Jimi Hendrix – Hey Joe

“Hey Joe” was written by a singer named Billy Roberts, who was part of the Greenwich Village folk scene in the early ’60s. The song is structured as a conversation between two men, with “Joe” explaining to the other that he caught his woman cheating and plans to kill her. They talk again, and Joe explains that he did indeed shoot her, and is headed to Mexico.

Billy Roberts copyrighted this song in 1962, but never released it (he issued just one album, Thoughts Of California in 1975). In 1966, several artists covered the song, including a Los Angeles band called The Leaves (their lead singer was bassist Jim Pons, who joined The Turtles just before they recorded their Happy Together album), whose version was a minor hit, reaching #31 in the US. Arthur Lee’s group Love also recorded it that year, as did The Byrds, whose singer David Crosby had been performing the song since 1965. These were all uptempo renditions.

This is the song that started it all for Hendrix. After being discharged from the US Army in 1962, he worked as a backing musician for The Isley Brothers and Little Richard, and in 1966 performed under the name Jimmy James in the group Jimmy James and the Blue Flames. Hendrix introduced “Hey Joe” to the band and added it to their setlist. During a show at the Greenwich Village club Cafe Wha?, Chas Chandler of The Animals was in the audience, and he knew instantly that Hendrix was the man to record the song.

Chandler convinced Hendrix to join him in London, and he became Jimi’s producer and manager. Teaming Hendrix with Noel Redding and Mitch Mitchell, Chandler had the group – known as The Jimi Hendrix Experience – record “Hey Joe,” and released it as a single in the UK in December 1966. It climbed to #6 in February 1967, as Hendrix developed a reputation as an electrifying performer and wildly innovative guitarist.

America was a tougher nut to crack – when the song was released there in April, it went nowhere.

Hendrix played this live for the first time at the 1967 Monterey Pop Festival. It was the first time the group performed in America.

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Jimi Hendrix - Hey Joe (1967)

The Jimi Hendrix Experience - Hey Joe (1967)04:12

“Hey Joe” este o piesă a cărei origine rămâne disputată. Ceea ce este clar, e că Billy Roberts, un muzician folk din California, are copyright din 1962 la această piesă.

Înainte de a fi înregistrată de Jimi Hendrix, a fost înregistrată de The Byrds în 1966 (18 Iulie).

Jimi a înregistrat piesa la 23 Octombrie 1966. Versiunea lui Jimi, este cea care a devenit cea mai cunoscută în întreagă lume, și bineînțeles, hit.

Hey Joe, este melodia care, a lansat cariera lui Jimi Hendrix. După ce a terminat armata în 1962, Jimi a fost muzician de backup pentru Isley Brothers și Little Richard, iar în 1966 cânta sub numele de Jimmy James în grupul Jimmy James and the Blue Flames.

Jimi este cel care a prezentat “Hey Joe” grupului, și au introdus-o în setlist. A cântat melodia live pentru prima dată la Monterey Pop Festival în 1967.

Aceasta este una din puținele melodii unde Jimi a avut un backup vocal feminin. A fost trio-ul the Breakaways (Jean Hawker, Margot Newman, și Vicki Brown).

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