Recorded - July 31-August 2, 1968
Released - August 26, 1968 (US), August 31, 1968 (UK)
#1 for weeks of September 28 & October 5, 12, 19 and 26 & November 2, 9, 16 and 23, 1968.
Nine weeks at #1! This may not seem like a big deal in today's time, when songs regularly reach #1 for much longer, (Unfortunately). For 1968 though, this was a big deal. Of course, it helps that this was a single by one of the most critically and commercial acclaimed bands. As it also turns out, this was the first #1 single that exceeded the standard running time of 3-4 minutes. At seven minutes and eleven seconds, "Hey Jude" once again showcased The Beatles breaking new ground.
1967 may have been a mostly upbeat year for The Beatles, but it was 1968 that the band's stability began to come undone. Their first release of the new year was the standalone "Lady Madonna" single. It only reached #4 here in the US, but it showcased a return to pure rock. Shortly after these February recording sessions, The Beatles traveled to Rishikesh India to study meditation with The Mararishi.
You would think that spending two months meditating in India would bring calmness and unity to the band, but it wasn't meant to be. Ringo left after just ten days, and Paul only stayed for a month. John and George would also depart earlier than expected due to an accusation that Maharishi had made a pass at one of his students. John's high level of disillusionment, coupled with his now burning love for Yoko Ono led to the once lovably snarky Beatle becoming a totally different man.
One bit of good that came out of The Beatles' trip to India, was that they wrote a massive amount of songs. Between May 30th and October 14th, 1968 34 songs were recorded, albeit amidst much tension. Things got so bad that Ringo Starr left the band for twelve days. Thirty of these songs made up The Beatles' self-titled album, most commonly known as "The White Album". Another two of these songs went unreleased until the 1995-6 Anthology series. The remaining two, "Hey Jude" and "Revolution", were released as a single.
Paul wrote "Hey Jude" originally for John's son Julian. At the time, John and his wife Cynthia were going through divorce, and Paul wanted to help cheer up Julian. He changed the song from "Hey Jules" to "Jude", and made the lyrics more universal in their appeal. During a troubled year, many were able to relate to these lyrics, and thus its nine week #1 status seems more than justified.
In keeping with the return to rock and roll sound featured on "Lady Madonna", "Hey Jude" mostly features just guitar, bass, drums, and piano as instrumentation. It is not until much later that strings and brass come in. "Hey Jude" gradually builds up in intensity and dynamics, starting off as a simple piano and vocal number, and gradually building into a massive wall of sound. It predates the musical escalation of "Stairway To Heaven" by three years. That's one of the reasons I love "Hey Jude" so much, it feels like you have been taken on an incredible journey in a mere seven minutes.
The most famous moment of "Hey Jude" is its four minute "Na-na-na..." refrain. This time around, there is no feeling of repetition, as these vocals soon act as pure backing while Paul absolutely lets loose on vocals. Any other band would have been forced to shorten this segment for single release. The Beatles got lucky in this regard, and got to keep the song as is. It's quite hard not to sing along, even if it boils down to humming it in your head.
It's too bad that "Hey Jude" was strictly a single release. In a perfect world, this would've replaced "Revolution #9" as the penultimate song on The White Album. Hearing optimistic lyrics and an epic music track certainly has more appeal than "Number nine...number nine...". You should also check out the music videos produced for "Hey Jude" and "Revolution". They are part mimed/part live, and are full of energy. Paul McCartney agreed with this fact, and he was soon looking for The Beatles to "Get Back" to performing live again. We'll see how that unfolded when we get to 1969...
Final Verdict - "Hey Jude" remains one of The Beatles' finest moments, and I'd consider it to be one of the best songs of all time. Featuring an fantastic Paul McCartney vocal, and a production that is absolutely thrilling, "Hey Jude" is a masterpiece that I always enjoy listening to.
Coming Up Next - "Love Child" by Diana Ross & The Supremes.
Until Next Time, I'm Dr. Rock and every song I review is number one...number one...number one...number one...number one...
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