This Iconic Ballad Held The No. 1 Spot The Longest In 1968

Having a song hit the top spot on the Billboard Hot 100 is an admirable feat for any artist. In the 1960s, the Beatles accomplished it every few months. The Fab Four had 20 No. 1 hits between 1964 and 1970, an all-time record that still hasn't been beaten. And in 1968, one Beatles song was inescapable, spending nine weeks at No. 1 on the Billboard Hot 100: "Hey Jude."

"Hey Jude" was released in the U.S. on August 26, 1968, with "Revolution" as a B-side. It was the first song on the Beatles' new label, Apple Records, and it quickly climbed the U.S. charts, hitting No. 1 on September 28, 1968. Its rise was likely helped along by the song's memorable promotional video, which premiered in the U.K. on September 8 and in the U.S. on October 6. Filmed at Twickenham Studios in London, in front of an audience of 300 people, the Beatles played "Hey Jude" accompanied by a 36-piece orchestra. Holding the top spot for nine weeks, the song was the longest-charting No. 1 song of the year and the Beatles' longest-charting No. 1 hit. (Next in line? "I Want to Hold Your Hand," which spent seven weeks at No. 1 in 1964.)

The more-than-seven-minute ballad was written by Paul McCartney and inspired by his fellow Beatle John Lennon's son, Julian. Originally called "Hey Jools," the song was intended encourage Julian during his parents' divorce. (Julian's mother is John Lennon's first wife, Cynthia Lennon, whom he married in 1962). In "The Beatles Anthology," McCartney recounted his songwriting process. While driving to visit the Lennon family, he said, "I started singing, 'Hey Jools — don't make it bad, take a sad song, and make it better ...' It was optimistic, a hopeful message for Julian: 'Come on, man, your parents got divorced. I know you're not happy, but you'll be okay.'"

John Lennon spoke about the song in a 1980 interview with Playboy. "[Paul] said it was written about Julian. He knew I was splitting with Cyn and leaving Julian then," Lennon said. "He was driving to see Julian to say hello. He had been like an uncle. And he came up with 'Hey Jude.' But I always heard it as a song to me. Now I'm sounding like one of those fans reading things into it..."

Lennon added that he thought the song was in part about his relationship with Yoko Ono. "Think about it: Yoko had just come into the picture," he said. "He is saying. 'Hey, Jude'— 'Hey, John.' Subconsciously, he was saying, 'Go ahead, leave me.' On a conscious level, he didn't want me to go ahead. The angel in him was saying, 'Bless you.' The devil in him didn't like it at all, because he didn't want to lose his partner."