Rednex is a Swedish musical group whose style is a mix of American
country music
Country (also called country and western) is a genre of popular music that originated in the Southern and Southwestern United States in the early 1920s. It primarily derives from blues, church music such as Southern gospel and spirituals, ...
and modern
Eurodance
Euro-Dance (sometimes referred to as Euro-NRG, Euro-electronica or Euro) is a genre of electronic dance music that originated in the late 1980s in Europe. It combines many elements of hip hop, techno, Hi-NRG, house music, and Euro-Disco. This ...
, with their appearance and stage names taking inspiration from the American
redneck
''Redneck'' is a derogatory term chiefly, but not exclusively, applied to white Americans perceived to be crass and unsophisticated, closely associated with rural whites of the Southern United States.Harold Wentworth, and Stuart Berg Flexner, '' ...
stereotypes. The band originally consisted of the lead singer Mary Joe (Annika Ljungberg), alongside Bobby Sue (Kent Olander), Ken Tacky (Arne Arstrand), Billy Ray (Jonas Nilsson) and Mup (Patrick Edenberg). Pat Reiniz (Patrick Edenberg) also served as the band's producer. The band has gone through multiple lineup changes throughout its existence, with none of the members having an uninterrupted tenure.
The group enjoyed success throughout the 1990s with novelty hits such as "
Cotton Eye Joe
"Cotton-Eyed Joe" (also known as "Cotton-Eye Joe") is a traditional American Country music, country folk song popular at various times throughout the United States and Canada, although today it is most commonly associated with the Southern Unite ...
", "
Old Pop in an Oak
"Old Pop in an Oak" is a song recorded by Swedish band Rednex, released in 1994 as the second single from their debut album, ''Sex & Violins'' (1995). It reached number-one in many countries, including Austria, Belgium, Denmark, Finland, and Swe ...
", "
The Spirit of the Hawk
"The Spirit of the Hawk" is a song by Swedish musical group Rednex released from their second album, ''Farm Out'' (2000). The lyrics include the spoken lines "My people, some of them, have run away to the hills, and have no shelter, no food. No ...
" and "
Wish You Were Here Wish You Were Here may refer to:
Film, television, and theater Film
* Wish You Were Here (1987 film), ''Wish You Were Here'' (1987 film), a British comedy-drama film by David Leland
* Wish You Were Here (2012 film), ''Wish You Were Here'' (2012 ...
", which often topped the charts in several European countries.
Band history
1994–1995: Formation and ''Sex & Violins''
Rednex was initially the brainchild of Swedish producers Janne Ericsson, Örjan "Öban" Öberg, and Patrick Edenberg,
[Billboard.biz (2007-05-14)]
''Rednex On Sale For $1.5 Million''
Retrieved on 2007-06-16. who decided to try mixing
American
American(s) may refer to:
* American, something of, from, or related to the United States of America, commonly known as the "United States" or "America"
** Americans, citizens and nationals of the United States of America
** American ancestry, pe ...
country
A country is a distinct part of the world, such as a state, nation, or other political entity. It may be a sovereign state or make up one part of a larger state. For example, the country of Japan is an independent, sovereign state, while the ...
and
folk
Folk or Folks may refer to:
Sociology
*Nation
*People
* Folklore
** Folk art
** Folk dance
** Folk hero
** Folk music
*** Folk metal
*** Folk punk
*** Folk rock
** Folk religion
* Folk taxonomy
Arts, entertainment, and media
* Folk Plus or Fol ...
with modern
dance
Dance is a performing art form consisting of sequences of movement, either improvised or purposefully selected. This movement has aesthetic and often symbolic value. Dance can be categorized and described by its choreography, by its repertoir ...
and
pop music
Pop music is a genre of popular music that originated in its modern form during the mid-1950s in the United States and the United Kingdom. The terms ''popular music'' and ''pop music'' are often used interchangeably, although the former describe ...
. The name "Rednex" was chosen as a deliberate misspelling of the word "
redneck
''Redneck'' is a derogatory term chiefly, but not exclusively, applied to white Americans perceived to be crass and unsophisticated, closely associated with rural whites of the Southern United States.Harold Wentworth, and Stuart Berg Flexner, '' ...
s". The band originally consisted of the lead singer Mary Joe (Annika Ljungberg), alongside Bobby Sue (Kent Olander), Ken Tacky (Arne Arstrand), Billy Ray (Jonas Nilsson) and Mup (Patrick Edenberg).
In 1994, Rednex reworked the traditional
folk song
Folk music is a music genre that includes #Traditional folk music, traditional folk music and the Contemporary folk music, contemporary genre that evolved from the former during the 20th-century folk revival. Some types of folk music may be c ...
"
Cotton-Eyed Joe
"Cotton-Eyed Joe" (also known as "Cotton-Eye Joe") is a traditional American country folk song popular at various times throughout the United States and Canada, although today it is most commonly associated with the American South. The song is a ...
", retitled "
Cotton Eye Joe
"Cotton-Eyed Joe" (also known as "Cotton-Eye Joe") is a traditional American Country music, country folk song popular at various times throughout the United States and Canada, although today it is most commonly associated with the Southern Unite ...
", as a
eurodance
Euro-Dance (sometimes referred to as Euro-NRG, Euro-electronica or Euro) is a genre of electronic dance music that originated in the late 1980s in Europe. It combines many elements of hip hop, techno, Hi-NRG, house music, and Euro-Disco. This ...
track, which became an international hit single. Edenberg was soon replaced by BB Stiff (Urban Landgren) after the "Cotton Eye Joe" release. The group's debut studio album titled ''
Sex & Violins
''Sex & Violins (''also known on later US releases as ''Cotton Eye Joe (Sex & Violins)'') is the debut studio album by Swedish Eurodance group Rednex, released on Jive Records in February 1995.
