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Hey Joe

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For other uses, see Hey Joe (disambiguation).
"Hey Joe"
Song
B-side"Be With You" (original)
"Girl from the East" (re-release)
"Funny Little World" (second re-release)
"Hey Joe"
Song
"Hey Joe"
Song
B-side"Stone Free" (UK)
"51st Anniversary" (US)
"Hey Joe"
Song
"Hey Joe"
Song
B-side"Piss Factory"

"Hey Joe" is an American popular song from the 1960s that has become a rock standard and as such, has been performed in a multitude of musical styles by hundreds of different artists since it was first written.[1][2][3] "Hey Joe" tells the story of a man who is on the run and planning to head to Mexico after shooting his wife.[4] However, diverse credits and claims have led to confusion as to the song's true authorship and genesis.[3][4] The earliest known commercial recording of the song is the late 1965 single by the Los Angeles garage band, The Leaves,[5] who also had the first hit version of the song with a re-recording in 1966. Currently the best-known version is the The Jimi Hendrix Experience's 1966 recording.[6] The song title is sometimes given as "Hey Joe, Where You Gonna Go?" or similar variations.

Authorship

While claimed by some to be a traditional song,[7] or often erroneously attributed to the pen of American musician Dino Valenti (who also went by the names Chester or Chet Powers, and Jesse Farrow), "Hey Joe" was registered for copyright in the U.S. in 1962 by Billy Roberts.[3] Scottish folk singer Len Partridge has claimed that he helped write the song with Roberts when they both performed in clubs in Edinburgh in 1956.[8] Other sources (including singer Pat Craig), claim that Roberts assigned the rights to the song to his friend Valenti while Valenti was in jail, in order to give him some income upon release.[3][9]

Roberts was a relatively obscure California-based folk singer, guitarist and harmonica player who performed on the West Coast coffee-house circuit.[10] He later recorded the country rock album Thoughts of California with the band Grits in San Francisco in 1975, produced by Hillel Resner.[11] Resner has stated that a live recording of Roberts performing "Hey Joe" exists, dating from 1961.[3]

Roberts possibly drew inspiration for "Hey Joe" from three earlier works: his girlfriend Niela Miller's 1955 song "Baby, Please Don’t Go To Town"[3] (which uses a similar chord progression based on the circle of fifths);[10] Carl Smith's 1953 US country hit "Hey Joe!" (written by Boudleaux Bryant), which shared the title and the "question and answer" format; and the early 20th century traditional ballad "Little Sadie", which tells of a man on the run after he has shot his wife.[12] The lyrics to "Little Sadie" often locate the events in Thomasville, North Carolina and Jericho, (near Hollywood, South Carolina). Roberts was himself born in South Carolina.

Variations of "Little Sadie" have been recorded under various titles (including "Bad Lee Brown", "Penitentiary Blues", "Cocaine Blues", "Whiskey Blues") by many artists, including Clarence Ashley (1930),[13] Johnny Cash (1960 & 1968), Slim Dusty (1961),[14] and Bob Dylan (1970).

Despite extensive archives of U.S. folk and blues music, and studies of the same, in the Library of Congress, the Smithsonian Institution,[15] and other bodies, no documentary evidence has been provided to support the claim, by the late Tim Rose[7] and others, that "Hey Joe" is a wholly traditional work. (see also the article on "Morning Dew" regarding Rose and song copyrights).

Rights to the song were administered from 1966 into the 2000s by the music publisher Third Story Music (now Third Palm Music); they list the author as Billy Roberts.[16]

Early recordings (1965–1966)

Roberts' song gained fans in the Los Angeles music scene of the mid-1960s, which led to fast-paced recordings in 1965 and 1966 by The Leaves, The Standells, The Surfaris, Love and The Byrds, swiftly making the song a garage rock classic.[5] Both Dino Valenti and The Byrds' David Crosby have been reported as helping to popularize the song before it was recorded by The Leaves in December 1965.[17]

The Leaves, who had been introduced to the song while attending live concerts by The Byrds (who had yet to record their own version of the song) at Ciro's on Sunset Boulevard,[17] recorded and released three versions of "Hey Joe" between 1965 and 1966.[4] Their first version was released in November/December 1965 but sold poorly.[5] The band's third recorded version of the song became a hit in May/June 1966 and reached #31 on the Billboard Hot 100 chart.[5] The Leaves' version is notable for being the only recording of the song to reach the Top 40 of the Billboard chart.[4]

