DM's Beatles forums
Beatles forums => Songs => Song Of The Week Series => Topic started by: Hello Goodbye on October 26, 2019, 05:00:18 AM
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Kansas City was written by Jerry Leiber and Mike Stoller in 1952 and was first recorded by Little Willie Littlefield that same year...
https://youtu.be/RAR7vfd6GHg (https://youtu.be/RAR7vfd6GHg)
Little Richard recorded two versions of the song in 1955...
https://youtu.be/w3yMverKDV8 (https://youtu.be/w3yMverKDV8)
...and a reworked version with a new refrain with the words, "Hey, hey, hey, hey; Hey baby, hey child, hey now..."
https://youtu.be/H8YiUS1SSfk (https://youtu.be/H8YiUS1SSfk)
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Wilbert Harrison had a #1 hit with Kansas City in 1959...
https://youtu.be/UonBS_mvW-E (https://youtu.be/UonBS_mvW-E)
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Kansas City/Hey-Hey-Hey
https://youtu.be/g8DlzQqJ2R4 (https://youtu.be/g8DlzQqJ2R4)
The Beatles Shindig! 1964
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In the original song the singer appears to be going to Kansas City to get away from his girl and get a new one. He even says he'll leave while she's sleeping.
By the time we get to the Beatles' version, the singer appears to be going to Kansas City to bring his girl back home.
Does anybody eles see it this way?
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Does anybody eles see it this way?
Yes, I do! I'll have to give the original another listen.
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Yes, I do! I'll have to give the original another listen.
OK. While you're listening there's another strange thing about this song.
The Beatles are obviously inspired by Little Richard's version because he adds on Hey Hey Hey Hey, which is not in the original but still all credited to Leiber and Stoller.
A year later (so after the version HG posted) he released a very similar song this time called Hey Hey Hey Hey about going to Birmingham, Alabama, and crediting the song to himself. But it's practicaly the same song !
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ic_vB1HksQI# (https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ic_vB1HksQI#)
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When the Beatles did their studio version of Kansas City it was only credited to Leiber and Stoller (or actuallly Lieber and Stoller :)).
But nowadays it's credited to Leiber, Stoller and Richard Penniman. Penniman is, of course, Little Richard himself who claims the Beatles were singing his song Hey Hey Hey Hey. But they weren't singing about Birmingham so, in a way, they weren't singing his song.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=4xvW-Nf9VAw# (https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=4xvW-Nf9VAw#)
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A year later (so after the version HG posted) he released a very similar song this time called Hey Hey Hey Hey about going to Birmingham, Alabama, and crediting the song to himself. But it's practicaly the same song !
[url]https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ic_vB1HksQI#[/url] ([url]https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ic_vB1HksQI#[/url])
Thanks, zipp. With this additional information you provided, I decided to move this topic to this Song Of The Week Child Board.
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In the original song the singer appears to be going to Kansas City to get away from his girl and get a new one. He even says he'll leave while she's sleeping.
By the time we get to the Beatles' version, the singer appears to be going to Kansas City to bring his girl back home.
Does anybody eles see it this way?
Little Richard was leaving one girl and going to Kansas City to bring his baby back home too. Typical of blues songs, different verses are made up to fit the mood. The Beatles were more upbeat in their version, initially, and bid the girl left behind bye-bye in the closing hey-hey-hey verses.
Muddy Waters and Pinetop Perkins just wanted to go to Kansas City to get some crazy little women and some bottles of Kansas City wine...
https://youtu.be/JD2PTU3Oi84 (https://youtu.be/JD2PTU3Oi84)
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And Dion, The Wanderer...
https://youtu.be/jP1z0dQVcIQ (https://youtu.be/jP1z0dQVcIQ)
...was headed for Kansas City in 1961 for the same reason...
https://youtu.be/P3_eutuSuCY (https://youtu.be/P3_eutuSuCY)
Oh yeah!
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Little Richard was leaving one girl and going to Kansas City to bring his baby back home too... The Beatles were more upbeat in their version, initially, and bid the girl left behind bye-bye in the closing hey-hey-hey verses.
Muddy and Dion are going to Kansas City to find a girl and drink wine.
Little Richard and the Beatles are going there to bring back their girl. They also bid farewell to someone, but to who?
Little Richard says it's to his 'baby' or his 'chile' and asks 'What's been wrong with you?'. So maybe he's explaining to his girl why he's leaving her for this new adventure.
In the Beatles it's less obvious. Paul also sings 'What's been wrong with you?' but says goodbye to his 'baby', his 'gal' and to his 'pal'. So, is he saying goodbye just to his girl or to his friends too?
