Hey Joe

Daniel, Genoa, OH, that's really creepy.

Willy DeVille's insane Mariachi version of this blows my mind! Of course that's taking Hendrix as the canonical version and reference point. As soon as I realized what he was doing I decided DeVille is a genius.

In my opinion, The Leaves did it first and did it the best. You could hear the song being played by every garage band back in the late 60's!

According to Keith Richards, in his autobiography 'Life' (which is excellent, btw), Keith introduced Jimi to this song.

I really hate to break it to some of you guys but guitar players do not play with their teeth. It is hammers and pulloffs. Look up tabulature, for details. Playing with your teeth is something a ten year old would believe. This is a great song and I think it was done by love as some here have said before me.

during many live versions jimmi played the solo with his teeth

Josh from NV: the Deep Durple version is on their first LP, "Shades of Deep Purple".

Try and check out Roy Buchanan's cover of this song. Also try to catch Roy's version of Green Onions. But for some true guitar playing pleasure, listen to Roy's 'You're Not Alone' album. A guitar feast.

Plenty of violence here, belied by Jimi's dark, angry guitar.
Who else could have pulled it off so well?

Johnny Rivers recorded this song on his 1968 album "Realization". At the time, he was in his "hippie" phase. He rewrote the lyrics to set the theme of the album which was the search for realization of who we really are. River's version begins and ends with the sound of a circus calliope in the background.

although many people did cover this song, and there is some speculation to who wrote it. It's a jimi classic and will be until the end of time.The song is so great thousands of people have become jimi fans just by hearing this song.

Never mind who wrote it, "Hey Joe", is a good song. I was never a huge Hendrix fan but do like several of his songs.

This song's about a guy who sees another guy named joe with a gun, and he's like "What you doin' with that gun?"
and the guy tells him he's gonna shoot his wife cos he caught her with another guy. Then he shhots her. Yah.........Its a good song

hey joe is a good song about a man on the run

Whoever wrote this song, and whoever else covered it, I always think of it as a Jimi Hendrix song. His guitar work gave the song conveyed the angry or depressed person's alienation from reality, which heightened both the bluesiness and tripiness (I can't think of better words)that makes this song so powerful. Picking a favorite Hendrix song is as difficult picking a favorite Beatles song (In both cases, there are so many great ones), but this is certainly up there.

walter trout and body count have coverd this the later is just awesome and a young fella from tasmania pete cornelius and the devilles cuts a pretty mean version also

When I saw Tim Rose on stage, not long before he died, he claimed to have written it . He sang it "The way the writer intended" - whatever , it is a great song

Another cool over the top Hendrix song . What a classic !

Hey Jimi! (haha! my name is Joe... i'm a loser)

Yea lot of people played it, Its a Jimi song, and he played it with his teeth!

I love Jimi, however Roy Buchanon's version is the best there is. No doubt.

I think it might be the Winterland recording where he adds a peice of a Beatles song into the main riff. This song was also recorded by Cryan Shames and also by the Human Beinz; a band who was majorly influenced by Hendrix and covered foxy lady as well. They had a #1 with Nobody but Me.

What I meant to say, was that there is a story that David Crosby taught it to some of the artists mentioned in the songfacts, including the other members of the Byrds, of which he was a member at the time.

Regarding the popularization of "Hey Joe" is that it was taught to David Crosby who taught it to some of the artists mentioned in the second songfact. The following passage from www.answers.com has this to say: "The song Hey Joe is widely credited as being popularized by David Crosby after he picked it up from Dino Valente. He taught the song to Bryan MacLean and Arthur Lee of Love, who then taught it to members of The Leaves. Since he felt responsible for having popularized the song, Crosby convinced the other members of The Byrds to cover it on Fifth Dimension." Has anyone else read this story. This same story also appears in an entry on David Crosby onthe wicapedia website.