Content
Female vocals on the album are provided b ...
'' followed, spawning several more hit singles including "
Old Pop in an Oak
"Old Pop in an Oak" is a song recorded by Swedish band Rednex, released in 1994 as the second single from their debut album, ''Sex & Violins'' (1995). It reached number-one in many countries, including Austria, Belgium, Denmark, Finland, and Swe ...
" and the ballad "
Wish You Were Here Wish You Were Here may refer to:
Film, television, and theater Film
* Wish You Were Here (1987 film), ''Wish You Were Here'' (1987 film), a British comedy-drama film by David Leland
* Wish You Were Here (2012 film), ''Wish You Were Here'' (2012 ...
". However, "Cotton Eye Joe" remains the group's only
U.S.
The United States of America (U.S.A. or USA), commonly known as the United States (U.S. or US) or America, is a country Continental United States, primarily located in North America. It consists of 50 U.S. state, states, a Washington, D.C., ...
hit as of 2022 (#25 on the
Billboard charts
The ''Billboard'' charts tabulate the relative weekly popularity of songs and albums in the United States and elsewhere. The results are published in '' Billboard'' magazine. ''Billboard'' biz, the online extension of the ''Billboard'' charts, p ...
in March 1995). Two more tracks of the album, "
Wild 'N Free
"Wild 'N Free" is a country-dance song by the Swedish band Rednex, released as the fourth single from their debut album, ''Sex & Violins''. Its techno-country dance style is built around a re-recorded sample of "The Infernal Galop" from Act II, Sc ...
" and "
Rolling Home", have been released and became moderate hits. A promotional one-off single, the
Nicole
Nicole may refer to:
People
* Nicole (name)
* Nicole (American singer) (born 1958), a contestant in season 3 of the American ''The X Factor''
* Nicole (Chilean singer) (born 1977)
* Nicole (German singer) (born 1964), winner of the 1982 Euro ...
cover version "
Ein Bisschen Frieden
Ein or EIN may refer to: Science and technology
* Ein function, in mathematics
* Endometrial intraepithelial neoplasia, a lesion of the uterine lining
* Equivalent input noise, of a microphone
* European Informatics Network, a 1970s computer netw ...
", has been released and labeled as "Collo Rossi" for the release.
1996–1997: Departure of Ljungberg and ''Riding Alone''
In 1996 Rednex were featured on the charity single "Children", as part of the supergroup "Hand in Hand for Children". Later female lead singer Ljungberg was fired, partly due to disagreements with the other band members
["Ongoing Conflicts"](_blank)
, ''RedNex Music'', 25 July 2014. and went on to pursue a solo career.
["Annika 'Mary Joe' Ljungberg Solo Career"](_blank)
''KDJ Eurodance', 25 July 2014. The rest of the band took a break from live performance and started working on new material.
["Historien om Rednex"](_blank)
, ''Magasinet Novell'', 4 June 2009. In 1997, the remaining four men released one more single, "Riding Alone", out of ''Sex & Violins'', two years after the previous release "Rolling Home". Arstrand started a side project that same year called Explode, a progressive power metal band, and released the debut studio album ''Live Forever'' in Sweden.
1998–2000: ''Farm Out'' and controversial lineup changes
In autumn 1998, Whippy (Mia Löfgren) became the new female vocalist. They released their first single "
The Way I Mate
"The Way I Mate" is a country-dance song by the Swedish band Rednex, released from their second album, ''Farm Out
''Farm Out'' (stylized as ''...farm out!''), is the second studio album by Swedish dance group Rednex through Jive Records. It is ...
" in 1999. Soon after that release, Arstrand left the band, reducing the quintet to a quartet. The second studio album entitled ''
Farm Out
''Farm Out'' (stylized as ''...farm out!''), is the second studio album by Swedish dance group Rednex through Jive Records. It is the first and only album to feature the female lead singer Mia Löfgren, who replaced original singer Annika Ljungber ...
'' followed in 2000 and found some success in Europe, with the most successful single from the album, the second release "
The Spirit of the Hawk
"The Spirit of the Hawk" is a song by Swedish musical group Rednex released from their second album, ''Farm Out'' (2000). The lyrics include the spoken lines "My people, some of them, have run away to the hills, and have no shelter, no food. No ...
", peaking #1 in the German Singles Chart. The album spawned a third and final single, the ballad "
Hold Me for a While
"Hold Me for a While" is a pop ballad by the Swedish band Rednex, released from their second album ''Farm Out
''Farm Out'' (stylized as ''...farm out!''), is the second studio album by Swedish dance group Rednex through Jive Records. It is th ...
", which became a moderate success. In 2000, in the wake of
Napster
Napster was a peer-to-peer file sharing application. It originally launched on June 1, 1999, with an emphasis on digital audio file distribution. Audio songs shared on the service were typically encoded in the MP3 format. It was founded by Shawn ...
's rising presence in the music industry, co-founder Edenberg outlined a new strategy for Rednex. The group would become an entertainment group rather than just a band, so not to be solely dependent on record sales. As he presented this idea to the performers during the video shoot for "Hold Me For A While" in Kenya, he was met by great scepticism. Nilsson replied: "We will not become a goddamn circus act!". The aftermath of this conflict resulted in the whole band, all four members, Löfgren, Olander, Nilsson and Landgren, being replaced for the first time.