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Muddy and Dion are going to Kansas City to find a girl and drink wine.
Little Richard and the Beatles are going there to bring back their girl. They also bid farewell to someone, but to who?
Little Richard says it's to his 'baby' or his 'chile' and asks 'What's been wrong with you?'. So maybe he's explaining to his girl why he's leaving her for this new adventure.
In the Beatles it's less obvious. Paul also sings 'What's been wrong with you?' but says goodbye to his 'baby', his 'gal' and to his 'pal'. So, is he saying goodbye just to his girl or to his friends too?
zipp, I guess that's why we have to consider The Beatles' Kansas City/Hey-Hey-Hey a medley of two different songs; Little Richard's 1955 reworked version and his 1956 Hey-Hey-Hey-Hey recording with lyrics to both reworked a bit by The Beatles.
Here's their 1962 Cavern Club performance...
https://youtu.be/nGiZVTy6ifU (https://youtu.be/nGiZVTy6ifU)
My favorite Beatles performance of this song icon_good
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Never liked Kansas City/Hey-Hey-Hey. Sloppy in my opinion.
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Wasn’t this just one of the half dozen covers they knocked off in a day to get Beatles for Sale finished?
I recall liking it when I was young. But honestly now it’s not one I’d turn on unless I was playing Beatles for Sale all the way through and wasn’t in reach of the skip button.
It’s a good if, by that stage, a bit cliched vocal performance by Paul.
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Paul rocked the Kansas City Sprint Center with this song on 16 july 2014...
https://youtu.be/8llC4PSE9vU (https://youtu.be/8llC4PSE9vU)
icon_good
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... and bid the girl left behind bye-bye in the closing hey-hey-hey verses.
It seems strange to me that they call their girl a 'pal'. Paul's the only one who sings this. Why?
As for it being two songs, well at first it wasn't. This is just Little Richard trying to make some money on the royalties.
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Wasn’t this just one of the half dozen covers they knocked off in a day to get Beatles for Sale finished?
Yes, I believe that's right, Moog. Sounds like most of the forum members don't care for the Beatles' version very much, but I've always liked it.
Kansas City was written by Jerry Leiber and Mike Stoller in 1952 and was first recorded by Little Willie Littlefield that same year...
A quick bit of ocean liner geekiness here: Jerry Lieber was on the Andrea Doria when it was broadsided by the Stockholm.
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It seems strange to me that they call their girl a 'pal'. Paul's the only one who sings this. Why?
As for it being two songs, well at first it wasn't. This is just Little Richard trying to make some money on the royalties.
I guess they felt like singing the word "pal," zipp. But that's the blues where lyrics are often extemporaneous.
And sometimes lyrics are borrowed from another song...
Little Richard:
Goin' to, Kansas City
Gonna get my baby one time, hey, hey
Yes, Kansas City
Gonna get my baby one time, hey, hey
It's just a one-two-three-four-five-six-seven-eight-nine
Goin' So Far (Traditional):
https://youtu.be/o7awhix4VJw (https://youtu.be/o7awhix4VJw)
1:53
Well I'm goin' to Chicago
Get my women in line
I got one-two-three
I got five-six-seven-eight-nine
The only formal music training I ever had was blues guitar with Ian Buchanan. He was taught blues guitar by Reverend Gary Davis and Brownie McGee and in turn taught John Hammond, Jr. and Jorma Kaukonen this style of Delta Blues. I studied with Ian Buchanan from 1972 to 1974.
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Wasn’t this just one of the half dozen covers they knocked off in a day to get Beatles for Sale finished?
They performed this song so many times in clubs that they were able to knock it off quickly in the studio. They did two takes on 18 October 1964 with all four singing and playing their instruments. Take 1 was deemed the better take and George Martin added piano overdubs. The Beatles overdubbed handclaps to the closing measures.
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Yes, I believe that's right, Moog. Sounds like most of the forum members don't care for the Beatles' version very much, but I've always liked it.
Me too!
A quick bit of ocean liner geekiness here: Jerry Lieber was on the Andrea Doria when it was broadsided by the Stockholm.
It's fortunate he wasn't a casualty. Jerry Leiber and Mike Stoller had more songwriting to do...
Love Potion No. 9
https://youtu.be/qTjs7a9l0hM (https://youtu.be/qTjs7a9l0hM)
The Clovers 1959
https://youtu.be/7rXhXLsNJL8 (https://youtu.be/7rXhXLsNJL8)
The Searchers 1964
icon_good
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I guess they felt like singing the word "pal," zipp. But that's the blues where lyrics are often extemporaneous.
