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"Hey Joe" is an American
United States

The United States of America is a Federal government constitutional republic comprising U.S. state and a federal district. The country is situated mostly in central North America, where its Contiguous United States and Washington, D.C., the Capital districts and territories, lie between the Pacific Ocean and Atlantic Oceans, Borders of the U...
 popular song from the 1960s that has become a rock
Rock and roll

Rock and roll is a form of music that evolved in the United States in the late 1940s and early 1950s. Its roots lay mainly in rhythm and blues, Country music, folk music, gospel music, and jazz....
 standard, and as such has been performed in a multitude of musical styles. Diverse credits and claims have led to confusion as to its authorship and genesis. It tells the story of a man on the run after shooting his wife. The earliest known commercial recording, and the first hit version, is the late 1965 recording by the Los Angeles
Los Ángeles

Los ?ngeles is the Capital of the Biob?o Province, in the municipality of the same name, in Regions of Chile VIII , in the center-south of Chile....
 garage band
Garage band

The term garage band can refer to:* A band that performs garage rock* GarageBand, audio production software published by Apple Inc.* GarageBand.com, a website that helps publicize emerging bands...
, The Leaves
The Leaves

The Leaves were an United States garage band formed in California in 1963. They are best known for their version of the song "Hey Joe", which was a hit in 1966....
, although currently the best-known version is the The Jimi Hendrix Experience
The Jimi Hendrix Experience

The Jimi Hendrix Experience was an English/American rock music band that formed in London in 1966. Originally comprising American vocalist, guitarist and songwriter Jimi Hendrix, bassist and backing vocalist Noel Redding and drummer Mitch Mitchell, the band was active until 1969, in which time they released three successful studio albums....
's 1966 recording, their debut single.






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Encyclopedia


"Hey Joe" is an American
United States

The United States of America is a Federal government constitutional republic comprising U.S. state and a federal district. The country is situated mostly in central North America, where its Contiguous United States and Washington, D.C., the Capital districts and territories, lie between the Pacific Ocean and Atlantic Oceans, Borders of the U...
 popular song from the 1960s that has become a rock
Rock and roll

Rock and roll is a form of music that evolved in the United States in the late 1940s and early 1950s. Its roots lay mainly in rhythm and blues, Country music, folk music, gospel music, and jazz....
 standard, and as such has been performed in a multitude of musical styles. Diverse credits and claims have led to confusion as to its authorship and genesis. It tells the story of a man on the run after shooting his wife. The earliest known commercial recording, and the first hit version, is the late 1965 recording by the Los Angeles
Los Ángeles

Los ?ngeles is the Capital of the Biob?o Province, in the municipality of the same name, in Regions of Chile VIII , in the center-south of Chile....
 garage band
Garage band

The term garage band can refer to:* A band that performs garage rock* GarageBand, audio production software published by Apple Inc.* GarageBand.com, a website that helps publicize emerging bands...
, The Leaves
The Leaves

The Leaves were an United States garage band formed in California in 1963. They are best known for their version of the song "Hey Joe", which was a hit in 1966....
, although currently the best-known version is the The Jimi Hendrix Experience
The Jimi Hendrix Experience

The Jimi Hendrix Experience was an English/American rock music band that formed in London in 1966. Originally comprising American vocalist, guitarist and songwriter Jimi Hendrix, bassist and backing vocalist Noel Redding and drummer Mitch Mitchell, the band was active until 1969, in which time they released three successful studio albums....
's 1966 recording, their debut single. 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
Traditional music

Traditional music is the term now used in the terminology of Grammy Awards, for what used to be called "folk music". Full details of this change can be found in the article World music terminology....
, or often erroneously attributed to the pen of American musician
Musician

A musician is a person who plays or writes music. Musicians can be classified by their roles in creating or performing music:* An instrumentalist plays a musical instrument....
 Dino Valente
Chet Powers

Chester William Powers, Jr. was an United States singer-songwriter.Chet Powers had already become "Dino Valenti" long before arriving in Greenwich Village in the early 1960s....
 (who also went by the names Chester or Chet Powers, and Jesse Farrow), "Hey Joe" was registered for copyright
Copyright

Copyright is a form of intellectual property which gives the creator of an original work exclusive rights for a certain time period in relation to that work, including its publication, distribution and adaptation; after which time the work is said to enter the public domain....
 in the US in 1962 by Billy Roberts
Billy Roberts

William Moses Roberts Jr. is an American songwriter and musician credited with composing the 1960s rock music standard "Hey Joe" . Roberts was a relatively obscure California based Folk music, guitarist and harmonica player who performed on the West Coast of the United States coffee-house circuit in the late 1950s and early 1960s....
.. Roberts is the author, and the song may have been written by him earlier. Scottish folk singer Len Partridge has claimed that he helped write the song with Roberts when they both performed in clubs in Edinburgh
Edinburgh

Edinburgh ; is the Capital city of Scotland, a position it has held since 1437. It is the seventh largest city in the United Kingdom and the second largest Scottish City status in the United Kingdom after Glasgow....
 in 1956. Another source (singer Pat Craig), claims that Roberts assigned the rights to the song to his friend Valente while Valente was in jail, in order to give him some income upon release.

Roberts was a relatively obscure California
California

California is a U.S. state on the West Coast of the United States of the United States, along the Pacific Ocean. It is bordered by Oregon to the north, Nevada to the east, Arizona to the southeast, and to the south the Mexico state of Baja California....
-based folk singer
Folk music

Folk music can have a number of different meanings, including:* Traditional music: The original meaning of the term "folk music" was synonymous with the term "Traditional music", also often including World Music and Roots music; the term "Traditional music" was given its more specific meaning to distinguish it from the other definition...
, guitarist
Guitarist

A guitarist is a musician who plays the guitar. Guitarists may perform solo pieces or play with ensembles and bands of a wide variety of genres....
 and harmonica
Harmonica

The harmonica is a free reed aerophone wind instrument which is played by blowing air into it or drawing air out by placing lips over individual holes or multiple holes....
 player who performed on the West Coast
West Coast of the United States

The "West Coast", "Western Seaboard", or "Pacific Coastline" are terms for the westernmost coastal states of the United States. It most often comprises California, Oregon and Washington....
 coffee-house circuit. He later recorded the country rock
Country rock

Country rock is a musical genre formed from the fusion of Rock music with country music, with its country origins being initially referenced to the rockabilly music of the 1950s....
 album Thoughts of California with the band Grits in San Francisco in 1975, produced by Hillel Resner. Resner has stated that a live recording of Roberts performing "Hey Joe" dates from 1961.

