"Cotton Eye Joe" is anovelty song by the SwedishEurodance groupRednex, released in August 1994 byJive andZomba as the lead single from their debut studio album,Sex & Violins (1995). Based on the traditional Americanfolk song "Cotton-Eyed Joe", it blends the group's Eurodance style with traditional American instruments like thebanjo[6] andfiddle. The song was written by Janne Ericsson, Örjan "Öban" Öberg, and Pat Reiniz, and produced by Reiniz. The vocal verses are performed byAnnika Ljungberg [sv], while the "Cotton Eye Joe" chorus is sung by Göran Danielsson, who does not appear in the music video, which was directed by Stefan Berg.
"Cotton Eye Joe" became a number-one hit in at least 11 countries and reached numbers 25 and 23 on the USBillboard Hot 100 andCash Box Top 100 charts, respectively. In Sweden, it was the most successful single of 1994. In 2002, "Cotton Eye Joe" was remixed into a new dance version and included on Rednex's first greatest hits album,The Best of the West (2002).
"Cotton Eye Joe" is based on the traditional country folk song "Cotton-Eyed Joe" and begins with the chorus sung by the male vocalist. Nearly a minute into the track, the female vocalist delivers the first of two verses. The song has a runtime of 3 minutes and 14 seconds, a tempo of 132 BPM, and atime signature of 4/4. It is written in the key ofA major.[7] In the 2002 book,Move Your Body (2 The 90s): Unlimited Eurodance, writer Juha Soininen noted that the song "broke the euro mould by letting a man sing the refrain while a woman sang the middle part."[8]
At the time of release, it was compared to instrumental tracks such as "Swamp Thing" and "Everybody Gonfi-Gon". And originally, "Cotton Eye Joe" was also recorded as a instrumental track.Zomba marketing manager Charles Hunfeld toldMusic & Media, "Whereas the others are more or less instrumental 'country-house', the Rednex have made a vocal record. Admittedly, originally it wasn't. After we heard the first demo version, we had to A&R it a bit. The effect of the song in the clubs is beyond belief. [...] Within a split second it looks like everybody's gotmad cow disease."[1]
Johnny Loftus fromAllMusic named "Cotton Eye Joe" a "backwaterEuro-dance novelty".[9]Larry Flick fromBillboard magazine described it as "country hoedown fiddling sewn into a raucous pop/ravedance beat", noting that the song has "cheeky rap poking stereotypical fun at Southerners".[10]J.D. Considine fromThe Daily Gazette named it "the piece de resistance, a track so infernally catchy that you almost don't notice how screamingly funny it is."[11] Jim Farber fromDaily News complimented the band for managing "to crack the pop singles chart at a time when even country stars who sell millions of albums can't make hay on the pop song list."[12]David Browne fromEntertainment 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 manicbanjos andfiddles?"[13] Tom Ewing ofFreaky Trigger said that "Cotton Eye Joe" work "on that basic, energetic, ass-moving level", adding that "the hollering diva interludes actually change things up a little, though that decades-oldhook is solid enough to stand on its own."[14] Dave Sholin from theGavin Report noted 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."[15] A reviewer fromKnoxville News Sentinel described it as "techno-hoedown".[16] In his weekly UK chart commentary,James Masterton deemed it "a massive party smash no matter where you are".[17]
Howard Cohen fromThe Miami Herald wrote that "every decade has its novelty song", adding that "it deserves credit for its gumption, at least."[18] Pan-European magazineMusic & Media said "it takes three to set a trend:the Grid's 'Swamp Thing', theTwo Cowboys' 'Everybody Gonfi-Gon' andBravado's 'Harmonica Man'. Rednex are the next modern barn dance act."[19] A reviewer fromMusic Week gave it a full score of five out of five, describing it as "Europop meets country in an irritatingly catchy tune", that is "guaranteed to pack the dance floors at party time and a cast iron cert of a hit."[20] John Kilgo fromThe Network Forty complimented "Cotton Eye Joe" as a "outright winner", stating that "this novelty track is not only catchy and fun, but uptempo as well."[21] Stuart Bailie fromNME wrote, "A fantastic western dance (and if you haven't thrown shapes to this at The Broken Spoke inAustin, well, you've missed out, mate) is given the full-on techno treatment, like that cowboy outfit The Grid have done already this year. Maybe another novelty turn, but fun with it."[22]Neil Spencer fromThe Observer viewed it as "an initially amusing joke".[23]James Hamilton from theRecord Mirror Dance Update declared it a "happily galloping Swedish disco hoedown with square dance caller, fiddle and banjo" in his weekly dance column.[24] Chuck Campbell fromScripps Howard News Service felt it "has the same novelty appeal" as "I'm Too Sexy", "but in addition to the aggressive dance rhythm and offbeat vocals, the Rednex song also features an impossibly high-voiced woman and manic fiddle and banjo."[25]