The only formal music training I ever had was blues guitar with Ian Buchanan. He was taught blues guitar by Reverend Gary Davis and Brownie McGee and in turn taught John Hammond, Jr. and Jorma Kaukonen this style of Delta Blues. I studied with Ian Buchanan from 1972 to 1974.
Thanks for the Ian Buchanan song. Was he Canadian, American or British? I can't find much info about him on the net.
As for the Beatles and Kansas City, as I've already said, they were following Little Richard's second arrangement. They replaced the sax solo with George's guitar solo and followed through with the lead singer and the answering chorus. This was in no way extemporaneous. In fact they had a very tight routine that runs all the way from the Cavern to the McCartney clip from 2014 with very little variation.
Did Paul misunderstand Little Richard's 'chile' ? Did he think 'pal' and 'gal' were more fun or more American-sounding?
For whatever reason Paul and the chorus always sing more or less the following :
Hey Hey Hey Hey
Hey Hey Hey Hey
Hey Baby
Hey Baby
Wooh, now gal / girl
Now gal
I say now pal
Oh pal,
Now now now tell me baby, what's been wrong with you ...
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Thanks for the Ian Buchanan song. Was he Canadian, American or British? I can't find much info about him on the net.
You won't find much about him on the net. He was American and lived in Forest Hills (Queens, New York). I'll let Jorma Kaukonen explain who Ian Buchanan was in his own words...
https://youtu.be/mZOI2he4p5k (https://youtu.be/mZOI2he4p5k)
Ian played club dates with his band in the NYC area. He and Jorma Kaukonen were classmates at Antioch College in the early 1960s and it was there that Ian taught him fingerpicking Delta Blues. Ian appeared on the 1964 Elektra LP called The Blues Project and sang Winding Boy Blues...
https://youtu.be/UNfywuCuUmg (https://youtu.be/UNfywuCuUmg)
All the artists on that album knew each other and were good friends. One of Ian's friends was Al Kooper (Blonde On Blonde organist and The Blues Project keyboardist) who one day paid a visit to Ian during one of my lessons. He sat quietly in the room during my lesson and I didn't know who he was. I was starstruck when Ian introduced me to him afterward.
Ian and his band, The Pigmeat Blues Band, put out a promotion album in the late 1960s when he went electric...
https://youtu.be/LtbGI_yIdr0 (https://youtu.be/LtbGI_yIdr0)
Goin' So Far wasn't written by Ian. It's an old traditional blues song which just happens to have some lyrics similar to Little Richard's Hey-Hey-Hey-Hey. Maybe Goin' So Far is where Little Richard copped those lyrics.
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Hesitation Blues
https://youtu.be/Rw5u6xQQ0Lc (https://youtu.be/Rw5u6xQQ0Lc)
Ian Buchanan From my lesson tapes
https://youtu.be/syboL0dv5Eg (https://youtu.be/syboL0dv5Eg)
Hot Tuna 1970
Funny story about Jorma Kaukonen in Hesitation Blues singing the lyrics
If the river was whiskey
Say and I was a duck
You know I'd swim to the bottom
Might never come up.
When I started taking lessons, Ian asked me to play blues songs I knew so he'd know where to start. I played Canned Heat's Rollin' And Tumblin' which had similar lyrics in it...
https://youtu.be/HIbvtdK02AA (https://youtu.be/HIbvtdK02AA)
Well if the river was whiskey
I was a divin' duck
Well if the river was whiskey
I was a divin' duck
Well I would swim to the bottom
And then I wouldn't come up
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I told him I thought it was such a cool line. Ian said he liked it too and that I could stick it into many of the blues songs he would teach me. I asked him if he ever heard Cream do Rollin' And Tumblin.'
https://youtu.be/1PLLjfSnTV0 (https://youtu.be/1PLLjfSnTV0)
He said yeah and pulled down an old 78 record. He said that the song was older than you think...
https://youtu.be/OlARZkfGDOE (https://youtu.be/OlARZkfGDOE)
Roll And Tumble Blues Hambone Willie Newbern 1929
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As for the Beatles and Kansas City, as I've already said, they were following Little Richard's second arrangement. They replaced the sax solo with George's guitar solo and followed through with the lead singer and the answering chorus. This was in no way extemporaneous. In fact they had a very tight routine that runs all the way from the Cavern to the McCartney clip from 2014 with very little variation.
Did Paul misunderstand Little Richard's 'chile' ? Did he think 'pal' and 'gal' were more fun or more American-sounding?
