Song Of The Week - Kansas City/Hey-Hey-Hey

[Hello Goodbye]

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




Little Richard recorded two versions of the song in 1955...


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

[Hello Goodbye]

Wilbert Harrison had a #1 hit with Kansas City in 1959...


https://youtu.be/UonBS_mvW-E

[Hello Goodbye]

Kansas City/Hey-Hey-Hey


https://youtu.be/g8DlzQqJ2R4
The Beatles   Shindig!   1964

[zipp]

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?

[Normandie]

Does anybody eles see it this way?

Yes, I do! I'll have to give the original another listen.

[zipp]

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#

[zipp]

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#

[Hello Goodbye]

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#

Thanks, zipp.  With this additional information you provided, I decided to move this topic to this Song Of The Week Child Board.

[Hello Goodbye]

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

[Hello Goodbye]

And Dion, The Wanderer...


https://youtu.be/jP1z0dQVcIQ


...was headed for Kansas City in 1961 for the same reason...


https://youtu.be/P3_eutuSuCY

Oh yeah!

[zipp]

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?

[Hello Goodbye]

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

My favorite Beatles performance of this song   icon_good

[tkitna]

Never liked Kansas City/Hey-Hey-Hey.  Sloppy in my opinion.

[Moogmodule]

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.

[Hello Goodbye]

Paul rocked the Kansas City Sprint Center with this song on 16 july 2014...


https://youtu.be/8llC4PSE9vU


icon_good