Kansas City / Hey-Hey-Hey-Hey!

(Leiber–Stoller / Penniman)

Quick Facts

Composer	Leiber–Stoller / Penniman
Lead Vocal	Paul
Recorded	Oct 1964
Length	2:30
Key	G
Noted Takes	2
Producer	George Martin
Engineer	Norman Smith

Originally released on

Beatles for Sale

Parlophone — PMC 1240

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Story

“Kansas City / Hey-Hey-Hey-Hey!” is a medley of two rock’n’roll standards: “Kansas City,” written by Jerry Leiber and Mike Stoller in 1952 and famously recorded by Wilbert Harrison and Little Richard, and “Hey-Hey-Hey-Hey!,” written by Richard Penniman (Little Richard). [Wikipedia]

Kansas City / Hey-Hey-Hey-Hey! is a song by The Beatles, led on vocal by Paul McCartney. Within the catalogue, its medley thread connects it to Sun King, Mean Mr. Mustard, Polythene Pam; its cover thread connects it to Anna (Go to Him), Chains, Boys; its shouter thread connects it to When I Get Home. Recorded 18 October 1964, two takes were put down; Lewisohn calls the result “another classic one-take Beatles performance” (the released master is take 1). George Martin added a piano contribution “though it is barely discernible on record.” Paul’s unrestrained shouting vocal sits at the energetic heart of the Beatles for Sale cover repertoire, bridging Beatlemania exuberance and the album’s more introspective original material.

What’s distinctive

At 2:30 it sits near the median by length. One of 65 songs led primarily by Paul. A non-original — one of 23 cover versions in the canon. Also one of only 7 medleys. Carries the rare tag ‘shouter’ — shared with only 1 other song. Recorded during the marathon 18 October 1964 session that also produced Rock and Roll Music, Mr. Moonlight, I Feel Fine, and five other recordings. Take count: 2 — “take one was superior by far” and was selected as the master.¹

Recording

Kansas City / Hey-Hey-Hey-Hey! was the second recording of the marathon 18 October 1964 session (after the Eight Days a Week edit pieces), captured in two takes on the Telefunken M10 four-track in Studio Two. Lewisohn describes the result as “another classic one-take Beatles performance” — while two takes were made, “take one was superior by far” and was selected as the released master. Unlike Rock and Roll Music later in the same session, which required only a single take, the medley needed a second attempt, but the first pass was still the keeper.¹
George Martin’s piano features on the recording, though Lewisohn notes it “is barely discernible on record.” This contrasts with the prominent piano on Rock and Roll Music from the same session, where Martin “again display[ed] his prowess as a rock’n’roll pianist.” K/R’s documented four-track tape layout shows Martin’s piano sharing Track 4 with McCartney’s vocal — this placement, combined with the need to balance the vocal, likely explains why the piano was mixed so low in both the mono and stereo masters.^1,2
Four-track tape layout (K/R documentation) — The tape box for Kansas City provides one of the most detailed track allocations from the Beatles for Sale sessions: Track 1 carried drums, bass, and electric guitar (the rhythm bed); Track 2 had electric guitar (lead/second guitar); Track 3 held the vocal; and Track 4 held piano and vocals. This layout follows the standard four-track practice for the period but notably places Martin’s piano on the vocal track rather than on the rhythm bed, which explains its subdued level in the final mix.²
The session that produced Kansas City was one of the most prolific single-day sessions in the Beatles’ recording career. In a nine-hour window (2.30–11.30pm), the group recorded edit pieces for Eight Days a Week, then tracked Kansas City (takes 1–2), the Mr. Moonlight re-make (takes 5–8), I Feel Fine (takes 1–9), I’ll Follow The Sun (takes 1–8), Everybody’s Trying to Be My Baby (take 1), Rock and Roll Music (take 1), and Words of Love (takes 1–3) — eight recordings in a single day, reflecting the pressures of the concurrent UK concert tour that had begun on 9 October.¹
Cover repertoire and rehearsal — George Harrison later recalled that “for this album we rehearsed only the new ones. Songs like ‘Honey Don’t’ and ‘Everybody’s Trying to Be My Baby’, we’d played live so often that we only had to get a sound on them and do them.” Kansas City had been a McCartney stage showcase since at least 1962, explaining why it could be completed in just two takes with no overdubs.²

