Origins of the Song “Hey Joe”
From Greenwich Village coffeehouses to 7000 Polish guitarists
“Hey Joe” is a song about a man on the run to Mexico after shooting his unfaithful wife. It was a 1960s rock standard and it was the song that turned Jimi Hendrix into a star.
Some claim that “Hey Joe” is a traditional song. However, no documentary evidence backs this up, and folk singer Billy Roberts is generally credited with authorship. In late 1965, Los Angeles garage band, The Leaves, recorded the earliest-known commercial release of “Hey Joe.
Billy Roberts’ authorship rights
In the early 1960s, Roberts played in coffeehouses and on the streets of Greenwich Village, New York City. There it’s said he composed “Hey Joe”, registering it for copyright in 1962. He performed the song on the Greenwich Village hootenanny scene and later in San Francisco.
Before Roberts could record and release “Hey Joe”, he heard that a musician friend from New York, Chet Powers (also known as Dino Valenti), had listed himself as songwriter on some early releases of “Hey Joe”. Then in 1965, Roberts’ friend and producer, Hillel Resner, told him about The Leaves’ recording of “Hey Joe”.
It turned out that Valenti had signed a publishing contract with Third Story…