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" (which uses a similar chord progression
Chord progression

A chord progression is series of chord s played in order. Chord progressions are central to most modern music and the principal study of harmony....
 based on the circle of fifths
Circle of fifths

In music theory, the circle of fifths shows the relationships among the twelve tones of the chromatic scale, their corresponding key signatures, and the associated major and minor keys....
); Carl Smith
Carl Smith (country musician)

Carl Smith is an United States country music singer. Known as Mister Country, Smith is the former husband of June Carter Cash, and the drinking buddy of Johnny Cash....
's 1953 US country hit "Hey Joe!
Hey Joe (1953 song)

"Hey Joe" is a 1953 popular music song songwriter by Felice and Boudleaux Bryant. It was sound recording and reproduction by Carl Smith for Columbia Records on 19 May 1953 and spent eight weeks at chart-topper on the United States Hot Country Songs....
" (written by Boudleaux Bryant), which shared the title and the "question and answer" format; and the early 20th century traditional ballad
Ballad

A ballad is a form of verse, often a narrative story and set to music. Ballads were characteristic of particularly British and Irish popular poetry and song from the later medieval period until the nineteenth century and used extensively across Europe and later north America, Australia and north Africa....
 "Little Sadie
Little Sadie

"Little Sadie" is a 20th Century United States folk music ballad. It is also known variously as "Bad Lee Brown", "Cocaine Blues", "Transfusion Blues", "East St....
", which tells of a man on the run after he has shot his wife.. The lyrics to "Little Sadie" often locate the events in Thomasville, North Carolina
Thomasville, North Carolina

Thomasville is a city in Davidson County, North Carolina and Randolph County, North Carolina counties in the U.S. state of North Carolina. The population was 19,788 at the 2000 census....
, and Jericho, (near Hollywood, South Carolina
Hollywood, South Carolina

Hollywood is a town in Charleston County, South Carolina, South Carolina, United States. The population was 3,946 at the 2000 census. As defined by the U.S....
). Roberts was himself born in South Carolina. Under various titles (including "Bad Lee Brown", "Penitentiary Blues", "Cocaine Blues
Cocaine Blues

"Cocaine Blues" is a Western Swing song written by T.J. "Red" Arnall, a reworking of the traditional song "Little Sadie". This song was originally recorded by W....
", "Whiskey Blues") variations of "Little Sadie" have been recorded by many artists, including Clarence Ashley
Clarence Ashley

"Tom" Clarence Ashley was an United States of American clawhammer banjo player, guitarist and singer. He began performing at medicine shows in the Appalachia region as early as 1911, and gained initial fame in the late 1920s as both a solo recording artist and as a member of various string bands....
 (1930), Johnny Cash
Johnny Cash

Johnny Cash was a Grammy Award-winning American singer-songwriter and one of the most influential musicians of the 20th century. Primarily a country music artist, his songs and sound spanned many other genres including rockabilly and rock and roll , as well as blues, folk music and Gospel music....
 (1960 & 1968), Slim Dusty
Slim Dusty

David Gordon "Slim Dusty" Kirkpatrick Order of Australia, Order of the British Empire was an Australian country music singer-songwriter. He sold more than seven million record albums and single s in Australia....
 (1961), and Bob Dylan (1970).

Despite extensive archives of US folk and blues music, and studies of the same, in the Library of Congress
Library of Congress

The Library of Congress is the de facto national library of the United States and the research arm of the United States Congress. Located in three buildings in Washington, D.C., it is the largest library in the world by shelf space and holds the largest number of books....
, the Smithsonian Institution
Smithsonian Institution

The Smithsonian Institution is an educational and research institute and associated museum complex, administered and funded by the government of the United States and by funds from its Financial endowment, contributions, and profits from its shops and its magazine....
, and other bodies, no documentary evidence has been provided to support the claim, by the late Tim Rose
Tim Rose

Timothy Alan Patrick Rose , best known professionally as Tim Rose, was an United States singer-songwriter, who spent much of his life in London, England and had more success in Europe than in his native country....
 and others, that "Hey Joe" is a wholly traditional work. (see also the article on "Morning Dew
Morning dew

Morning Dew can refer to:*Dew*A Morning Dew by Bonnie Dobson and covered by the band The Grateful Dead on their first album release in 1967.*Slang for sexual arousal in a woman, comparable to erection for a man....
" regarding Rose and song copyrights).

Rights to the song were administered by the music publisher
Music publisher

This article deals with contemporary popular music publishing. For printed publishing of classical music, see History of music publishing.In the music industry, a music publisher is responsible for ensuring the songwriters and composers receive payment when their musical compositions are used commercially....
 Third Story Music from 1966 into the 2000s, they list the author as Billy Roberts. In recent years the publisher has changed to Third Palm Music..

First recordings



Roberts’ song gained many fans in the Los Angeles
Los Ángeles

Los ?ngeles is the Capital of the Biob?o Province, in the municipality of the same name, in Regions of Chile VIII , in the center-south of Chile....
 music scene, which led to fast-paced recordings in 1965 and 1966 by The Leaves
The Leaves

The Leaves were an United States garage band formed in California in 1963. They are best known for their version of the song "Hey Joe", which was a hit in 1966....
, The Surfaris
The Surfaris

The Surfaris were an United States surf music band formed in Glendora, California, California in 1962. They are best known for two songs that hit the record chart in the Los Angeles, California, California area, and nationally by May 1963: "Surfer Joe" on the A-side and B-side and "Wipe Out " on the A-side and B-side of a Gramophone record s...
, Love
Love (band)

Love was an United States rock group of the late 1960s and early 1970s. They were led by singer, songwriter and guitarist Arthur Lee and the group's second songwriter, guitarist Bryan MacLean....
 and The Byrds
The Byrds

The Byrds were an American Rock music band. Formed in Los Angeles, California in 1964, The Byrds underwent several lineup changes, with frontman Roger McGuinn remaining the sole consistent member until the group's disbandment in 1973....
, swiftly becoming a garage rock
Garage rock

Garage rock is a raw form of rock and roll that was first popular in the United States and Canada from about 1963 in music to 1967 in music. During the 1960s, it was not recognized as a separate music genre and had no specific name....
 classic. Both Dino Valente and The Byrds' David Crosby
David Crosby

David Van Cortlandt Crosby is an United States guitarist, singer, and songwriter. He was a founding member of three bands: The Byrds, Crosby, Stills, Nash & Young which is sometimes augmented with Neil Young, and CPR ....
 have been reported as helping to popularize the song before it was recorded by The Leaves in December 1965. "Hey Joe" has been recorded by hundreds of artists since.

