"Kansas City" is a

rhythm and blues Rhythm and blues, frequently abbreviated as R&B or R'n'B, is a genre of popular music that originated in African-American communities in the 1940s. The term was originally used by record companies to describe recordings marketed predominantly ...

song written by

Jerry Leiber and Mike Stoller Lyricist Jerome Leiber (April 25, 1933 – August 22, 2011) and composer Michael Stoller (born March 13, 1933) were American songwriting and record producing partners. They found success as the writers of such crossover hit songs as " Hound Dog" ( ...

in 1952. First recorded by Little Willie Littlefield the same year, the song later became a chart-topping hit when it was recorded by Wilbert Harrison in 1959. "Kansas City" is one of Leiber and Stoller's "most recorded tunes, with more than three hundred versions", with several appearing in the R&B and pop record charts.

Original song

"Kansas City" was written by Jerry Leiber and Mike Stoller, two nineteen-year-old rhythm and blues fans from

Los Angeles Los Angeles ( ; es, Los Ángeles, link=no , ), often referred to by its initials L.A., is the largest city in the state of California and the second most populous city in the United States after New York City, as well as one of the world ...

. Neither had been to

Kansas City The Kansas City metropolitan area is a bi-state metropolitan area anchored by Kansas City, Missouri. Its 14 counties straddle the border between the U.S. states of Missouri (9 counties) and Kansas (5 counties). With and a population of more th ...

, but were inspired by

Big Joe Turner Joseph Vernon "Big Joe" Turner Jr. (May 18, 1911 – November 24, 1985) was an American singer from Kansas City, Missouri. According to songwriter Doc Pomus, "Rock and roll would have never happened without him." His greatest fame was due to ...

records. Through a connection to producer Ralph Bass, they wrote "Kansas City" specifically for

West Coast blues West Coast blues is a type of blues music influenced by jazz and jump blues, with strong piano-dominated sounds and jazzy guitar solos, which originated from Texas blues players who relocated to California in the 1940s. West Coast blues also ...

/R&B artist Little Willie Littlefield. There was an initial disagreement between the two writers over the song's melody: Leiber (who wrote the lyrics) preferred a traditional blues song, while Stoller wanted a more distinctive vocal line; Stoller ultimately prevailed. They taught the song to Littlefield at

Maxwell Davis Thomas Maxwell Davis, Jr. (January 14, 1916 – September 18, 1970), was an American rhythm and blues saxophonist, arranger, bandleader and record producer. Biography Davis was born in Independence, Kansas in 1916. In 1937, he moved to L ...

' house, who arranged and provided the tenor sax for the song. Littlefield recorded the song in Los Angeles in 1952, during his first recording session for Federal Records, a King Records subsidiary. Federal's Ralph Bass changed the title to "K. C. Loving", which he reportedly considered to sound "hipper" than "Kansas City". Littlefield's record had some success in parts of the U.S., but it did not reach the national chart.

Little Richard versions

In 1955,

Little Richard Richard Wayne Penniman (December 5, 1932 – May 9, 2020), known professionally as Little Richard, was an American musician, singer, and songwriter. He was an influential figure in popular music and culture for seven decades. Described as the " ...

recorded two rather different versions of "Kansas City", both of which were not released until years later. The first version, which was close to the original song, was released in November 1970, on the compilation album ''Well Alright!''. Little Richard substantially re-worked the song for his second version, particularly the refrain starting with words "Hey, hey, hey, hey; Hey baby, hey child, hey now". It was released in late 1958 on '' The Fabulous Little Richard'' and in April 1959 as a single. On May 9, 1956, Little Richard recorded " Hey-Hey-Hey-Hey", also known as "Hey-Hey-Hey-Hey! (Goin' Back to Birmingham)", which was similar to a part of the second version of "Kansas City" recorded six months earlier. Credited to Richard, it was released in January 1958 as the B-side of "

Good Golly, Miss Molly "Good Golly, Miss Molly" is a hit rock 'n' roll song first recorded in 1956 by the American musician Little Richard and released in January 1958 as Specialty single 624 and next in July 1958 on ''Little Richard''. The song, a jump blues, was wri ...

" and in July 1958 on ''

''.

Wilbert Harrison version

In 1959, after several years of performing Littlefield's "K. C. Loving", Wilbert Harrison decided to record the song. In March 1959, after

's version was released, Harrison, with a trio including guitarist

Wild Jimmy Spruill James Edgar Spruill (June 9, 1934 – February 3, 1996), also known as Wild Jimmy Spruill, was an American New York based session guitarist, whose guitar solos featured on many rhythm and blues and pop hits of the 1950s and 1960s. Biography ...