2001–2004: ''The Best of the West'' and more lineup changes
As of January 2001, the group now consisted of the female lead singer Scarlet (Julie-Anne Tulley, formerly known as Jules Tulley from
Dreamhouse) from England, alongside the three male members Dagger (Anders Sandberg) from Sweden, Joe Cagg (Roy van der Haagen) and Jay Lee (Jean-Paul Engeln) from the Netherlands. It was the first time the band were not all Swedish. In 2001, the single "
The Chase", the first single out of their 2002 first compilation album ''
The Best of the West
''The Best of the West'' is the title of the first compilation album released by Swedish dance group Rednex compiling almost all previously released Rednex singles, except the promotional single "Riding Alone". The album is the second and final re ...
'', has been released and charted in Germany and Switzerland. In 2002, the second and final single out of the album, a reworked 2002 remix of "Cotton Eye Joe", was released and made the Top 30 in Austria. In 2003, the two Dutchmen van der Haagen and Engeln were replaced by Ace Ratclaw (Tor Penten) from Sweden and Boneduster Crock (Björn Scheffler) from Germany. In October 2004, Tulley resigned from the group due to exhaustion.
2005–2006: Return of Ljungberg and Comeback
![Rednex Live](https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/8/80/Rednex_Live.jpg)
In 2006, original female vocalist Ljungberg returned as Tulley's replacement in the group, she was assigned exclusive rights to license the Rednex trademark until January 1, 2009. During this period the group's focus shifted towards Scandinavia.
In January 2005, Ljungberg fired Scheffler, replacing him with her husband Snake (Jens Sylsjö). In 2006, Sandberg was also fired and replaced by Maverick (
Anders Lundström
Anders Lundström (born in Stöde, Sundsvall Municipality on 11 October 1977) is a Swedish songwriter and record producer. He is also a country recording artist who has released in January 2013 an album ''Stay True'' with the stage name MAV. ). Four former members, Scheffler and Sandberg, alongside Tulley and van der Haagen, and later in April 2007 joined by Penten, also a former Rednex member, began to tour under the name "Rednex Tribute".
Focusing on live performance in Scandinavia, Rednex appeared at the
2005
File:2005 Events Collage V2.png, From top left, clockwise: Hurricane Katrina in the Gulf of Mexico; the Funeral of Pope John Paul II is held in Vatican City; "Me at the zoo", the first video ever to be uploaded to YouTube; Eris was discovered in ...
IAAF World Championships in Athletics
The World Athletics Championships (until 2019 known as the World Championships in Athletics) are a biennial athletics competition organized by World Athletics (formerly IAAF, International Association of Athletics Federations). Alongside the Ol ...
, in
Helsinki
Helsinki ( or ; ; sv, Helsingfors, ) is the Capital city, capital, primate city, primate, and List of cities and towns in Finland, most populous city of Finland. Located on the shore of the Gulf of Finland, it is the seat of the region of U ...
. On March 11, 2006 Rednex entered the song "
Mama, Take Me Home" in Semifinal 4 of the Swedish
Melodifestivalen
Melodifestivalen (; literally "the Melody Festival") is an annual song competition organised by Swedish public broadcasters Sveriges Television (SVT) and Sveriges Radio (SR). It determines the country's representative for the Eurovision Song ...
in
Gothenburg
Gothenburg (; abbreviated Gbg; sv, Göteborg ) is the second-largest city in Sweden, fifth-largest in the Nordic countries, and capital of the Västra Götaland County. It is situated by the Kattegat, on the west coast of Sweden, and has ...
. They qualified for the final via the Second Chance Round, finishing an overall sixth in the final. "Mama, Take Me Home" was subsequently released as the first single in a few European countries. The band's Scandinavian comeback continued as they released the second single "
Fe Fi (The Old Man Died)" in November 2006, after having performed it at the
Nickelodeon Kids' Choice Awards
The Nickelodeon Kids' Choice Awards (also known as the KCAs or Kids' Choice) is an annual American children's awards ceremony show that is produced by Nickelodeon. Usually held on a Saturday night in late March or early April, the show honors ...
. The single was surprisingly successful, peaking #4 in the Swedish Single chart.
2009–2011: Second departure of Ljungberg and Singles
On January 1, 2009, after the end of Ljungberg's management licence, control of the Rednex brand returned to the band's founders. The remaining Rednex personnel Ljungberg, Lundström and Sylsjö were fired by the returning management following a dispute, and were replaced by members of the "Rednex Tribute" (Tulley, Sandberg, Penten and van der Haagen), all themselves former official Rednex. It was the second time the whole lineup had been replaced simultaneously.
[rednexforsale.com (2008-09-26)]
''Rednex exchanges the whole band!''
Retrieved on 2008-09-27. In January 2010, Rednex released a new single, "Devil's On The Loose", in a partnership with
The Pirate Bay
The Pirate Bay (sometimes abbreviated as TPB) is an online index of digital content of entertainment media and software. Founded in 2003 by Swedish think tank Piratbyrån, The Pirate Bay allows visitors to search, download, and contribute mag ...
for free and legal download worldwide.
A video for the track was recorded in August 2009 in Norrbyggeby, Sweden.