The Leaves recorded and released three versions of "Hey Joe": the first version was released in November/December 1965; the third version was their hit in May/June 1966 (Billboard #31). The Surfaris version was released in June 1966, but some sources claim it was recorded in September 1965, before The Leaves' first version.

Rose, Hendrix and other recordings

Folk rock
Folk rock

Folk rock is a musical genre, combining elements of folk music and Rock and roll.In its earliest and narrowest sense, the term referred to a genre that arose in the United States and Canada around the mid-1960s....
 singer Tim Rose
Tim Rose

Timothy Alan Patrick Rose , best known professionally as Tim Rose, was an United States singer-songwriter, who spent much of his life in London, England and had more success in Europe than in his native country....
’s slow version, (recorded in 1966 and claimed to be Rose's arrangement of a wholly traditional song) inspired the first single by The Jimi Hendrix Experience
The Jimi Hendrix Experience

The Jimi Hendrix Experience was an English/American rock music band that formed in London in 1966. Originally comprising American vocalist, guitarist and songwriter Jimi Hendrix, bassist and backing vocalist Noel Redding and drummer Mitch Mitchell, the band was active until 1969, in which time they released three successful studio albums....
. One documentary shows interviews with Chas Chandler
Chas Chandler

Bryan James "Chas" Chandler was an England musician, record producer and Talent manager of several successful music acts.Born in the Heaton, Newcastle district of Newcastle-upon-Tyne, he began his career playing bass guitar in a trio with Alan Price....
, who, having just left The Animals
The Animals

The Animals were an England music group of the 1960s known in the United States as part of the British Invasion. Known for their gritty, bluesy sound and deep-voiced frontman Eric Burdon, as exemplified by their signature songs "The House of the Rising Sun" and "We Gotta Get Out Of This Place", the band balanced tough, rock music-edged pop mu...
, and was focusing on managing other acts. He had been seeking out an artist to record a full-on rock version of "Hey Joe", and Hendrix fit the bill. Chandler had seen Rose performing at the Cafe Wha?
Cafe Wha?

Cafe Wha? is a club in Greenwich Village in Manhattan, New York City that has been home to various musicians and comedians. Bob Dylan, Jimi Hendrix, Bruce Springsteen, The Velvet Underground, Kool and the Gang, Peter, Paul & Mary, Woody Allen, Lenny Bruce, Joan Rivers, Bill Cosby, Richard Pryor, and many others all began their careers at th...
 in New York City
New York City

The City of New York is the List of United States cities by population in the United States, while the New York metropolitan area ranks among the List of urban areas by population....
 (Hendrix himself had recently played a few times in the same venue). Some accounts credit the slower version of the song by the British band The Creation
The Creation (band)

The Creation were an England freakbeat band , formed in 1966. The most popular Creation song was "Painter Man", which made the Top 40 in the UK Singles Chart in late 1966 in music, and reached #8 in the Germany record chart in April 1967....
 as being the inspiration for Hendrix's version; Chandler and Hendrix eventually saw them perform the song after Jimi finally arrived in the UK along with Chandler although their version was not released until after Hendrix's. It is unclear if the members of the Creation had heard Rose's version. Released in December 1966, Hendrix's version became a worldwide hit, entering the UK top ten within the month in January 1967 and remains the best known recording of the song. The single was released in the United States
United States

The United States of America is a Federal government constitutional republic comprising U.S. state and a federal district. The country is situated mostly in central North America, where its Contiguous United States and Washington, D.C., the Capital districts and territories, lie between the Pacific Ocean and Atlantic Oceans, Borders of the U...
 on May 1, 1967 with the B-side "51st Anniversary". It is #198 on Rolling Stone's
Rolling Stone

Rolling Stone is a United States-based magazine devoted to music, politics, and popular culture that is published every two weeks. Rolling Stone was founded in San Francisco in 1967 by Jann Wenner and music critic Ralph J....
 list of "The 500 Greatest Songs of All Time". In 2009 it was named the 22nd greatest hard rock song of all time
VH1 Greatest Hard Rock Songs

VH1 Greatest Hard Rock Songs was a program on VH1 Classic provided by VH1. Hosted by Bret Michaels, it was a five-part program that first aired from December 29, 2008, to January 2, 2009....
 by VH1
VH1

VH1 is an United States cable television network based in New York City. Launched on January 1, 1985 in television, the original purpose of the channel was to build on the success of MTV by playing music videos, but targeting a slighter older demographic than its sister channel, focusing on the lighter, softer side of popular music....
.

Garage rock band The Music Machine
The Music Machine

The Music Machine was an American garage rock and psychedelic band from the late 1960s, headed by singer-songwriter Sean Bonniwell and based in Los Angeles....
 recorded a slow, gothic, fuzz-laden version of the song in late 1966 which bears a strong resemblance to Hendrix's version.

Arthur Lee
Arthur Lee

Arthur Lee has been the name of several notable men:*Arthur Lee , U.S. envoy to France*Arthur Lee, 1st Viscount Lee of Fareham , British soldier and diplomat...
 of Love claimed it was their version that turned Hendrix onto the song as well as most of the other Los Angeles acts (See Mojo Heroes - Arthur Lee biography).