, recorded it in a New York studio for producer Bobby Robinson of

Fury Records Fury Records was set up by Bobby Robinson in 1957. In 1959 it had a Billboard No.1 hit with ''Kansas City'', sung by Wilbert Harrison. In the early 1970s, it helped launch Grandmaster Flash. See also * List of record labels File:Alvinor ...

. "Kansas City" was released on a single by Fury later that year. Although the song's arrangement varied little from Littlefield's, it "struck such a solid shuffle groove that it was unforgettable", with inspired rhythm and solo guitar work by Spruill. Harrison's song was issued with Leiber and Stoller's original name, "Kansas City", but changed the refrain to "They got some crazy little women there, and I'm gonna get me one" and dropped one twelve-bar section. Shortly after the song's release, several other versions appeared. ''

Billboard A billboard (also called a hoarding in the UK and many other parts of the world) is a large outdoor advertising structure (a billing board), typically found in high-traffic areas such as alongside busy roads. Billboards present large adverti ...

'' magazine's pop song pick of the week for March 30, 1959, listed five different releases of "Kansas City": Harrison's and versions by

Hank Ballard Hank Ballard (born John Henry Kendricks; November 18, 1927 – March 2, 2003) was an American singer and songwriter, the lead vocalist of The Midnighters and one of the first rock and roll artists to emerge in the early 1950s. He played an inte ...

and the Midnighters, Rocky Olson, Rockin' Ronald & the Rebels, and a reissue by Littlefield. A week later, the magazine announced the single release of a version by Little Richard. Although Ballard's and Richard's versions both appeared in the lower reaches of the ''Billboard'' charts, Harrison's was a runaway hit, reaching number one in both the R&B and pop charts, where it remained for seven weeks, and became one of the top selling records of 1959. In Belgium, the single reached numbers 18 in Flanders and 24 in Wallonia. Harrison also recorded an

answer song An answer song, response song or answer record, is a song (usually a recorded track) made in answer to a previous song, normally by another artist. The concept became widespread in blues and R&B recorded music in the 1930s to the 1950s. Answer so ...

to the same tune as "Kansas City", called "Goodbye Kansas City", which was released on a single by Fury Records in 1960.

The Beatles' version

In October 1964,

the Beatles The Beatles were an English Rock music, rock band, formed in Liverpool in 1960, that comprised John Lennon, Paul McCartney, George Harrison and Ringo Starr. They are regarded as the Cultural impact of the Beatles, most influential band of al ...

recorded Little Richard's "Kansas City" (titled "Kansas City"/" Hey, Hey, Hey, Hey"), a song they began performing in Spring 1961 while in Hamburg.

Background

Paul McCartney Sir James Paul McCartney (born 18 June 1942) is an English singer, songwriter and musician who gained worldwide fame with the Beatles, for whom he played bass guitar and shared primary songwriting and lead vocal duties with John Lennon. One ...

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 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 A set list, or setlist, is typically a handwritten or printed document created as an ordered list of songs, jokes, stories and other elements an artist intends to present during a specific performance. A setlist can be made of nearly any materi ...

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 Anthony Esmond Sheridan McGinnity (21 May 1940 – 16 February 2013), known professionally as Tony Sheridan, was an English rock and roll guitarist who spent much of his adult life in Germany. He was best known as an early collaborator of th ...

, though outtakes of this track likely no longer exist. The Beatles made their first appearance on television on August 22, 1962, performing " Some Other Guy" and "Kansas City"/"Hey-Hey-Hey-Hey" at

The Cavern Club The Cavern Club is a nightclub on Mathew Street, Liverpool, England. The Cavern Club opened in 1957 as a jazz club, later becoming a centre of the rock and roll scene in Liverpool in the late 50s and early 1960s. The club became closely assoc ...

. The audio is the earliest surviving instance of McCartney's "Little Richard voice", which Beatles historian

Mark Lewisohn Mark Lewisohn (born 16 June 1958) is an English historian and biographer. Since the 1980s, he has written many reference books about the Beatles and has worked for EMI, MPL Communications and Apple Corps.

