“Set ‘Em Up Joe”
Vern Gosdin
Written by Buddy Cannon, Hank Cochran, Dean Dillon, and Vern Gosdin
Billboard
#1 (1 week)
July 23, 1988
Vern Gosdin was tailor made for the new traditionalist movement, as evidenced by “Set ‘Em Up Joe.”
This is a brilliant country shuffle that’s as meta as “She Had Me at Heads Carolina.” It taps into the genuine heartache of a stone cold weeper from back in the day, as Gosdin’s rich honky tonk voice plays “Walking the Floor Over You” so much every night that he wears the record out. The owners of his local haunt have to replace it every day as he acts out its title, as Joe the bartender keeps the drinks flowing.
It’s a well timed record that celebrates the history of traditional country music at a time when it was being fully embraced by a new generation. A pox on country radio for not sending his follow up single to No. 1, but at least the CMA gave “Chiseled in Stone” their Song of the Year award in 1989.
Gosdin has one more appearance at the top, also in 1989, and it’s the final No. 1 single of his lifetime.
“Set ‘Em Up Joe” gets an A.
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I’ve always enjoyed this one but never found it exceptional. Tribute songs like this can be clever, and this one has its moments, but piggybacking on others’ material for new content has always struck me as a bit too gimmicky to be worthy of perfect scores. I always sing along when this one comes on the oldies country stations I listen to and don’t begrudge it making it to #1. But if Vern was only able to score one #1 in 1988 I would have vastly preferred it to be the haunting “Chiseled in Stone”.
Grade: B
Just like Vern playing “Walking the Floor” over and over again is me hitting repeat to “Set’em Up Joe” in my car or on my phone. Love Jamey Johnson’s version as well and state that both have the definitive versions. I will say “Chiseled in Stone” and “Do You Believe Me Now” are some of the best haunting vocals on a country song i’ve ever heard. Right up there with Lefty Frizzel “Long Black Veil” and Keith Whitley’s Version of “I Never Go Around Mirrors”.
An excellent song which is actually a three-way tribute – Ernest Tubb, “Walking The Floor Over You” and “Set Up Two Glasses, Joe”. Vern had a long and scattered career with time gaps here and there and recordings for a bunch of labels, making it unlikely that any label will try to issue a definitive box set (Vern self-issued a 4 CD set that lacks any liner notes and has an insert that is mostly photos – it has 101 songs
from various sources but the sound is very good -and is a reasonable capsule of his career).
While not everything Vern recorded was a classic, I do not recall any real duds and find myself wishing he had done a lot more recording. I think his total recorded output was around 200 tracks with there being some remakes included in that number
It should be noted that Vern and his brother Rex were in an early 1960’s California bluegrass outfit called The Golden State Boys, along with a young mandolin player by the name of Chris Hillman (who went on to a career of, how shall we say, some renown). In short, the man had been around the block a couple of times before this late 1980’s renaissance.
For a classic honky-tonk broken heart shuffle as this one is, with shout-outs to Ernest Tubb (natch!), this is a surprisingly jaunty record, and, in my opinion, a thoroughly memorable one at that.
I wonder if in the future we will look at the compositions of the Peach Pickers (Rhett Akins, Ben Hayslip, and Dallas Davidson) with the same reverence and awe as I do at the collaboration of Buddy Cannon, Hank Cochran, Dean Dillon, and Vern Gosdin on this classic hit.
I will continue to champion how essential songs like this are to holding the body of country music together.
Hits explicitly referencing earlier hits and stars from previous eras are country music’s connective tissue.
In 1988, this song absolutely was single-handedly responsible for driving me to find out who this ET character was from the 1940’s. I won’t lie, my first association with ET was from the movie and not the musician.
Imagine both my ignorance and my confusion.
Listening to new country in the late ’80s was an introduction and an education in country music history.
Whether heading upstream or downstream, being a country music fan at this time was thrilling and rewarding because it was so alive and a significant discovery felt like it was waiting behind every bend.
Vern Gosdin is an underappreciated legend and one of country music’s greatest vocalists.
“The Voice” indeed.
I agree with Tyler that “Do You Believe Me Now” is a vocal masterpiece.