THE BIRTH OF AN EXPERIENCE: The Jimi Hendrix Experience Recording ‘Hey Joe’

Nov 29 2024

Steven C. Pesant.

The Jimi Hendrix Experience made their meteoric debut with the release of the single “Hey Joe” b/w “Stone Free” on Friday, December 16, 1966.   While Billy Roberts penned the original lyrics to “Hey Joe” in the late 1950s and performed it regularly through the early 1960s while busking on the streets of New York’s Greenwich Village and later while based in San Francisco; he never took the chance to formally record the track himself. 

The Byrds were known to perform the song at the LA hotspot Ciro’s which is where The Leaves discovered the track, and eventually became the first group to record and release the song commercially.  Debuting as “Hey Joe, Where You Gonna Go” in November 1965, it found limited commercial success. The Leaves eventually re-recorded the song again in 1966 and released the new version “Hey Joe” alongside the B-Side single for “Girl From The East” which found moderate commercial success as the group’s fifth single and as the title track to their eponymous debut release.  

Singer Tim Rose recorded the song in 1966, taking a slower, almost bluesy ballad approach as opposed to the faster renditions made by others. Rose’s rendition was perhaps the most successful commercial release of the song up to that time becoming a regional hit on both the west and east coast while also receiving radio airplay.  It also became a mainstay of Tim Rose’s stage repertoire.  

As New York City braced for the forthcoming snows in the Fall of 1966, Chas Chandler, bassist for The Animals, was looking to move into the business side of the music industry.  A consummate fan of Tim Rose’s rendition of “Hey Joe,” Chandler was looking for his own, bright up-and-coming musician to record an adaptation of the popular track. 

By stroke of luck, a young Jimmy Hendrix, who was performing regularly in Greenwich Village, was also inspired by Rose’s same rendition. With the prodding of friend Linda Keith, and a break in his own touring schedule while staying in New York City, Chandler happened to catch Hendrix in action on stage at the famed Café Wha? in the heart of the East Village where he was performing.  It took only a few of seconds for Chandler to decide right then and there that this player, performing under the guise of Jimmy Hendrix (performing the lead role in Jimmy James & The Blue Flames), would be whisked away to London, quickly paired with bassist, Noel Redding and drummer, Mitch Mitchell and released to an unsuspecting public as The Jimi Hendrix Experience in September 1966.

The newly formed Experience went to France to garner some quick audience exposure and help to earn some needed funds.  As part of a four-show supporting spot on a tour with legendary French singer Johnny Hallyday, The Jimi Hendrix Experience mesmerized the sell-out crowd at L’Olympia in Paris during final tour stop on October 18, 1966. Performing “Killing Floor,” “Hey Joe” and “Wild Thing,” the band’s performance was recorded by RTE and marked the first time the band was professionally saved to tape.  [Ed. This version of “Hey Joe” was eventually released as part of The Jimi Hendrix Experience deluxe box set in 2000.]

Back in London and wanting to get Hendrix into the studio quickly to record “Hey Joe,” Chandler had scrapped together enough cash to get the first studio session booked for October 23, 1966, at De Lane Lea Music Ltd. [aka., Kingsway Studio].  These were familiar confines for Chandler as this is where The Animals had completed most of their recordings. “I knew the studio well, that’s why I took him there,” explained Chas Chandler to John McDermott in the Ultimate Hendrix book. 

As Hendrix and Chandler tried to figure each other out, the two butted heads.  Jimi, weary of his vocal capabilities, looked for ways to bury his voice in the mix and keep the focus on the guitar; while Chandler, who learned during rehearsals that Hendrix’s voice was far stronger than he was giving himself credit for, wanted the vocals to be more up front. Jimi even threatened that “if I can’t play as loud as I want, I might as well go back to New York.” To which Chandler threw down Hendrix’s travel papers and said, “Well, here you go. Piss off!!” Jimi looked at Chandler, started laughing and said, “All right, you called my bluff!” and that was it; Jimi was ready, and Chandler knew they were about to take everyone by storm.

In a mere two hours, all that Chandler could afford at the studio, The Experience completed more than 30 different takes before a completed basic track met approval.  

With master tape in hand, Chas Chandler moved recording to both Pye and Regent Studios in early November. “Although we had completed the backing track, we still weren’t finished because we couldn’t get the girl’s vocals right,” recounted Chandler in Ultimate Hendrix. “I ended up going from one studio to another, trying to get different girls to put the vocals on. Initially I went to De Lane Lea, but they were booked, so I had to go elsewhere. I nearly screwed it all up because my master tape was one-inch four-track, and it took sessions at three different studios to complete.”  In the end, the trio of Gloria George, Magaret Stedder, and Barbara Moore who performed under the framework, The Breakaways served as the final backing track to the single.

Also from these successive studio sessions, both a mono master and a stereo master were crafted.  A second, yet unreleased, stereo master was also created using one of the different groups of female backing vocalists. [Ed. Contrary to popular belief, a second mono mix was not created.  The version circulating through tape trading circles is a faked mono mix, made by splitting a single channel of the original stereo release.]

In need of a B-Side single to pair with “Hey Joe,” Chandler and Hendrix explored various options. Although Hendrix himself was fond of “Land Of A Thousand Dances,” a song they had also performed during their recent French tour; Chandler, realizing that more money could be made by a self-penned track, pushed Jimi to start writing.  What quickly came to shape was the song “Stone Free,” which would be recorded on November 2, 1966, at De Lane Lea and paired as Side-B to The Experience’s unsuspecting smash hit debut.

With recordings in hand, Chandler secured a deal with The Who’s Chris Stamp and Kit Lambert’s new recording label, Track Records.  Despite signing with Track, the debut “Hey Joe” b/w “Stone Free” debut would first see the light on the Polydor label as the fledgling new label was still finalizing its own production issues and not prepared to release as fast as Chandler required.

Released in the UK on December 16, 1966, (Polydor, 56139), The Jimi Hendrix Experience’s debut single, “Hey Joe” kicked off 1967 with a debut position on the UK music charts at #41.  With a barrage of live dates throughout London and modest radio and television support, “Hey Joe” found itself quickly climbing the charts, peaking at #6 before dropping off the charts after a ten-week stint.  It was a big success that marked Hendrix’s debut.

Although “Hey Joe” was not penned by Hendrix himself, despite being recorded by more than 100 different artists over the past 20 years, including the likes of Tim Rose, Deep Purple, Cher, Love, Spirit, Wilson Picket, Nick Cave, and countless others, Hendrix’s rendition of the classic track is widely recognized as the standard.  As such, “Hey Joe” remains one of the classic focal points of every Hendrix fan’s collection and forever etches Hendrix’s debut in the pantheon of music firsts.

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