Quick Joey Small (Run Joey Run)

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"Quick Joey Small (Run Joey Run)"
Single by Kasenetz-Katz Singing Orchestral Circus
B-side "(Poor Old) Mr. Jensen"
ReleasedSeptember 1968
Recorded1968
Genre Bubblegum pop
Length2:57
Label Buddah
Songwriter(s) Joey Levine and Artie Resnick

"Quick Joey Small (Run Joey Run)," is a bubblegum pop ballad, written by Joey Levine and Artie Resnick and performed by the Kasenetz-Katz Singing Orchestral Circus. [1]

Contents

A cover version by Irish group The Real McCoy was a success in Ireland.

Lyrics

The lyrics describe a prisoner who escapes over a wall while weighed down with a ball and chain. He is pursued by a sheriff with hounds. Joey Small's lover, Mary Jane, had sent him a file baked inside a cake; the song ends with the sheriff going to Mary Jane's house — what happens next is left ambiguous. [2]

Song history

The version reached #25 in the US charts. [3]

A cover version by Irish showband group Real McCoy was number one on the Irish Singles Chart for two weeks in January 1969. [4] [5] The B-side was "Happiness Is Love" by Sons & Lovers. [6]

References

  1. "Quick Joey Small (Run Joey Run) / (Poor Old) Mr. Jensen". Rate Your Music.
  2. "Lyrics - Quick Joey Small". www.irishshowbands.net.
  3. Benarde, S. R. (2003:149). Stars of David : rock'n'roll's Jewish stories. Germany: Brandeis University Press, published by University Press of New England.
  4. Curran, Aidan (August 19, 2024). "Real McCoy – 'Quick Joey Small (Run Joey Run)'".
  5. "Irish Rock Discography: Real McCoy". www.irishrock.org.
  6. "Real McCoy - Quick Joey Small (Run Joey Run)". February 10, 1968 via www.discogs.com.