Kansas City (Leiber and Stoller song)
The Beatles' version
The Beatles' version
--------------------

* + - 

In October 1964, [the Beatles](/wiki/The_Beatles "The Beatles") recorded Little Richard's "Kansas City" (titled "Kansas City"/"[Hey, Hey, Hey, Hey](/wiki/Hey-Hey-Hey-Hey%21 "Hey-Hey-Hey-Hey!")"), a song they began performing in Spring 1961 while [in Hamburg](/wiki/The_Beatles_in_Hamburg "The Beatles in Hamburg").

### Background

[Paul McCartney](/wiki/Paul_McCartney "Paul McCartney") discovered the track in the first half of 1959 when Little Richard's 1955 medley "Kansas City"/"Hey, Hey, Hey, Hey" was re\-released as a [45](/wiki/Single_%28music%29%237-inch_format "Single (music)#7-inch format") in Britain. McCartney revered this particular rendition and was unaware of Wilbert Harrison's version. The Beatles' earliest performance of the song can be dated to the early summer of 1960 with its appearance on a [set list](/wiki/Set_list "Set list") McCartney copied to a piece of scrap paper.

During their first professional recording session in June 1961, the Beatles likely recorded the song with [Tony Sheridan](/wiki/Tony_Sheridan "Tony Sheridan"), though outtakes of this track likely no longer exist., quoted in  The Beatles made their first appearance on television on August 22, 1962, performing "[Some Other Guy](/wiki/Some_Other_Guy "Some Other Guy")" and "Kansas City"/"Hey\-Hey\-Hey\-Hey" at [The Cavern Club](/wiki/The_Cavern_Club "The Cavern Club"). The audio is the earliest surviving instance of McCartney's "Little Richard voice", which Beatles historian [Mark Lewisohn](/wiki/Mark_Lewisohn "Mark Lewisohn") notes is "impressive", with "the high notes sung loud, strong, melodically and excitingly for two and a half minutes." The song is again heard during their December 1962 performance at the [Star\-Club](/wiki/Star-Club "Star-Club") in Hamburg, officially released in 1977 as *[Live! at the Star\-Club in Hamburg, Germany; 1962](/wiki/Live%21_at_the_Star-Club_in_Hamburg%2C_Germany%3B_1962 "Live! at the Star-Club in Hamburg, Germany; 1962")*. They recorded the medley for a [BBC Light Programme](/wiki/BBC_Light_Programme "BBC Light Programme") on July 16, 1963, released in 1994 on *[Live at the BBC](/wiki/Live_at_the_BBC_%28Beatles_album%29 "Live at the BBC (Beatles album)")*. [Musicologist](/wiki/Musicology "Musicology") and writer [Ian MacDonald](/wiki/Ian_MacDonald "Ian MacDonald") describes this rendition as "one of the highlights of this generally mediocre collection, featuring a strong McCartney vocal and an attacking Harrison solo."

A month before recording the track in the studio, they performed it during a September 17, 1964 concert at [Kansas City Municipal Stadium](/wiki/Kansas_City_Municipal_Stadium "Kansas City Municipal Stadium"), a one\-time addition to their usual [setlist](/wiki/Setlist "Setlist")., quoted in  MacDonald writes, "the reaction it drew ensured its place on the LP."

### Recording

On Sunday, October 18, 1964, during a day off from their 1964 UK Tour, the Beatles recorded a medley of "Kansas City"/"Hey, Hey, Hey, Hey". While rehearsing the song, McCartney found some parts difficult to sing. He later recalled that [John Lennon](/wiki/John_Lennon "John Lennon") pulled him aside and encouraged him, saying, "Come on man, you can do it better than this, get up there!". Recorded in only two takes, take one was marked "best". Each take includes a different guitar solo from [George Harrison](/wiki/George_Harrison "George Harrison"), indicating he [improvised](/wiki/Musical_improvisation "Musical improvisation"). Harrison plays his [Country Gent](/wiki/Gretsch "Gretsch") guitar and Lennon plays his 1958 [Rickenbacker](/wiki/Rickenbacker "Rickenbacker") 325 Capri. Producer [George Martin](/wiki/George_Martin "George Martin") [overdubbed](/wiki/Overdubbing "Overdubbing") a piano contribution on his [Steinway](/wiki/Steinway_%26_Sons "Steinway & Sons") and [Ringo Starr](/wiki/Ringo_Starr "Ringo Starr") provided the drums. Lewisohn describes the part as "barely discernible on record." Martin and engineers [Norman Smith](/wiki/Norman_Smith_%28record_producer%29 "Norman Smith (record producer)") and Tony Clark mixed the track for mono and stereo on October 26\.

The track differs from Little Richard's in its simplified walking bass and triplet piano chords, which MacDonald writes, "\[imparts] a sassy swing to a performance let down only by its lightweight mono mix." MacDonald concludes that it is "one of the Beatles' best covers."

### Release

The Beatles released the track in the UK on December 4, 1964, on their album *[Beatles for Sale](/wiki/Beatles_for_Sale "Beatles for Sale")*. Release in the US came the following year on June 14, 1965, on *[Beatles VI](/wiki/Beatles_VI "Beatles VI")*. As part of [Capitol Records](/wiki/Capitol_Records "Capitol Records")' "Starline" series, the track was the [B\-side](/wiki/B-side "B-side") of "[Boys](/wiki/Boys_%28The_Shirelles_song%29 "Boys (The Shirelles song)")" on an October 1965 single.

The Beatles released take two on the 1995 compilation album *[Anthology 1](/wiki/Anthology_1 "Anthology 1")*, a version MacDonald calls "only slightly less successful". This version does not include Martin's piano overdub. A live version, recorded in Hamburg in December 1962, is included on the 1977 release *Live! at the Star\-Club in Hamburg, Germany; 1962*. Other live versions appear on the albums *[Live at the BBC](/wiki/Live_at_the_BBC_%28Beatles_album%29 "Live at the BBC (Beatles album)")* and *[On Air – Live at the BBC Volume 2](/wiki/On_Air_%E2%80%93_Live_at_the_BBC_Volume_2 "On Air – Live at the BBC Volume 2")* and in the film *[Let It Be](/wiki/Let_It_Be_%281970_film%29 "Let It Be (1970 film)")*. The Beatles appeared on the American television program *[Shindig!](/wiki/Shindig%21 "Shindig!")* performing the medley live in October 1964\.

McCartney released his own recording of "Kansas City" on his 1988 cover album *[CHOBA B CCCP](/wiki/CHOBA_B_CCCP "CHOBA B CCCP")*, though it was only available in the Soviet Union until 1991\.


What is the name of the album that features a live version of 'Kansas City' recorded in Hamburg in December 1962?