Singled Out: BLUES People's Hey Joe (Revisited)

10-26-2024

Acclaimed NYC blues band BLUES People released their new album "The Skin I'm In" earlier this year and to celebrate we asked bassit Mike Griot to tell us about their track "Hey Joe (Revisited)". Here is the story:

When we started playing as a band in front of audiences locally, we hadn't developed any original material. We were careful to choose seldom-played or "Bside" blues covers.... so to not fall into a creative trap. A few months after we started: COVID hit.... and we had only the studio as an outlet. We were even wearing masks in the studio!

When some venues began to reopen in 2021, we had developed two originals ("Skin..." and "Troubled...")- and had begun performing these live. The band had been playing "Hey Joe" (made famous by Jimi Hendrix) for a couple of years at that point at live gigs. It is obviously a favorite of fans and musicians... and we definitely honored the song and Hendrix's performance.

Kelton always absolutely killed this tune live... but often said that the original lyric wasn't necessarily his story. Now... I know that Kelton always declares that he "can't sing anything he doesn't believe in". I think the more we performed the song, the more he felt that we needed our lyrical power to match our musical level.

During a writing session in 2022, we realized that "Joe" could be a metaphor for the President at the time. We asked ourselves what we would ask Joe if given the opportunity. Those questions became the reimagined lyric of our version of Hey Joe (Revisited). Frontman Kelton Cooper recalls a show last January where a man approached him after the concert - visibly moved to tears. He told Cooper that our unique lyrics gave him a greater understanding of our journey... and himself. Powerful sh*t... huh?

The response to the recording and the live performance has been incredible! It may be one of the most played tracks worldwide from our debut album! I guess the combination of a familiar tune married with our storytelling seems to resonate with a lot of people... and we are grateful.

Hearing is believing. Now that you know the story behind the song, listen and watch for yourself below and learn more here