Editing Hey Jude (section)

==Commercial performance==
The single was a highly successful debut for Apple Records,{{sfn|Doggett|2011|p=52}}{{sfn|Sullivan|2013|p=118}} a result that contrasted with the public embarrassment the band faced after the recent closure of their short-lived retail venture, Apple Boutique.{{sfn|Riley|2011|p=408}} In the description of music journalist [[Paul Du Noyer]], the song's "monumental quality ... amazed the public in 1968"; in addition, the release silenced detractors in the British mainstream press who had relished the opportunity to criticise the band for their December 1967 television special, ''[[Magical Mystery Tour (film)|Magical Mystery Tour]]'', and their trip to Rishikesh in early 1968.{{sfn|Du Noyer|1996|pp=54–55}} In the US, the single similarly brought an end to speculation that the Beatles' popularity might be diminishing, after "[[Lady Madonna]]" had peaked at number 4.{{sfn|Spizer|2003|p=31}}

"Hey Jude" reached the top of Britain's ''[[Record Retailer]]'' chart (subsequently adopted as the [[UK Singles Chart]]) in September 1968. It lasted two weeks on top before being replaced by Hopkin's "Those Were the Days",{{sfn|Norman|2016|p=338}} which McCartney helped promote.{{sfn|Miles|2001|pp=309, 311}} "Hey Jude" was certified [[RIAA certification|gold]] by the [[Recording Industry Association of America]] (RIAA) on 13 September; that same week, ''NME'' reported that two million copies of the single had been sold.{{sfn|Schultheiss|1980|p=220}} The song entered the [[Billboard Hot 100|''Billboard'' Hot 100]] in the US on 14 September, beginning a nineteen-week chart run there.{{sfn|Castleman|Podrazik|1976|p=350}} It reached number one on 28 September and held that position for nine weeks,{{sfn|Norman|2016|p=338}} for three of which "Those Were the Days" held the number-two spot.{{sfn|Castleman|Podrazik|1976|p=350}} This was the longest run at number one for a single in the US until 1977.{{sfn|Everett|1999|p=195}}{{sfn|Womack|2014|p=392}} The song was the 16th number-one hit there for the Beatles.<ref name="Brownfield/SEP">{{cite magazine |first=Troy |last=Brownfield |title=50 Years Ago: The Beatles Release Two Classics on One Single |magazine=[[The Saturday Evening Post]] |date=24 August 2018 |access-date=14 June 2019 |url=https://www.saturdayeveningpost.com/2018/08/50-years-ago-beatles-release-two-classics-one-single-2/}}</ref> ''Billboard'' ranked it as the [[Billboard Year-End Hot 100 singles of 1968|number-one song for 1968]].<ref name="Brownfield/SEP"/> In Australia, "Hey Jude" was number one for 13 weeks, which remained a record there until [[ABBA]]'s "[[Fernando (song)|Fernando]]" in 1976.{{sfn|Sullivan|2013|p=116}} It also topped the charts in Belgium, Brazil, Canada (3 weeks), Denmark, France, the [[Irish Singles Chart]], Malaysia, the Netherlands, New Zealand, Norway, the Philippines, Singapore, Spain, Sweden, Switzerland, and [[West Germany]].{{sfn|Sullivan|2013|p=116}}

On 30 November 1968, ''NME'' reported that sales had reached nearly six million copies worldwide.{{sfn|Schultheiss|1980|p=226}}{{sfn|Miles|2001|p=321}} By 1999, "Hey Jude" had sold an estimated eight million copies worldwide.{{sfn|Everett|1999|p=195}} That year, it was certified [[RIAA certification|4× platinum]] by the RIAA, representing four million units shipped in the US.<ref>{{cite web |title=Gold & Platinum – The Beatles – Hey Jude |publisher=[[Recording Industry Association of America]] |access-date=20 May 2016 |url=https://www.riaa.com/gold-platinum/?tab_active=default-award&ar=the+beatles&ti=hey+jude |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20160603023907/http://www.riaa.com/gold-platinum/?tab_active=default-award&ar=the+beatles&ti=hey+jude |archive-date=3 June 2016 |url-status=live}}</ref> As of December 2018, "Hey Jude" was the 54th-best-selling single of all time in the UK – one of six Beatles songs included on the top sales rankings published by the [[Official Charts Company]].<ref>{{cite web |first=Justin |last=Myers |title=The best-selling singles of all time on the Official UK Chart |publisher=[[Official Charts Company]] |date=14 December 2018 |access-date=10 February 2019 |url=https://www.officialcharts.com/chart-news/the-best-selling-singles-of-all-time-on-the-official-uk-chart__21298/ |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20190301171831/https://www.officialcharts.com/chart-news/the-best-selling-singles-of-all-time-on-the-official-uk-chart__21298/ |archive-date=1 March 2019 |url-status=live}}</ref> It has since been described as an international global hit.<ref>{{Cite book |title=The Cambridge Companion to the Beatles |chapter=On their way home: the Beatles in 1969 and 1970 |chapter-url=https://books.google.com/books?id=vW75rdouJD0C&pg=PA128 |page=128 |isbn=978-0-521-86965-2 |last1=Womack |first1=Kenneth |date=12 November 2009 |publisher=Cambridge University Press}}</ref><ref>{{Cite book |last=Womack |first=Kenneth |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=yU2WDwAAQBAJ&dq=hey+jude+global+hit&pg=PA10 |title=Solid State: The Story of "Abbey Road" and the End of the Beatles |date=15 October 2019 |publisher=Cornell University Press |isbn=978-1-5017-4686-4 |page=10 |language=en}}</ref>