"Hey Joe" is a 1953 popular song written by Boudleaux Bryant. It was recorded by Carl Smith for Columbia Records on 19 May 1953 and spent eight weeks at #1 on the US country music chart.[1] This marked Bryant's first number-one record. He later wrote songs with his wife Felice for The Everly Brothers.[2]
| "Hey Joe" | ||||
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Single by Carl Smith | ||||
| Released | May 19, 1953 | |||
| Genre | Country | |||
| Label | Columbia | |||
| Songwriter(s) | Boudleaux Bryant | |||
| Carl Smith singles chronology | ||||
| ||||
Later in 1953, Kitty Wells recorded an answer record also titled "Hey Joe" which hit number eight on the Jukebox Country & Western chart.[3]
Cover versions
A cover version, sung by Frankie Laine and produced by Mitch Miller, reached number one in the UK Singles Chart in October 1953.[2]
It was Laine's second UK chart topper, but unlike his long-lasting "I Believe", it only stayed in the chart for eight weeks, after reaching number one in its second week on the chart.[2] That week Laine had three singles in the chart, which at that time consisted only of twelve songs.[2] The following week, Laine's third number one hit in the UK, "Answer Me", entered the chart, giving Laine one third of all records on the listing.[2]
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.
References
- ^ Whitburn, Joel (2004). The Billboard Book Of Top 40 Country Hits: 1944-2006, Second edition. Record Research. p. 318.
- ^ a b c d e Rice, Jo (1982). The Guinness Book of 500 Number One Hits (1st ed.). Enfield, Middlesex: Guinness Superlatives Ltd. p. 8. ISBN 0-85112-250-7.
- ^ Whitburn, Joel (2004). The Billboard Book Of Top 40 Country Hits: 1944-2006, Second edition. Record Research. p. 376.
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