Cotton Eye Joe (Rednex)

"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 CD single, 12-inch single
Recorded 1994
Genre Eurodance,[1][2] country[2][3]
Length 3:14
Label Internal Affairs (UK)
Battery (NA)
ZYX (Germany)
Writer(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)
"The Chase"
(2001)
"Cotton Eye Joe 2002"
(2002)
"Mama Take Me Home"
(2006)

In August 1994, Swedish recording group Rednex covered the song Cotton-Eyed Joe as Cotton Eye Joe for their album Sex & Violins, combining their 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 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

Blender magazine ranked the song at #38 on the list of the "50 Worst Songs Ever".[5] Matthew Wilkening of AOL Radio listed the song at #86 on the list of the 100 Worst Songs Ever, calling it "[t]he worst song the New York Yankees could have picked for their seventh-inning stretch music. No wonder they're nicknamed the 'evil empire.'"[6]

Track listings

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
CD - 2002 version
  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

Peak positions

Chart (1994/95) Peak
position
Australia (ARIA)[7] 8
Austria (Ö3 Austria Top 40)[7] 1
Belgium (Ultratop 50 Flanders)[7] 1
Canada Top Singles (RPM)[8] 10
Canada Dance (RPM)[9] 1
Denmark (Tracklisten)[10] 1
Europe (Eurochart Hot 100) 1
Finland (Suomen virallinen lista)[11] 1
France (SNEP)[7] 10
Germany (Media Control Charts)[12] 1
Ireland (IRMA)[13] 2
Netherlands (Dutch Top 40)[14] 1
New Zealand (RIANZ)[7] 1
Norway (VG-lista)[7] 1
Spain (AFYVE)[15] 8
Sweden (Sverigetopplistan)[7] 1
Switzerland (Schweizer Hitparade)[7] 1
UK Singles (Official Charts Company)[16] 1
25
5
30
Chart (2002) Peak
position
Austria (Ö3 Austria Top 40) 32

Year-end charts

Chart (1994) Position
Austria (Ö3 Austria Top 40)[17] 7
Canada (RPM)[18] 13
Netherlands (Dutch Top 40)[14] 9
Chart (1995) Position
Australia (ARIA)[19] 34
Austria (Ö3 Austria Top 40)[20] 10
France (SNEP)[21] 50
Switzerland (Schweizer Hitparade)[22] 10
U.S. Billboard Hot 100[23] 93

Sales and certifications

Region Certification Sales/shipments
Australia (ARIA)[24] Gold 35,000^
Austria (IFPI Austria)[25] Platinum 50,000x
Germany (BVMI)[26] 2× Platinum 1,000,000^
Netherlands (NVPI)[27] Gold 50,000^
Norway (IFPI Norway)[28] 2× Platinum 100,000*
Sweden (GLF)[29] Platinum 50,000x
Switzerland (IFPI Switzerland)[30] Platinum 50,000x
United Kingdom (BPI)[31] Platinum [32]650,000
United States (RIAA)[33] Gold 500,000^

*sales figures based on certification alone
^shipments figures based on certification alone
xunspecified figures based on certification alone

Chart successions

Order of precedence
Preceded by
"Love Is All Around" by Wet Wet Wet		 Swedish number-one single
September 2, 1994 - October 21, 1994 (8 weeks) 		Succeeded by
"This Is the Way" by E-Type
Dutch Top 40 number-one single
September 17, 1994 (1 week) 		Succeeded by
"Dromen zijn bedrog" by Marco Borsato
Norwegian VG-Lista number-one single
41/1994 - 2/1995 (15 weeks) 		Succeeded by
"Old Pop in an Oak" by Rednex
Preceded by
"Saturday Night" by Whigfield		 German number-one single
November 4, 1994 - January 6, 1995 (10 weeks) 		Succeeded by
"Tears Don't Lie" by Mark 'Oh
Preceded by
"Hey Süßer" by Lucilectric		 Austrian number-one single
November 6, 1994 - December 18, 1994 (7 weeks) 		Succeeded by
"Hey Süßer" by Lucilectric
Preceded by
"Secret" by Madonna		 Swiss number-one single
November 27, 1994 - February 26, 1995 (13 weeks) 		Succeeded by
"Conquest of Paradise" by Vangelis
Preceded by
"Always" by Bon Jovi		 Eurochart Hot 100 number-one single
December 10, 1994 - February 11, 1995 (10 weeks) 		Succeeded by
"Here Comes The Hotstepper" by Ini Kamoze
Preceded by
"Stay Another Day" by East 17		 UK Singles Chart number-one single
January 8, 1995 - January 28, 1995 (3 weeks) 		Succeeded by
"Think Twice" by Céline Dion
Preceded by
"Tomorrow" by Silverchair		 New Zealand RIANZ number-one single
March 5, 1995 - April 9, 1995 (6 weeks) 		Succeeded by
"If You Love Me" by Brownstone
Preceded by
"Everybody on the Floor (Pump It)" by Tokyo Ghetto Pussy		 Canadian RPM Dance chart number-one single
March 13, 1995 (1 week) 		Succeeded by
"You & I" by J.K.

