Cotton Eye Joe (Rednex song)

"Cotton Eye Joe"
Single by Rednex
from the album Sex & Violins
B-side "Ride the Hurricane's Eye (Winnetoons Version)"
Released 12 August 1994
Format
Recorded 1994
Genre
Length 3:14
Label
Songwriter(s)
  • Janne Ericsson
  • Örjan Öban Öberg
  • Pat Reiniz
Producer(s) Pat Reiniz
Rednex singles chronology
"Cotton Eye Joe"
(1994)		 "Old Pop in an Oak"
(1995)

"Cotton Eye Joe"
(1994)		 "Old Pop in an Oak"
(1995)
Music video
"Cotton Eye Joe" on YouTube
"The Chase"
(2001) The Chase2001
"Cotton Eye Joe 2002"
(2002) Cotton Eye Joe 20022002
"Mama Take Me Home"
(2006) Mama Take Me Home2006

"Cotton Eye Joe" is a song by Swedish Eurodance group Rednex from their debut studio album Sex & Violins (1995). Sampling the traditional American folk song "Cotton-Eyed Joe", it combines the group's style with traditional American instruments such as banjos[4] and fiddles. 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.

Chart performances

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 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.

Critical reception

The Gavin Report wrote about the song: "Simply put, this isn't just an international hit, but one of the biggest number one songs ever in more than just a few European countries. This group from Sweden puts a techno spin on a square dance staple—what a concept. It's that fresh, unique approach that makes 'Cotton Eye Joe' so hot."[5]

Music & Media wrote: "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."[6]

Music video

Rednex in the "Cotton Eye Joe" music video.

The music video for "Cotton Eye Joe" was directed by Stefan Berg. The video won the prize for the best Swedish dance video at the 1995 Swedish Dance Music Awards.[7] It basically 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.

Impact and legacy

Blender magazine ranked the song at number 38 on the list of the 50 Worst Songs Ever.[8]

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.[9]

Paste Magazine ranked the song number 17 in The 60 Best Dancefloor Classics list in 2017.[10]

ThoughtCo listed the song at number 92 in their list of The Top 100 Best Party Songs of All Time in 2018.[11]