"Cotton Eye Joe" held the number-one position for 15 weeks in Norway, 13 weeks in Switzerland, 11 weeks in Denmark,[26] 10 weeks in Germany, eight weeks in Sweden, seven weeks in Austria, and three weeks in Finland and the United Kingdom.[27] In the UK, the single reached the top spot during its fifth week on theUK Singles Chart, on 8 January 1995.[28] It also peaked at number one in Belgium (5 weeks) and the Netherlands (1 week), as well as on theEurochart Hot 100, where it peaked in its 17th week on the chart, on 24 December 1994.[29] In Ireland, it peaked at number two in January 1995. In New Zealand, the song topped theRIANZ Singles Chart for six consecutive weeks. In neighbouring Australia, it peaked at number eight in April 1995. In the United States, it peaked at number 25 on theBillboard Hot 100 and number 23 on theCash Box Top 100. "Cotton Eye Joe" was awarded agold record in Australia (35,000), the Netherlands (50,000), and the US (500,000). It also received a platinum record in Austria (50,000), New Zealand (10,000), Sweden (50,000), Switzerland (50,000), and the UK (1,200,000), as well as a double-platinum record in Germany (100,000) and Norway.
The accompanying music video for "Cotton Eye Joe" was directed by Swedish director Stefan Berg. It won the prize for the best Swedish dance video at the 1995 Swedish Dance Music Awards.[30] The video features 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. Göran Danielsson, who sings the "Cotton Eye Joe" chorus, never appears in the video. It receivedheavy rotation onMTV Europe and was A-listed on Germany'sVIVA.[31][32] In the US, the video generated massive reaction on its first week onThe Box.[33] "Cotton Eye Joe" was later made available on Rednex's official YouTube channel in 2013.[34]
MTV Dance ranked "Cotton Eye Joe" number 51 in their list of "The 100 Biggest 90's Dance Anthems of All Time" in November 2011.[35]BuzzFeed ranked it number 97 in their list of "The 101 Greatest Dance Songs of the '90s" in 2017.[36]Paste magazine ranked the song number 17 in "The 60 Best Dancefloor Classics" list in 2017.[37]ThoughtCo ranked it number 92 in their list of "The Top 100 Best Party Songs of All Time" in 2018, adding, "What happens when you combinefolk,techno, andbluegrass music? It goes something like this hit".[38][39]Billboard magazine ranked "Cotton Eye Joe" number 49 in their list of "The 100 Greatest Jock Jams of All Time" in February 2024, writing, "A dangerously stomping Eurocountry reinvention of a 150-plus-year-old folk song, and one of the most demented crossover hits of the ’90s."[40]
In 2021, theOntario Hockey League team, theGuelph Storm, stopped using the song during games after consultation with local groups alleging the song has racist origins.[43]
On 12 August 2023, "Cotton Eye Joe" interrupted a tiebreaker during aCanadian Open match betweenIga Świątek andJessica Pegula. The point was replayed. The song could later be heard playing over the loudspeakers after Pegula went on to defeat Świątek in three sets.[44]
In August 2024, fans of the Disney Channel cartoonGravity Falls discovered that inputting the name of the character Fiddleford Hadron McGucket into a website created by series creatorAlex Hirsch as a tie in fora recent book related to the series, it would redirect to the "Cotton Eye Joe" video on YouTube. Rednex themselves later congratulated fans who had discovered it and shared a video related to it.[45]
* Sales figures based on certification alone. ^ Shipments figures based on certification alone. ‡ Sales+streaming figures based on certification alone.
^Kilgo, John (27 January 1995)."Mainstream: Music Meeting"(PDF).The Network Forty. p. 20.Archived(PDF) from the original on 9 December 2021. Retrieved2 April 2020.
^Bailie, Stuart (10 December 1994)."Singles".NME. p. 41. Retrieved28 November 2023.
^Pennanen, Timo (2006).Sisältää hitin – levyt ja esittäjät Suomen musiikkilistoilla vuodesta 1972 (in Finnish) (1st ed.). Helsinki: Tammi.ISBN978-951-1-21053-5.
