Today in History: Hey Jude

On September 28, 1968, the Beatles’ “Hey Jude” hit number one on the US charts, where it stayed for nine weeks. It was on the charts for 19 weeks total, and has sold over 8 million copies. The song clocked in at more than 7 minutes, unusual for pop music at the time. The joke among disc jockeys at the time (back when deejays actually spun records) was that “Hey Jude” was the song you played when you needed to take a bathroom break. Frankly, I think it could have been better at a shorter run time—the fade out is longer than the actual song--but then the deejays would have to cross their legs.
"Hey Jude" is, in my opinion, not one of McCartney’s better lyrics because it doesn't seem to work all the way through. As he has said, it’s a message to then 5-year-old Julian Lennon to help him get through his parents’ divorce. That's okay for a few of the verses, but then it seems to be about... finding your love? Huh? And this line: “The movement you need is on your shoulder.” What does that even mean?
Anyway, there’s lots of trivia associated with this song. For example:
• In 1996, Julian Lennon paid £25,000 ($50,000 US today) for the recording notes to "Hey Jude" at an auction.
• In 2002, the original handwritten lyrics for the song were nearly auctioned off at Christie's in London, but Paul McCartney went to court to stop the auction, claiming the paper had been stolen. He won.
• Although written for Julian, John thought “Hey Jude” was about him instead (and many of the lyrics are, in fact, more geared to an adult than a child).
• Julian learned the real meaning behind the song for the first time from Paul in 1987 when the two ran into each other at a New York hotel.
• It was recorded over three days at Trident Studios, from July 29-31. Then on August 1, a 36-piece orchestra was added to the fade out.
• The recording includes an obscenity by John which made it to the final release. It’s buried deep in the mix, but listen closely right around the 3:00 minute mark and you’ll hear it. Singing harmony, John supposedly goofs his part and, nearly at the same moment as the word “begin,” you can hear him say “fuckin’ hell.” I’ve tweaked the EQ to remove most of the instruments on this clip so you can hear it for yourself.
• George does not appear on the record. He played lead guitar in several early takes of the song, but McCartney decided he didn’t want guitar in the final version. McCartney dubbed the bass part later.
• “Hey Jude" was performed just once live, on the British television show Frost on Sunday on September 8, 1968.
• George plays bass in this live performance.
• As a single, "Hey Jude" was backed by the rocker version of "Revolution" (the bluesy version appears on the White Album). Not counting later collections, neither song appeared on any Beatles album.
• 1968 seems to have been the year of long-playing singles. Besides “Hey Jude,” which ran for 7:08, Richard Harris's recording of “MacArthur Park,” came in at 7:29, and The Nice (Keith Emerson's band) had a UK hit with "America" which clocked in around 7:15.

Listen: The Beatles "Hey Jude" outtake from Anthology