[Norrtelje Tidning (2009-08-28)]
''Rednex video recording of Devil's On The Loose''
. Retrieved on 2009-08-28. The song was released as the first single from the planned album ''Saturday Night Beaver'', which to date remains shelved due low single sales. Tulley soon also left Rednex for a second time, and was replaced by Dakotah (Nadja Flood), former singer in the Swedish
dansband
(; "dance band"), or in Norwegian and Danish, is a Swedish term for a band that plays ("dance band music"). ' is often danced to in pairs. Jitterbug and foxtrot music are often included in this category. The music is primarily inspired by ...
Nova, making her the fourth official female lead singer of Rednex.
2012–2014: Second departure of Tulley and Singles
In January 2012, Rednex announced that they had dissolved the concept of a permanent band, intending instead to use a larger pool of characters from which one female and three male performers would be chosen for each performance. Rednex claimed that this idea was "totally unproven and unheard of in the music industry".
The pool of performers in 2012 included permanent members Flood, Sandberg, van der Haagen and Penten alongside possible replacements Scheffler, new male member Rufus Jones and new female vocalists Abby Hick and Misty Mae. At the time of the dissolution of the permanent Rednex lineup Tulley again left the band.
The second single "Racing" was released in May 2012. This was followed in November 2012 by "The End". The video for "The End" was recorded on September 2, 2012 at Garay Utca,
the "ghetto of
Budapest
Budapest (, ; ) is the capital and most populous city of Hungary. It is the ninth-largest city in the European Union by population within city limits and the second-largest city on the Danube river; the city has an estimated population ...
",
and is a "flowumentary".
[Press release (2012-11-05)]
''Pop band starts franchising''
Retrieved on 2012-11-05. Rednex refuted the notion that "The End" is related to
2012 doomsday theories.
The band in these two videos now consisted of Flood, van der Haagen, Sandberg and Penten with Rufus Jones making a cameo appearance in "The End" video.
2015–2017: Return of Löfgren
![Rednex_video_recording_in_Berlin_2015-12-31](https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/d/dc/Rednex_video_recording_in_Berlin_2015-12-31.jpg)
In 2015, it was announced that second female singer Löfgren would replace Flood and rejoin the band. Also, Scheffler returned to the group. On New Year's Day, Rednex recorded a music video for "Innit for the Money". The single for "Innit for the Money" followed in 2016.
In February performers Cassidy, Rattler, and Pervis the Palergator joined the band. Cassidy left Rednex 3 months later.
Rednex made their debut on a North American stage in Carson City, Nevada, to honor fallen Deputy Carl Howell.
On New Year's Eve 2017, Rednex played for the fourth time at the
Brandenburger Tor
The Brandenburg Gate (german: Brandenburger Tor ) is an 18th-century neoclassical monument in Berlin, built on the orders of Prussian king Frederick William II after restoring the Orangist power by suppressing the Dutch popular unrest. One ...
in Berlin, in front of an audience of more than one million.
2018–present: Manly Man, livestream and performer turbulence
In early 2018 the Rednex performer pool grew to include 17 people, the highest number so far. Added to the pool were Zoe, Moe Lester the Limp and Jiggie McClagganahan.
The single and video Manly Man was released in July 2018. The video was recorded in Jelcz-Laskowice, Poland. The main characters are Dagger and Misty Mae, though all 25 Rednex performers through history are featured at some point through video flashbacks.
During 2018, Rednex started a live streaming channel on Twitch. After a series of tests, the premiere happened on August 10 in connection to a show in Berlin. In the press release they claimed to be the first pop band, with a worldwide hit to their name, to live stream themselves 24/7 in connection to all their shows. During the same weekend, August 10-12th, Rednex performed with three different line-ups in three different territories, totaling 13 performers, which was a new record. Zoe, Moe Lester the Limp, Spades and Pervis the Palergator did shows in Romania and Hungary, while Billy Ray, Ace Ratclaw, Boneduster Crock, Misty Mae and Jiggie McClagganahan did shows in East Germany (Berlin & Schwerin), and Abby Hick, Rattler, Cash and Joe Cagg did shows in West Germany (Bonn & Frankfurt).
In September Abby Hick, Rattler, Boneduster Crock and Joe Cagg left Rednex. Whippy, Billy Ray and BB Stiff became reserves, reducing the pool to 10 performers. The band was still for sale for €2,000,000.
In November 2021, Jason Holler, former
front man
The lead vocalist in popular music is typically the member of a group or band whose voice is the most prominent melody in a performance where multiple voices may be heard. The lead singer sets their voice against the accompaniment parts of th ...
in the American rock band
Kentucky Knife Fight
Kentucky Knife Fight was an American rock band from St. Louis, Missouri. Active since 2005, the band had been a congruent force alongside Pokey LaFarge, So Many Dynamos and Sleepy Kitty in bringing national attention to a re-emerging St. Louis m ...
, was revealed as the Original Boneduster Crock.
Artistry
Musical style
Rednex is a mix of modern
dance
Dance is a performing art form consisting of sequences of movement, either improvised or purposefully selected. This movement has aesthetic and often symbolic value. Dance can be categorized and described by its choreography, by its repertoir ...
,
pop,
eurodance
Euro-Dance (sometimes referred to as Euro-NRG, Euro-electronica or Euro) is a genre of electronic dance music that originated in the late 1980s in Europe. It combines many elements of hip hop, techno, Hi-NRG, house music, and Euro-Disco. This ...
sounds with classical
country
A country is a distinct part of the world, such as a state, nation, or other political entity. It may be a sovereign state or make up one part of a larger state. For example, the country of Japan is an independent, sovereign state, while the ...