The Surfaris recording of the song, released on the B-side of their "So Get Out" single, is sometimes cited as being the first rock recording of the song[18] but a number of reliable sources contend that, in fact, the Surfaris' version dates from 1966, well after The Leaves' original 1965 version.[3][19][20] There is some dispute over exactly when The Surfaris' recording of the song was released. Some sources list its release date as being late 1965[18] but there are many other sources that list it as being June 1966.[21][22] However, the catalogue number of The Surfari's single is Decca 31954, which when cross-referenced with other contemporaneous Decca single releases, allows the single to be conclusively dated to a May - June 1966 time frame.[23] A June 1966 release date is further corroborated by the discographical information on Gary Usher's website.[23] Usher was the producer of The Surfaris' recording of the song and the discographical information on his website comes from the late producer's personal archives, as compiled by his biographer Stephen J. McParland at the request of the Usher family.[24]

The Standells also recorded a version of the song, titled "Hey Joe, Where You Gonna Go", which was included on their 1966 Dirty Water album.[25] The garage rock band, The Music Machine, recorded a slow, moody, fuzz-laden version of the song in late 1966 which bears a strong resemblance to Jimi Hendrix's later version.[26]

The Los Angeles band Love included a version of "Hey Joe" on their debut album, Love, released on Elektra Records in April 1966.[27] The song was brought to the band by guitarist and singer, Bryan MacLean, who had been introduced to the song by David Crosby during 1965, while MacLean had been a roadie for The Byrds.[17] The band's lead vocalist, Arthur Lee, claimed in later years that it was Love's version that turned Jimi Hendrix onto the song as well as most of the other Los Angeles acts who covered the song.[28] The song was initially intended to be Love's first single, however, Lee knew that The Leaves had released a recording of it and so Love issued a cover of Burt Bacharach's "My Little Red Book" as their debut single instead.[citation needed] Love's recording of "Hey Joe" features slightly different lyrics to most versions of the song, due to the fact that Arthur Lee didn't know all of the words to the song.[citation needed] For example, the lyric "gun in your hand" became "money in your hand" in Love's version.[29] The Byrds recording of the song also features the same altered lyrics as Love's version.[30]

The Byrds included a recording of the song, titled "Hey Joe (Where You Gonna Go)", on their 1966 album, Fifth Dimension.[17] The lead vocalist on The Byrds' version was David Crosby, who was instrumental in bringing the song to the group and in popularising the song within the larger L.A. music community.[17] Crosby had wanted to record the song almost since the band first formed in 1964 but the other members of The Byrds had been unenthusiastic toward the song.[17] By the time of the recording sessions for Fifth Dimension, several other bands had enjoyed success with covers of "Hey Joe", leaving Crosby angered by his bandmates' lack of faith in the song. In interview, Byrds' guitarist and band leader Roger McGuinn recalled that "The reason Crosby did lead on 'Hey Joe' was because it was his song. He didn't write it but he was responsible for finding it. He'd wanted to do it for years but we would never let him. Then both Love and The Leaves had a minor hit with it and David got so angry that we had to let him do it."[9]

General consensus within the band and among critics was that The Byrds' version wasn't an entirely successful reading of the song and was inferior to previous recordings of the song by Love and The Leaves.[31] In later years, both McGuinn and the band's manager, Jim Dickson, criticised Crosby's vocal performance on the song for not being powerful enough to carry the aggressive subject matter and expressed regret that the song had been included on Fifth Dimension. Even Crosby himself later admitted that the recording of the song was an error on his part, stating "It was a mistake, I shouldn't have done it. Everybody makes mistakes."[17]

The song would go on to become a staple of The Byrds' live concert repertoire during 1966 and 1967.[17] The band also included the song in their performance at the Monterey Pop Festival, which is included on the 2002 The Complete Monterey Pop Festival DVD box set as well as on the 1992 The Monterey International Pop Festival CD box set.[32][33]

Tim Rose and Jimi Hendrix (1966)

Folk rock singer Tim Rose’s slower version of the song (recorded in 1966 and claimed to be Rose's arrangement of a wholly traditional song)[7] inspired the first single by The Jimi Hendrix Experience.[6] The ex-bassist for The Animals, Chas Chandler, who was now focusing on managing other acts, had seen Rose performing the song at the Cafe Wha? in New York City and as a result, was looking for an artist to record a rock version of "Hey Joe".[34][35] Chandler discovered Jimi Hendrix, who had also been playing at the Cafe Wha? in 1966 and performing an arrangement of "Hey Joe" inspired by Rose's rendition.[35] Chandler decided to take Hendrix with him to England in September 1966, where he would subsequently turn the guitarist into a star.[34] Tim Rose re-recorded "Hey Joe" in the 1990s, re-titling it "Blue Steel .44"[36] and again claimed the song as his own arrangement of a traditional song.

