Although The Beatles chose not to release Yesterday as a single in the UK, their US record label Capitol Records decided otherwise and released it with the b-side Act Naturally.
The single hit the charts by September 29, 1965, and from October 9th spent four weeks at number one. Altogether it spent 11 weeks on the charts, and sold over one million copies in the first five weeks.
Yesterday also became the most-played song on American radio for eight consecutive years, sealing its status as one of The Beatles' most popular songs.