According to guitarist Junior Campbell, quoted in the notes of their CD I See The Rain: The CBS Years, Marmalade
Marmalade (band)

Marmalade were a successful Scotland pop/rock musical group, from Glasgow in Scotland, originally known as Dean Ford and The Gaylords between 1961 and 1966....
 recorded the song in 1968 as they needed a B-side to their single "Lovin' Things" in a hurry, and they did their arrangement of "Hey Joe" because they thought it was a traditional song and they would get the royalties
Royalties

Royalties are usage-based payments made by one party to another for ongoing use of an asset, sometimes an intellectual property right.Royalties can be determined as a percentage of gross or net sales derived from use of the asset or a fixed price per unit sold....
. "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!".

Patti Smith
Patti Smith

Patricia Lee "Patti" Smith is an United States singer-songwriter, poet and artist who was a highly influential component of the punk rock movement with her 1975 debut album Horses ....
 released a cover of the song as the A-side of her first single, "Hey Joe/Piss Factory," in 1974. The arrangement of Smith's version is based on a recording by blues guitarist Roy Buchanan
Roy Buchanan

Roy Buchanan was an United States guitarist and blues musician. He is noted for his use of note bending, volume swells, staccato runs, and pinch harmonics....
 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
Patty Hearst

Patricia Campbell Hearst , now known as Patricia Hearst Shaw, is an United States newspaper heiress, socialite, and occasional actor.The granddaughter of publishing magnate William Randolph Hearst and great-granddaughter of self-made millionaire George Hearst, she gained notoriety in 1974 when, following her kidnapping by the Symbione...
 and her kidnapping and participation with the Symbionese Liberation Army
Symbionese Liberation Army

The Symbionese Liberation Army was an United States self-styled urban guerrilla warfare group active between 1973 and 1975 that considered itself a revolutionary Vanguardism army....
. Smith's version portrays Patty Hearst as Joe with a "gun in her hand."

Tim Rose re-recorded "Hey Joe" in the 1990s, re-titling it "Blue Steel .44" and again falsely claiming it as his own work.

Selected list of recorded versions

A long list of versions of Hey Joe can be found at )

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

  • The Leaves
    The Leaves

    The Leaves were an United States garage band formed in California in 1963. They are best known for their version of the song "Hey Joe", which was a hit in 1966....
     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
    The Jimi Hendrix Experience

    The Jimi Hendrix Experience was an English/American rock music band that formed in London in 1966. Originally comprising American vocalist, guitarist and songwriter Jimi Hendrix, bassist and backing vocalist Noel Redding and drummer Mitch Mitchell, the band was active until 1969, in which time they released three successful studio albums....
     (1966) Peaked at UK #6. In 2000, Total Guitar
    Total Guitar

    Total Guitar is a monthly magazine in the United Kingdom. The magazine is the best selling guitar magazine in Europe.The magazine is owned by Future Publishing, who publish many other magazines ranging from guitars and drums to video games, mountain bikes and health and fitness....
     magazine ranked it as the 13th greatest cover version of all time.
  • Cher
    Cher

    Cher is an American pop music singer-songwriter, actor, film director and recording industry. She has won an Academy Award, a Grammy Award, an Emmy Award, three Golden Globe Awards and was honored with a star on the Hollywood Walk of Fame....
     (1967) on her album With Love, Cher
    With Love, Cher

    With Love, Ch?r is the fourth album by United States singer-actess Cher, released on November 1967 by Imperial Records. This album was a commercial success, charted 48 on the Billboard Chart....
    . Peaked at US #94.
  • Wilson Pickett
    Wilson Pickett

    Wilson Pickett was an United States rhythm and blues/Rock and Roll and soul music singer and songwriter known for his raw, raspy, passionate vocal delivery....
     (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
    Duane Allman

    Howard Duane Allman was an United States lead guitarist, co-founder of the Southern rock group the Allman Brothers Band, and respected session musician....
     on guitar.


Other recorded versions of "Hey Joe" include:
  • The Surfaris
    The Surfaris

    The Surfaris were an United States surf music band formed in Glendora, California, California in 1962. They are best known for two songs that hit the record chart in the Los Angeles, California, California area, and nationally by May 1963: "Surfer Joe" on the A-side and B-side and "Wipe Out " on the A-side and B-side of a Gramophone record s...
     as "Hey Joe, Where Are You Going" (Decca 31954, June 1966)
  • Love
    Love (band)

    Love was an United States rock group of the late 1960s and early 1970s. They were led by singer, songwriter and guitarist Arthur Lee and the group's second songwriter, guitarist Bryan MacLean....
     (1966) on their album Love
    Love (Love album)

    Love is the eponymous debut by the Los Angeles, California-based band Love . Twelve of the album's fourteen tracks were recorded at Sunset Sound Recorders in Hollywood on January 24-January 27, 1966....
  • The Byrds
    The Byrds

    The Byrds were an American Rock music band. Formed in Los Angeles, California in 1964, The Byrds underwent several lineup changes, with frontman Roger McGuinn remaining the sole consistent member until the group's disbandment in 1973....
     on their album Fifth Dimension
    Fifth Dimension (album)

    Fifth Dimension is the third album by the United States Rock music band The Byrds, which was released in the summer of 1966 on Columbia Records, catalogue item CL 2549 in monaural, CS 9349 in stereo....
     (1966) Album chart: US #24, UK #27
  • The Standells
    The Standells

    The Standells were a 1960's garage rock band from Los Angeles, California, California....
     (1966)
  • The Music Machine (1966)
  • The Shadows of Knight (1966)
  • Warlocks (1966)
  • Tim Rose
    Tim Rose

    Timothy Alan Patrick Rose , best known professionally as Tim Rose, was an United States singer-songwriter, who spent much of his life in London, England and had more success in Europe than in his native country....
     (1966)
  • The Cryan' Shames
    The Cryan' Shames

    The Cryan' Shames are an United States pop rock group from Hinsdale, Illinois. They originally formed as The Travelers, with founding members Tom Doody , Gerry Stone , Dave Purple of The Prowlers , Denny Conroy and Jim Fairs from The Roosters , and Jim Pilster ....
     (1966) on their album Sugar & Spice
  • Gonn
    GONN