Some accounts credit the slower version of the song by the British band The Creation as being the inspiration for Hendrix's version; Chandler and Hendrix saw them perform the song after Jimi arrived in the UK, although The Creation's version was not released until after Hendrix's.[37] It is unclear if the members of The Creation had heard Tim Rose's version.

Released in December 1966, Hendrix's version became a hit in the United Kingdom, entering the Top 10 of the UK Singles Chart in January 1967 and peaking at #6.[38] The single was released in the United States on May 1, 1967 with the B-side "51st Anniversary" but failed to chart.[39] "Hey Joe", as recorded by The Jimi Hendrix Experience, remains the best known version of the song[6] and is listed as #198 on Rolling Stone magazine's The 500 Greatest Songs of All Time.[40] In 2009 it was named the 22nd greatest hard rock song of all time by VH1.[41] "Hey Joe" was the last song Jimi Hendrix performed at the Woodstock festival in 1969 and as such, it was also the final song of the whole festival. The song was performed after the crowd, comprising the 80,000 who hadn't yet left the festival, cheered for an encore.[42]

Later recordings (1968–present)

Marmalade recorded a version of the song in 1968 because they needed a B-side to their single "Lovin' Things" in a hurry, and because they thought it was a traditional song and as such, the band would get the songwriting royalties from it.[43] Marmalade guitarist, Junior Campbell, stated in interview that "Jimi Hendrix's version had already sold about 200,000 copies and then we sold about 300,000 on the flip of 'Lovin' Things'. But then the following year, the bloke who'd written the bloody song suddenly turned up out of the woodwork!".[43]

Frank Zappa recorded a parody of the song, titled "Flower Punk", on The Mothers of Invention album We're Only in It for the Money in 1968.[44] The song was one of several on the album that parodied the fashionable hippie lifestyle. Lyrics in Zappa's version included "Hey Punk, where you goin' with that flower in your hand?/Well, I'm goin' up to Frisco to join a psychedelic band."[45] Frank also included the opening chord riff of "Hey Joe" in the song "Honey, Don't You Want a Man Like Me?" from his Zappa in New York album.[citation needed]

Patti Smith released a cover of the song as the A-side of her first single, "Hey Joe" b/w "Piss Factory", in 1974.[46] The arrangement of Smith's version is based on a recording by blues guitarist Roy Buchanan[citation needed] that was released the previous year (and dedicated to Hendrix). Smith's version is unique in that she includes a brief and salacious—some would say tasteless—monologue about fugitive heiress Patty Hearst and her kidnapping and participation with the Symbionese Liberation Army.[47] Smith's version portrays Patty Hearst as Joe with a "gun in her hand".[47] Patti Smith's version of the song is only available on the 2004 compilation album, No Thanks!: The 70s Punk Rebellion.

Sonic Youth's song "Hey Joni", included on their 1988 album, Daydream Nation, is titled in reference to "Hey Joe" and to Joni Mitchell but it shares no lyrical themes with the Billy Roberts' song.[48]

The rock band The Who occasionally performed "Hey Joe" during their 1989 tour. Their version was influenced by Jimi Hendrix's arrangement and was dedicated to him.[49]

Willy DeVille recorded a mariachi version of the song that was a hit in Europe in 1992, going to #1 in Spain.[50] The song was released as a single in Europe and appeared on DeVille's Backstreets of Desire album.

Type O Negative re-titled the song as "Hey Pete" (in reference to frontman Peter Steele) on their 1992 The Origin of the Feces album and changed the song's protagonist to an axe-murderer. This fit the song into a story arc spanning several of the band's own compositions.[citation needed]

The Red Hot Chili Peppers were seen in 2006 rehearsing the song on the TV program Live From Abbey Road on Channel 4.[citation needed]

Bap Kennedy, was so inspired by Hendrix's performance of "Hey Joe" as the closing song of the Woodstock Festival that he released his own version forty years later on his 2009 album, Howl On.[51]

1,881 guitarists played "Hey Joe" in Wrocław on May 1, 2007, setting what was, at the time, a new Guinness record.

