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) tape. The four-track tape, prepared by Ampex along with the reel-to-reel tape, has the songs in the original, chronological order. (The eight-track tape was treated to the usual re-ordering that eight-tracks received.) The CD era saw the standardising of the Beatles' discographies worldwide, and for many years the "Hey Jude" album was not available in that format. In January 2014 "Hey Jude" was issued on CD both individually and in an American Beatles album compilation box set. All tracks written by Lennon–McCartney, except where noted. Guest musicians In the US, the album sold 2,321,769 copies by 31 December 1970 and