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 in Hamburg, officially released in 1977 as ''

Live! at the Star-Club in Hamburg, Germany; 1962 Live may refer to: Arts, entertainment, and media Films *Live! (2007 film), ''Live!'' (2007 film), 2007 American film *Live (2014 film), ''Live'' (2014 film), a 2014 Japanese film *''Live (Apocalyptica DVD), ''Live'' (Apocalyptica DVD) Music *L ...

''. They recorded the medley for a

BBC Light Programme The BBC Light Programme was a national radio station which broadcast chiefly mainstream light entertainment and light music from 1945 until 1967, when it was replaced by BBC Radio 2 and BBC Radio 1. It opened on 29 July 1945, taking over the ...

on July 16, 1963, released in 1994 on '' Live at the BBC''.

Musicologist Musicology (from Greek μουσική ''mousikē'' 'music' and -λογια ''-logia'', 'domain of study') is the scholarly analysis and research-based study of music. Musicology departments traditionally belong to the humanities, although some m ...

and writer

Ian MacDonald Ian MacCormick (known by the pseudonym Ian MacDonald; 3 October 1948 – 20 August 2003) was a British music critic and author, best known for both '' Revolution in the Head'', his critical history of the Beatles which borrowed techniques from ...

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 Kansas City Municipal Stadium was an American baseball and football stadium in the central United States, located in Kansas City, Missouri. It was located at the corner of Brooklyn Avenue and E. 22nd Street. Municipal Stadium hosted both the mi ...

, a one-time addition to their usual setlist. 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 John Winston Ono Lennon (born John Winston Lennon; 9 October 19408 December 1980) was an English singer, songwriter, musician and peace activist who achieved worldwide fame as founder, co-songwriter, co-lead vocalist and rhythm guitarist of ...

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 George Harrison (25 February 1943 – 29 November 2001) was an English musician and singer-songwriter who achieved international fame as the lead guitarist of the Beatles. Sometimes called "the quiet Beatle", Harrison embraced Indian c ...

, indicating he

improvised Improvisation is the activity of making or doing something not planned beforehand, using whatever can be found. Improvisation in the performing arts is a very spontaneous performance without specific or scripted preparation. The skills of impr ...

. Harrison plays his Country Gent guitar and Lennon plays his 1958

Rickenbacker Rickenbacker International Corporation is a string instrument manufacturer based in Santa Ana, California. The company is credited as the first known maker of electric guitars – a steel guitar in 1932 – and today produces a range ...

325 Capri. Producer

George Martin Sir George Henry Martin (3 January 1926 – 8 March 2016) was an English record producer, arranger, composer, conductor, and musician. He was commonly referred to as the " Fifth Beatle" because of his extensive involvement in each of the ...

overdubbed Overdubbing (also known as layering) is a technique used in audio recording in which audio tracks that have been pre-recorded are then played back and monitored, while simultaneously recording new, doubled, or augmented tracks onto one or more av ...

a piano contribution on his

Steinway Steinway & Sons, also known as Steinway (), is a German-American piano company, founded in 1853 in Manhattan by German piano builder Heinrich Engelhard Steinweg (later known as Henry E. Steinway). The company's growth led to the opening of a ...

and

Ringo Starr Sir Richard Starkey (born 7 July 1940), known professionally as Ringo Starr, is an English musician, singer, songwriter and actor who achieved international fame as the drummer for the Beatles. Starr occasionally sang lead vocals with the ...

provided the drums. Lewisohn describes the part as "barely discernible on record." Martin and engineers Norman Smith 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, " mpartsa 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''. Release in the US came the following year on June 14, 1965 on ''

Beatles VI ''Beatles VI'' is the seventh Capitol Records studio album by the English rock band the Beatles in the United States and Canada (including '' The Beatles' Story''). It was the ninth album released into that market in less than one and a half ye ...

''. As part of

Capitol Records Capitol Records, LLC (known legally as Capitol Records, Inc. until 2007) is an American record label distributed by Universal Music Group through its Capitol Music Group imprint. It was founded as the first West Coast-based record label of not ...

' "Starline" series, the track was the

B-side The A-side and B-side are the two sides of phonograph records and cassettes; these terms have often been printed on the labels of two-sided music recordings. The A-side usually features a recording that its artist, producer, or record compan ...

of "

Boys A boy is a young male human. The term is commonly used for a child or an adolescent. When a male human reaches adulthood, he is described as a man. Definition, etymology, and use According to the ''Merriam-Webster Dictionary'', a boy is "a ...