1,572 guitarists played "Hey Joe" simultaneously in the town square of Wrocław, Poland on May 1, 2006, breaking a Guinness record.[citation needed] A new record was set when 1,881 guitarists played "Hey Joe" in Wrocław on May 1, 2007.[citation needed] Then on May 1, 2008, 1,951 guitarists played "Hey Joe" in Wrocław to set a new world record.[citation needed] The record was further broken in Wroclaw on May 1, 2009, when 6346 guitarists played the song in the same venue.[citation needed]

Selected list of recorded versions

The following versions of "Hey Joe" made the pop charts in the US or UK:

  • The Leaves as "Hey Joe, Where You Gonna Go" (Mira 207, December 1965); re-recorded as "Hey Joe, Where You Gonna Go" (Mira 222, 1966), and then again as "Hey Joe" (Mira 222, May 1966). This last version charted, peaking at #31 in the US.
  • The Jimi Hendrix Experience (1966) Peaked at UK #6. In 2000, Total Guitar magazine ranked it as the 13th greatest cover version of all time.[52]
  • Cher (1967) on her album With Love, Cher. Peaked at US #94.
  • Wilson Pickett (Atlantic 2648, July 1969) Peaked at #29 on the US R&B charts, #59 on the US pop charts, and #16 on the UK charts. Featured Duane Allman on guitar.

Other recorded versions of "Hey Joe" include:

In the media

The Hendrix version appears in the following films:[53]

"Hey Joe" as performed by The Jimi Hendrix Experience also appears in the Deep Space Nine episode "Past Tense".[53]

A version sung by Michael Pitt with the band The Twins of Evil features in the film The Dreamers.[54]

The Deep Purple version appears in Vietcong computer game.[55]

The Roger Waters' song "Folded Flags" from the soundtrack to the film, When The Wind Blows, features a reference to "Hey Joe" in the lines "Hey Joe, where you goin' with that gun in your hand?" and "Hey Joe, where you goin' with that dogma in your head?"[56]

