Kansas City / Hey-Hey-Hey-Hey!

Kansas City / Hey-Hey-Hey-Hey!

Written by: Jerry Lieber, Mike Stoller, Richard Penniman
Recorded: October 18, 1964 (Studio 2, Abbey Road Studios, London, England)
Mixed: October 26, 1964
Length: 2:30
Takes: 1
Musicians:
John Lennon: backing vocal, rhythm guitar (1964 Rickenbacker 325)
Paul McCartney: lead vocal, bass guitar (1961 Hofner 500/1)
George Harrison: backing vocal, lead guitar (1962 Gretsch 6122 "Country Gentleman"), percussion (African drum)
Ringo Starr: drums (Ludwig)
George Martin: piano (1905 Steinway Vertegrand "Mrs. Mills")
Available on: (CDs in bold)

• Beatles For Sale, (UK: Parlophone PMC 1240, PCS 3062; Parlophone CDP 7 46438 2)
• Beatles VI, (US: Capitol (S)T 2358, Capitol CDP 0946 3 57499 2 2)

History:

• Originally a medley developed by Little Richard for his stage act, this cover combines two songs: the blues standard "Kansas City," rewritten by the Lieber-Stoller songwriting team and made into a massive hit by Wilbert Harrison in 1959, then later covered with different verses by Richard in 1959 (Specialty 664), and "Hey-Hey-Hey-Hey!," an original Little Richard shouter released in 1958 as the b-side to his legendary "Good Golly Miss Molly" (Specialty 624).
• The Beatles opened for Richard, then just returning from his self-imposed religious exile, during their stint in Hamburg, Germany. Seeing Richard do this medley in concert, probably on April 13, 1962, they soon appropriated it for their own act. During the sessions for Beatles For Sale, the group found themselves stuck for material to complete the album: as they had just dusted this one off just a month earlier to rouse a crowd in the real Kansas City, they naturally had this cover on their mind and included it in the sessions.
• This version switches the first two verses of Richard's cover, but otherwise sticks almost exactly to the original vocal, also retaining the somewhat lazier pace of Richard's medley (which forced him to slow down "Hey-Hey-Hey-Hey!" considerably).
• This song was cut in one take at the sixth session for Beatles For Sale, coming just after the completion of "Eight Days A Week" and just before "Mr. Moonlight" in a marathon nine-hour session that also produced "I Feel Fine," "I Follow The Sun," "Everybody's Trying To Be My Baby," "Rock And Roll Music," and "Words Of Love."

Known live versions:
August 22, 1962 (Cavern Club, Liverpool, England); December 18-24 and 26-31, 1962 (Star-Club, Hamburg, Germany); September 17, 1964 (Municipal Stadium, Kansas City, MO)
BBC radio versions: 3 (for the BBC radio programs Pop Goes The Beatles, From Us To You, and Saturday Club)
Trivia:

• Although this song was cut in one take, a second take was attempted and later shelved. It can be heard, in reprocessed "stereo," on Anthology 1.
• Paul has stated that John got him to really go over-the-top with his vocal mannerisms, knowing that the poor engineers at Abbey Road had already set their recording levels lower than was necessary.