Hey Jude (original title: The Beatles Again) is a 1970 collection of non-album singles and B-sides by the Beatles. It included "I Should Have Known Better" and "Can't Buy Me Love", two singles released by Capitol Records whose only previous American album appearance had been on the A Hard Day's Night soundtrack album which had been released by United Artists Records. It is currently out of print.

Contrary to popular belief, the Hey Jude album was not compiled by Capitol; the project was conceived by Allen Klein and Apple Records. Klein had negotiated a more lucrative contract for the Beatles in 1969 and was anxious to sweeten the pot with an additional album. He directed Allan Steckler of Abkco/Apple to work on an album. Steckler chose songs that had not appeared on a Capitol album in the United States and which spanned the group's career. He also focused more on recent singles than on earlier material. The absence of the songs from a US Capitol album was partially a consequence of the Beatles' unwillingness to include single releases on their contemporaneous albums, partially a consequence of their arrangement with United Artists in 1964 and partially due to the habit (of EMI affiliates worldwide) of recompiling the Beatles' British releases for local markets. Steckler chose not to include "A Hard Day's Night", which had been released as a single by Capitol and was available on the United Artists soundtrack album, "I'm Down", which was the B-Side of "Help!", and "The Inner Light", which was the B-Side of "Lady Madonna". He also overlooked "From Me to You", "Misery", and "There's a Place", which were first issued in the US by Vee Jay Records but had not yet been issued on a Capitol album. "Sie Liebt Dich", a German-language version of "She Loves You", and the single version of "Get Back" were also ignored.

Steckler and Apple had become disappointed with the Capitol Records release schedules and determined to promote the new album themselves. Steckler also took the tapes to Sam Feldman at Bell Sound Studios (in New York), rather than delivering them to Capitol. He would do this for several releases thereafter.

Originally, the album was to be named The Beatles Again. Shortly before the record was released, however, the title was changed to Hey Jude in order to promote the inclusion of the top-selling song that led off side two. The name-change occurred after the labels were printed, and an untold number of copies of the album were sold with Apple labels on the vinyl containing the title The Beatles Again. This was also true for cassette copies of the album, which retained the original title. Neither the front nor the back of the album jacket displayed the record's title (or the name of the band), but most copies were sold in a jacket whose spine read Hey Jude. In an attempt to clear up any confusion caused by the preprinted labels, initial copies of the album displayed a sticker on the cover bearing the title Hey Jude. The edition of the album with The Beatles Again label bore catalogue number SO-385 on the label but not on the jacket. This is because of a similarly timed decision to reduce the price from $6.98 (SO- prefix) to $5.98 (SW- prefix). The record jacket was prepared late enough so that it lists the catalogue number as SW-385. The SW-385 catalogue number appears on the label of later pressings that bear the title Hey Jude on the label.

Klein authorised release of the album as a sales buffer during post-production of the delayed Let It Be. In 2007 Neil Aspinall claimed that the back cover was supposed to be the front cover and vice versa but that Klein had reversed them in error. This is not entirely true. At least three prototype cover designs are known to exist, with the earliest of those showing the photos "reversed." Apparently, the art department made the determination that the photo that now appears on the front cover was better suited for that purpose. Bruce Spizer's book, The Beatles on Apple Records, contains many previously unknown details about the release. The front and back cover pictures were taken at the last-ever Beatles photo session, on 22 August 1969, at John Lennon's new house, Tittenhurst Park.

Hey Jude (originalmente titulado: The Beatles Again) es un álbum recopilatorio de la banda británica The Beatles, publicado el 26 de febrero de 1970 por la compañía discográfica Apple Records. Contiene sencillos inéditos en álbumes y varios lados B, así como «I Should Have Known Better» y «Can't Buy Me Love», dos sencillos publicados por Capitol Records cuyas únicas apariciones anteriores en un álbum de Estados Unidos fue en A Hard Day's Night, banda sonora lanzada por United Artists de la película homónima.

La nueva era digital del CD vio el relanzamiento de los trabajos discográficos de The Beatles por todo el mundo, aunque para esta ocasión se omitió el recopilatorio Hey Jude. A pesar del relativo éxito en las ventas de este álbum, perdió toda su vigencia o posible interés con la salida al mercado de A Hard Days Night y sobre todo, del recopilatorio Past Masters - Volume Two (1988), los cuales contienen en su totalidad las canciones de Hey Jude. Por ese motivo, fue descontinuado y nunca se editó oficialmente en CD desde su original LP y casete.

Es probable que este recopilatorio sea más recordado por su célebre portada y contraportada, las cuales corresponden a la última sesión fotográfica de la banda (y definitiva con los cuatro miembros). Aunque no trascendió mucha información al respecto, se conoce que este hecho tuvo lugar el 22 de agosto de 1969 en la nueva residencia de John Lennon para ese entonces, en Tittenhurst Park, Surrey, Inglaterra. El músico vivió en esa mansión hasta 1972, cuando se mudó junto a Yoko Ono a los Estados Unidos.

