“Joe Knows How to Live”
Eddy Raven
Written by Max D. Barnes, Graham Lyle, and Troy Seals
Radio & Records
#1 (1 week)
August 26, 1988
Billboard
#1 (1 week)
September 17, 1988
“Life is something, buddy, you will never live again.”
That’s the only line I’m quoting from “Joe Knows How to Live.”
I heard this for the first time in preparing for this feature, and I am not spoiling any of the plot twists. Let me just say that this is an incredible feat of storytelling, showcasing the inner workings of a small factory town and the cast of characters that populate it. Even Betty’s mother, only mentioned in passing, is a fully realized character with motivations for her actions.
Can someone tell me why country radio showed this man the door? Because these records are on the same level as the new traditionalist superstars of this era, and I’m flabbergasted how much of his music has apparently gone down the memory hole.
Let’s get an Eddy Raven revival going, folks, while he’s still around to appreciate it.
“Joe Knows How to Live” gets an A.
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I’m flabbergasted how much of his music has apparently gone down the memory hole.
Yeah, Eddy Raven had a LOT of great songs, not all of which even made the top-10, even. This one was one of them.
(My personal favorite of his singles was 1981’s ”Who Do You Know in California,” which inexplicably peaked at No. 11.)
Eddy Raven’s hot streak continues, deservedly, with a song that calls back to the Caribbean sound of his first #1, “I Got Mexico”. Ultimately, I like this one better though, with its polished production and fully realized storytelling. And while the verses do the heavy lifting of drawing out the narrator’s world, Raven’s vocals and the melody really hit their crescendo in the chorus, which captures lightning in a bottle and sells the song sonically even for those not listening that closely to the lyrics. This song really deserved a follow-up to see how the narrator’s perspective on “Joe” evolved as they matured. Would “Joe” still seem like the idyllic bad boy who got away with everything the narrator could not a decade later? Or would Joe’s fast living catch up to him, sleeping out of a motel and forfeiting his paycheck to alimony payments for the wife he cheated on with “Betty”? Whichever direction it went, it would have been satisfying to get some resolution, or at least it would have if Raven’s career hadn’t flipped off like a light switch.
Once again, I was blessed to be able to listen to the FM country station out of Austin, Minnesota, which kept this song and so many others from the 80s in its recurrent rotation until the mid-2000s. Then again, it would made my today if I was to listen to it for the first time in August 2024 as you did.
Grade: A
Y’know, I never regarded Raven as a superstar but his music has been surprisingly enduring. Lately his music has taken a grassy turn, but even that works well. His 2017 CD ALL GRASSED UP with Lorraine Jordan & Carolina Road is excellent – it features eight of his big hits recast as bluegrass, plus a couple of songs he wrote for other artists and some new songs.
I agree! Raven’s discography is as well poised as any older artist from this era to be rediscovered. His creative consistency has aged wonderfully well -endured – even as his legitimate legacy seems largely forgotten today.
I wonder how many country fans would even include him in a list of their favourite artists from this era?
What a wonderful reminder of how good he was and apparently continues to be.