Yes, Hey Joe is Billy Roberts' answer to his girlfriend, Niela Miller's song, Baby Please Don't Go To Town. Niela Miller was very irritated with him over copying her style and never crediting her. There have been many versions, but Niela Miler confirmed this is the original.
Much of rock we know today is influenced from blues and folk from yesterday. You can tell both of these are heavily influenced from growing up in the depression.
If you are a Victoria Williams fan, you can feel the influence of this kind of raw blues/folk in her music. Victoria sounds very much like Niela Miller.