Cotton Eye Joe (Rednex song)

"Cotton Eye Joe" is a song by Swedish Eurodance group Rednex from their debut studio album Sex & Violins (1995). Based on the traditional American folk song "Cotton-Eyed Joe", it combines the group's style with traditional American instruments such as banjos[5] and fiddles. The vocal verses are performed by Annika Ljungberg, while the "Cotton Eye Joe" chorus is sung by Göran Danielsson, who never appears in the video. In 2002, "Cotton Eye Joe" was remixed in a dance version, and was released from Rednex's greatest hits album, The Best of the West.

This article is about the Rednex song. For the traditional country folk song, see Cotton Eyed Joe.

"Cotton Eye Joe"
Single by Rednex
from the album Sex & Violins
B-side"Ride the Hurricane's Eye (Winnetoons Version)"
Released12 August 1994
Recorded1994
Genre
Length3:14
Label
Songwriter(s)
  • Janne Ericsson
  • Örjan Öban Öberg
  • Pat Reiniz
  • Patrik ”The Hitmaker” Lindqvist
Producer(s)Pat Reiniz
Rednex singles chronology
"Cotton Eye Joe"
(1994)		 "Old Pop in an Oak"
(1995)
Music video
"Cotton Eye Joe" on YouTube
The Chase
(2001)
Cotton Eye Joe 2002
(2002)
Mama Take Me Home
(2006)

Critical reception

Bill Lamb from About.com said, "What happens when you combine folk, techno, and bluegrass music? It goes something like this hit".[6] Johnny Loftus from AllMusic wrote that the song is a "backwater Euro-dance novelty".[7] Larry Flick from Billboard described it as "country hoedown fiddling sewn into a raucous pop/rave dance beat". He noted that it has "cheeky rap poking stereotypical fun at Southerners".[8] J.D. Considine from The Daily Gazette called it "the piece de resistance, a track so infernally catchy that you almost don't notice how screamingly funny it is."[9] David Browne from Entertainment Weekly commented, "For sheer audaciousness, it’s not surprising that the record is garnering such attention. Where else can you hear a barn-dance staple gone techno, complete with dance-diva wailing and manic banjos and fiddles?"[10] Tom Ewing from Freaky Trigger said that "Cotton Eye Joe” work "on that basic, energetic, ass-moving level". He also added that "the hollering diva interludes actually change things up a little, though that decades-old hook is solid enough to stand on its own."[11] Dave Sholin from the Gavin Report wrote that "this group from Sweden puts a techno spin on a square dance staple", stating that its "fresh, unique approach makes 'Cotton Eye Joe' so hot."[12] In their review of Sex & Violins, Knoxville News Sentinel described the song as "techno-hoedown".[13] Music & Media commented that "it takes three to set a trend: the Grid's "Swamp Thing", the Two Cowboys's "Everybody's Gon Figon" and Bravado's "Harmonica Man". Rednex are the next modern barn dance act."[14] John Kilgo from The Network Forty called it a "outright winner", stating that "this novelty track is not only catchy and fun, but uptempo as well."[15]

Chart performance

The Rednex version of the song (using "Eye" instead of "Eyed"), along with a dance-mix version, was very successful in Europe, where it remained at number-one in Norway for 15 weeks, Switzerland for 13 weeks, Germany for 10 weeks, Sweden for 8 weeks, Austria for 7 weeks, and for 3 weeks on the UK Singles Chart. In the latter, the single reached the top spot in its fifth week on the chart, on January 8, 1995.[16] Additionally, it also peaked at number-one in Belgium, Denmark, Finland, the Netherlands and Scotland, as well as on the Eurochart Hot 100. In Ireland, it peaked at number 2 in January 1995. In Oceania, it topped the New Zealand Singles Chart for 6 consecutive weeks. In Australia it peaked at number 8 in April 1995. In the US, it peaked at number 25 in March 1995. "Cotton Eye Joe" was awarded with a gold record in Australia, the Netherlands and the US. It also received a platinum record in Austria, New Zealand, Sweden, Switzerland and the UK, and a 2× platinum record in Germany and Norway.

Music video

The music video for "Cotton Eye Joe" was directed by Swedish director Stefan Berg. The video won the prize for the best Swedish dance video at the 1995 Swedish Dance Music Awards.[17] It featured the band performing in a barn during a hoedown where the guests did activities such as dancing, playing and splashing in old wild west baths, and riding a mechanical bull. Several signs can be seen in the barn, with inscriptions like "Horses outside", "No bath!" and "No sex allowed". The video ends with a short fast motion clip of a girl riding the mechanical bull. It was uploaded to YouTube in August 2013. As of September 2020, the video has more than 117.8 million views.[18]

Impact and legacy

Rolling Stone placed "Cotton Eye Joe" at No. 13 in their 2007 list of the "20 Most Annoying Songs"[19]

MTV Dance placed "Cotton Eye Joe" at #51 in their list of The 100 Biggest 90's Dance Anthems Of All Time in November 2011.[20]

BuzzFeed listed the song at number 97 in their list of The 101 Greatest Dance Songs Of the '90s in 2017.[21]

Paste Magazine ranked the song number 17 in The 60 Best Dancefloor Classics list in 2017.[22]

ThoughtCo listed the song at number 92 in their list of The Top 100 Best Party Songs of All Time in 2018.[23]

2001 BDO World Champion John Walton uses this as his walk-on music.

"Cotton Eye Joe" is frequently played for a segment called "Coin Quest" in the Adult Swim television series FishCenter Live.[24][25]

Jimmy Fallon sang a soft rock-style version of this song on his eponymous late-night talk show as part of the Musical Genre Challenge.

Alternative music influencer, Hannah, cites Cotton Eye Joe as being the ‘perfect song’ and an all time classic. She recognises the track as having had a huge influence in her life inspiring her to become a music influencer.

Track listings
Original CD
  1. "Cotton Eye Joe" (original single version) – 3:14
  2. "Cotton Eye Joe" (Madcow Mix) – 4:46
  3. "Cotton Eye Joe" (Madcow Instrumental) – 4:46
  4. "Cotton Eye Joe" (Overworked Mix) – 6:20
  5. "Cotton Eye Joe" (Original Instrumental) – 3:08
2002 CD
  1. "Cotton Eye Joe 2002" – 3:33
  2. "Cotton Eye Joe 2002" (Dance Nation Remix) – 7:32
  3. "Cotton Eye Joe 2002" (Aquagen Remix) – 7:45
  4. "Ride the Hurricane's Eye" (Winnetoons version) – 3:02
  5. "Cotton Eye Joe 2002" (extended version) – 5:56

Charts and sales

References
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