Kansas City/Hey, Hey, Hey, Hey

Those who love the Beatles in their unvarnished, wide-open rock and roll style will usually agree that the medley of Kansas City and Hey-Hey-Hey-Hey is one of the most thrilling of their performances. It was recorded on October 18, 1964 with Paul singing the lead in his "Little Richard" voice. The first take was considered definitive for the Beatles for Sale album. The decision to put a Little Richard cover on their fourth album was taken after their successful US tour in the late summer of 1964. Though they had not performed the song in over a year, they revived it for their concert in Kansas City, where the large crowd went crazy over it.

Jerry Leiber and Mike Stoller wrote Kansas City in 1952. Little Richard re-popularized the song in 1958, tacking on his own song, Hey-Hey-Hey-Hey. It was on the flip side of his enormous hit, Good Golly Miss Molly. The Beatles got to know Little Richard personally during concerts and touring in 1962, and shared the stage with him in England and in Germany. They then put his version of the classic rocker into their own performance set. On July 16, 1963 they recorded this song for the BBC, and that recording came out in 1994 on Live at the BBC. Anthology 1 contains a take two from the October 18 recording session.