For whatever reason Paul and the chorus always sing more or less the following :
Hey Hey Hey Hey
Hey Hey Hey Hey
Hey Baby
Hey Baby
Wooh, now gal / girl
Now gal
I say now pal
Oh pal,
Now now now tell me baby, what's been wrong with you ...
So zipp, I didn't say The Beatles were extemporaneous with their lyrics. Blues artists often are. Indeed, The Beatles kept to their recorded lyrics in all their performances we have access to today.
Yep, that's what Paul sings in Kansas City/Hey-Hey-Hey in all the recordings we have. I'm not sure why he stuck the word pal in there, he just did.
I've always wondered if they ever got raunchy with their lyrics in club dates in Germany. This would have been a good song to do so. Ian taught me a few verses to Hesitation Blues that I can't post here. ;D
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(Non-extemporaneous) Hesitation Blues
https://youtu.be/t1fIv88rBlw (https://youtu.be/t1fIv88rBlw)
Reverend Gary Davis
(Extemporaneous) Hesitation Blues
https://youtu.be/q_AJifsE2eQ (https://youtu.be/q_AJifsE2eQ)
Reverend Gary Davis
icon_good
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Some more about the "divin' duck..."
https://youtu.be/mJK0MRF3Ghk (https://youtu.be/mJK0MRF3Ghk)
Divin' Duck Blues Sleepy John Estes 26 September 1929
Now if the river was whiskey
And I was a divin' duck
Now if the river was whiskey
I was a divin' duck
I would dive on the bottom
Never would come up
Obviously a very popular thought in blues songs. ;D
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So zipp, I didn't say The Beatles were extemporaneous with their lyrics. Blues artists often are. Indeed, The Beatles kept to their recorded lyrics in all their performances we have access to today.
Yep, that's what Paul sings in Kansas City/Hey-Hey-Hey in all the recordings we have. I'm not sure why he stuck the word pal in there, he just did.
I've always wondered if they ever got raunchy with their lyrics in club dates in Germany. This would have been a good song to do so.
Well, no, even in Hamburg they kept to their routine.
Actually it took me a long time to see that Paul was singing 'pal' in this song. I always felt this was something of a let-down. But their version of the song is nevertheless great :
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=hGwzOvykUeE# (https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=hGwzOvykUeE#)
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Well, no, even in Hamburg they kept to their routine.
I just figured that there was a chance that these guys raunched up their lyrics a bit in Hamburg...
(https://i.pinimg.com/originals/f2/ee/4f/f2ee4f973f30d66f3bbd2ae8d1114fba.jpg)
(https://pbs.twimg.com/media/BZS6-QaCIAAZQZQ.jpg)
;D
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Actually it took me a long time to see that Paul was singing 'pal' in this song. I always felt this was something of a let-down. But their version of the song is nevertheless great :
[url]https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=hGwzOvykUeE#[/url] ([url]https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=hGwzOvykUeE#[/url])
It shouldn't be a let-down. If you're bidding your baby "bye-bye" and asking "what's been wrong with you", then changing the way you address her from "gal" to "pal" makes a lot of sense if you're using the word pal as a derogatory term. I think that's what Paul did here.
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It shouldn't be a let-down. If you're bidding your baby "bye-bye" and asking "what's been wrong with you", then changing the way you address her from "gal" to "pal" makes a lot of sense if you're using the word pal as a derogatory term. I think that's what Paul did here.
Yeah, I'd never thought of that.
But how many girls does this guy have?
One here and one in Kansas City?
And he's going to bring back the one in KC to meet the one here saying,'Don't worry, babe, this is my ex-girlfriend. She was my gal but now we're just pals'?
If you ask me, he's looking for trouble. ;)
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But how many girls does this guy have?
Just a one-two-three-four-five-six-seven-eight nine. ;D
Too Many Women Blues
https://youtu.be/70VmrLkV-bs (https://youtu.be/70VmrLkV-bs)
Willie Lane 1949
I've got so many women, I don't hardly know who to choose
I've got so many women, I don't hardly know who to choose
Boy, I wake up every morning, I got too many women blues
I've got a little bitty woman, she lives down in Arkansas
Little bitty woman, she lives down in Arkansas
She's pigeon-toed, she's bow-legged, she got dimples all in her jaw
Some red, some yella, some is black, some is teasin' brown
Some is red, some is yella, some is black, some is teasin' brown
You can't tell much about 'em, 'cause they're scattered all over town
Five on the South Side, seven on the East Side
Nine on the West Side, North Side, too
Ten out in Oak Lawn, 'leven on Sixth Avenue
I've got twelve in the Bottom, thirteen in TCU
Too many women, they weren't good