note=sales since 2009|accessdate=17 June 2024|id=12747}}
{{Certification Table Entry|region=Netherlands|type=single|artist=The Beatles|title=Hey Jude|nocert=yes|relyear=1968|salesamount=100,000|salesref=<ref>{{cite magazine |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=sgoEAAAAMBAJ&dq=heintje+billboard&pg=RA1-PA67 |magazine=[[Billboard magazine|Billboard]] |first=Nick |last=Robertshaw |title=From Music Capitals of the World - Amsterdam |page=67 |date=2 November 1968 |issn=0006-2510 |access-date=17 May 2023}}</ref>}}
{{Certification Table Entry |region=New Zealand|type=single|award=Platinum|number=2|relyear=1968|artist=The Beatles|title=Hey Jude|source=radioscope|certyear=2024|accessdate=22 September 2025}}
{{Certification Table Entry |region=Spain|type=single|award=Platinum|relyear=1968|artist=The Beatles|title=Hey Jude|certyear=2024|accessdate=3 April 2024}}
{{Certification Table Entry|region=United Kingdom|type=single|artist=Beatles|title=Hey Jude|award=Platinum|relyear=2010|certyear=2021|id=14299-1786-1|salesamount=1,141,635|salesref=<ref>{{cite news |first=Rob |last=Copsey |title=The UK's Official Chart 'millionaires' revealed |publisher=[[Official Charts Company]] |date=19 September 2017 |access-date=8 December 2021 |url=http://www.officialcharts.com/chart-news/the-uks-official-chart-millionaires-revealed__20459/}}</ref>}}
{{Certification Table Entry|region=United States|type=single|artist=The Beatles|title=Hey Jude|award=Platinum|number=4|relyear=1968|certyear=1999}}
{{Certification Table Summary}}
{{Certification Table Entry|region=Europe & Japan|type=single|artist=The Beatles|title=Hey Jude|nocert=true|relyear=1968|salesamount=1,500,000|salesref=<ref name="sales"/>|note=1968 sales}}
{{Certification Table Entry|region=Worldwide|type=single|artist=The Beatles|title=Hey Jude|nocert=true|salesamount=8,000,000|salesref={{sfn|Everett|1999|p=195}}}}
{{Certification Table Bottom|nosales=yes|streaming=yes}}

==See also==
{{div col|colwidth=23em}}
* [[Billboard Year-End Hot 100 singles of 1968|''Billboard'' Year-End Hot 100 singles of 1968]]
* [[List of best-selling singles of the 1960s in the United Kingdom]]
* [[List of Billboard Hot 100 number ones of 1968|List of ''Billboard'' Hot 100 number ones of 1968]]
* [[List of Cash Box Top 100 number-one singles of 1968|List of ''Cashbox'' Top 100 number-one singles of 1968]]
* [[List of Dutch Top 40 number-one singles of 1968]]
* [[List of number-one hits of 1968 (Germany)]]
* [[List of number-one singles from 1968 to 1979 (Switzerland)#1968|List of number-one singles from 1968 to 1979 (Switzerland)]]
* [[List of number-one singles in 1968 (New Zealand)]]
* [[List of number-one singles in Australia during the 1960s#1968|List of number-one singles in Australia during the 1960s]]
* [[List of number-one singles of 1968 (Canada)]]
* [[List of number-one singles of 1968 (Ireland)]]
* [[List of number-one singles of 1968 (Spain)]]
* [[List of number-one songs in Norway]]
* [[List of top 25 singles for 1968 in Australia]]
* [[List of UK charts and number-one singles (1952–1969)]]
* "[[The Official BBC Children in Need Medley]]"
{{div col end}}

==Notes==
{{reflist|30em|group=nb}}

==References==
{{reflist|22em}}

==Sources==
{{refbegin|30em}}
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{{refend}}

==External links==
{{Commons}}
* [http://www.thebeatles.com/song/hey-jude Full lyrics for the song at the Beatles' official website] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210709183054/https://www.thebeatles.com/song/hey-jude |date=9 July 2021 }}
* [https://www.mojo4music.com/articles/6244/david-frost-the-beatles "David Frost Meets The Beatles"] at [[Mojo (magazine)|Mojo4music.com]]
* {{YouTube|bkApuQWCPdM|The Beatles - Hey Jude}}

{{The Beatles singles}}
{{The Beatles (White Album)}}
{{Billboard Year-End number one singles 1960–1979}}
{{UK best-selling singles (by year) 1952–1969}}
{{Authority control}}

[[Category:1968 songs]]
[[Category:1968 singles]]
[[Category:1960s ballads]]
[[Category:Apple Records singles]]
[[Category:Billboard Hot 100 number-one singles]]
[[Category:British pop rock songs]]
[[Category:Cashbox number-one singles]]
[[Category:Dutch Top 40 number-one singles]]
[[Category:Grammy Hall of Fame Award recipients]]
[[Category:Irish Singles Chart number-one singles]]
[[Category:Music videos directed by Michael Lindsay-Hogg]]
[[Category:Number-one singles in Australia]]
[[Category:Number-one singles in Austria]]
[[Category:Number-one singles in Brazil]]
[[Category:Number-one singles in Germany]]
[[Category:Number-one singles in New Zealand]]
[[Category:Number-one singles in Norway]]
[[Category:Number-one singles in Spain]]
[[Category:Number-one singles in Switzerland]]
[[Category:Pop ballads]]
[[Category:Rock ballads]]
[[Category:RPM Top Singles number-one singles]]
[[Category:Song recordings produced by George Martin]]
[[Category:Songs published by Northern Songs]]
[[Category:Songs written by Lennon–McCartney]]
[[Category:The Beatles songs]]
[[Category:UK singles chart number-one singles]]
[[Category:Ultratop 50 Singles (Flanders) number-one singles]]
[[Category:Wilson Pickett songs]]