The Beatles: Single By Single

I wonder how he was able to do that, without getting mobbed? It may have been only a village, but it was Paul McCartney!

"Hey Jude" is one of the first Beatles singles I owned when I was a little kid, but I don't recall ever listening to it until I was a teenager. I "discovered" it through the Lettermen's version on their Put Your Head on My Shoulder album the summer I was 12. That was my favorite album that summer (shut up, a connoisseur has to start somewhere!), and since all but one of the songs were covers and I remembered seeing the original 45 in my collection, I knew it was a Beatles song, but I definitely wasn't familiar with the song beyond the title up to that point. The Lettermen's version does not have the "na na na" part, so of course it's much shorter. When I did finally dig out the Beatles version a couple of years later (in the interim I'd fallen in love with The Beatles' Second Album and Sgt Pepper), I noticed before I played it that the time read 7:11 and I figured that must be a typo. I knew the song and it wasn't that long! Whoops.

And my take on the song? It's great, but that repetitive ending is a textbook case of the Fabs pulling something unorthodox simply because they knew they could get away with it. I seem to recall on my initial listen, when they got to the end of the last verse and I heard the "better, better, better, aughhh!", I knew I was in for something new and different, and I was right. But I kept waiting for the song to take yet another turn...and it didn't. I still could do without that part of the song, or at least without it being that long.

Incidentally, I always misheard "the movement you need is on your shoulder" as "the moment her knee is on your shoulder". As with a lot of mondegreens, I like my version better. It suggests a certain intimacy that's often a breakthrough for a couple who are just falling for each other. For me, that's what the song is all about.

 

Hey Jude is a great song.
Very moving lyrically and musically.
When John harmonizes with Paul it really gets to me emotionally.

 

No worries. Work in progress. Wasn't easy to compile. Accidents happen. Everything OK?

 

Exactly, and having three chords repeated over and over was the thing to do at that time it seems: Donovan's Atlantis, the Stones' Sympathy For The Devil, Hey Jude....

 

It may be McCartney's song, but Lennon adds some clever harmony vocals. He sings the lower part until they get to the words "Start" and "Begin," when his voice suddenly leaps above Paul's and sings some upper harmony. The tune very cleverly borrows a few measures from "Save The Last Dance For Me."

The ending was influential. Donovan ended "Atlantis" and David Bowie ended "Memory Of A Free Festival" in a similar manner.

 

Hey, I used to live about four kilometres from there, west and a little south. But I see he didn't buy it until after my family moved away from the area.

That's my opinion, more or less, plus that of all the songs with codas, it's one of the weakest.

 

This is a small village on a Sunday evening. There were only a few people in the pub. Next day people had work and school. In any case children weren't allowed in the pub in the sixties.

There were no mobile phones or internet at the time so only neighbours would know Paul was there.

Incidentally, acccording to Derek Taylor (and he was there) Paul played Hey Jude when he ate at the local dentist's house. They reopened the pub and he played there too, but he doesn't actually say he played Hey Jude in the pub. It is likely though because in the pub there was a piano ...

 

Revolution


A-side: Hey Jude
Single Released: 26 August 1968

In early 1968, media coverage in the aftermath of the Tet Offensive spurred increased protests in opposition to the Vietnam War, especially among university students.[3] The protests were most prevalent in the United States, but on 17 March, 25,000 demonstrators[4] marched to the American embassy in London's Grosvenor Square and violently clashed with police.[5] Major protests concerning other political issues made international news, such as the March 1968 protests in Poland against their communist government,[6] and the campus uprisings of May 1968 in France.[7] The upheaval reflected the increased politicisation of the 1960s youth movement and the rise of New Left ideology, in a contrast with the hippie ideology behind the 1967 Summer of Love.[8] For these students and activists, the Maoist philosophy of cultural revolution, purging society of its non-progressive elements, provided a model for social change.[9][10]

By and large, the Beatles had avoided publicly expressing their political views in their music,[11] with "Taxman" being their only overtly political track thus far.[12] Viewed as leaders of the counterculture, the band – particularly John Lennon – were under pressure from Leninist, Trotskyist and Maoist groups to actively support the revolutionary cause.[13] Lennon decided to write a song about the recent wave of social upheaval while the Beatles were in Rishikesh, India, studying Transcendental Meditation.[14] He recalled, "I thought it was about time we spoke about it, the same as I thought it was about time we stopped not answering about the Vietnamese war [in 1966]. I had been thinking about it up in the hills in India."[15] Lennon began writing the song there and completed it in England in May,[13] inspired especially by events in France.[16][17]

Despite Lennon's antiwar feelings, he had yet to become anti-establishment, and expressed in "Revolution" that he wanted "to see the plan" from those advocating toppling the system.[18] In author Mark Hertsgaard's description, the lyrics advocate social change but emphasise that "political actions [should] be judged on moral rather than ideological grounds".[19] The repeated phrase "it's gonna be alright" came directly from Lennon's Transcendental Meditation experiences in India, conveying the idea that God would take care of the human race no matter what happened politically.[20] Another influence on Lennon was his burgeoning relationship with avant-garde artist Yoko Ono and her espousal of sex-politics as an alternative to Maoist doctrine and other hardline philosophies adopted by the political left.[21] Lennon credited Ono with awakening him from his passive mindset of the previous year.[22]

References: Wikipedia

 

'Hey Jude'/'Revolution':

A great great single for and of its time. Such a different sound from the 1967 singles. And many steps up from 'Lady Madonna', which is like a holding pattern song. I never tire of hearing either of these songs. So good, it had an album built around it (much like happened with Yesterday & Today).

