Happiness Is a Thing Called Joe

Noel Holston
2 min readJun 21, 2024

No, this isn’t a Biden love-in or an ode to caffeine, though both are deserving of our praise and gratitude. It’s another Pop Stand playlist

Jittery Joe’s is an Athens, Georgia, coffee brand. Photo by Noel Holston (author)

Not sure if Joe is the most common given name in song history — I mean, there’s “Bill Bailey,” “My Bill,” “My Girl Bill” and more — but Joe surely a close second or third.

I could almost fill a Pop Stand playlist with versions of “Hey Joe” alone (but I’m stopping at four).

As always, I look forward to seeing your suggestions. I know I’ve missed a bunch.

BTW, songs sung by somebody named Joe will not accepted. That’s a whole ’nother playlist.

I Dreamed I Saw Joe Hill Last Night — Joan Baez

Average Joe — Clay Walker

Ode to Billy Joe — Bobbi Gentry

Hey Joe — Jimi Hendrix

Hey Joe — The Byrds

Hey Joe — The Leaves

Hey Joe — Patti Smith

Old Black Joe — Bing Crosby

G.I. Joe — Waylon Jennings

Quick Joey Small— Kasenetz-Katz Singing Orchestral Circus

Shoeless Joe from Hannibal, Mo.Damn Yankees ensemble

Surfer Joe — The Surfaris

Joltin’ Joe Dimaggio — Les Brown & His Orchestra

Poor, Poor Joseph Joseph and the Amazing Technicolor Dream Coat cast

Happiness Is a Thing Called Joe — Ethel Waters

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