"Hey Girl" is a song written by Gerry Goffin

Gerry Goffin

Gerry Goffin is an American lyricist. He was inducted into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame in 1990 with former songwriting partner and first wife, Carole King. he has co-written six Billboard Hot 100 chart-toppers.-Career:Goffin enlisted with the Marine Corps Reserve after graduating from...

 and Carole King

Carole King

Carole King is an American singer, songwriter, and pianist. King and her former husband Gerry Goffin wrote more than two dozen chart hits for numerous artists during the 1960s, many of which have become standards. As a singer, King had an album, Tapestry, top the U.S...

, first recorded by Freddie Scott

Freddie Scott

Freddie Scott was an American soul singer and songwriter. His biggest hits were "Hey, Girl", a top ten US pop hit in 1963, and "Are You Lonely For Me", a no.1 hit on the R&B chart in early 1967.-Life and career:...

 in 1963. It became a hit, peaking at number ten on both the Billboard Pop Singles and R&B charts. In 1966, the Righteous Brothers covered this song on their Soul & Inspiration album from Verve Records

Verve Records

Verve Records is an American jazz record label now owned by Universal Music Group. It was founded by Norman Granz in 1956, absorbing the catalogues of his earlier labels, Clef Records and Norgran Records , and material which had been licensed to Mercury previously.-Jazz and folk origins:The Verve...

. In 1972, the song was covered by Donny Osmond

Donny Osmond

Donald Clark "Donny" Osmond is an American singer, musician, actor, dancer, radio personality, and former teen idol. Osmond has also been a talk and game show host, record producer and author. In the mid 1960s, he and four of his elder brothers gained fame as the Osmond Brothers on the long...

, who is well-known for his chart-topping interpretation of another Goffin/King composition "Go Away Little Girl

Go Away Little Girl

"Go Away Little Girl" is a popular song written by Gerry Goffin and Carole King. The lyrics consist of a young man asking an attractive young woman to stay away from him, so he won't be tempted to betray his steady girlfriend by kissing her...

". Osmond's version reached number nine on the Hot 100, one higher than Scott's original recording.

Other versions

Aside from the above mentioned cover versions, "Hey Girl" has been remade by many artists.

• Carole King recorded the song on her 1980 album Pearls, which consists of the materials she wrote with Goffin during the 1960s. King also played the song as a part of medley during her 2000s concert tour entitled The Living Room, which was released as the double live album
  The Living Room Tour
  The Living Room Tour is a live album by Carole King released in 2005. It consists of live recordings of most of the songs from Tapestry. Her daughters Louise and Sherry and background singer and guitarist Gary Burr joined her on several songs. This album debuted at #17 in the US, becoming King's...
  
   in 2005.
• Billy Joel
  Billy Joel
  William Martin "Billy" Joel is an American musician and pianist, singer-songwriter, and classical composer. Since releasing his first hit song, "Piano Man", in 1973, Joel has become the sixth best-selling recording artist and the third best-selling solo artist in the United States, according to...
  
   recorded the song as part of the new material featured on his 1997 compilation album Greatest Hits Volume III.
• A cover version performed by Ray Charles
  Ray Charles
  Ray Charles Robinson , known by his shortened stage name Ray Charles, was an American musician. He was a pioneer in the genre of soul music during the 1950s by fusing rhythm and blues, gospel, and blues styles into his early recordings with Atlantic Records...
  
   with Michael McDonald
  Michael McDonald (singer)
  Michael McDonald is a five-time Grammy Award winning American singer and songwriter. McDonald is known for a soulful baritone singing style and a multi-octave range. He began his career singing back-up vocals with Steely Dan...
  
   was included on Genius Loves Company, the 2004 Grammy Award
  Grammy Award
  A Grammy Award — or Grammy — is an accolade by the National Academy of Recording Arts and Sciences of the United States to recognize outstanding achievement in the music industry...
  
  -winning posthumous album of Charles.
• A cover version performed by The Temptations
  The Temptations
  The Temptations is an American vocal group having achieved fame as one of the most successful acts to record for Motown Records. The group's repertoire has included, at various times during its five-decade career, R&B, doo-wop, funk, disco, soul, and adult contemporary music.Formed in Detroit,...
  
   was included on their 1969 album, Cloud Nine.

Freddie Scott version

Chart (1963)	Peak position
U.S. Billboard Hot 100 Billboard Hot 100 The Billboard Hot 100 is the United States music industry standard singles popularity chart issued weekly by Billboard magazine. Chart rankings are based on radio play and sales; the tracking-week for sales begins on Monday and ends on Sunday, while the radio play tracking-week runs from Wednesday...	10
U.S. Billboard R&B Singles Hot R&B/Hip-Hop Songs Hot R&B/Hip-Hop Songs, is a chart released weekly by Billboard in the United States.The chart, initiated in 1942, is used to track the success of popular music songs in urban, or primarily African American, venues. Dominated over the years at various times by jazz, rhythm and blues, doo-wop, soul,...	10

Donny Osmond version

Chart (1972)	Peak position
U.S. Billboard Hot 100	9

Billy Joel version

Chart (1997)	Peak position
U.S. Billboard Hot Adult Contemporary Tracks Hot Adult Contemporary Tracks The Adult Contemporary chart is a weekly chart published in Billboard magazine that lists the most popular songs on adult contemporary and "lite-pop" radio stations in the United States...	13