'Hey Jude' would debut on the Billboard singles chart at a lofty #10, and 'Revolution at #38, the week of September 14, 1968. The Top 20 songs at the time looked like this:

1 PEOPLE GOT TO BE FREE –•– The Rascals (Atlantic)
2 HARPER VALLEY P.T.A. –•– Jeannie C. Riley (Plantation)
3 LIGHT MY FIRE –•– Jose Feliciano (RCA Victor)
4 BORN TO BE WILD –•– Steppenwolf (Dunhill)
5 1, 2, 3, RED LIGHT –•– 1910 Fruitgum Co. (Buddah)
6 THE HOUSE THAT JACK BUILT –•– Aretha Franklin (Atlantic)
7 YOU’RE ALL I NEED TO GET BY –•– Marvin Gaye and Tammi Terrell (Tamla)
8 HUSH –•– Deep Purple (Tetragrammaton)
9 HELLO, I LOVE YOU –•– The Doors (Elektra)
10 — HEY JUDE –•– The Beatles (Apple)
11 THE FOOL ON THE HILL –•– Sergio Mendes and Brasil ’66 (A&M)
12 YOU KEEP ME HANGIN’ ON –•– Vanilla Fudge (Atco)
13 SUNSHINE OF YOUR LOVE –•– Cream (Atco)
14 I SAY A LITTLE PRAYER –•– Aretha Franklin (Atlantic)
15 TURN AROUND, LOOK AT ME –•– The Vogues (Reprise)
16 I CAN’T STOP DANCING –•– Archie Bell and the Drells (Atlantic)
17 SLIP AWAY –•– Clarence Carter (Atlantic)
18 GIRL WATCHER –•– The O’Kaysions (ABC)
19 STAY IN MY CORNER –•– The Dells (Cadet)
20 DO IT AGAIN –•– The Beach Boys (Capitol)

'Hey Jude' would jump to #3 the next week, and 'Revolution' would step up to peak at #12 for the next three weeks. 'Hey Jude' would take the #1 spot on Sept. 28, staying at #1 for nine weeks.

'Sour Milk Sea' can be found in Billboard's sub-100 region, Oct. 5, 1968:

 

Yeah. I understand.

If it was me (but I'm too lazy to do it), I'd put each single by date and by country taking care to put the A-side first. As with Do You Want To Know A Secret? / Thank You Girl from the US. (Though in some countries it was the other way round !).

And the more countries the merrier.

The Beatles Bible could help you if you have a doubt since they do lots of different countries.

You could even add a few we haven't discussed!

Here's a good one from Japan :

 

You win the internet today. LOL.

Somehow I have never gotten the least bit tired of Hey Jude, even though I have heard it several zillion times. For whatever reason I "re-discovered" it about a decade ago (not that it ever went away) and it went to the top of my list of Beatles songs that I play most regularly. While it's a fantastic song and recording overall, there are two moments that still floor me every time I hear them.

The first is the moment, just before the coda, when Paul sings "better, better, better, waaaaaahhhhh!". As a listener, I tend to focus on the vocal during that part as the "waaah" is so wonderfully Paul. But lately my attention is drawn to the backing track. During Paul's scream the band completely drops out for a moment with the exception of one hi hat hit from Ringo. It's such an odd and unexpected moment and it sneaks by almost without notice. But when you do notice - well, I find it thrilling somehow.

I had mentioned earlier my favorite Lennon vocal moment (from I Am The Walrus). My very favorite vocal moment from McCartney happens during the long coda to Hey Jude. His ad libs are pretty stellar throughout but at one moment he just seems to snap. Paul is so taken by the moment that he appears to become completely unhinged and go someplace vocally that is his alone. It is the part where he repeatedly screams "yeah, yeah" and erupts into laughter. The "yeah yeah"s are an amazing bit of singing but it is the laughter that kills me. It's like he lost control for that moment (singing the "yeah yeah"s) and then commented on it. That laugh sounds genuine, not part of his ad lib. That moment never fails to transport me. It is what I hope for whenever I listen to music - to get that high from a defining moment in rock.

Someone please confirm this - there is no dedicated mono mix of Hey Jude. The mono is a fold down of the original stereo mix? Or do I have my wires crossed on this one?

I don't really care for the various live recordings of this song. When you are in the arena it's great fun to have "only the ladies sing this bit", but on record it's a bit too show business.

