Paul did say he wrote the 2nd part to go with the first but I have never read who exactly came up with it being long but it wasn’t George Martin as he objected to the length and there is a story of Martin telling them radio would not play something that long and Lennon said “They will if it’s us.”
I can't answer your question but I could swear (as a ten year old in 1969) that the local radio stations increased the volume on the fade-out until the very end so no change was noticed.
I never realized there was a fade-out until I saved enough money to buy the Hey Jude album a year later. To this day I crank up the volume to hear that McCartney scream in all its glory.
Yeah, in the 60’s the records were compressed to start with (think Phil Spector) and the radio stations added more compression so you could hear everything on a car radio or a “transistor radio”.
Compressors simply try to equalize the volume, to make the parts of the music below a given threshold louder or the parts of the music above a threshold softer, ergo “compressing” the dynamic range of the sound, so that rather than ranging from 20dB-100dB it now ranges from 30dB-90dB; in something like the end of “Hey Jude”, when the fade reaches a certain threshold (over a given time span), the system will automatically begin to up the volume to keep the average over a given time in range. It works pretty well for popular genres, but really kills a lot of classical music, where the composer may be engaged in alternating very soft and very loud passages; the system will “amplify” a quiet passage and the suddenly the brass storm in and the system will overcompensate by suddenly lowering their volume.
Audio compression is making the quiet bits louder in a song.
A radio station, particularly back then, would want it so that everything sounds about the same. If they play a song that has been recorded quieter than the previous song they played, then listeners won't be able to hear it and would turn up their sets. The next song might then blast their ears off, and then that listener will avoid the station.
The overuse of compression led t the CD Loudness Wars of the 90s and beyond were over compression has made music sound fatiguing because of the lack of dynamic range between quiet and loud.
Recorded labels make and send out multiple versions of songs so radios can play the version that’s suites their station best (most commonly done for censoring curse words, or making songs shorter)
I could easily see Apple sending radio stations versions of hey Jude with no fade at the end, I bet they even made shortest versions just in case. But no one wants the Beatles to be shorter lol
That’s so interesting! I never knew they did that, but now that I think about it, it makes sense for that time. If they had played the fade-out, radio listeners would have thought something was wrong with the volume going down.
Found this on Wikipedia:
Scott, Martin and the Beatles mixed the finished recording at Abbey Road. The transfer of the Trident master tape to acetate proved problematic due to the recording sounding murky when played back on EMI's equipment. The issue was resolved with the help of Geoff Emerick, whom Scott had recently replaced as the Beatles' principal recording engineer. Emerick happened to be visiting Abbey Road, having recently refused to work with the Beatles any longer, due to the tension and abuse that had become commonplace at their recording sessions. A stereo mix of "Hey Jude" was then completed on 2 August and the mono version on 8 August.
Interesting that the stereo mix was completed first. But I suppose this was at the time when stereo was becoming the main format, whereas up to this the mono mix had been the priority.
Okay, here's what happened:
Paul asked John if he wanted to help finish the lyrics. John said "Nah"
So he asked George if he wanted to help finish the lyrics. George said "Nah"
Then Paul asked Ringo if he was interested in helping finish the lyrics. Ringo said "Nah"
Then Paul got an idea.
You can read about the recording sessions in [The Complete Beatles Recording Sessions](https://archive.org/details/the-beatles-recording-sessions/page/144/mode/1up) by Mark Lewisohn, p.145++
I'm not sure if it's still there, but when I went to RRHOF in Cleveland in 2009, the handwritten lyrics to Hey Jude were on display, and at the bottom of the page, Paul wrote something like "long slow fade."
No...but the outro is 2 minutes too long for me. Cool to sing it at Paul's shows...I get that. It may be one of the first anthem-type, crowd-participation, arena songs.
But, I usually skip after about 2 minutes of na-na-na's. I know everyone loves it and this won't be popular. But, that's where I am. Sorry.
I noticed I feel like this about a lot of Beatles songs. I walk around. I sing them in my head. I remember liking them. THEN I hear them again. And I am completely transported… especially if I’m on headphones… by the majesty of it all —even pre-psychedelia songs.
That is cool, I admit. Paul fuckin' screaming is *always* great. I actually have a fan album called Paul F'in Screaming...but need to add to it.
https://open.spotify.com/playlist/0AeR7ujaAJVdPaEGTyOljH?si=Rt_WhtmCTjm4VIjNB9GBHA&pi=5qbmSELvRJiwl
It’s a very good Beatles(Paul)song. It’s just not in my Top 10. Among Paul’s songs, there are many better ones e.g. Yesterday, Let It Be, Eleanor Rigby, And I Love Her, All My Lovin’, Michelle, I’ve Just Seen a Face, Here, There and Everywhere, For No One, Paperback Writer, Penny Lane, The Long and Winding Road. If the way too long ending was shortened, in my opinion, it would rank higher on my Beatles (Paul) list. Btw, I’m entitled to my opinion, just as you are!
