Hey Jude - Critical Reception

Critical Reception

Upon the release of the "Hey Jude" single, Time contrasted it with its B-side "Revolution." Time wrote, "The other side of the new disk urges activism of a different sort" as McCartney "liltingly exhorts a friend to overcome his fears and commit himself in love." Music analyst Alan Pollack praised "Hey Jude," saying, "it's such a good illustration of two compositional lessons—how to fill a large canvas with simple means, and how to use diverse elements such as harmony, bassline, and orchestration to articulate form and contrast." He also said it is unusual for a long song because it uses a "binary form that combines a fully developed, hymn-like song together with an extended, mantra-like jam on a simple chord progression." Pollack described the song's long coda and fadeout as "an astonishingly transcendental effect," while Unterberger observed, "What could have very easily been boring is instead hypnotic". John Lennon said "Hey Jude" was "one of his masterpieces."

"Hey Jude" was nominated for the Grammy Awards of 1969 in the Record of the Year, Song of the Year and Best Pop Performance by a Duo or Group with Vocal categories, but failed to win any of them. It did win the 1968 Ivor Novello Award for "A-Side With the Highest Sales". In the 1968 NME Readers' Poll, "Hey Jude" was named the best single of the year. In 2001, "Hey Jude" was inducted into the National Academy of Recording Arts and Sciences Grammy Hall of Fame. In 2004 and later in 2010, Rolling Stone magazine ranked the song at #8 on "The 500 Greatest Songs of All Time," making it the highest ranked Beatles song on the list. Also in 2010, Rolling Stone ranked the song at #7 on The Beatles' 100 Greatest Songs. It came in third on Channel 4's list of 100 Greatest Singles. The Amusement & Music Operators Association ranked "Hey Jude" the 11th-best jukebox single of all time. It was also voted the greatest song of all time by Mojo readers.