References

  1. ↑ Loftus, Johnny. "Rednex – Sex & Violins". AllMusic. Rovi Corporation. Retrieved February 16, 2014.
  2. ↑ 2.0 2.1 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. Retrieved 2014-03-31.
  5. ↑
  6. ↑ Wilkening, Matthew (September 11, 2010). "100 Worst Songs Ever". AOL Radio. Retrieved December 19, 2010.
  7. ↑ 7.0 7.1 7.2 7.3 7.4 7.5 7.6 7.7 "Cotton Eye Joe", in various singles charts Lescharts.com (Retrieved February 6, 2008)
  8. ↑ 8.0 8.1 8.2 8.3 Billboard AllMusic. (Retrieved July 30, 2008)
  9. ↑ "Item Display - RPM - Library and Archives Canada". Collectionscanada.gc.ca. Retrieved 2012-02-10.
  10. ↑ Billboard October 29, 1994. Billboard. 1994-10-29. Retrieved 2010-12-01.
  11. ↑ Pennanen, Timo (2006). Sisältää hitin - levyt ja esittäjät Suomen musiikkilistoilla vuodesta 1972 (in Finnish) (1st ed.). Helsinki: Tammi. ISBN 978-951-1-21053-5.
  12. ↑ German Singles Chart Charts-surfer.de (Retrieved April 10, 2008)
  13. ↑ Irish Single Chart Irishcharts.ie (Retrieved April 10, 2008)
  14. ↑ 14.0 14.1 "Single top 100 over 1994" (PDF) (in Dutch). Top40. Retrieved 17 April 2010.
  15. ↑ Salaverri, Fernando (September 2005). Sólo éxitos: año a año, 1959–2002 (1st ed.). Spain: Fundación Autor-SGAE. ISBN 84-8048-639-2.
  16. ↑ UK Singles Chart Chartstats.com (Retrieved April 10, 2008)
  17. ↑ 1994 Austrian Singles Chart Austriancharts.at (Retrieved July 30, 2008)
  18. ↑ "Item Display - RPM - Library and Archives Canada". Collectionscanada.gc.ca. Retrieved 2012-02-10.
  19. ↑ 1995 Australian Singles Chart aria.com (Retrieved July 30, 2008)
  20. ↑ 1995 Austrian Singles Chart Austriancharts.at (Retrieved July 30, 2008)
  21. ↑ 1995 French Singles Chart Disqueenfrance.com (Retrieved January 30, 2009)
  22. ↑ 1995 Swiss Singles Chart Hitparade.ch (Retrieved July 30, 2008)
  23. ↑ "Billboard Top 100 - 1995". Retrieved 2010-08-27.
  24. ↑ "Accreditation Awards". Australian Fun Countdowns. 2011-04-07. Retrieved 2012-06-29.
  25. ↑ "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
  26. ↑ "Gold-/Platin-Datenbank (Rednex; 'Cotton Eye Joe')" (in German). Bundesverband Musikindustrie. Retrieved June 29, 2012.
  27. ↑ "Dutch single certifications – Rednex – Cotton Eye Joe" (in Dutch). Nederlandse Vereniging van Producenten en Importeurs van beeld- en geluidsdragers. Retrieved June 29, 2012.
  28. ↑ "Norwegian single certifications – Rednex – Cotton Eye John" (in Norwegian). IFPI Norway. Retrieved June 29, 2012.
  29. ↑ "Guld- och Platinacertifikat − År 1987−1998" (PDF) (in Swedish). IFPI Sweden. Retrieved June 29, 2012.
  30. ↑ "The Official Swiss Charts and Music Community: Awards (Rednex; 'Cotton Eye Joe')". Hung Medien. Retrieved June 29, 2012.
  31. ↑ "British single certifications – Rednex – Cotton Eye Joe". British Phonographic Industry. Retrieved June 29, 2012. Enter Cotton Eye Joe in the field Keywords. Select Title in the field Search by. Select single in the field By Format. Select Platinum in the field By Award. Click Search
  32. ↑ http://www.officialcharts.com/features/number-1-today-in-1995-cotton-eye-joe-keeps-celine-dion-off-the-top-3419/
  33. ↑ "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