Equipment

Studio	EMI Studios, Abbey Road, Studio Two (recording, 18 Oct 1964; mono + stereo mix, 26 Oct)
Tape machine	Telefunken M10 four-track²
Console	REDD.51²
Microphones	AKG D19c (drum overhead), AKG D20 (bass drum, bass amp), Neumann U47/U48 (vocals, guitars, piano)²
Outboard / effects	RS124 Altec compressor (Main Faders I–II), Fairchild 660 limiter (Main Faders III–IV)²
Guitars	Rickenbacker 325 Capri (Lennon), Gretsch Country Gentleman / Tennessean (Harrison), Höfner 500/1 bass (McCartney), Ludwig Oyster Black Pearl kit (Starr)
Amplifiers	Vox AC100 Super De-Luxe (from August 1964)²
Four-track layout	Tk 1: Drums, Bass, Electric Guitar • Tk 2: Electric Guitar • Tk 3: Vocal • Tk 4: Piano and Vocals²

Recording Timeline

18 October 1964 (Sun) — takes 1–2 (take 1 selected), Studio Two — Studio Two, 2.30–11.30pm. P: George Martin. E: Norman Smith. 2E: Geoff Emerick. Recording: Kansas City / Hey-Hey-Hey-Hey! (takes 1–2). The medley was the second recording of the day, following Eight Days a Week edit pieces. Two takes were made; “take one was superior by far” and was selected as the released master. McCartney’s vocal, all four Beatles on their regular instruments, and George Martin on piano were captured with no overdubs.¹
26 October 1964 (Mon) — mono and stereo mixing from take 1, Studio Two control room — Studio Two (control room only), 10.00am–1.05pm (mono mixing 10.00am–12.45pm; stereo mixing 12.45–1.05pm). P: George Martin. E: Norman Smith. 2E: Tony Clark. Both the mono and stereo mixes of Kansas City were completed on the same day, alongside mixes for Rock and Roll Music, Words of Love, I Don’t Want to Spoil the Party, Baby’s in Black, and I’m a Loser. The Beatles attended this mix session — “perhaps one of the first times they did this.”¹

[T]he Beatles performed another classic one-take Beatles performance of the Leiber–Stoller/Penniman medley ‘Kansas City’/‘Hey-Hey-Hey-Hey!’, with take one being superior by far, during which George Martin added a piano contribution though it is barely discernible on record.— Mark Lewisohn¹

