from the album
Beatles for Sale
"Kansas City" is the title of a rhythm and blues song
written by Jerry Leiber and Mike Stoller in 1952. The song, a
12-bar blues, was first recorded by Little Willie Littlefield
that same year, under the title, "KC Lovin' ". (Ralph Bass of
Federal Records, Littlefield's label, thought "K.C." sounded
much "hipper" than "Kansas City," and so changed Leiber &
Stoller's original title.) Littlefield's record was a regional
hit in and around Los Angeles, where Federal was located.
The best known version of "Kansas City" was recorded in 1959
by Wilbert Harrison. It hit number one on both the R&B
chart and the Billboard Hot 100, and also restored the song's
proper title. Since Harrison's record, the song has been
covered by hundreds of performers, including Jimmy Witherspoon,
Little Richard, Wanda Jackson, The Beatles, Herman's Hermits,
Albert King, Joe Williams, Little Milton, Peggy Lee, Bill Haley
& His Comets, Gene Summers & Sonny Fisher (duet) and
Fats Domino. Many other artists found some degree of success on
the Hot 100 with this song, including Rocky Olson, Hank Ballard
and The Midnighters, Trini Lopez, and James Brown. Ten versions
of the song are featured on the 1994 CD,
The Best Of Kansas City.
The Beatles' version combined Little Richard's version into
a medley with Little Richard's song, "Hey, Hey, Hey, Hey." This
version differs considerably from the original, adding lyrics
such as "Ah, Kansas City; coming to get my baby back home;
yeah, yeah..." and removing most of the original lyrics (such
as: "I'm goin' to Kansas City, Kansas City here I come...").
Several different versions of Haley's "Kansas City" exist, some
featuring vocals by Haley himself and others sung by his
saxophone player, Rudy Pompilli; lyrically, however, all
versions by Haley adhere to the Leiber & Stoller
original.
In 2005, Kansas City adopted "Kansas City" as its official
song, dedicating "Goin' To Kansas City Plaza" in the historic
18th and Vine Jazz district. The Beatles' version of Kansas
City is played over Kauffman Stadium's sound system after each
Kansas City Royals win, while the Wilbert Harrison version is
played after each loss.
The lyrics of the song mention the intersection of "12th
Street and Vine", a location now marked in a park.