Finally, I had a completely unexpected moment while attending the Beatles Love show in Las Vegas. I have the soundtrack and have listened to it endlessly so there were no surprises. But, somehow, when the cold open of the words "Hey Jude" played over those big speakers, I burst into tears. I still don't understand why that particular moment affected me so. The same thing happened when I saw Paul live for the second time. But I was with my daughter, so I think I was in a heightened state of emotion sharing the concert with her.

Something about that song.

 

Hey Jude is a great piece of work. I love Paul’s singing over the coda.

It has the burdens of long and overexposed. I just try not hear it very often. I turn away from it on the radio. Then, every now and and then, I sit down and really listen. It is a beautiful thing.

 

Revolution is probably the song that best defines Lennon's post psychedelic period. What does post-Sgt Pepper John Lennon sound like? Here you go. He would stick to this raw sound/approach clear through the Imagine album. This (not Two Virgins) is the first instance of John Lennon naked. You can't get to the Plastic Ono Band album without Revolution. In the same raw way, you can't get to Julia without Revolution.

I grew up with the Hey Jude album and the stereo mix of Revolution. I remember being pretty floored the first time I heard the mono mix. It sounded very modern to my ears - almost like it could have come from a 90's grunge band. Much more aggressive than the stereo mix.

Another great mix of this track comes from the Beatles Love soundtrack. The guitars are left and right and it is just straight up rock.

 

Love the "Revolution" single. It really rocks! John's vocal is fantastic and all the instrumentation is first rate.
I greatly dislike the WHITE ALBUM version. It is so slow I want to scream "pick up the pace!!!"

 

Revolution

One of my favorite things about The Beatles is the way their songs begin. From the very beginning with Love Me Do their songs invariably open with some sort of extra oomph that declares "We're here and we're gonna blow your socks off". Revolution doesn't disappoint. The opening guitar blasts grab you by the nads and never let go 'til the final "alright!" If John had to ditch the psychedelics, this was a fantastic direction to go in - raw, rough and wildly entertaining. And for God's sake, make sure it's the mono you're listening to!

 

I can't recall what the tune was, but someone once pointed me to an old blues record that the intro to Revolution is completely cribbed from.

 

Yup and we could fill a whole thread with hundreds, if not thousands of examples just like that one.

 

I wonder if I'm the only person who's ever noticed that the opening melody is the same as the chorus of this old Motown chestnut, originally an album cut for the Temptations and later a hit for Marvin Gaye. It occurs at 0:46, 1:28 and 2:22.


Too Busy Thinkin' 'Bout My Baby.

 

Probably not with that guitar tone, though!

 

Revolution

Fantastic track. Should never have been a B side. At the very least it should have been a double A. But Apple weren't into double As since they had the full Apple for the A and the sliced apple for the B.

Preferably Revolution should have come out on its own. Hey Jude could have been released later, simultaneously with the white album (another Beatle double whammy).

You can feel Lennon's resentment when he says 'they said it wasn't fast enough', so he does a fast hard rocking version and they still don't back it as an A-side.

They'd already put Walrus on a B side and ignored the potential of Across The Universe and now this. No wonder he was starting to look for more artistic freedom.

 

I AM THE WALRUS - COO COO CA CHOO indeed, just another one of those WEIRD, GOOFY songs Lennon would do, with LYRICS that would make you scratch your head. To me, his songs like ACROSS THE UNIVERSE, A DAY IN THE LIFE, GLASS ONION all of which I like as ALBUM TRACKS but were just too DRUGGY SOUNDING, too PSYCHEDELIC, too HIPPY SOUNDING and not COMMERCIAL ENOUGH to be SINGLE or HIT MATERIAL.
HELLO GOODBYE - The opening LYRICS of this song (YOU SAY YES, I SAY NO) make it very interesting and a solid single and hit contender, it's changes just add to the musical fun, a winner!
HEY JUDE - McCartney the HIT MACHINE produces The Beatles BIGGEST HIT and a bonafide Classic!
REVOLUTION - One of my ALL TIME FAVORITE Beatle songs! Lennon at his rock and roll best, with ABSOLUTELY BRILLIANT LYRICS! Really really wish they had performed it on the rooftop! One of their ABSOLUTE BEST RAW DISTORTED GUITAR ROCKERS!

 

John's B sides Walrus and Revolution were the better songs but the A's were the more commercial songs. George is the one who badly needed the artistic freedom

 

Yes I obviously agree about Walrus. I already said in a post that it shouldn't have been on a single at all. It's an album track that should have been kept for that purpose.

I completely disagree about Revolution. It's fast, it's rocking and it's catchy. It's often used for adverts to this day and still gets airplay.

Across The Universe would have made a fine double A side with Lady Madonna. Paul's song only made number 4 on the US charts so it can't be said to be that popular.

George not only wanted more artistic freedom. He also wanted more money from publishing rights.

 

Revolution

Great memories of hearing it on the radio back in 1968. For me, it was a great time for pop and soul music. I don't care for the stereo mix. It's gotta be that powerful, loud mono mix.