View source for Hey Joe!

{{Short description|1953 country song}}
{{for|the song recorded by The Jimi Hendrix Experience and many others|Hey Joe}}
{{Other uses|Hey Joe (disambiguation)}}
{{Infobox song
| name       = Hey Joe
| cover      =
| alt        =
| type       = single
| artist     = [[Carl Smith (country musician)|Carl Smith]]
| album      =
|B-side=Darlin' Am I The One|published=July 17, 1953| released   = {{Start date|1953|05|19}}
| format     =
| recorded   =
| studio     =
| venue      =
| genre      = [[Country music|Country]]
| length     ={{Duration|m=2|s=28}}
| label      = [[Columbia Records|Columbia]]
| writer     = [[Felice and Boudleaux Bryant|Boudleaux Bryant]]
| producer   =
| prev_title = Do I Like It?
| prev_year  = 1953
| next_title = Satisfaction Guaranteed
| next_year  = 1953
}}
"'''Hey Joe!'''" is a 1953 [[popular music|popular]] [[song]] [[songwriter|written]] by [[Felice and Boudleaux Bryant|Boudleaux Bryant]]. It was [[sound recording and reproduction|recorded]] by [[Carl Smith (country musician)|Carl Smith]] for [[Columbia Records]] on 19 May 1953 and spent eight weeks at [[chart-topper|No. 1]] on the [[United States|US]] [[Hot Country Songs|country music chart]],<ref>{{cite book |title= The Billboard Book Of Top 40 Country Hits: 1944-2006, Second edition|last=Whitburn |first=Joel |author-link=Joel Whitburn |year=2004 |publisher=Record Research |page=318}}</ref> marking Bryant's first no. 1 record. He later wrote songs with his wife [[Felice and Boudleaux Bryant|Felice]] for [[The Everly Brothers]].<ref name="500 Number One Hits">{{cite book|last=Rice|first=Jo|title=The Guinness Book of 500 Number One Hits|publisher=Guinness Superlatives Ltd|year=1982|isbn=0-85112-250-7|edition=1st|location=Enfield, Middlesex|pages=8}}</ref> The song was first published in [[New York City|New York]] on July 17, 1953 as "Hey, Joe".<ref>{{Cite book |last= |first= |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=KjAhAQAAIAAJ |title=Catalog of Copyright Entries: Third series |date=1953 |language=en}}</ref>
A contemporary [[cover version]] by [[Frankie Laine]] was a hit on the [[Billboard (magazine)|''Billboard'']] chart, and also reached No. 1 in the [[UK Singles Chart]].<ref name="500 Number One Hits" /><ref name=":0">{{Cite web|title=Hey Joe! (song by Frankie Laine) ••• Music VF, US & UK hits charts|url=https://www.musicvf.com/song.php?title=Hey+Joe!+by+Frankie+Laine&id=16377|access-date=2021-09-13|website=MusicVF.com}}</ref> Later that year, [[Kitty Wells]] recorded an [[Answer song|answer record]], also titled "Hey Joe", which hit No. 8 on the Jukebox Country & Western chart.<ref>{{cite book |title= The Billboard Book Of Top 40 Country Hits: 1944-2006, Second edition|last=Whitburn |first=Joel |author-link=Joel Whitburn |year=2004 |publisher=Record Research |page=376}}</ref>
== Frankie Laine recording ==
{{Infobox song
| name       = Hey Joe!
| cover      =
| alt        =
| type       = single
| artist     = [[Frankie Laine]]<br>with [[Paul Weston]] and his Orchestra<br>and [[The Norman Luboff Choir]]<br>
[[Carl T. Fischer|Carl Fischer]]-Piano
| album      =
|B-side=Sittin' In The Sun (Countin' My Money)|published=July 17, 1953| released   = {{Start date|1953|07|06}}
| format     =
| recorded   =June 22, 1953
| studio     = [[Radio Recorders]] (Hollywood, California)
| venue      =
| genre      = [[Country music|Country]], [[traditional pop]]
| length     ={{Duration|m=2|s=18}}
| label      = [[Columbia Records|Columbia]]
| writer     = [[Felice and Boudleaux Bryant|Boudleaux Bryant]]
| producer   =[[Mitch Miller]]
| prev_title =
| prev_year  =
| next_title =
| next_year  =
}}
A pop cover of "Hey Joe!" was made by [[Frankie Laine]] on June 22, 1953 at [[Radio Recorders]] in [[Hollywood, Los Angeles|Hollywood]], with [[Paul Weston]] and his Orchestra and the [[Norman Luboff|Norman Luboff Choir]], also featuring [[Carl T. Fischer|Carl Fischer]] on piano.<ref>{{Cite web|last=Rogers|first=John|title=h|url=http://members.optusnet.com.au/johnhrogers/h.htm|access-date=2021-09-13|website=Popular recordings from 1st August 1942}}</ref><ref>{{Cite book|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=UwoEAAAAMBAJ|title=Billboard|date=1953-08-08|publisher=Nielsen Business Media, Inc.|pages=21|language=en}}</ref><ref>{{Cite web|last=Praguefrank|date=2016-12-18|title=Praguefrank's Country Discography 2: Frankie Laine, part 1|url=http://countrydiscoghraphy2.blogspot.com/2016/12/frankie-laine-part-1.html|access-date=2021-09-13|website=Praguefrank's Country Discography 2}}</ref> Produced by [[Mitch Miller]], the single was released by [[Columbia Records|Columbia]] (the same label who issued the [[Carl Smith (musician)|Carl Smith]] version) on July 6. It was featured in ''Billboard''<nowiki/>'s New Records To Watch, with the magazine commenting, "It's a good tune for Laine, and he handles it in his customary exciting style."<ref>{{Cite book|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=XAoEAAAAMBAJ|title=Billboard|date=1953-07-18|publisher=Nielsen Business Media, Inc.|pages=38|language=en}}</ref> Laine's "Hey Joe!" entered ''Billboard''<nowiki/>'s Best Selling Singles chart on August 22, where it peaked at No. 6.<ref name=":0" /><ref>{{Cite book|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=YQoEAAAAMBAJ|title=Billboard|date=1953-09-26|publisher=Nielsen Business Media, Inc.|pages=38|language=en}}</ref>
