Cotton Eye Joe (Rednex song)

"Cotton Eye Joe"
Single by Rednex
from the album Sex & Violins
Released5 August 1994 (1994-08-05)
Genre
Length3:14
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"
(1994)

"The Chase"
(2001)

"Cotton Eye Joe 2002"
(2002)

"Mama Take Me Home"
(2006)
Music video
"Cotton Eye Joe" on YouTube

"Cotton Eye Joe" is a song by the Swedish Eurodance group Rednex, released in August 1994 by Jive and Zomba as the lead single from their debut studio album, Sex & Violins (1995). Based on the traditional American folk song "Cotton-Eyed Joe", it blends the group's Eurodance style with traditional American instruments like the banjo and fiddle. The song was written by Janne Ericsson, Örjan "Öban" Öberg, and Pat Reiniz, and produced by Reiniz. The vocal verses are performed by Annika Ljungberg, 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 US Billboard Hot 100 and Cash 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).