,
folk
Folk or Folks may refer to:
Sociology
*Nation
*People
* Folklore
** Folk art
** Folk dance
** Folk hero
** Folk music
*** Folk metal
*** Folk punk
*** Folk rock
** Folk religion
* Folk taxonomy
Arts, entertainment, and media
* Folk Plus or Fol ...
and
bluegrass elements. Their dance tracks also features eurodance sounds, which were very famous and popular in Europe, Oceania and South America at that time. Rednex are best known for their dance country songs "Cotton Eye Joe", "Old Pop in an Oak", "Way I Mate" or "Racing". The style of eurodance was dance music with a female singer for the refrain and a male rapper for the verses to follow a traditional verse-chorus structure. However Rednex reversed it, with the female singer singing the verses and the male vocalist singing the bridge and the refrain. Although there are also tracks from other genres featured, such as pop ballads like "Wish You Were Here", "Hold Me for a While", "Rolling Home" or "
Anyway You Want Me" or classical country driven songs such as "Riding Alone", "Ranger Jack" or "Nowhere In Idaho" with less dance sounds. These tracks are not considered to be europop.
While their debut studio album "Sex & Violins" has the same amount on dance/country, classic country songs and ballads, their second album "Farm Out" is full of their dance/country style songs, except one ballad "Hold Me for a While" and one country song "Ranger Jack". Since 2006, Rednex returned with a more mature country pop sound such in "Mama, Take Me Home", "Fe Fi (The Old Man Died)" or "Football Is Our Religion". The lyrics are of tongue-in-cheek, innuendo and sexual topics.
Public image
Rednex usually perform as personas that parody the "
redneck
''Redneck'' is a derogatory term chiefly, but not exclusively, applied to white Americans perceived to be crass and unsophisticated, closely associated with rural whites of the Southern United States.Harold Wentworth, and Stuart Berg Flexner, '' ...
" stereotype. For events and promotions, but also for music videos and cover arts, the group is styled in the American redneck stereotypes. In live performances and interviews, the members usually appear in a rough, unrefined character. Each member has an individual redneck nickname (see "Members" area to see the nicknames). Since 2000, Rednex have functioned much like an entertainment troupe as like a band, with an ever-shifting lineup of performers representing the band. As of 2015, there have been 16 performers in the permanent band.
Members
Permanent members
*1994: Bobby Sue (Kent Olander), Billy Ray (Jonas Nilsson), Ken Tacky (Anders Arstrand), Mup (Ranis Edenberg), Mary Joe (Annika Ljungberg)
*1994–1995: Bobby Sue, Billy Ray, Ken Tacky, Mary Joe, BB Stiff (Urban Landgren)
*1996–1997: Bobby Sue, Billy Ray, Ken Tacky, BB Stiff
*1998–1999: Whippy (Mia Löfgren), Bobby Sue, Billy Ray, Ken Tacky, BB Stiff
*2000: Whippy, Bobby Sue, Billy Ray, BB Stiff
*2001–2003: Scarlet (Julie-Anne Tulley), Dagger (Anders Sandberg), Joe Cagg (Roy van der Haagen), Jay Lee (Jean-Paul Engeln)
*2003–2004: Scarlet, Dagger, Ace Ratclaw (Tor Penten), Boneduster Crock (Björn Scheffler)
*2004–2005: Dagger, Ace Ratclaw, Boneduster Crock, Annika Ljungberg
*2005–2005: Dagger, Ace Ratclaw, Annika Ljungberg, Jens Sylsjö (Snake)
*2006–2006: Anders Lundström (Maverick), Penten, Sylsjö, Ljungberg
*2007–2008: Anders Lundström (Maverick), Sylsjö, Ljungberg
*2009–2012: Scarlet, Dagger, Ace Ratclaw, Joe Cagg
Pool member changes
*2012-13: Dakotah (Nadja Flood), Abby Hick, Dagger, Ace Ratclaw, Joe Cagg, Rufus Jones, Mup
*2014: Misty Mae joins.
*2015: Whippy (Mia Löfgren), Boneduster Crock, Spades, Billy Ray, BB Stiff join. Dakotah leaves.
*2017: Pervis the Palergator, Cash, Rattler and Cassidy join. Cassidy leaves. Dagger becomes reserve.
*2018: Zoe, Jiggie McClagganahan, Moe Lester the Limp join. Whippy, Abby Hick, Boneduster Crock, Joe Cagg, Rattler leave. Billy Ray, BB Stiff become reserves.
