Hey Joe (Carl Smith song)

"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 U.S. 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]

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