The 1968 Beatles song that topped the Billboard Hot 100 for nine weeks was “Hey Jude.”
Written mainly by Paul McCartney, the song began as “Hey Jules,” a consoling message for Julian Lennon during his parents’ separation. John Lennon encouraged McCartney to keep it because he believed the song was partly about Lennon’s own relationship with Yoko Ono.
Released in August 1968, “Hey Jude” became the Beatles’ 16th U.S. No. 1 single. Its extended “na-na-na” coda helped make it distinctive, and the recording runs for more than seven minutes, unusually long for a major pop single of its era.
The song remained at No. 1 for nine weeks, longer than any other Beatles single in the United States. It is sometimes confused with “Let It Be,” another late Beatles hit, but “Let It Be” reached No. 1 only after the group had effectively ended.