Other members
*Göran Danielsson
(Original studio singer of Ken Tacky's vocals); ''died 2021''
Timeline
ImageSize = width:800 height:auto barincrement:20
PlotArea = left:110 bottom:120 top:0 right:5
Alignbars = justify
DateFormat = dd/mm/yyyy
Period = from:01/01/1994 till:01/01/2018
TimeAxis = orientation:horizontal format:yyyy
Legend = orientation:vertical position:bottom columns:4
ScaleMajor = increment:2 start:1994
ScaleMinor = increment:2 start:1994
Colors =
id:vocals value:red Legend:Redneckery
LineData =
at:01/01/1999 color:black layer:back
at:01/01/2004 color:black layer:back
at:01/01/2009 color:black layer:back
at:01/01/2014 color:black layer:back
BarData =
bar:maryjoe text:Mary Joe
bar:bobbysue text:Bobby Sue
bar:billyray text:Billy Ray
bar:kentacky text:Ken Tacky
bar:mup text:Mup
bar:bb text:BB Stiff
bar:whippy text:Whippy
bar:scarlet text:Scarlet
bar:dagger text:Dagger
bar:joecagg text:Joe Cagg
bar:jaylee text:Jay Lee
bar:ace text:Ace Ratclaw
bar:boneduster text:Boneduster Crock
bar:snake text:Snake
bar:maverick text:Maverick
bar:dakotah text:Dakotah
bar:rufus text:Rufus Jones
bar:misty text:Misty Mae
bar:abby text:Abby Hick
bar:spades text:Spades
bar:rattler text:Rattler
bar:Cassidy text:Cassidy
bar:pervis text:Pervis the Palergator
bar:zoe text:Zoe
bar:moe text:Moe Lester the Limp
bar:jiggie text:Jiggie McClagganahan
PlotData=
width:11
bar:maryjoe from:01/01/1994 till:01/01/1997 color:vocals
bar:maryjoe from:01/01/2004 till:01/01/2008 color:vocals
bar:bobbysue from:01/01/1994 till:01/01/2001 color:vocals
bar:billyray from:01/01/1994 till:01/01/2001 color:vocals
bar:billyray from:01/01/2015 till:01/01/2018 color:vocals
bar:kentacky from:01/01/1994 till:01/01/1999 color:vocals
bar:mup from:01/01/1994 till:31/12/1994 color:vocals
bar:mup from:01/01/2012 till:01/01/2018 color:vocals
bar:bb from:01/01/1994 till:01/01/2001 color:vocals
bar:bb from:01/01/2015 till:01/01/2018 color:vocals
bar:whippy from:01/01/1998 till:01/01/2001 color:vocals
bar:whippy from:01/01/2015 till:01/01/2018 color:vocals
bar:scarlet from:01/01/2001 till:01/01/2004 color:vocals
bar:scarlet from:01/01/2009 till:01/01/2012 color:vocals
bar:dagger from:01/01/2001 till:01/01/2005 color:vocals
bar:dagger from:01/01/2009 till:01/01/2018 color:vocals
bar:joecagg from:01/01/2001 till:01/01/2003 color:vocals
bar:joecagg from:01/01/2009 till:01/01/2018 color:vocals
bar:jaylee from:01/01/2001 till:01/01/2003 color:vocals
bar:ace from:01/01/2003 till:01/01/2006 color:vocals
bar:ace from:01/01/2009 till:01/01/2018 color:vocals
bar:boneduster from:01/01/2003 till:01/01/2005 color:vocals
bar:boneduster from:01/01/2015 till:01/01/2018 color:vocals
bar:snake from:01/01/2005 till:01/01/2008 color:vocals
bar:maverick from:01/01/2006 till:01/01/2008 color:vocals
bar:dakotah from:01/01/2012 till:01/01/2015 color:vocals
bar:rufus from:01/01/2012 till:01/01/2018 color:vocals
bar:misty from:01/01/2014 till:01/01/2018 color:vocals
bar:abby from:01/01/2012 till:01/01/2018 color:vocals
bar:spades from:01/01/2014 till:01/01/2018 color:vocals
bar:rattler from:01/01/2017 till:01/01/2018 color:vocals
bar:cassidy from:01/01/2017 till:01/01/2018 color:vocals
bar:pervis from:01/01/2017 till:01/01/2018 color:vocals
bar:zoe from:01/01/2018 till:01/01/2018 color:vocals
bar:moe from:01/01/2018 till:01/01/2018 color:vocals
bar:jiggie from:01/01/2018 till:01/01/2018 color:vocals
Other brand ventures
Spin offs and franchises
In January 2012, Rednex announced that they had dissolved the concept of a permanent band, intending instead to use a larger pool of characters from which one female and three male performers would be chosen for each performance. Rednex claimed that this idea was "totally unproven and unheard of in the music industry".
In November 2012, Rednex began a franchise operation in
Australia
Australia, officially the Commonwealth of Australia, is a Sovereign state, sovereign country comprising the mainland of the Australia (continent), Australian continent, the island of Tasmania, and numerous List of islands of Australia, sma ...
&
New Zealand
New Zealand ( mi, Aotearoa ) is an island country in the southwestern Pacific Ocean. It consists of two main landmasses—the North Island () and the South Island ()—and over 700 smaller islands. It is the sixth-largest island count ...
. Four new performers from
Auckland
Auckland (pronounced ) ( mi, Tāmaki Makaurau) is a large metropolitan city in the North Island of New Zealand. The List of New Zealand urban areas by population, most populous urban area in the country and the List of cities in Oceania by po ...
and
Wellington
Wellington ( mi, Te Whanganui-a-Tara or ) is the capital city of New Zealand. It is located at the south-western tip of the North Island, between Cook Strait and the Remutaka Range. Wellington is the second-largest city in New Zealand by me ...
were recruited to form a second Rednex with a non exclusive license to perform in Australasia. Performers in the NZ/Australian lineup include: Rayanna Randy Payne (Theresa Murphy), Rawtooth Rick (Anthony Sibbald) and Slimboy (Pascal Roggen). A press release accompanying the franchise launch stated: "it's the first time an internationally known pop band has cloned itself".
