Hey Jude will never forget Paul's gesture of care and concern in coming to see us." The song's original title was "Hey Jules", and it was intended to comfort Julian Lennon from the stress of his parents' separation. McCartney later said, "I knew it was not going to be easy for him", and that he changed the name to "Jude" "because I thought that sounded a bit better". According to music journalist Chris Hunt, in the weeks after writing the song, McCartney "test[ed] his latest composition on anyone too polite to refuse. And that meant "everyone"." On 30 June, after recording the
Hey Jude (Beatles album) an individual release and in a box set titled "The U.S. Albums". The "Hey Jude" album was a project conceived by Allen Klein and Apple Records. Klein had negotiated a more lucrative contract for the Beatles in 1969 and was keen to maximise the band's income through the release of a new album. He directed Allan Steckler of ABKCO/Apple to work on one. Steckler chose songs that had not appeared on a Capitol album in the United States and that spanned the group's career. He also focused more on recent singles than on earlier material. The absence of the songs