Poco menos de dos años después de las sesiones fotográficas con The Beatles, Lennon filmaría en ese mismo sitio su documental Imagine entre junio y julio de 1971, con las grabaciones de su álbum en solitario del mismo nombre en Ascot Sound Studios.

Hey Jude (titre original : The Beatles Again) est une compilation de singles et de faces B des Beatles, publiée en 1970.

Le disque Sgt. Pepper's Lonely Hearts Club Band, est le premier album publié en Amérique par Capitol Records qui sera identique à la version britannique. Précédemment, le label américain modifiait la séquence des chansons, rajoutaient les pièces parues en singles et, surtout, limitaient le nombre de chansons à onze ou douze au lieu de quatorze comme en Angleterre. Résultat, en 1970, la discographie américaine comptait 17 albums au lieu des 12 de la discographie maintenant officielle. À partir du moment où les disques étaient identiques de part et d'autre de l'Atlantique, plusieurs chansons publiées en 45 tours demeuraient « orphelines ».

Les singles de l'année 1967 ont été rajoutés aux six chansons de la trame sonore du téléfilm Magical Mystery Tour, commercialisée en Angleterre en format double maxi. Cette version 33 tours deviendra, à partir de 1976, le seul disque américain à devenir un album officiel de la discographie des Beatles.

Quelques mois avant la sortie de Let It Be, Allen Klein, le nouveau manager des Beatles, créa la compilation The Beatles Again qui incorporait plusieurs autres chansons encore introuvables en format long jeu. Tout juste avant sa sortie, le titre fut changé pour capitaliser sur le succès de la chanson Hey Jude1. Ce 33 tours se retrouvera, entre autres, dans les magasins des États-Unis, du Canada, d'Australie, d'Espagne, d'Allemagne, de France, de Grèce, du Japon, du Mexique et de plusieurs pays d'Amerique du Sud. Très populaire en importation, il sera finalement publié en Angleterre, le 11 mai 1979.

Le disque Hey Jude n'a jamais été édité sur CD. Les deux premières pièces, qui avaient déjà été publiées, en 1964, sur la trame sonore américaine du film A Hard Day's Night, parue sur l'étiquette United Artists2, se retrouvent désormais sur le disque du même nom. Toutes les autres chansons sont maintenant disponibles dans la compilation Past Masters, parue en 1988 et rééditée en 2009, qui regroupe toutes les chansons qui n'étaient pas présentes sur les 33-tours britanniques. Les photos de la pochette de l'album, prises au domaine de Lennon à Tittenhurst Parkn 1, issues de la dernière session photo du groupe3, ont été intégrées à la pochette intérieure du CD remasterisé en 2009 du disque Abbey Road.

"Hey Jude" is a song by the English rock band the Beatles that was released as a non-album single in August 1968. It was written by Paul McCartney and credited to the Lennon–McCartney partnership. The single was the Beatles' first release on their Apple record label and one of the "First Four" singles by Apple's roster of artists, marking the label's public launch. "Hey Jude" was a number-one hit in many countries around the world and became the top-selling single of 1968 in the UK, the US, Australia and Canada. Its nine-week run at number one on the Billboard Hot 100 tied the all-time record in 1968 for the longest run at the top of the US charts. It has sold approximately eight million copies and is frequently included on music critics' lists of the greatest songs of all time.

The writing and recording of "Hey Jude" coincided with a period of upheaval in the Beatles. The ballad evolved from "Hey Jules", a song McCartney wrote to comfort John Lennon's son, Julian, after Lennon had left his wife for the Japanese artist Yoko Ono. The lyrics espouse a positive outlook on a sad situation, while also encouraging "Jude" to pursue his opportunities to find love. After the fourth verse, the song shifts to a fade-out coda. Lasting for over four minutes, it is longer than the rest of the song. Recording for the song took place midway through the sessions for the Beatles' self-titled double album (also known as the "White Album") and led to an argument between McCartney and George Harrison over Harrison's idea for the guitar part. Ringo Starr later left the band only to return shortly before they filmed the promotional clip for the single. The clip was directed by Michael Lindsay-Hogg and first aired on David Frost's UK television show. Contrasting with the problems afflicting the band, this performance captured the song's theme of optimism and togetherness by featuring the studio audience joining the Beatles as they sang the coda.

"Hey Jude" was the first Beatles song to be recorded on eight-track recording equipment, with the sessions taking place at Trident Studios in central London. The song's arrangement and extended coda encouraged many imitative works through to the early 1970s. At more than seven minutes in length, it was the longest single ever to top the British charts. In 2013, Billboard magazine named it the 10th "biggest" song of all time in terms of chart success. McCartney has continued to perform "Hey Jude" in concert since Lennon's death in 1980, leading audiences in singing the coda. Julian Lennon and McCartney have each bid successfully at auction for items of memorabilia related to the song's creation.

"And anytime you feel the pain, hey Jude, refrain, don’t carry the world upon your shoulders."