Hey Joe!

"Hey Joe"
Single by Carl Smith
B-side"Darlin' Am I The One"
PublishedJuly 17, 1953
ReleasedMay 19, 1953 (1953-05-19)
GenreCountry
Length2:28
LabelColumbia
Songwriter(s)Boudleaux Bryant
Carl Smith singles chronology
"Do I Like It?"
(1953)
"Hey Joe"
(1953)
"Satisfaction Guaranteed"
(1953)

"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 No. 1 on the US country music chart,[1] marking Bryant's first no. 1 record. He later wrote songs with his wife Felice for The Everly Brothers.[2] The song was first published in New York on July 17, 1953 as "Hey, Joe".[3]

A contemporary cover version by Frankie Laine was a hit on the Billboard chart, and also reached No. 1 in the UK Singles Chart.[2][4] Later that year, Kitty Wells recorded an answer record, also titled "Hey Joe", which hit No. 8 on the Jukebox Country & Western chart.[5]

  1. ^ Whitburn, Joel (2004). The Billboard Book Of Top 40 Country Hits: 1944-2006, Second edition. Record Research. p. 318.
  2. ^ a b 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.
  3. ^ Catalog of Copyright Entries: Third series. 1953.
  4. ^ "Hey Joe! (song by Frankie Laine) ••• Music VF, US & UK hits charts". MusicVF.com. Retrieved 2021-09-13.
  5. ^ Whitburn, Joel (2004). The Billboard Book Of Top 40 Country Hits: 1944-2006, Second edition. Record Research. p. 376.