Ever Heard “Hey Joe?”

DW Dalrymple

DW is an ex-mountaineer now residing in the Palmetto State, a former political hack/public servant, aspiring beach bum and alleged rock-n-roll savant. Forever a student of the School of Life. You can find him on Twitter @BIG_DWD

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11 Responses

  1. Dan Miller says:

    Oh, man. I first got broadband internet when I went to college in 2002. It was the peak of Kazaa, and all of a sudden you could get any song you liked as soon as you thought of it. That feeling was absolutely intoxicating.Report

  2. Jaybird says:

    I talked about it a million years ago. One of the weird things about my childhood is that I heard the Weird Al version before I heard the Jimi version (along with a handful of my cohorts) and we all laughed and couldn’t believe that the song was real.

    https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=oS5Dc6u1j8o

    (Jump ahead to 1:59 to hear my first experience of the song.)

    It took a few listens to realize that the *REAL* song was brilliant.Report

    • DW Dalrymple in reply to Jaybird says:

      Some of the versions of it out there are really good. Some not so good. I didn’t know that Weird Al did it. That’s……weird! Haha

      Thanks for readingReport

  3. Mark says:

    The Byrds recorded it in 1966. Their version is on Youtube, and it is KICKASS. I heard Stevie Van Zandt say that it inspired Hendrix. It is a great song in the woman killing tradition of folksongs that Dylan writes about in Tarantula. This subject is worthy of a full deep investigation. Some energetic person should get on it; this song, murder in folksongs, woman murder in folksongs, and sympathetic treatment of criminals in folksongs is a potential goldmine for commentary.Report

    • DW Dalrymple in reply to Mark says:

      I read some of the Byrds history about this song. Crosby was the catalyst behind recording it with some drama. Your folk song deep dive idea is good!

      Thanks for readingReport

      • i too heard the byrds version first (i went to college in 1965) – i just listened to the randy california version which is great – it reminds me a bit of steve hillage’s take on donovan’s hurdy gurdy man

        the theme of murder in popular music has a lot of depth – i’d include the beatles ‘run for your life’ as a song to consider – and of course neil young’s ‘down by the river’Report

        • DW Dalrymple in reply to mistah charley, ph.d. says:

          I’ve read in a few places that The Byrds were initially reluctant to record Hey Joe. Crosby was really pushing it since it was being played by other bands. Once The Leaves hit with it the reluctant Byrds knew they had to record it. Some say it’s not the best rendition due to how Crosby sang it. Personally, I don’t mind it. Hell CHER covered it😂

          I heard a song today from back in my teens by Guns-n-Roses related to killing… ; https://youtu.be/7Vl9qO0nLnU

          Thanks for reading.Report

  4. PD Shaw says:

    I have the ’67 version by the Leaves on the famous Nuggets compilation. I did not know it preceded that of Hendrix; I always assumed it was a garage cover of a song he already made popular.Report

    • DW Dalrymple in reply to PD Shaw says:

      I learned a lot about that song, it was cool unraveling the history behind it. I had never heard of The Leaves until I started researching.

      Thanks for reading.Report

  5. The Fantasía Para un Gentilhombre is one of Juan Rodrigo’s two most famous pieces for guitar and orchestra.

    https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ic3XTt7FNfQ

    I’ve known and loved it for years. So, Imagine my surprise on hearing this piece by the 17-century composer Gaspar Sanz on the radio, which is much too similar to be mere coincidence.

    http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=prCfgZRzHz4

    It turns out that the Fantasia is explicitly an adaptation of Sanz’s work.Report