How a New Orleans Songwriter's Hit Became Matthew McConaughey's First Time on Camera
Long before Matthew McConaughey was a household name, he was a University of Texas student taking any on-camera work he could find. His first job was playing the title role in the 1992 video for Walkaway Joe, a song co-written by New Orleans native Greg Barnhill, who recently shared the story on LCM Live.
A half-Song Saved on a Work Tape
Barnhill was a Warner staff writer in Nashville, turning in songs almost daily, when an opening verse and melody came to him during a session with Mike Wells. Wells was too worn out to keep going that day, so Barnhill asked to keep the tape. About a year and a half later, he played it for Vince Melamed.
"We had the song written in like 45 minutes," Barnhill said on LCM Live. "It was just coming through us. We knew we had something."
Trisha Yearwood and Don Henley
According to Trisha Yearwood, the Judds had the song on hold before they disbanded. That sent it back into the pool, and Yearwood recorded it for her second album, Hearts in Armor. Don Henley, whom Yearwood had met after a Tonight Show performance, came to Nashville to sing harmonies on the track.
Barnhill wasn't in the studio when it happened. Instead, the news found him through the players who were. Drummer Eddie Bayers tracked him down first, then keyboardist Matt Rollings, both telling him the same thing: they'd just cut one of his songs, and he was not going to believe who was singing on it.
Released in November 1992, Walkaway Joe reached No. 2 on the Billboard Hot Country Songs chart. It also earned a Grammy nomination for Best Country Vocal Performance, Female.
"Don Henley steps out from behind the curtain singing my song, and I'm at my buddy's house, and I just broke into tears," he said of watching the Grammy broadcast. "Even the nomination was a win."
McConaughey's First Time on Camera
The video plays out like a short film. A teenage girl ignores her mother's warnings, runs off with a charming drifter, and wakes up alone in a roadside motel. McConaughey played Joe opposite Larissa Clark, with the storyline filmed in Austin and the Texas Hill Country. Yearwood has said he was cast from local talent and the two never shared a set.
McConaughey later said he was in school at the time and trying to get odd jobs in front of the camera when he could.
Barnhill told The Tennessean the finished video left them blown away.
"I saw it and I was just like, God, this is incredible," he said.
Still Talked About Decades Later
In March 2021, McConaughey requested Walkaway Joe for Kelly Clarkson's Kellyoke segment. On the show, he called the video his first time in front of a camera and admitted he didn't believe he had ever met Yearwood in person.
The song has kept its original voices close, too. In 2023, Henley introduced Yearwood at her Austin City Limits Hall of Fame induction, and the two performed Walkaway Joe together.
Where it Started
More than three decades later, Walkaway Joe is remembered as a Yearwood hit, a Henley harmony, and the first time audiences ever saw Matthew McConaughey on screen. But before any of that, it was a few lines and a melody on a work tape that a Louisiana songwriter knew was meant to be special. Hearing Greg Barnhill tell it now, the tears at the Grammys, the video that blew him away, and McConaughey still talking about it decades later, it's clear that feeling was right all along.
Watch the Walkaway Joe Video
Hear the Full Story on LCM Live
Frequently Asked Questions About Walkaway Joe
Who wrote Walkaway Joe?
Walkaway Joe was written by Slidell native Greg Barnhill and Vince Melamed. Trisha Yearwood recorded it for her 1992 album Hearts in Armor.
Was Matthew McConaughey in the Walkaway Joe music video?
Yes. McConaughey played Joe in the 1992 video, filmed in Austin and the Texas Hill Country while he was a student at the University of Texas. He has called it his first time in front of a camera.
Did Don Henley sing on Walkaway Joe?
Yes. Don Henley sang harmony vocals on Walkaway Joe after Yearwood invited him to sing on Hearts in Armor.
Did the Judds almost record Walkaway Joe?
Trisha Yearwood has said the Judds had Walkaway Joe on hold before the duo disbanded, which sent the song back into the pool before she recorded it.
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