    GONN is a garage rock band from Keokuk, Iowa whose signature song, "Blackout of Gretely" is one of the greatest examples of the genre. Although releasing only two singles in 1966-67, the band also recorded numerous other tracks that have been collected on three retrospective albums....
     (1966 or '67)
  • The Hazards (1967) on the compilation CD Aliens, Psychos and Wild Things, Vol. 2
  • Johnny Hallyday
    Johnny Hallyday

    Johnny Hallyday is a France singer and actor. An icon in the French language-speaking world since the beginning of his career, he is considered by some to be the French superior of Elvis Presley....
     (1967) French
    French language

    French is a Romance language spoken around the world by around 80 million people as first language, by 190 million as second language, and by about another 200 million people as an acquired tongue, with significant speakers in 54 countries....
     lyrics by Gilles Thibault, on the album Olympia 67
  • (1967) Italian
    Italian language

    Italian is a Romance languages spoken by about 63 million people as a first language, primarily in Italy. In Switzerland, Italian is one of four Linguistic geography of Switzerlands....
     lyrics by Francesco Guccini
    Francesco Guccini

    Francesco Guccini is an Italy singer-songwriter and author. His songs are renowned for their poetic and literary value, and in 1990 he won the Premio Eugenio Montale for verses in music....
  • Ant Trip Ceremony (1968) on their album 24 Hours
  • The Golden Cups
    The Golden Cups

    were one of the top bands performing in Japan's Group Sounds scene in the late 1960s.Featuring singer Dave Hirao, guitarist Eddie Ban, and bassist Masayoshi "Mabo" Kabe, they played a bluesy style and made a number of hit singles, most notably, their reworking of the Leaves' song Hey Joe, which has appeared on several compilations.     (1968) Japanese
    Japanese people

    The are the predominant ethnic group of Japan. Worldwide, approximately 130 million people are of Japanese descent; of these, approximately 127 million are residents of Japan....
     group
  • The Creation
    The Creation (band)

    The Creation were an England freakbeat band , formed in 1966. The most popular Creation song was "Painter Man", which made the Top 40 in the UK Singles Chart in late 1966 in music, and reached #8 in the Germany record chart in April 1967....
     (1968)
  • Marmalade
    Marmalade (band)

    Marmalade were a successful Scotland pop/rock musical group, from Glasgow in Scotland, originally known as Dean Ford and The Gaylords between 1961 and 1966....
     (1968)
  • The Mothers of Invention
    The Mothers of Invention

    The Mothers of Invention was an American rock and roll band active from 1964 to 1975. They mainly performed works by and were the original recording group of composer and guitarist Frank Zappa, although other members have an occasional writing credit....
     (1968) parodied "Hey Joe" and took a satirical swipe at hippies in their song "Flower Punk" from We're Only In It For The Money
    We're Only in It for the Money

    We're Only in It For the Money is an experimental rock album by Frank Zappa and The Mothers of Invention. It bridges a variety of styles and genres....
  • Deep Purple
    Deep Purple

    Deep Purple are an English Rock music band formed in Hertford, Hertfordshire in 1968. Along with Led Zeppelin and Black Sabbath, they are considered to be among the pioneers of Heavy metal music and modern hard rock, although some band members have tried not to categorize themselves as any one genre....
     (1968) on their first album, Shades of Deep Purple
    Shades of Deep Purple

    Shades of Deep Purple is the debut album by England hard rock band Deep Purple, released in 1968 on Parlophone in the UK and Tetragrammaton Records in the United States....
    . While writing a new instrumental introduction to the song, the album credits mistakenly list "Deep Purple" as the song's author. This happened in the original edition of the album, and current versions have corrected credits.
  • Johnny Rivers
    Johnny Rivers

    Johnny Rivers is an United States rock and roll singer, songwriter, guitarist, and record producer. He was versatile enough to do folk songs, blues, and revivals of old-time rock 'n' roll songs and some original material....
     (1968) on the album Realization
  • Band Of Joy
    Band of Joy

    The Band of Joy were a 1960s rock band from Birmingham, England.The band is notable as the last of several line-ups included two musicians, Robert Plant and John Bonham who went on to join Led Zeppelin; and, to a lesser degree, because the band's roadie was Noddy Holder....
     (1968) demo version with Robert Plant
    Robert Plant

    Robert Anthony Plant Order of the British Empire , is an England Rock and Roll singer and songwriter, famous for his membership in the former rock band Led Zeppelin as the lead vocalist, as well as for his successful solo career....
     issued in 2003 on the album Sixty Six to Timbuktu
    Sixty Six to Timbuktu

    Sixty Six to Timbuktu is a greatest hits album and a history of the career of Robert Plant, from 1966 to a recording done at the Festival in the Desert in Mali....
  • Fever Tree
    Fever Tree

    Fever Tree is a former United States psychedelic rock band of the 1960s, chiefly known for their anthemic 1968 hit, "San Francisco Girls " ....
     (1970) on For Sale
  • The Les Humphries Singers
    Les Humphries Singers

    The Les Humphries Singers was a 1970s musical group formed in Hamburg, Germany by the English people Les Humphries , who had been inspired to do his own version of the Edwin Hawkins....
     (1971) on the album We'll Fly You to the Promised Land
  • Roy Buchanan
    Roy Buchanan

    Roy Buchanan was an United States guitarist and blues musician. He is noted for his use of note bending, volume swells, staccato runs, and pinch harmonics....
     (1973)
  • Patti Smith
    Patti Smith

    Patricia Lee "Patti" Smith is an United States singer-songwriter, poet and artist who was a highly influential component of the punk rock movement with her 1975 debut album Horses ....
     (1974) her first music single. This version is only available on the 2004 compilation album No Thanks!: The 70s Punk Rebellion
    No Thanks!: The 70s Punk Rebellion

    No Thanks! - The 70s Punk Rebellion is a compilation collection of punk music, new wave music, power pop, post-punk and protopunk music from the 1970s by various artists....
    .
  • Spirit
    Spirit (band)

    Spirit was an American jazz/hard rock/psychedelic music band founded in 1967 in music, based in Los Angeles, California, California....
     (1975) on the album Spirit of '76
    Spirit of '76