" on an October 1965 single. The Beatles released take two on the 1995 compilation album '' 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'' and '' On Air – Live at the BBC Volume 2'' and in the film '' Let It Be''. The Beatles appeared on the American television program '' Shindig!'' performing the medley live in October 1964.

James Brown version

James Brown James Joseph Brown (May 3, 1933 – December 25, 2006) was an American singer, dancer, musician, record producer and bandleader. The central progenitor of funk music and a major figure of 20th century music, he is often referred to by the hono ...

recorded a version of "Kansas City" in 1967. The single reached number 21 on the R&B chart and number 55 on the Hot 100 singles chart. A later, funkier version appears on the 1975 album '' Everybody's Doin' the Hustle & Dead on the Double Bump''. Brown recorded live performances of the song for his albums ''

Live at the Apollo, Volume II ''Live at the Apollo, Volume II'' is a 1968 live double album by James Brown and The Famous Flames, recorded in 1967 at the Apollo Theater in Harlem. It is a follow-up to Brown's 1963 recording, '' Live at the Apollo''. It is best known for the lo ...

'' (1968) and '' Say It Live and Loud'' (1998; recorded 1968), and in his concert films '' James Brown: Man to Man'' and '' Live at the Boston Garden''. This was also James Brown's first single to be reissued by

Polydor Records Polydor Records Ltd. is a German-British record label that operates as part of Universal Music Group. It has a close relationship with Universal's Interscope Geffen A&M Records label, which distributes Polydor's releases in the United States. ...

. At Brown's request, singer

Marva Whitney Marva Whitney (born Marva Ann Manning; May 1, 1944 – December 22, 2012) was an American funk singer commonly referred to by her honorary title, Soul Sister #1. Whitney was considered by many funk enthusiasts to be one of the "rawest" and "brass ...

performed "Kansas City" at the conclusion of his public funeral in Augusta, Georgia in 2006.

Recognition and influence

In 2001, Harrison's "Kansas City" received a

Grammy Hall of Fame Award The Grammy Hall of Fame is a hall of fame to honor musical recordings of lasting qualitative or historical significance. Inductees are selected annually by a special member committee of eminent and knowledgeable professionals from all branches of ...

and it is included on the

Rock and Roll Hall of Fame The Rock and Roll Hall of Fame (RRHOF), sometimes simply referred to as the Rock Hall, is a museum and hall of fame located in downtown Cleveland, Ohio, United States, on the shore of Lake Erie. The museum documents the history of rock music and ...

's list of the "500 Songs That Shaped Rock and Roll". At various times, Harrison's and the Beatles versions have been played over the loud speakers at

Kauffman Stadium Kauffman Stadium (), often called "The K", is a baseball stadium located in Kansas City, Missouri. It is home to the Kansas City Royals of Major League Baseball (MLB). It is part of the Truman Sports Complex together with the adjacent Arrowhead ...

following

Kansas City Royals The Kansas City Royals are an American professional baseball team based in Kansas City, Missouri. The Royals compete in Major League Baseball (MLB) as a member club of the American League (AL) Central division. The team was founded as an expans ...

baseball games. In 2005,

adopted "Kansas City" as its official song, dedicating "Goin' to Kansas City Plaza" in the historic 18th and Vine Jazz district. Due to redevelopment, the "12th Street and Vine" intersection mentioned in the song no longer exists, but a park roughly in the shape of a grand piano and with a path in the shape of a

treble clef A clef (from French: 'key') is a musical symbol used to indicate which notes are represented by the lines and spaces on a musical stave. Placing a clef on a stave assigns a particular pitch to one of the five lines, which defines the pit ...

exists at the former location, marked by a commemorative plaque. Some versions have substituted "Eighteenth and Vine" for "12th Street and Vine," which sings just as well, and recognizes Kansas City's jazz history.

References

Sources

* * * * * * * * {{authority control 1952 songs 1959 singles 1963 singles 1967 singles Bill Haley songs Billboard Hot 100 number-one singles Cashbox number-one singles Blues songs Brenda Lee songs Dion DiMucci songs Fury Records singles Grammy Hall of Fame Award recipients James Brown songs Jan and Dean songs Jay and the Americans songs Gene Summers songs King Records (United States) singles Little Willie Littlefield songs Sammy Davis Jr. songs Song recordings produced by George Martin Songs about cities in the United States Songs written by Jerry Leiber and Mike Stoller The Beatles songs The Everly Brothers songs Trini Lopez songs Songs about Missouri Federal Records singles Specialty Records singles 1952 singles Little Richard songs