Hey Joe is my favourite song by Jimi Hendrix. It was The Jimi Hendrix Experience’s first single, released in 1966 and a UK top 10 hit. Most of content in this article has been cherry-picked from the Wikipedia reference below:
This song has become a rock-standard and been performed in many musical styles by hundreds of different artists. The authorship of the song has been contested, and different recordings have credited its writing to either Billy Roberts or Dino Valenti, or have listed it as a traditional song. Some other performers including Pete Seeger recognised that it had been developed from Billy Robert’s girlfriend and later wife Niela Miller’s song Baby Don’t Go to Town.
When Jimi Hendrix was exploring a more rock-oriented sound in New York City in 1966 with his group Jimmy James and the Blue Flames, Hey Joe was one of the first songs he performed regularly. His arrangement used a slower tempo reminiscent of Tim Rose’s recent single version, which he had heard on a juke box. Looking for musical acts to produce, Chas Chandler, the ex-bassist for the Animals, checked out Hendrix. By chance, the first song Hendrix performed during Chandler’s visit was Hey Joe, a song Chandler was interested in promoting. As a result, Chandler decided to take Hendrix with him to England in September 1966, where he would subsequently turn the guitarist into a star.
[Verse 1]
Hey Joe, where you going with that gun in your hand?
Hey Joe, I said, where you going with that gun in your hand?
[Verse 2]
I’m going down to shoot my old lady
You know, I caught her messing around with another man
I’m going down to shoot my old lady
You know, I caught her messing around with another man
And that ain’t too cool
[Verse 3]
Hey Joe, I heard you shot your woman down
You shot her down, now
Hey Joe, I heard you shot your old lady down
You shot her down to the ground
Released in the United Kingdom, December 1966, Hendrix’s version peaked at No. 6. The single was released in the United States on May 1, 1967, with the B-side “51st Anniversary”, but failed to chart.
Hey Joe was the last song Hendrix performed at the Woodstock festival in 1969 and as such, it was also the final song of the whole festival. The song was performed after the crowd, comprising the 80,000 who had not yet left the festival, cheered for an encore.
References:
1. Hey Joe — a song with murky origins gave rise to one of the great cover versions – Financial Times
2. Hey Joe – Wikipedia
“The more I live, the more I learn. The more I learn, the more I realize, the less I know.”- Michel Legrand
Observation Blogger 
Fantastic…Jimi
Hey Tom. I hope life is treating you well. Can’t go wrong with this track yeh? Haha
Same as usual Matt lol Hendrix fires me up lol
“Hey Joe” was the first song I ever heard by Jimi Hendrix, and I immediately dug it. I would say it’s his most accessible song. Most of his other music was an acquired taste for me. That said, nowadays, if I could only pick one, I’d go with “Purple Haze” or “Voodoo Child (Slight Return”.🎸😎
Same here. I think it was my first foray into his catalogue. I’ve heard a bit of Hendrix including those tracks you mentioned. Although it’s not my go-to music, I do like it on occasion. ‘Hey Joe’ will always be my Desert Island track from him.
I hear you, it’s hard not to dig “Hey Joe” – btw, just to be clear, I still dig it as well, and it definitely remains among my all-time favorite Hendrix songs.
I also love his rendition of Dylan’s “All Along the Watchtower”, as well as “The Wind Cries Mary.”
So many great Hendrix songs, once you start digging – hard to pick just one!😀
I love how Dylan changed the way he did ‘All Along the Watchtower” live (ala Vancouver 11-11-1978) to be more in line with the Hendrix version lol
I’m not misreading you about ‘Hey Joe’. I probably need to do more digging, but in the little excavation I have done, I haven’t heard a better track at least to my ears. ‘The Wind Cries Mary’ I’d heard before and it’s great.
From the tone of the guitar to everything about it…I love it.
Hey ya Max. Tone of the guitar is what I like so much too.