The Beatles’ ‘Hey Jude’ Stopped a Classic Rock Song From Hitting No. 1
TL;DR:
- The Beatles’ “Hey Jude” charted at the same time as a song by an important shock-rock musician.
- Years later, the shock-rocker remembered “Hey Jude” blocking his signature song from reaching No. 1.
- “Hey Jude” was No. 1 in the United States for a whopping nine weeks.
The Beatles‘ “Hey Jude” was so huge it overshadowed almost all the other songs from the 1960s. For example, it stopped a famous classic rock song from hitting No. 1. The tune wouldn’t have been a hit without the aid of Jimi Hendrix.
The Beatles’ ‘Hey Jude’ got in the way of The Crazy World of Arthur Brown’s ‘Fire’
Arthur Brown is a shock-rock and progressive-rock musician. He is most known for writing and performing the song “Fire.” During a 2022 interview with NME, he was asked if he could remember which track stopped “Fire” from hitting No. 1.
“Can I sue you if I don’t like what you ask me?” Brown replied. “It was The Bluebottles … no … I can’t say it! It’s an insect and sometimes it flies, but mainly it doesn’t have wings. It is, of course, The Beatles with ‘Hey Jude!'”
Arthur Brown said Jimi Hendrix convinced radio stations to play ‘Fire’
Subsequently, Brown discussed how “Fire” became a hit. “‘Everything opened up when ‘Fire’ became a hit and I went from being an underground figure who was regarded as strange to singing and playing with people that were my influences and heroes, like John Lee Hooker and Frank Zappa,” he said.
“When the underground radio stations first turned the song down as not being a ‘hit,’ the label took it to the major stations who saw somebody with flames coming out of his head and thought it was an outrageous novelty record that would do well in the summertime,” Brown added. “At the same time, Jimi Hendrix helped break ‘Fire,’ because he was on the same U.S. label as me, and took the record around the stations demanding: ‘Play this motherf*****!”
How The Beatles’ ‘Hey Jude’ and Arthur Brown’s ‘Fire’ performed on the pop charts
“Hey Jude” topped the Billboard Hot 100 for nine of its 19 weeks on the chart. “Hey Jude” was the Fab Four’s biggest hit in the United States. The tune appeared on the compilation album of the same name. Hey Jude reached No. 2 on the Billboard 200 and stayed on the chart for 36 weeks.
On the other hand, “Fire” reached No. 2 on the Billboard Hot 100 and stayed on the chart for seven weeks. The Crazy World of Arthur Brown never had that level of success again. Despite that, “Fire” still has a place in popular culture. The Who and The Ventures both covered the song.
In addition, Marilyn Manson sampled part of “Fire” for the single “Lunchbox” from the band’s debut studio album Portrait of an American Family. In addition, Death Grips sampled “Fire” in their tune “Lord of the Game.”
“Fire” is a great song — even if “Hey Jude” got in its way.