    Spirit of '76 can refer to a variety of things, including:*Spirit of '76 , a patriotic phrase related to the United States' declaration of liberty from the United Kingdom in 1776...
  • Alvin Lee
    Alvin Lee

    Alvin Lee is an English people guitarist and singer. He began playing guitar at the age of 13, and with Leo Lyons formed the core of the band Ten Years After in 1960....
     (1979) on the album Ride On
  • Buldožer
    Buldožer

    Buldo?er was SFRY-Slovenian progressive rock band from 1970s and 1980s. They were one of the first bands in communist state Yugoslavia that could be considered alternative rock, and forefathers of the Yugoslav New Wave....
     (1982) on their live album Ako ste slobodni veceras
  • "Weird Al" Yankovic
    "Weird Al" Yankovic

    Alfred Matthew "Weird Al" Yankovic is an United Statesn singer-songwriter, music producer, actor, comedian and satire. Yankovic is known in particular for his humorous songs that make light of popular culture and that often parody specific songs by contemporary musical acts....
     (1984) as part of the medley "Polkas on 45" on the album "Weird Al" Yankovic In 3-D
  • Nick Cave and the Bad Seeds
    Nick Cave and the Bad Seeds

    Nick Cave and the Bad Seeds are an Australian Rock music band with multinational personnel, fronted by Nick Cave....
     (1986) on the album Kicking Against the Pricks
    Kicking Against the Pricks

    Kicking Against the Pricks is the third album released by Nick Cave and the Bad Seeds. First released in 1986, the album is a collection of cover versions....
  • Seal
    Seal (musician)

    Seal Henry Olusegun Kwassi Olumide Adelo Samuel is a British Soul music singer and songwriter. His name Olusegun means "God is victorious"....
     (1991) on the "Killer" single
  • The Offspring
    The Offspring

    The Offspring is an American rock music band. It was formed in 1984 in Huntington Beach, California. The band is credited, along with fellow California punk bands Green Day and Rancid , with reviving mainstream interest in punk rock in the United States during the mid-1990s....
     (1991 and 1997) on their Baghdad EP and later as a B-side on their single "Gone Away
    Gone Away

    "Gone Away" is a song by The Offspring, released as the second single from the 1997 album Ixnay on the Hombre. This song, according to the DVD side of their Greatest Hits album, has helped many fans through hard times in their lives....
    "
  • Willy DeVille
    Willy DeVille

    Willy DeVille is an United States singer and songwriter. First with his band Mink DeVille and later on his own, DeVille in his 35-year career has created songs that are wholly original yet rooted in traditional American musical styles....
     (1992) on the album Backstreets of Desire
    Backstreets of Desire

    Backstreets of Desire is an album by Willy DeVille. It was recorded in various Los Angeles recording studios in 1992. To make the album, DeVille was joined by many prominent musicians, including Dr....
  • Type O Negative
    Type O Negative

    Type O Negative is a Heavy metal music band from Brooklyn, New York City. Although commonly viewed as a gothic metal band, Type O has also incorporated elements of doom metal, thrash metal, blues, punk rock/hardcore punk, alternative rock and, progressive rock into their work, and often describe their sound as Black Sabbath-meets-The Beatles,...
     (1992) as "Hey Pete" on the album The Origin of the Feces
  • Jerry Douglas
    Jerry Douglas (musician)

    Jerry Douglas is an American musician and Dobro player. He is often referred to as "Flux" by his peers, a nickname given to him by Ricky Skaggs, and as a result of his ability to play at amazing speeds with the slide....
     (1992) on the album Slide Rule. Vocals by Tim O'Brien
    Tim O'Brien

    Tim O'Brien can refer to:* Tim O'Brien , American author* Timothy L. O'Brien, American journalist* Tim O'Brien , American musician* Sir Tim O'Brien, 3rd Baronet, Irish-born cricketer...
  • Buckwheat Zydeco
    Buckwheat Zydeco

    Buckwheat Zydeco is an United States accordionist and zydeco performer. He is one of the few to achieve mainstream success.In 1971 in music, he founded Buckwheat & the Hitchhikers, a funk band that he led for five years before switching to zydeco....
     (1992) on the album On Track
  • Body Count
    Body Count

    Body Count is an American heavy metal music band formed in Los Angeles, California in 1990. The group was founded by Ice-T, best known for his contributions to the hip hop music genre....
     (1993) on the albums Born Dead
    Born Dead

    Born Dead is the second album released by Body Count. Among other tracks, the album features a cover of Billy Roberts' "Hey Joe," performed in the style of Jimi Hendrix' recording of the song, as originally featured on the Are You Experienced album....
     and Stone Free
    Stone Free: A Tribute to Jimi Hendrix

    Stone Free: A Tribute to Jimi Hendrix is a 1993 album recorded by various artists in tribute to Jimi Hendrix. The artists were drawn from many genres of popular music....
  • Eddie Murphy
    Eddie Murphy

    Bold text'Edward Regan "Eddie" Murphy is an United States actor, film director, Film producer, comedian and "singer". Murphy ranks as the highest grossing film star in history, having a total of 37 films to date, his films grossing over $3.4 billion in the US alone, averaging $104 million per film....
     (1993) on the album     Love's Alright
  • Mathilde Santing
    Mathilde Santing

    Mathilde Santing is the stage name of Dutch singer Mathilde Eleveld. She started receiving national attention in 1981 after she appeared with Sonja Barend in a Dutch television programme called Sonja Op Maandag....
     (1994) as "Hey Joan", where the woman shoots her man
  • Lick the Tins
    Lick the Tins

    Lick the Tins was a mid to late 1980s Celtic music/folk rock/indie band. The name was derived from a nickname given to an old tramp by the children from the home town of one of the band members, Ronan Heenan....
     (1995) on the album     Blind Man on a Flying Horse
  • O Rappa
    O Rappa

    O Rappa is a Brazilian reggae/rock n' roll band from Rio de Janeiro, Brazil. They combine many styles such as Rock music, Reggae, Funk, Hip hop and Samba....
     (1996) Portuguese
    Portuguese language