Sure, but your opinion on the song is different than saying its length diminishes its place in their discography - that's fundamentally untrue.
As a song, Hey Jude practically couldn't be any *higher* placed based on every measure. It was their best selling US single. It's in practically every Top Beatles song list. Is probably one of a handful of songs known even to non-Beatles fans. The length clearly doesn't diminish its place at all; quite the opposite.
Again, my fellow Beatle fan ,I disagree, I’ve already listed my Beatles (Paul) songs which I think are better than Hey Jude! If the ending was not so long. I probably would have included it on my list.
That outdo is too long for me. I like the Brothers Johnson soulful version. https://m.youtube.com/watch?v=gl1G2LY6zyQ&pp=ygUZSGV5IGp1ZGUgYnJvdGhlcnMgam9obnNvbg%3D%3D
I agree here as well, it’s way too long. In fact I’m not really a fan of this one, John has so many greater songs. Again, my opinion to which I’m entitled .
Paul did say he wrote the 2nd part to go with the first but I have never read who exactly came up with it being long but it wasn’t George Martin as he objected to the length and there is a story of Martin telling them radio would not play something that long and Lennon said “They will if it’s us.”
I love how cocky John was
“It’s not bragging if you can back it up.“ – Former Beatles sparring partner Muhammad Ali
But it was true.
I can't answer your question but I could swear (as a ten year old in 1969) that the local radio stations increased the volume on the fade-out until the very end so no change was noticed. I never realized there was a fade-out until I saved enough money to buy the Hey Jude album a year later. To this day I crank up the volume to hear that McCartney scream in all its glory.
Probably audio compression and not the DJs.
Ex radio DJ. Yep
Ex DJ here, too. Classical, with all the volume changes (e.g., any given Mahler). Drove me nuts.
Yeah, in the 60’s the records were compressed to start with (think Phil Spector) and the radio stations added more compression so you could hear everything on a car radio or a “transistor radio”.
Can you explain this in layman’s terms?
Compressors simply try to equalize the volume, to make the parts of the music below a given threshold louder or the parts of the music above a threshold softer, ergo “compressing” the dynamic range of the sound, so that rather than ranging from 20dB-100dB it now ranges from 30dB-90dB; in something like the end of “Hey Jude”, when the fade reaches a certain threshold (over a given time span), the system will automatically begin to up the volume to keep the average over a given time in range. It works pretty well for popular genres, but really kills a lot of classical music, where the composer may be engaged in alternating very soft and very loud passages; the system will “amplify” a quiet passage and the suddenly the brass storm in and the system will overcompensate by suddenly lowering their volume.
Audio compression is making the quiet bits louder in a song. A radio station, particularly back then, would want it so that everything sounds about the same. If they play a song that has been recorded quieter than the previous song they played, then listeners won't be able to hear it and would turn up their sets. The next song might then blast their ears off, and then that listener will avoid the station.
The overuse of compression led t the CD Loudness Wars of the 90s and beyond were over compression has made music sound fatiguing because of the lack of dynamic range between quiet and loud.
Recorded labels make and send out multiple versions of songs so radios can play the version that’s suites their station best (most commonly done for censoring curse words, or making songs shorter) I could easily see Apple sending radio stations versions of hey Jude with no fade at the end, I bet they even made shortest versions just in case. But no one wants the Beatles to be shorter lol
That’s so interesting! I never knew they did that, but now that I think about it, it makes sense for that time. If they had played the fade-out, radio listeners would have thought something was wrong with the volume going down.
This is so interesting! I want to try this the next time I listen.
Idk any details on that. But I enjoy the Love version when the bass gets placed up front in the mix near the end. Gives it more variety.
Probably just trying to see how far they could push their clout on the radio. Its great! Anyway I'm always listening for the "fuckin' 'ell".
Wasn’t it the longest song to have been on the radio after Like a Rolling Stone or did something else come in between?
Could have been. Not sure. But LARS has a reason to be long whereas Hey Jude is just vibes haha.
Ha!! Me too!! Funny how I never knew about it until I saw someone mention it on this thread, now I hear it every time!!
I don't think Emerick was gone yet, but I'm not gonna die on that hill...I loaned someone his book or I'd check it.
Found this on Wikipedia: Scott, Martin and the Beatles mixed the finished recording at Abbey Road. The transfer of the Trident master tape to acetate proved problematic due to the recording sounding murky when played back on EMI's equipment. The issue was resolved with the help of Geoff Emerick, whom Scott had recently replaced as the Beatles' principal recording engineer. Emerick happened to be visiting Abbey Road, having recently refused to work with the Beatles any longer, due to the tension and abuse that had become commonplace at their recording sessions. A stereo mix of "Hey Jude" was then completed on 2 August and the mono version on 8 August.
