"Hey Bartender" is a song written by Dossie Terry, copyright filing EU389235 dated 10 March 1955[1] and renewed RE180048 on 11 March 1983.[2]
It was first recorded by Floyd Dixon in 1955 on Cat Records 114; the label credits "Terry" as composer.[3] A cover by "Blue Boo Boo" Blazer & Little Archie Taylor with Geechie Hicks & His Creole Combo was released as a B-side in 1959 and it was credited to "Blazer-Williams".[4] A cover by Laurel Aitken in 1961 titled "Bar Tender" made the song a success, though the Blue Beat 45 label credited "L. Aitken" as composer.[5] It was subsequently covered and recorded live by The Blues Brothers in 1978, although the composer credit on the Atlantic Records release indicated "Floyd Dickson".[6]
It was also recorded by American country music artist Johnny Lee, though his release also credited "Floyd Dickson" as composer.[7] It was released in June 1983 as the first single and title track from his album, Hey Bartender. The song reached number 2 on the BillboardHot Country Singles chart and number 1 on the RPM Country Tracks chart in Canada.[8]