*2003: Rednex Revival Band
(Ljungbergs band in 2003, when she wasn't allowed to perform under the Rednex trademark before she rejoined Rednex)
*2005: Rednex Tribute
(Tulley, Sandberg, van der Haagen, Penten, Scheffler, all former Rednex members, when they weren't allowed to perform under the Rednex trademark)
*2009: Cotton Eye Joe Show
(Band name, when the Rednex lineup Ljungberg, Lundström and Sylsjö lost the rights to perform under the Rednex trademark)
*2012: Rednex NZ
(An entire separate created Rednex group to perform in Australia and New Zealand consisting of Murphy, Sibbald and Roggen)
Use in media
"Cotton Eye Joe" is featured in the films ''
The Negotiator
''The Negotiator'' is a 1998 American action thriller film directed by F. Gary Gray. It stars Samuel L. Jackson and Kevin Spacey as two expert hostage negotiators and Chicago police lieutenants. The film was released in the United States on July ...
'', ''
Space Truckers
''Space Truckers'' is a 1996 comic science fiction film directed by Stuart Gordon and starring Dennis Hopper, Stephen Dorff, Debi Mazar and Charles Dance. It was filmed at Ardmore Studios, County Wicklow, Ireland.
The story concerns John Canyon ...
'', ''
Hood of Horror
''Hood of Horror'' (a.k.a. ''Snoop Dogg's Hood of Horror'') is a Horror film, horror film adaptation of a fictional comic book, which is an anthology of three short tales set in an urban milieu in a style reminiscent of ''Tales from the Crypt ( ...
'', Studentfesten, Les 11 Commandements, ''
C'est la vie! (2017 film)
''C'est la Vie!'' (french: Le Sens de la fête) is a 2017 French comedy film written and directed by Éric Toledano & Olivier Nakache. It was screened in the Gala Presentations section at the 2017 Toronto International Film Festival.
Plot
Wedd ...
'' and Milk Punch, in the TV series
Malcolm in the Middle
''Malcolm in the Middle'' is an American family television sitcom created by Linwood Boomer for Fox. The series premiered on January 9, 2000, and ended on May 14, 2006, after seven seasons and 151 episodes.
The series follows a dysfunctional ...
,
My Name Is Earl
''My Name Is Earl'' is an American television sitcom created by Greg Garcia that aired on the NBC television network from September 20, 2005, to May 14, 2009, in the United States. It was produced by 20th Century Fox Television and starred Jaso ...
,
Peep Show
A peep show or peepshow is a presentation of a live sex show or pornographic film which is viewed through a viewing slot.
Several historical media provided voyeuristic entertainment through hidden erotic imagery. Before the development of the ci ...
, ''
New Girl (s02e25)'', ''
The Morgana Show
''The Morgana Show'' is a British television sketch comedy written by Morgana Robinson and James de Frond. Robinson starred in almost all of the show's sketches, which feature a wide range of original character creations and celebrity impressions ...
'', Lukas, ''
Beavis and Butt-head
''Beavis and Butt-Head'' is an American adult animated series created by Mike Judge. The series follows Beavis and Butt-Head, both voiced by Judge, a pair of teenage slackers characterized by their apathy, lack of intelligence, lowbrow humor, ...
'', ''
The Ranch (TV series)
''The Ranch'' is an American streaming television sitcom series. It starred Ashton Kutcher and Danny Masterson (who previously co-starred on ''That '70s Show'') as brothers Colt and Rooster Bennett, respectively; who help run the Colorado cattle ...
'' and a
Season 13 episode of
Family Guy
''Family Guy'' is an American animated sitcom originally conceived and created by Seth MacFarlane for the Fox Broadcasting Company. The show centers around the Griffin family, Griffins, a dysfunctional family consisting of parents Peter Griff ...
, and in
TV commercials
A television advertisement (also called a television commercial, TV commercial, commercial, spot, television spot, TV spot, advert, television advert, TV advert, television ad, TV ad or simply an ad) is a span of television programming produce ...
by
Telia and
Telefonica.
["Rednex on IMDB"](_blank)
''imdb'', 27 October 2012.["Rednex on IMDB series"](_blank)
''imdbseries'', 27 October 2012.["Just Dance 3 Amazon"](_blank)
''Amazon'', 17 November 2009.["Telia TV commercial"](_blank)
''Telia'', 2008.["Carnival Games"](_blank)
''Carnival'', 2011. "Hittin' The Hay" and "Wild 'N Free" are featured in the film
Barnyard
A barnyard or farmyard is an enclosed or open yard adjoining a barn,Oxford English Dictionary Second Edition on CD-ROM (v. 4.0) © Oxford University Press 2009. Barn. n. and, typically, related farm buildings, including a farmhouse. Enclosed b ...
.
"Ride The Hurricane's Eye" was title track for German TV-series
WinneToons
' WinneToons ' is a 26-part German cartoon series that is loosely based on characters from the novel Winnetou 1st part by Karl May. The first episode ran on March 30, 2002, on ARD. Then the episodes were repeated on the KiKA. The pilot was rele ...
.
["WinneToons"](_blank)
''WinneToons'', 2003. "Spirit of the Hawk" was title track for the German version of
Fort Boyard in 2000.
Games
The ''
Inbred With Rednex
''Inbred with Rednex'', sometimes misread as "In Bred with Rednex", is the first EP by Swedish dance group Rednex. The album was recorded and released in Germany in 1995 through BMG Interactive.
Background
Following the success of the previous ...