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

  1. ↑ Loftus, Johnny. "Rednex – Sex & Violins". AllMusic. Rovi Corporation. Retrieved February 16, 2014.
  2. 1 2 The A.V. Club (2009). Inventory: 16 Films Featuring Manic Pixie Dream Girls, 10 Great Songs Nearly Ruined by Saxophone, and 100 More Obsessively Specific Pop-Culture Lists. Simon & Schuster. ISBN 978-1-4165-9473-4.
  3. ↑ Flick, Larry; Pride, Dominic (February 18, 1995). "Will U.S. Fans Dance To Jive's Rednex Fiddling ?". Billboard. Nielsen Business Media. p. 117. ISSN 0006-2510.
  4. ↑ "Cotton Eye Joe – Rednex". tralala.gr. Archived from the original on 2012-06-25. Retrieved 2014-03-31.
  5. ↑ Sholin, Dave (3 February 1995). "Gavin Picks > Singles" (PDF). Gavin Report. No. 2040. p. 54. Retrieved 16 April 2018.
  6. ↑ "New Releases: Singles" (PDF). Music & Media (1994-08-13, page 6). Retrieved 26 February 2018.
  7. ↑ "Swedish Dance Music Awards Honor E-Type". Billboard (1995-04-22, page 62). Retrieved 7 March 2018.
  8. ↑
  9. ↑ MTV Dance - Tuesday 27.12.2011
  10. ↑ "The 60 Best Dancefloor Classics". pastemagazine.com. Retrieved 26 August 2017.
  11. ↑ "The Top 100 Best Party Songs of All Time". ThoughtCo. 10 September 2018. Retrieved 6 October 2018.
  12. ↑ "Australian-charts.com – Rednex – Cotton Eye Joe". ARIA Top 50 Singles. Retrieved 3 December 2016.
  13. ↑ "Austriancharts.at – Rednex – Cotton Eye Joe" (in German). Ö3 Austria Top 40. Retrieved 3 December 2016.
  14. ↑ "Ultratop.be – Rednex – Cotton Eye Joe" (in Dutch). Ultratop 50. Retrieved 3 December 2016.
  15. ↑ "Top RPM Singles: Issue 7748." RPM. Library and Archives Canada. Retrieved 28 September 2018.
  16. ↑ "Top RPM Dance/Urban: Issue 7959." RPM. Library and Archives Canada. Retrieved 28 September 2018.
  17. ↑ Billboard October 29, 1994. Billboard. 29 October 1994. Retrieved 1 December 2010.
  18. ↑ "Music & Media: Eurochart Hot 100" (PDF). Music & Media. Retrieved 16 January 2018.
  19. ↑ Pennanen, Timo (2006). Sisältää hitin - levyt ja esittäjät Suomen musiikkilistoilla vuodesta 1972 (in Finnish) (1st ed.). Helsinki: Tammi. ISBN 978-951-1-21053-5.
  20. ↑ "Lescharts.com – Rednex – Cotton Eye Joe" (in French). Les classement single. Retrieved 3 December 2016.
  21. ↑ "Offiziellecharts.de – Rednex – Cotton Eye Joe". GfK Entertainment Charts. Retrieved 3 December 2016.
  22. ↑ "Íslenski Listinn Topp 40 (13.10.1994 - 19.10.1994)" (PDF). Dagblaðið Vísir - Tónlist. Retrieved 13 February 2018.
  23. ↑ "The Irish Charts – Search Results – Cotton Eye Joe". Irish Singles Chart. Retrieved 3 December 2016.
  24. 1 2 "Single top 100 over 1994" (PDF) (in Dutch). Top40. Retrieved 17 April 2010.
  25. ↑ "Dutchcharts.nl – Rednex – Cotton Eye Joe" (in Dutch). Single Top 100. Retrieved 12 April 2018.
  26. ↑ "Charts.nz – Rednex – Cotton Eye Joe". Top 40 Singles. Retrieved 3 December 2016.
  27. ↑ "Norwegiancharts.com – Rednex – Cotton Eye Joe". VG-lista. Retrieved 3 December 2016.
  28. ↑ "Scottish Singles Chart 01 January 1995 - 07 January 1995". Official Charts Company. Retrieved 16 January 2018.
  29. ↑ Salaverri, Fernando (September 2005). Sólo éxitos: año a año, 1959–2002 (1st ed.). Spain: Fundación Autor-SGAE. ISBN 84-8048-639-2.
  30. ↑ "Swedishcharts.com – Rednex – Cotton Eye Joe". Singles Top 100. Retrieved 3 December 2016.
  31. ↑ "Swisscharts.com – Rednex – Cotton Eye Joe". Swiss Singles Chart. Retrieved 3 December 2016.
  32. ↑ "Rednex: Artist Chart History". Official Charts Company. Retrieved 3 December 2016.
  33. ↑ "Official UK Dance Singles Chart (18 December 1994-24 December 1994)". officialcharts.com. Retrieved 9 February 2018.
  34. ↑ "Rednex Chart History (Hot 100)". Billboard. Retrieved 3 December 2016.
  35. ↑ "Rednex Chart History (Dance Club Songs)". Billboard. Retrieved 3 December 2016.
  36. ↑ "Rednex Chart History (Pop Songs)". Billboard. Retrieved 3 December 2016.
  37. ↑ "Cash Box Top 100 Pop Singles" (PDF). Cash Box (1995-04-29). Retrieved 20 February 2018.
  38. ↑ "Austriancharts.at – Rednex – Cotton Eye Joe 2002" (in German). Ö3 Austria Top 40. Retrieved 3 December 2016.
  39. ↑ 1994 Austrian Singles Chart Austriancharts.at (Retrieved 30 July 2008)
  40. ↑ 1995 Australian Singles Chart aria.com Archived August 3, 2015, at the Wayback Machine. (Retrieved July 30, 2008)
  41. ↑ 1995 Austrian Singles Chart Austriancharts.at Archived September 24, 2010, at the Wayback Machine. (Retrieved July 30, 2008)
  42. ↑ "RPM Top 50 Dance Tracks of 1995". RPM. Library and Archives Canada. Retrieved 28 September 2018.
  43. ↑ 1995 French Singles Chart Disqueenfrance.com Archived March 7, 2012, at the Wayback Machine. (Retrieved January 30, 2009)
  44. ↑ "End of Year Charts 1995". Recorded Music NZ. Retrieved December 3, 2017.
  45. ↑ 1995 Swiss Singles Chart Hitparade.ch Archived March 23, 2012, at the Wayback Machine. (Retrieved July 30, 2008)
  46. ↑ "Billboard Top 100 - 1995". Archived from the original on 2009-08-15. Retrieved 2010-08-27.
  47. ↑ "Accreditation Awards". Australian Fun Countdowns. 2011-04-07. Retrieved 2012-06-29.
  48. ↑ "Austrian single certifications – Rednex – Cotton Eye Joe" (in German). IFPI Austria. Retrieved June 29, 2012. Enter Rednex in the field Interpret. Enter Cotton Eye Joe in the field Titel. Select single in the field Format. Click Suchen. 
  49. ↑ "Gold-/Platin-Datenbank (Rednex; 'Cotton Eye Joe')" (in German). Bundesverband Musikindustrie. Retrieved June 29, 2012.
  50. ↑ "Dutch single certifications – Rednex – Cotton Eye Joe" (in Dutch). Nederlandse Vereniging van Producenten en Importeurs van beeld- en geluidsdragers. Retrieved June 29, 2012. Enter Cotton Eye Joe in the "Artiest of titel" box.
  51. ↑ "IFPI Norsk platebransje Trofeer 1993–2011" (in Norwegian). IFPI Norway. Retrieved June 29, 2012.
  52. ↑ "Guld- och Platinacertifikat − År 1987−1998" (PDF) (in Swedish). IFPI Sweden. Retrieved June 29, 2012.
  53. ↑ "The Official Swiss Charts and Music Community: Awards (Rednex; 'Cotton Eye Joe')". IFPI Switzerland. Hung Medien. Retrieved June 29, 2012.
  54. ↑ "British single certifications – Rednex – Cotton Eye Joe". British Phonographic Industry. Retrieved June 29, 2012. Select singles in the Format field. Select Platinum in the Certification field. Enter Cotton Eye Joe in the search field and then press Enter.
  55. ↑ http://www.officialcharts.com/features/number-1-today-in-1995-cotton-eye-joe-keeps-celine-dion-off-the-top-3419/
  56. ↑ "American single certifications – The Rednex – Cotton Eye Joe". Recording Industry Association of America. Retrieved June 29, 2012. If necessary, click Advanced, then click Format, then select Single, then click SEARCH. 
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