    Portuguese is a Romance language that originated in what is now Galicia and Portugal. It is derived from the Latin language spoken by the Romanization Pre-Roman peoples of the Iberian Peninsula around 2000 years ago....
     version on the album     Rappa Mundi. This version changed the original song idea. Here Joe is a poor boy, trying to become powerful by means of drug dealing.
  • Fifteen (1996) on the EP There's No Place Like Home (Good Night)
  • The Make-Up (1999)
  • Axel Rudi Pell
    Axel Rudi Pell

    Axel Rudi Pell is a Germany guitar player, playing melodic heavy metal. He started off with the band Steeler before leaving to start his solo career in 1989 with the eponymous band Axel Rudi Pell....
     (1999) on the album     The Ballads II
  • Franco Battiato
    Franco Battiato

    Franco Battiato is an Italy singer-songwriter, composer, filmmaker and, under the pseudonym S?phan Barzani, also a painter.He is considered one of the most original personalities in Italian music from the 1970s to now....
     (2001) on the album     hierro forjado
  • Robert Plant
    Robert Plant

    Robert Anthony Plant Order of the British Empire , is an England Rock and Roll singer and songwriter, famous for his membership in the former rock band Led Zeppelin as the lead vocalist, as well as for his successful solo career....
     (2002) on the album Dreamland
    Dreamland (Robert Plant album)

    Dreamland was singer Robert Plant's 7th solo album and the first with the band "Strange Sensation". The album was released in July 2002.Many of the songs are cover versions, mainly blues, but also some rock music....
     and also earlier with the Band of Joy
    Band of Joy

    The Band of Joy were a 1960s rock band from Birmingham, England.The band is notable as the last of several line-ups included two musicians, Robert Plant and John Bonham who went on to join Led Zeppelin; and, to a lesser degree, because the band's roadie was Noddy Holder....
     in 1967
  • Brant Bjork
    Brant Bjork

    Brant Bjork is an United States musician from Palm Desert, California, who is a drummer, producer, guitarist and one of the more notable figures in the stoner rock and Palm Desert Scene scenes....
     (2004) on his album Local Angel
  • Gabe Dixon Band
    Gabe Dixon Band

    The Gabe Dixon Band is a three-piece band that was formed in the fall of 1998 at the University of Miami. Their music is piano-driven rock akin to Ben Folds Five with a more serious tone, Jackson Browne and early 70s Elton John....
     (2005) on Live at World Cafe
  • Cassie Steele
    Cassie Steele

    Cassandra Rae Steele is a Filipino people/United Kingdom television actress and singer/songwriter best known for portraying Manny Santos on Degrassi: The Next Generation and appearing in Relic Hunter....
     (2005) on How Much For Happy
  • Psychedelic Deja Vu (2006)
  • Insted (2008)
  • Arklio Galia (2007) Lithuania
    Lithuania

    Lithuania , officially the Republic of Lithuania is a country in Northern Europe, the southernmost of the three Baltic states. Situated along the southeastern shore of the Baltic Sea, it shares borders with Latvia to the north, Belarus to the southeast, Poland, and the Russian exclave of Kaliningrad Oblast to the southwest....
    n version called "Ei, Juozai" on their debut album.
  • Guitar Shorty
    Guitar Shorty

    Guitar Shorty is an United States blues guitarist. Due to both his musical talents and performing stage antics such as somersaults and back flips, he has been considered "among the leading live acts on the blues scene."...
     (2006) Guitar Shorty is Jimi Hendrix's brother in law.
  • Popa Chubby
    Popa Chubby

    Ted Horowitz , better known by his stage name Popa Chubby , is an American electric blues singer and guitarist.Born the son of a candy store owner, at age thirteen Chubby began playing drums; shortly thereafter, he discovered the music of the Rolling Stones and began playing guitar....
  • Joe Cocker
    Joe Cocker

    John Robert "Joe" Cocker OBE is an England rock /blues singer who came to popularity in the 1960s, and is most known for his gritty human voice and his cover versions of popular songs, particularly those of The Beatles....
  • Pete Cornelius and the DeVilles
  • Ten Years After
    Ten Years After

    Ten Years After are an England blues rock musical ensemble, most popular in the late 1960s and early 1970s....
  • Suzie Hendrix 1978


Miscellaneous

  • "Hey Joe" was the last song Jimi Hendrix
    Jimi Hendrix

    James Marshall Hendrix was an American guitarist, singer and songwriter whose guitar playing continues to be a considerable influence on rock music....
     played at Woodstock, it was played after the crowd, comprising the 80,000 who hadn't left, cheered for an encore. It was the last song of the festival.
  • Sonic Youth
    Sonic Youth

    Sonic Youth is an American rock music rock band formed in New York City in 1981. The current lineup consists of Thurston Moore , Kim Gordon , Lee Ranaldo , Mark Ibold and Steve Shelley ....
    's song "Hey Joni" is titled in reference to this song and to Joni Mitchell
    Joni Mitchell

    Joni Mitchell, Order of Canada is a Canada musician, songwriter, and Painting.Mitchell began singing in small nightclubs in her native Western Canada and then busking on the streets of Toronto....
    , but it shares no lyrical themes from Hendrix's version.
  • Type O Negative
    Type O Negative

    Type O Negative is a Heavy metal music band from Brooklyn, New York City. Although commonly viewed as a gothic metal band, Type O has also incorporated elements of doom metal, thrash metal, blues, punk rock/hardcore punk, alternative rock and, progressive rock into their work, and often describe their sound as Black Sabbath-meets-The Beatles,...
     re-titled it "Hey Pete" (in reference to frontman Peter Steele
    Peter Steele

    Peter Steele is the lead singer, bassist, and composer for the gothic metal band Type O Negative. At 6' 7" , Peter's low, basso heavy voice is one of the most recognizable features in Type O Negative's music....
    ) 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.
  • 1,572 guitarists played "Hey Joe" simultaneously in the town square of Wroclaw
    Wroclaw

    Wroclaw is the chief city of the historical region of Lower Silesia in south-western Poland, situated on the Oder River river. Over the centuries the city has been part of Kingdom of Poland , Bohemia, Austria, Prussia, and Germany....
    , Poland
    Poland