In the UK, Laine's recording was an even bigger success. Released by [[Philips Records|Philips]] in August 1953, it entered the [[NME|''New Musical Express'']] singles chart on October 16, 1953.<ref>{{Cite book|last=Henson|first=Brian|url=https://www.worldcat.org/oclc/19389211|title=First hits, 1946-1959|date=1989|publisher=Boxtree|others=Colin Morgan|isbn=1-85283-268-1|location=London|oclc=19389211}}</ref><ref name=":1">{{Cite book|url=https://www.worldcat.org/oclc/51779766|title=British hit singles : Guinness world records.|date=2003|publisher=Gullane|isbn=0-85112-190-X|edition=16th|location=London|oclc=51779766}}</ref> "Hey Joe!" reached No. 1 on the [[UK Singles Chart]] the following week, October 23.<ref name="500 Number One Hits" /> It was Laine's second UK chart topper, but unlike his record-breaking hit "[[I Believe (1953 song)|I Believe]]", "Hey Joe!" only stayed on the [[record chart|chart]] for eight weeks, including two at No. 1. On October 23, Laine had three [[single (music)|singles]] in the chart, which at that time consisted of only twelve positions. The following week, Laine's third No. 1 hit in the UK, "[[Answer Me]]", entered the chart, giving him a third of all the [[gramophone record|records]] on the listing.<ref name="500 Number One Hits" />
== Other contemporary recordings ==
The version by Carl Smith charted at No. 1 on the US country chart, but did not appear on the overall Best Selling Singles listing.<ref>{{Cite web|title=Hey Joe! (song by Carl Smith) ••• Music VF, US & UK hits charts|url=https://www.musicvf.com/song.php?title=Hey+Joe!+by+Carl+Smith&id=112580|access-date=2021-09-13|website=MusicVF.com}}</ref> Similarly, another country recording, by [[Kitty Wells]], only made the country chart, peaking at No. 8.<ref>{{Cite web|title=Hey Joe (song by Kitty Wells) ••• Music VF, US & UK hits charts|url=https://www.musicvf.com/song.php?title=Hey+Joe+by+Kitty+Wells&id=111075|access-date=2021-09-13|website=MusicVF.com}}</ref>
In the UK's sheet music sales chart, "Hey Joe" first made the top 20 on October 3, 1953, and peaked at No. 14 in a nine-week run. Aside from the popular version by Frankie Laine, just two other contemporary cover recordings were available in the UK, by British singers Ronnie Meede (released on [[Decca Records|Decca]] in September) and [[Frankie Vaughan]] (issued by [[His Master's Voice|HMV]] in October).<ref>{{Cite book|last=Henson|first=Brian|url=https://www.worldcat.org/oclc/19389211|title=First hits, 1946-1959|date=1989|publisher=Boxtree|others=Colin Morgan|isbn=1-85283-268-1|location=London|oclc=19389211}}</ref>
==Later recordings==
*[[Moe Bandy]] and [[Joe Stampley]] recorded a new version of the song with the modified title "Hey Joe, Hey Moe", with lyrics specially rewritten for the project by Boudleaux Bryant, as the title song to a duet album issued in 1981. The song, released as the lead single to the album, was a top 10 country hit that year.<ref>{{Cite web|title=Hey Joe (Hey Moe) (song by Moe Bandy & Joe Stampley) ••• Music VF, US & UK hits charts|url=https://www.musicvf.com/song.php?title=Hey+Joe+(Hey+Moe)+by+Moe+Bandy+&+Joe+Stampley&id=98909|access-date=2021-09-13|website=MusicVF.com}}</ref>
*On the [[Statler Brothers]]' unusual comic album ''Alive At The Johnny Mack Brown High School'', released in 1974 under their alias Lester "Roadhog" Moran & The Cadillac Cowboys, the first song after the band's theme song is "Hey Joe".<ref>[https://www.discogs.com/Lester-Roadhog-Moran-The-Cadillac-Cowboys-Alive-At-The-Johnny-Mack-Brown-High-School/master/475930 Lester Roadhog Moran Vinyl Album Song Listing from '''Discogs.com''']</ref>
==References==
{{Reflist}}
{{Carl Smith}}
{{Kitty Wells}}
{{Frankie Laine}}
{{Authority control}}
[[Category:1953 singles]]
[[Category:Frankie Laine songs]]
[[Category:Carl Smith (musician) songs]]
[[Category:Moe Bandy songs]]
[[Category:Joe Stampley songs]]
[[Category:Kitty Wells songs]]
[[Category:Songs written by Felice and Boudleaux Bryant]]
[[Category:UK singles chart number-one singles]]