Today's double feature gives us two rhythm and blues gems: "Kansas City" and "Hey-Hey-Hey-Hey!".
"Kansas City" was written by Jerry Leiber and Mike Stoller in 1952. "Hey-Hey-Hey-Hey!" was written and performed by Little Richard, who was the first to combine it with "Kansas City" during performances. When The Beatles covered the two songs for Beatles for Sale, these two jams were already part of the famous rhythm and blues repertoire.
Wikipedia's dearth of information regarding The Beatles' version of these songs (which they combined into one for their album, like Little Richard did) drove me to BeatlesEBooks.com. There I found the page for this song, as well as a great quote from Paul.
"In our imaginations back then, John was Buddy (Holly) and I was Little Richard...You're always someone when you start." This was how Paul McCartney described who Lennon and himself aspired to in their teenage years. Paul acquired the knack to imitate Little Richard's screaming vocals, which he was proud to display among his peers even before there were Beatles.
It's a great song to tap your foot to, or to get up and dance along with. The lyrics are the basic bluesy type, nothing too deep, but the talented singing and musicianship showcased in the tune are more than worth a good listen. :)
That's it for today... See you tomorrow. :)
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Heard It Tally: 7
Songs Completed: 59
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