I always found this song incredibly compelling, but I also have a fond humorous memory of it. I was one of that generation who loved sixties rock music while my parents, fans of Bing and Glenn Miller, hated it. Well they put up with me playing Beatles records, and they could cope with Simon and Garfunkel, the Moody Blues or CSN, but when I put on my disc of Jimi's Greatest Hits, during this song my usually very sweet mother told me to turn it off or she'd break the record into a million pieces. Had to listen to this one while they weren't home.

I agree with Linus and Juney. Before I looked at the credits and did some internet research, I didn't know that it was written by someone else.

Back in 1992, I suspected my wife was having an affair. One day, while home alone, someone called and played this song over the phone to me. I listened until it was over...then they hung up. Every time I hear it, I am reminded of it. To this day I have no idea who called me.

I agree with Linus, Ask anyone who sang 'Hey Joe' and it was Jimi hendrix of course

Though 400 artists have covered it, I believe this song really belongs to Jimi.

the 1967 pop festival was not the first time this was performed. hendrix toured before his first album was released, all over europe and hey joe was one of the first songs the band put together. an old cowboy tune from about 100 years ago. simple repitive rythim but its just one of those songs you know? i love it

A couple of other distinctive versions are by Spirit (on "Spirit of '76) and Black Uhuru (on "Now"). Body Count does a version on the 1993 Hendrix Tribute, "Stone Free". And the page http://www.heyjoe.org/perf.html shows about 1000 of them.

hell i want to hear deep purple and zeppelin do this

actually, I have a copy of Zeppelin playing this. If anybody wants it email me at njmunno@comcast.net

Hey Joe was the final song Jimi played at Woodstock. By the way, Max Yasgur's farm and alfalfa field where the song was played is located at the intersection of Hurd Road and West Shore Road in Bethel New York. You have to take Route 17b which is the Montecello exit on Route 17 in New York. Pass the race track, go down about 10-12 miles. Hurd Road will be on your right, make the right, then make the left onto West Shore Road, and then you'll see the amazing bowl where 30,000 plus people camped out and waited 3 days to see Jimi do "Star Spangled Banner" and "Purple Haze."

Life changing moment in the UK when the Experience perform 'Hey Joe' on music show 'Ready , Steady , Go'(December '66).
Choice of name for a band could not have been more apt.....nuthin' prepared us for Jimi.
Saw him twice before he died , once in Aylesbury(?!?) , once in Glasgow.
Rawk gawd pre-eminent!

Actually Jordan the song is about a guy who's talking to the guy who caught hiw girlfriend cheating. jimi is singing it from that perspective.

this song is about a guy who caught his girl cheating on him so he goes to shoot her. He says "where you goin with that gun in your hand. I'm goin down to shoot my old lady, i caught her messin around with another man."

Deep Purple also covered this. I kind of like it better, but Jimi's version is still awesome.

An initeresting version was done by Willy deVille.

The band Type O Negative covered a slow, dark version of this song, but coined it "Hey Peter" after the band's singer, Peter Steele. It appears on their greatest hits compilation, "The Least Worst Of"

"Hey Joe" was performed the first time by The Leaves. It's also the title of their debut album released in 1966.

Sorry David, Zeppelin never did this song. It was The Band Of Joy. It was Robert Plant's band prior to Zeppelin and the amazing John Bonham was the drummer.

It was also done by Seal on the "Set it Off" soundtrack in 1996.

did some research, it was 1974

Led Zeppelin also covered this song, not sure what year, but Plant sounds very young in it so I guess it was "The Early Years."

This song, Hey Joe, was also covered by The Offspring in a gig in Baghdad a few years ago.

A great old ballad that only jimi could make famous...what a remarkable piece of work.

Frank Zappa and the Mothers recorded a song called "Flower Punk" for the album We're Only In It For The Money, it has the same tune as Hey Joe, and almost the same lyrics, but this song is a dig at hippies.

For a different approach to "Hey Joe" by Jimi, check out "Live at Winterland." A must have and a real treat for Hendrix fans. It was actually the first time I had heard the tune and I immediately went on a quest for any and all of Jimi's material. Needless to say, I've been a Hendrix fanatic since. Paul.