Samples and quotes

References

  1. ^ Hicks, Michael. (2000). Sixties Rock: Garage, Psychedelic, and Other Satisfactions. University of Illinois Press. p. 55. ISBN 0-25206-915-3.
  2. ^ "Hey Joe covers". allmusic. Retrieved 2009-07-25.
  3. ^ a b c d e f g "Hey Joe Versions". www.franzen.tk. Retrieved 2009-07-25.
  4. ^ a b c d "Hey Joe". Tom Simon's Rock-and-Roll Page. Retrieved 2009-07-25.
  5. ^ a b c d Stax, Mike. (1998). Nuggets: Original Artyfacts from the First Psychedelic Era, 1965–1968 (1998 CD box set liner notes).
  6. ^ a b c "Hey Joe Review". allmusic. Retrieved 2009-07-25.
  7. ^ a b c "Introduction". The Official Tim Rose Website. Retrieved 2010-02-28.
  8. ^ Double Take: 'Hey Joe', in The Independent
  9. ^ a b Rogan, Johnny. (1996). Fifth Dimension (1996 CD liner notes).
  10. ^ a b "Billy Roberts Biography". www.billystapleton.com. Retrieved 2009-07-25.
  11. ^ "Billy Roberts & Grits LP auction details". Popsike.com. Retrieved 2010-02-28.
  12. ^ Beissel, Kim. (2004). Original Seeds Vol. 2: Songs that inspired Nick Cave & the Bad Seeds (2004 CD liner notes).
  13. ^ "Classic Old-Time Music from Smithsonian Folkways". Folkways Records. Retrieved 2010-02-28.
  14. ^ "Latest Releases". Slim Dusty Home Page. Retrieved 2010-02-28.
  15. ^ "Sam DeVincent Collection Of Illustrated Sheet Music 1790 - 1987". Smithsonian Institution. Retrieved 2010-02-28.
  16. ^ "Hey Joe Where You Gonna Go legal copywrite". Broadcast Music Incorporated. Retrieved 2008-01-16.
  17. ^ a b c d e f g h Rogan, Johnny. (1998). The Byrds: Timeless Flight Revisited. Rogan House. ISBN 0-95295-401-X.
  18. ^ a b Hicks, Michael. (2000). Sixties Rock: Garage, Psychedelic, and Other Satisfactions. University of Illinois Press. ISBN 0-25206-915-3.
  19. ^ "The Leaves biography". allmusic. Retrieved 2009-07-26.
  20. ^ Joynson, Vernon. (1997). Fuzz, Acid and Flowers (4th Edition). Borderline Productions. ISBN 1-89985-506-8.
  21. ^ "Hey Joe Release Chronology". Information Is Not Knowledge. Retrieved 2009-07-26.
  22. ^ Wipe Out: The Singles Album 1963-67 (1987 LP liner notes). 1987.
  23. ^ a b "Gary Usher Discography 1960-1966". www.garyusher.com. Retrieved 2009-07-26.
  24. ^ "The Original Gary Usher Web Page". www.garyusher.com. Retrieved 2009-07-26.
  25. ^ "Dirty Water review". allmusic. Retrieved 2009-07-26.
  26. ^ "(Turn On) The Music Machine review". allmusic. Retrieved 2009-07-27.
  27. ^ "Love album review". allmusic. Retrieved 2009-07-26.
  28. ^ Hoskyns, Barney. (2001). Arthur Lee: Alone Again Or (Mojo Heroes). MOJO Books. ISBN 1-84195-085-8.
  29. ^ "Hey Joe by Love - Lyrics". DM's Music History site. Retrieved 2009-08-13.
  30. ^ "Hey Joe by The Byrds - Lyrics". The Byrds Lyrics Page. Retrieved 2009-08-13.
  31. ^ Fricke, David. (1996). Fifth Dimension (1996 CD liner notes).
  32. ^ "The Complete Monterey Pop Festival - Menu Options". Allmovie. Retrieved 2010-01-19.
  33. ^ "The Monterey International Pop Festival box set review". allmusic. Retrieved 2009-07-26.
  34. ^ a b "Chas Chandler Biography". allmusic. Retrieved 2009-07-27.
  35. ^ a b "Chas Chandler Obituary". The Independent. Retrieved 2009-07-27.
  36. ^ "Haunted track listing". The Official Tim Rose Website. Retrieved 2010-02-28.
  37. ^ "We Are Paintermen review". allmusic. Retrieved 2009-07-27.
  38. ^ Brown, Tony. (2000). The Complete Book Of The British Charts. Omnibus Press. ISBN 0-7119-7670-8.
  39. ^ "Jimi Hendrix discography - Are You Experienced era". Ander's Jimi Hendrix Page. Retrieved 2009-07-27.
  40. ^ "The RS 500 Greatest Songs of All Time (101 - 200)". Rolling Stone. Retrieved 2010-02-28.
  41. ^ "spreadit.org music". Retrieved February 7, 2009.
  42. ^ "Jimi Hendrix - Live At Woodstock review". allmusic. Retrieved 2009-07-27.
  43. ^ a b Dopson, Roger. (2003). I See The Rain: The CBS Years (2003 CD liner notes).
  44. ^ "Flower Punk review". allmusic. Retrieved 2009-07-27.
  45. ^ "Flower Punk lyrics". Information Is Not Knowledge. Retrieved 2009-07-27.
  46. ^ "Patti Smith: Commercial Discography". A Patti Smith Babelogue. Retrieved 2009-07-27.
  47. ^ a b "Patti Smith Biography". allmusic. Retrieved 2009-07-27.
  48. ^ "Hey Joni". www.sonicyouth.com. Retrieved 2009-07-18.
  49. ^ "The Who - 1989 Concert Set Lists". The Who Concert Guide. Retrieved 2009-07-27.
  50. ^ "Interview with Willy DeVille". Willy DeVille fan site. Retrieved 2010-02-01.
  51. ^ "Howl On. Bap Kennedy album". bapkennedy.com. Retrieved 2009-07-23.
  52. ^ "The Best Cover Versions Ever", Total Guitar, Future Publishing, August 2000
  53. ^ a b "Jimi Hendrix Soundtrack Contributions". Internet Movie Database. Retrieved 2009-07-29.
  54. ^ "The Dreamers". Internet Movie Database. Retrieved 2009-07-29.
  55. ^ "Vietcong Game Credits". MobyGames. Retrieved 2009-07-29.
  56. ^ "When The Wind Blows lyrics". Roger Waters International Fan Club. Retrieved 2010-02-17.
  57. ^ "What You Know review". Modern Beats. Retrieved 2009-07-29.
  58. ^ "We Major review". Mixtape Buzz. Retrieved 2009-07-29.
  59. ^ "Jealous Ones Still Envy (J.O.S.E. 2) review". XXLmag. Retrieved 2009-07-29.
  60. ^ "What was the song of the NWO on WWE?". Yahoo! Answers. Retrieved 2009-07-29.
  61. ^ "Greatest Wrestling Entrance Themes". Sky Sports. Retrieved 2009-07-29.

Sources

  • Sixties Rock, Michael Hicks, University of Illinois Press, 2000
  • Original Seeds Vol. 2: Songs that inspired Nick Cave & the Bad Seeds, Kim Beissel, CD liner notes, Rubber Records Australia, 2004
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