🏆 Billboard Chart Week of November 2, 1968
🎵 #1 Song: “Hey Jude” by The Beatles
⏱ Week at #1: Sixth week at #1
⚡ What Happened This Week
The Billboard Hot 100 for November 2, 1968 showed The Beatles continuing their incredible domination of American music as “Hey Jude” remained firmly planted at #1.
By this point, the song had become more than a hit single — it was one of the defining songs of the entire decade. Its emotional message, extended runtime, and unforgettable “na-na-na” finale made it unlike anything else on the radio.
At the same time, folk-pop ballads, psychedelic rock, soulful storytelling, and harmony-driven pop records filled out one of the most interesting charts of the late 1960s.
🎂 What Was the #1 Song on Your Birthday?
If you were born during the week ending November 2, 1968, this was your birthday song:
🎵 Hey Jude by The Beatles
▶ Watch and experience this song →
🎂 Try your own birthday:
📊 Billboard Hot 100 – Top 5 Songs (November 2, 1968)
“Hey Jude” – The Beatles
“Those Were The Days” – Mary Hopkin
“Little Green Apples” – O.C. Smith
“Fire” – The Crazy World Of Arthur Brown
“Midnight Confessions” – The Grass Roots
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🎹 “Hey Jude” Continues Its Legendary Run
The Beatles held onto the #1 position for another week with “Hey Jude.”
Released on the band’s Apple Records label, the song had quickly become a worldwide phenomenon. Radio programmers originally worried that its seven-minute running time would hurt its success, but listeners loved every second of it.
Paul McCartney’s uplifting ballad connected deeply with audiences during a difficult year filled with political unrest, protests, and national tragedy.
The song’s singalong ending became one of the most recognizable moments in music history.
🎻 Mary Hopkin Climbs Higher
At #2, “Those Were The Days” by Mary Hopkin continued its strong rise up the charts.
Produced by Paul McCartney, the nostalgic folk-pop ballad brought a completely different sound to Top 40 radio.
The song’s themes of remembering youth and happier times struck an emotional chord with listeners. Its old-world melody and storytelling style helped it stand apart from the psychedelic rock and soul music dominating much of the charts.
Mary Hopkin quickly became one of Apple Records’ first major success stories.
🍏 “Little Green Apples” Remains a Favorite
O.C. Smith’s “Little Green Apples” slipped to #3 but remained one of the most admired records on the radio.
The song mixed pop, soul, and country influences into a warm and heartfelt performance about love, family, and appreciating ordinary life.
Its comforting message appealed to adult listeners while still crossing over successfully to younger audiences.
The record became one of the biggest easy-listening crossover hits of 1968.
🔥 Arthur Brown Keeps Rock Wild
“Fire” by The Crazy World Of Arthur Brown remained inside the Top 5 at #4.
The song’s theatrical vocals and dramatic psychedelic sound made it one of the most unique rock hits of the decade.
Arthur Brown’s wild stage performances — including his famous flaming helmet — helped inspire the growing trend of elaborate rock stage shows that would soon become common in the 1970s.
“Fire” showed how experimental rock music had become by late 1968.
🌙 “Midnight Confessions” Breaks Into the Top 5
At #5, The Grass Roots climbed higher with “Midnight Confessions.”
The song featured a polished pop-rock sound filled with emotional vocals and catchy harmonies.
Its smooth production and confessional lyrics made it one of the group’s biggest hits and helped define the soft rock direction that would become even more popular in the years ahead.
The record added another style to a chart already packed with musical variety.
🎶 The Sound of Late 1968
The November 2, 1968 chart perfectly reflected how broad popular music had become by the end of the decade.
Listeners could hear:
- epic Beatles ballads,
- nostalgic folk songs,
- psychedelic rock experiments,
- soulful crossover records,
- and harmony-driven pop-rock
all sharing the same Top 5.
The late 1960s had become one of the most creative periods in Billboard chart history.
🔥 Final Thoughts
The Billboard Hot 100 for November 2, 1968 continued the remarkable chart reign of “Hey Jude,” one of the most important songs ever recorded by The Beatles.
At the same time, songs like “Those Were The Days,” “Fire,” and “Midnight Confessions” showed just how diverse and unpredictable popular music had become as 1968 moved toward its dramatic finish.