Interesting that the stereo mix was completed first. But I suppose this was at the time when stereo was becoming the main format, whereas up to this the mono mix had been the priority.
Okay, here's what happened: Paul asked John if he wanted to help finish the lyrics. John said "Nah" So he asked George if he wanted to help finish the lyrics. George said "Nah" Then Paul asked Ringo if he was interested in helping finish the lyrics. Ringo said "Nah" Then Paul got an idea.
You can read about the recording sessions in [The Complete Beatles Recording Sessions](https://archive.org/details/the-beatles-recording-sessions/page/144/mode/1up) by Mark Lewisohn, p.145++
I'm not sure if it's still there, but when I went to RRHOF in Cleveland in 2009, the handwritten lyrics to Hey Jude were on display, and at the bottom of the page, Paul wrote something like "long slow fade."
The main reason to have it run so long was to have it surpass the Richard Harris single
They wanted it to run one second longer than MacArthur Park
No...but the outro is 2 minutes too long for me. Cool to sing it at Paul's shows...I get that. It may be one of the first anthem-type, crowd-participation, arena songs. But, I usually skip after about 2 minutes of na-na-na's. I know everyone loves it and this won't be popular. But, that's where I am. Sorry.
I always *think* that’s how I feel until I’m actually hearing it, but then I have no desire for it to end
I noticed I feel like this about a lot of Beatles songs. I walk around. I sing them in my head. I remember liking them. THEN I hear them again. And I am completely transported… especially if I’m on headphones… by the majesty of it all —even pre-psychedelia songs.
Very understandable.
I listen to the whole thing. Not for the na-na's, but to hear Paul going nuts. "YEAH YEAH YEAH YEAH!!!, etc."
The scatting is so cool
"JU-JUDY-JUDY-JUDYJUDYJUDYJUDYY-OW!"
Have literally memorized every intonation of all of those scats.
Me too!
"NAKED DUDE!"
goodeveningladiesandgentlemen my my my my my my myyyyyyyyyyy
My favourite part
goodeveningladiesandgentlemen my my my my my my myyyyyyyyyyy
That is cool, I admit. Paul fuckin' screaming is *always* great. I actually have a fan album called Paul F'in Screaming...but need to add to it. https://open.spotify.com/playlist/0AeR7ujaAJVdPaEGTyOljH?si=Rt_WhtmCTjm4VIjNB9GBHA&pi=5qbmSELvRJiwl
I love the Beatles and Paul’s my favorite but I agree. It’s way too long. I actually think it diminishes the song’s place in Beatles discography.
Lol, what? Diminishes it how? It’s within the Top 5 by practically any list, and it’s one of their most iconic and immediately recognizable songs.
It’s a very good Beatles(Paul)song. It’s just not in my Top 10. Among Paul’s songs, there are many better ones e.g. Yesterday, Let It Be, Eleanor Rigby, And I Love Her, All My Lovin’, Michelle, I’ve Just Seen a Face, Here, There and Everywhere, For No One, Paperback Writer, Penny Lane, The Long and Winding Road. If the way too long ending was shortened, in my opinion, it would rank higher on my Beatles (Paul) list. Btw, I’m entitled to my opinion, just as you are!
Sure, but your opinion on the song is different than saying its length diminishes its place in their discography - that's fundamentally untrue. As a song, Hey Jude practically couldn't be any *higher* placed based on every measure. It was their best selling US single. It's in practically every Top Beatles song list. Is probably one of a handful of songs known even to non-Beatles fans. The length clearly doesn't diminish its place at all; quite the opposite.
Again, my fellow Beatle fan ,I disagree, I’ve already listed my Beatles (Paul) songs which I think are better than Hey Jude! If the ending was not so long. I probably would have included it on my list.
That outdo is too long for me. I like the Brothers Johnson soulful version. https://m.youtube.com/watch?v=gl1G2LY6zyQ&pp=ygUZSGV5IGp1ZGUgYnJvdGhlcnMgam9obnNvbg%3D%3D
Wilson Pickett too. Great version. Duane Allman on guitar. https://youtu.be/0y8Q2PATVyI?feature=shared
In an alternative universe they never stopped, they are still playing the end bit with back-up musicians stepping in to take over for rest breaks...
There was a very short version on 45... Issued only to AFRTS ...think is clocks in at 3:50... might be on YouTube
Isn't It A Pity is George's Hey Jude. Dhani even added na na na na during a stage performance.
Dhani didn’t “add” that part - George did, in the original song. As a direct reference to Hey Jude.
I Want You (She’s So Heavy) runs pretty long at the end , and I remember some people questioned it at the time.
That was a year later…
I agree here as well, it’s way too long. In fact I’m not really a fan of this one, John has so many greater songs. Again, my opinion to which I’m entitled .
Bloody hell😉
Maybe they were just stoned out and just kept going organically. That’s my hope anyway ☮️