'' extended play features the interactive multimedia part "Inbred With Rednex" as the first track of the disc, which is a
point 'n' click adventure game starring Rednex, playable only for Windows & Mac. The whole release is housed in an 18x23cm game box. "Cotton Eye Joe" has been featured in the video games
Dancing Stage EuroMIX 2,
Just Dance 3
''Just Dance 3'' is a 2011 dance rhythm game released on the Wii, Xbox 360, and PlayStation 3 with Kinect and Move support respectively for the latter two. It is part of the '' Just Dance'' video game series published by Ubisoft originally on the ...
by
Nintendo
is a Japanese Multinational corporation, multinational video game company headquartered in Kyoto, Japan. It develops video games and video game consoles.
Nintendo was founded in 1889 as by craftsman Fusajiro Yamauchi and originally produce ...
Wii
The Wii ( ) is a home video game console developed and marketed by Nintendo. It was released on November 19, 2006, in North America and in December 2006 for most other Regional lockout, regions of the world. It is Nintendo's fifth major ho ...
and
Carnival Games
A carnival game is a game of chance or skill that can be seen at a traveling carnival, charity fund raiser, amusement arcade and amusement park, or on a state and county fair midway. They are also commonly played on holidays such as Mardi Gras, ...
. PlayStation's
SingStar features the songs "Cotton Eye Joe" and "Old Pop in an Oak".
["Rednex on SingStar"](_blank)
, ''SingStar'', 27 October 2012.
In popular culture
*"Cotton Eye Joe" has been performed numerous times in various talent shows including ''American Idol''. One of the more regionally famous performances being by Király L. Norbi in the Hungarian ''
X-Faktor
''X-Faktor'' is the Hungarian version of ''The X Factor'', a show originating from the United Kingdom. It is a television music talent show contested by aspiring pop singers drawn from public auditions. The show premiered in 2010 and it contin ...
''.
["Kiraly"](_blank)
''Kiraly'', 27 October 2010.
*"Cotton Eye Joe" is frequently played at sports venues including the gold medal game in
ice hockey at the 2010 Winter Olympics
Hockey at the 2010 Winter Olympics was held at Rogers Arena (then known as GM Place, and renamed ''Canada Hockey Place'' for the duration of the Games due to IOC sponsorship rules) in Vancouver, home of the National Hockey League's Vancouver Can ...
and during the seventh-inning stretch at
Yankee Stadium
Yankee Stadium is a baseball stadium located in the Bronx, New York City. It is the home field of the New York Yankees of Major League Baseball, and New York City FC of Major League Soccer.
Opened in April 2009, the stadium replaced the origi ...
.
["Yankees"](_blank)
''Yankees'', 24 September 2005.
*They were very popular in
Germany
Germany,, officially the Federal Republic of Germany, is a country in Central Europe. It is the second most populous country in Europe after Russia, and the most populous member state of the European Union. Germany is situated betwe ...
, where the band holds the record of most total weeks (25) at number one on the
German singles chart
The GfK Entertainment charts are the official music charts in Germany and are gathered and published by GfK Entertainment (formerly Media Control and Media Control GfK International), a subsidiary of GfK, on behalf of Bundesverband Musikindust ...
over the past 40 years.
*"Cotton Eye Joe" was used throughout the film ''
Swiss Army Man
''Swiss Army Man'' is a 2016 American absurdist black comedy film written and directed by Daniel Scheinert and Daniel Kwan (in their respective feature directorial debuts). The film stars Paul Dano, Daniel Radcliffe, and Mary Elizabeth Winste ...
'', frequently sung by the main characters.
* The music video for "Cotton Eye Joe" was featured in an episode of ''Beavis and Butt-head''. The two make fun of it during the music video segment of the show.
* "Cotton Eye Joe" is frequently played for a segment called "Coin Quest" in the
Adult Swim
Adult Swim (AS; stylized as dult swim
Dult is a village in Batala in Gurdaspur district of Punjab State, India. It is located from sub district headquarter, from district headquarter and from Sri Hargobindpur. The village is administrated by Sarpanch an elected representati ...
and often abbreviated as s is an American adult-oriented night-time cable television Television channel, channel that shares channel space with the basic cable network Cartoon Network and is programme ...
television series ''
FishCenter Live
''FishCenter Live'' (also shortened to ''FishCenter'' or ''FC Live'' or just ''FCL'') was an American talk show hosted by Dave Bonawits, Andrew Choe, Matt Harrigan, Christina Loranger, and Max Simonet. It premiered on the official website of Adu ...
''.
Discography
* ''
Sex & Violins
''Sex & Violins (''also known on later US releases as ''Cotton Eye Joe (Sex & Violins)'') is the debut studio album by Swedish Eurodance group Rednex, released on Jive Records in February 1995.
Content
Female vocals on the album are provided b ...
'' (1995)
* ''
Farm Out
''Farm Out'' (stylized as ''...farm out!''), is the second studio album by Swedish dance group Rednex through Jive Records. It is the first and only album to feature the female lead singer Mia Löfgren, who replaced original singer Annika Ljungber ...
'' (2000)
* ''
The Best of the West
''The Best of the West'' is the title of the first compilation album released by Swedish dance group Rednex compiling almost all previously released Rednex singles, except the promotional single "Riding Alone". The album is the second and final re ...
'' (2002)
References
External links
Rednex official websiteRednex discographyat
Discogs
Discogs (short for discographies) is a database of information about audio recordings, including commercial releases, promotional releases, and bootleg or off-label releases. While the site was originally created with a goal of becoming the la ...
{{Authority control
Swedish Eurodance groups
Swedish pop music groups
Swedish country music groups
Melodifestivalen contestants
Jive Records artists
Zomba Group of Companies artists
Musical groups established in 1994
House musicians
Swedish electronic musicians
English-language singers from Sweden