"Set 'Em Up Joe" is a song co-written and recorded by American

country music Country (also called country and western) is a popular music, music genre originating in the southern regions of the United States, both the American South and American southwest, the Southwest. First produced in the 1920s, country music is p ...

artist

Vern Gosdin Vernon Gosdin (August 5, 1934 – April 28, 2009) aka Country music's "The Voice", was an American country music singing, singer. He had 19 top-10 solo hits on the country music charts from 1977 through 1990. Three of these hits went to Number O ...

. It was released in April 1988 as the second single from the album '' Chiseled in Stone''. The song was Gosdin's second number one on the country chart. The single went to number one for one week and spent a total of fifteen weeks within the Top 40. Gosdin wrote the song with

Dean Dillon Dean Dillon (born Larry Dean Flynn; March 26, 1955) is an American country musician and songwriter. Between 1982 and 1993, he recorded six studio albums on various labels, and charted several singles on the ''Billboard'' country charts. Since 1 ...

Buddy Cannon Buddy Cannon (born April 20, 1947 in Lexington, Tennessee) is an American country music songwriter and record producer active since the 1970s best known for his work with Kenny Chesney and Willie Nelson. Career Cannon began working in Nashvill ...

and

Hank Cochran Garland Perry "Hank" Cochran (August 2, 1935 – July 15, 2010) was an American country music singer and songwriter. Starting during the 1960s, Cochran was a prolific songwriter in the genre, including major hits by Patsy Cline, Ray Price, Eddy ...

Content

The song was a tribute to country music legend

Ernest Tubb Ernest Dale Tubb (February 9, 1914 – September 6, 1984), nicknamed the Texas Troubadour, was an American singer and songwriter and one of the pioneers of country music. His biggest career hit song, "Walking the Floor Over You" (1941), marked ...

. The narrator is bereft that his partner has left him and takes to playing "

Walking the Floor Over You "Walking the Floor Over You" is a country music song written by Ernest Tubb, recorded on April 26, 1941 in Fort Worth, Texas, and released in the United States that year. Allmusic entry for Walking the Floor Over YouRetrieved 14 May 2012 The ...

" on the jukebox at the bar. The lyrics reference other famed country stars like

Lefty Frizzell William Orville "Lefty" Frizzell (March 31, 1928 – July 19, 1975) was an American country and honky-tonk singer-songwriter. Frizell is known as one of the most influential country music vocal stylists of all time. He has been cited as in ...

and

Hank Williams Sr. Hiram "Hank" Williams (September 17, 1923 – January 1, 1953) was an American singer, songwriter, and musician. An early pioneer of country music, he is regarded as one of the most significant and influential musicians of the 20th century. W ...

Cover versions

The song was covered by

Jamey Johnson Jamey Johnson (born July 14, 1975) is an American country music singer and songwriter. Signed to BNA Records in 2005, Johnson made his debut with his single "The Dollar (song), The Dollar", the title track to his 2006 album ''The Dollar (album ...

on his 2010 album ''

The Guitar Song ''The Guitar Song'' is the third studio album by American country music artist Jamey Johnson. It was released in the United States on September 14, 2010, through Mercury Nashville. Background ''The Guitar Song'' is the follow-up to Johnson's cri ...

''.

Charts

Weekly charts

Year-end charts

References

1988 singles 1988 songs Vern Gosdin songs Jamey Johnson songs Songs written by Hank Cochran Songs written by Dean Dillon Songs written by Buddy Cannon Songs written by Vern Gosdin Song recordings produced by Bob Montgomery (songwriter) Columbia Records singles {{1988-country-song-stub