Just pipping Strawberry fields to second place with 16% of the public vote is Paul McCartney’s comfort ballad to John Lennon’s son Julian, written during Lennon’s divorce to first wife Cynthia and originally titled Hey Jules.
The song was released as a single (backed by eighth-place Revolution) in 1968 and, at 7:11 in length, it held the record for longest single to ever top the British charts. Also, is there a better drunken singalong than that outro?
Why you love it:
“My personal Fav. is Hey Jude, I've No Idea if that’s the Best Beatles Track or not however, it's just mine. As for the albums I love the raw young hungry intensity of the first album 'Please Please Me' Four talented lads giving it everything they've got, and then some, to impress and hit the Big time! Wonderful atmospheric stuff!” (Thanks, Midnightminstrel)
“I would say Hey Jude is a classic and the crescendo (if I can call it that) is beautiful... in second place I would say Yesterday of course... next I’m not sure... maybe Blackbird... they are all classics... to tell which Beatles song is the best is like saying "which piece of gold shines the most" in a gold mine.” (Thanks, pleskoch)
“Going to go for 'Hey Jude'. Not the most ground-breaking thing technically but a great song with an inspiring lyric. How could the man who wrote this come up with 'Maxwell's Silver Hammer'!?” (Thanks, AJM)