    Poland , officially the Republic of Poland , is a country in Central Europe. Poland is bordered by Germany to the west; the Czech Republic and Slovakia to the south; Ukraine, Belarus and Lithuania to the east; and the Baltic Sea and Kaliningrad Oblast, a Russian Enclave and exclave, to the north....
     on May 1 2006, breaking a Guinness record
    Guinness World Records

    Guinness World Records, known until 2000 as The Guinness Book of Records , is a reference book published annually, containing an internationally recognized...
      1,881 guitarists played "Hey Joe" in Wroclaw on May 1 2007 to break the record again. 1,951 guitarists played "Hey Joe" in Wroclaw on May 1 2008, setting a new Guinness record
    Guinness World Records

    Guinness World Records, known until 2000 as The Guinness Book of Records , is a reference book published annually, containing an internationally recognized...
    .
  • The professional wrestling
    Professional wrestling

    Professional wrestling, or pro wrestling, is a non-competitive professional sport, where matches are prearranged by the Professional wrestling promotion List of professional wrestling terms#B, and is also considered an athletic performing art, containing strong elements of catch wrestling, mock combat and theatre....
     stable, known as the "b-team" nWo
    New World Order (professional wrestling)

    The New World Order was a professional wrestling List of professional wrestling terms#S that originally wrestled for World Championship Wrestling ....
    , used audio samples of "Hey Joe" in their entrance music.
  • The rock band The Who
    The Who

    The Who are an England Rock music band formed in 1964. The primary lineup was guitarist Pete Townshend, vocalist Roger Daltrey, bassist John Entwistle and drummer Keith Moon....
     occasionally performed "Hey Joe" during their 1989 tour. Their version was influenced by Jimi Hendrix's arrangement and was dedicated to him.
  • The band Kusters Last Band has performed a punk version of the song
  • The Red Hot Chili Peppers
    Red Hot Chili Peppers

    Red Hot Chili Peppers are a Grammy Award-winning American Rock music band formed in Los Angeles, California, California, in 1983. For most of the band's existence, the members are vocalist Anthony Kiedis, guitarist John Frusciante, bassist Flea , and drummer Chad Smith....
     were seen in 2006 rehearsing the song on Live From Abbey Road on Channel 4
    Channel 4

    Channel 4 is a UK Public service broadcasting in the United Kingdom television broadcaster which began transmissions on 2 November 1982. Although commercially self-funded, it is ultimately publicly owned; originally a subsidiary of the Independent Broadcasting Authority , the station is now owned and operated by the #Channel Four Television...
    .


In the media

The Hendrix version appears in the following films:
  • Forrest Gump
  • Empire Records
    Empire Records

    Empire Records is a 1995 in film comedy-drama about a group of record store employees. The film was directed by Allan Moyle and stars Anthony LaPaglia, Liv Tyler, Ren?e Zellweger, and Rory Cochrane....
  • Waynes World 2
  • Death Sentence
    Death Sentence

    "Death Sentence" is a short story by the American science-fiction writer Isaac Asimov. It was first published in the November 1943 issue of Astounding Science Fiction and reprinted in the 1972 collection The Early Asimov....
  • Reaper
  • Harold & Kumar Escape from Guantanamo Bay
  • Crooklyn
    Crooklyn

    Crooklyn is a 1994 in film semi-autobiographical film screenwriter and film director by Spike Lee. The film takes place in Brooklyn, New York during the 1970s....


A version sung by Michael Pitt
Michael Pitt

Michael Carmen Pitt is an American actor and musician....
 with the band The Twins of Evil features in the film The Dreamers.

The Deep Purple version appears in Vietcong
Vietcong (computer game)

Vietcong is a tactical shooter first-person shooter computer game, developed by Pterodon and 2K Czech, published by Gathering in March 2003, and set during the Vietnam War....
 computer game.

"Hey Joe" appears in the Deep Space Nine
Deep Space Nine

The space station Deep Space Nine is the main setting of the science fiction television series Star Trek: Deep Space Nine.The station serves as a base for the exploration of the Galactic quadrants #Gamma Quadrant via the Bajoran wormhole, and is a hub of trade and travel for the sector's denizens....
 episode "Future Tense".

Samples and quotes

  • Old school hip-hop artist Schoolly D
    Schoolly D

    Schoolly D, born June 22, 1966, is the moniker of United States rapper Jesse B. Weaver, Jr. from Philadelphia, Pennsylvania....
     samples "Hey Joe" for his song "Pussy Ain't Nothin'" from the album Am I Black Enough for You?.
  • The T.I.
    T.I.

    Clifford Joseph Harris Jr., , better known by his stage name T.I., and also by his alter ego T.I.P., is a Grammy-award winning American rapping, songwriter, executive producer#Music, actor, and co-chief executive officer of Grand Hustle Records....
     song "What You Know" uses the same synthesizer line as "Hey Joe".
  • Fort Minor
    Fort Minor

    Fort Minor is the hip hop music side project of Mike Shinoda, vocalist of the rock band Linkin Park. Shinoda's first solo album as Fort Minor, The Rising Tied, was released in 2005 with the singles "Where'd You Go" featuring Holly Brook and Jonah Matranga and "Remember the Name" featuring Styles of Beyond....
    's Mike Shinoda
    Mike Shinoda

    Michael Kenji Shinoda is an American musician, record producer, and artist from Agoura Hills, California. His father is a Japanese American, while his mother is of European and Indigenous peoples of the Americas descent....
     sampled the song for his remix of Styles of Beyond
    Styles of Beyond

    Styles of Beyond is an underground music Hip hop music group from Los Angeles, California, more specifically the San Fernando Valley. The group consists of MCs Ryan Patrick Maginn and Tak , Colton Raisin Fisher , and producer Jason Rabinowitz ....
    's song Bleach
    Megadef (album)

    Megadef is the second album by Styles of Beyond, released in 2003 in CD and vinyl record formats, and on iTunes.This album was only released in an "Explicit Version", and yet contains no "Parental Advisory" sticker....
     (simply entitled Bleach (Jimi Remix), which was featured on Fort Minor's official We Major mixtape.