Hey Joe (1953 song)
| "Hey Joe" | ||||
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Single by Carl Smith | ||||
| Released | May 19, 1953 | |||
| Genre | Country | |||
| Label | Columbia | |||
| Writer(s) | Boudleaux Bryant | |||
| Carl Smith singles chronology | ||||
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"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. This marked Bryant's first number-one record. He later wrote songs with his wife Felice for The Everly Brothers.
Later in 1953, Kitty Wells recorded an answer record also titled "Hey Joe" which hit number eight on the Jukebox Country & Western chart.
A cover version, sung by Frankie Laine and produced by Mitch Miller, reached number one in the UK Singles Chart in October 1953.
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. That week Laine had three singles in the chart, which at that time consisted only of twelve songs. 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.
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.
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