Hey Jude - Single Release

Single Release

"Hey Jude" was released on 26 August 1968, in the United States and 30 August in the United Kingdom, backed with "Revolution" on the B-side of a 7" single. The single was the debut release of the Beatles' record label Apple Records; in the US, it was also the first Beatles' single to be issued in a company sleeve rather than a picture sleeve. Even though "Hey Jude" was recorded during the sessions for the album The Beatles, also known as the White Album, it was always intended as a single and not an album track. Lennon wanted "Revolution" to be the A-side of the single, but the other Beatles did not agree. In his 1970 interview with Rolling Stone, he said "Hey Jude" was worthy of an A-side, "but we could have had both." Ten years later in 1980, he told Playboy he still disagreed with the decision.

"Hey Jude" began its sixteen-week run on the British charts on 7 September 1968, claiming the top spot a week later. It only lasted two weeks on top before being knocked off by another single from Apple, Mary Hopkin's "Those Were the Days" (a song which, incidentally, if not penned was actually produced by McCartney). The single was certified gold by the Recording Industry Association of America on 13 September; that same week NME reported that two million copies of the single had been sold. The song entered the US charts on 14 September 1968, where it stayed for nineteen weeks. Two weeks later, "Hey Jude" was number one in the charts, and held that position for nine weeks, the longest time spent by a Beatles' single at number one, as well as being the longest-playing single to reach number one.

"Hey Jude" clocked in at 7:11. The only other chart-topping song worldwide in the 1960s that ran over seven minutes was Richard Harris' "MacArthur Park". In the UK, where "MacArthur Park" did not top the chart, "Hey Jude" remained the longest number-one hit for nearly a quarter of a century, until it was surpassed in 1993 by Meat Loaf's "I'd Do Anything for Love (But I Won't Do That)", which ran 7:58 as a single.

On 30 November 1968 NME reported that sales had reached nearly six million copies worldwide. "Hey Jude" became the biggest-selling debut release for a record label ever, selling an estimated eight million copies worldwide and topping the charts in eleven countries. "Hey Jude" was the top Billboard Hot 100 single for 1968, according to year-end charts. Less than three weeks after its release, the record was certified gold for sales of one million copies. In 1999, it was certified 4x platinum, representing four million units shipped.