[5] Originally released in the United States and various other markets, but not in the United Kingdom, it consists of non-album singles and B-sides not previously issued on an American Beatles LP; this includes "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.

Klein had negotiated a more lucrative contract for the Beatles with Capitol Records in 1969 which required one compilation album per year.

Steckler chose songs that had not appeared on a Capitol album in the United States and that spanned the group's career.

This was a consequence of their arrangement with United Artists in 1964 and due to the habit of Capitol Records of recompiling the Beatles' British releases for local markets until 1967.

[7] 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.

In an attempt to clear up any confusion caused by the pre-printed labels, initial copies of the album displayed a sticker on the cover bearing the title Hey Jude.

The front and back cover pictures were taken at the last-ever Beatles photo session, on 22 August 1969, at John Lennon's home Tittenhurst Park by Ethan Russell.

The compilation was released in many countries, including the United States, Canada, Australia, Spain, Germany, France, Greece, Japan, Mexico, Venezuela and most of South America.

Because of its popularity worldwide, EMI issued Hey Jude in Britain on the Parlophone label on 11 May 1979 (catalogue number PCS 7184).

The Compact Disc era saw the standardization of the Beatles' discographies worldwide, and for many years the Hey Jude compilation was not available in the CD format.

In January 2014, Hey Jude was issued on CD both individually and in an American Beatles album compilation box set titled The U.S.