Studio Notes

Documented four-track tape layout — a rare window into BFS-era recording practice — K/R reproduce the tape-box documentation for Kansas City, providing one of the most detailed track allocations from the Beatles for Sale sessions. Track 1 holds the rhythm bed (drums, bass, electric guitar), Track 2 carries a second electric guitar, Track 3 has the main vocal, and Track 4 holds piano and additional vocals. The separation of rhythm instruments across Tracks 1 and 2 follows the standard four-track approach, but the placement of piano on Track 4 (the “overdub” track) rather than on the rhythm bed is notable — it suggests Martin’s piano was recorded simultaneously with McCartney’s vocal, not as a separate overdub pass.²
No Repeat Echo — contrast with Rock and Roll Music — Unlike Rock and Roll Music from the same session, Kansas City has no Repeat Echo (STEED) on the vocal. K/R list only two Beatles for Sale tracks with Repeat Echo: Rock and Roll Music and Everybody’s Trying to Be My Baby. McCartney’s vocal on Kansas City is dry, relying on room ambience and the natural compression of the Fairchild 660 limiter on Main Faders III–IV (the vocal tracks) for its character.²
AKG drum microphones — the new BFS-era standard — By the September–October 1964 sessions, Norman Smith had retired the STC 4038 overhead and STC 4033-A bass-drum microphones in favour of the AKG D19c overhead and AKG D20 on bass drum. The D19c’s cardioid pattern was tighter than the figure-of-eight STC, picking up only the sound directly below the microphone, producing a “much ‘deader’ microphone overall” that “likely allowed Smith to compress the drums more heavily without simultaneously compressing — and therefore accentuating — the bass and electric guitar leakage.” Smith also used the D20 on McCartney’s bass amp, “completing the move from all-STC rhythm section mics to all-AKG.”²
REDD.51 stereo panning — the medley’s stereo image — The REDD.51 had limited panning: “channels 1 and 2 paired Left, 7 and 8 paired Right,” with a Spreader control for centre placement. For Kansas City, this means Track 1 (drums/bass/guitar) pans hard left, Track 2 (second guitar) hard right, and Tracks 3 and 4 (vocal, piano/vocals) spread to centre. The piano sharing Track 4 with vocals means it inherits the same stereo position, making it even harder to distinguish from McCartney’s voice in the stereo mix.²
No double-tracking — consistent with live cover repertoire — K/R notes that “most of the songs double-tracked were new compositions, whereas those not double-tracked were older songs the band had been playing for years.” Kansas City had been in the Beatles’ live set since at least 1962, making it one of the best-rehearsed songs on the LP. The absence of double-tracking, combined with the two-take recording and “no overdubs” approach, is consistent with this pattern.²

Releases

1964 UK mono LP Beatles for Sale (4 December 1964, Parlophone PMC 1240, side B track 1) — Released mono master mixed at EMI Studio Two on 26 October 1964 (mono remix from take 1). P: George Martin. E: Norman Smith. 2E: Tony Clark. The mono mix places McCartney’s vocal in centre; George Martin’s piano is present but barely audible, sharing Track 4 with additional vocals. The Beatles attended the 26 October mix session — one of the first times they did so.¹
1964 UK stereo LP Beatles for Sale (4 December 1964, Parlophone PCS 3062, side B track 1) — Stereo master mixed at EMI Studio Two on 26 October 1964 (same day as the mono mix, unlike some other BFS tracks). Under the standard REDD.51 four-track stereo panning, the rhythm bed (Track 1) pans hard left, lead guitar (Track 2) hard right, and vocals plus piano (Tracks 3 and 4) spread to centre via the Spreader control. Martin’s piano, sharing the vocal track, is even harder to isolate in stereo than in mono.^1,2
2009 Stereo Remasters — Beatles for Sale (9 September 2009, Apple/EMI) — Allan Rouse / Guy Massey / Steve Rooke 24-bit flat transfer of the 1964 stereo master, with the original REDD.51 panning preserved unchanged. The Mono Masters companion carries the 1964 mono master.

Sources

Mark Lewisohn, The Complete Beatles Recording Sessions (New York: Harmony Books, 1988), 50–53.
Kevin Ryan and Brian Kehew, Recording the Beatles: The Studio Equipment and Techniques Used to Create Their Classic Albums (Houston: Curvebender Publishing, 2006), 370–89.

Frequently asked

Who wrote Kansas City / Hey-Hey-Hey-Hey!?

“Kansas City” was written by Jerry Leiber and Mike Stoller in 1952. “Hey-Hey-Hey-Hey!” was written by Little Richard (Richard Penniman). The Beatles’ recording is a medley of the two songs.

Who sings lead on Kansas City / Hey-Hey-Hey-Hey!?

The lead vocal on “Kansas City / Hey-Hey-Hey-Hey!” is by Paul McCartney.

When was Kansas City / Hey-Hey-Hey-Hey! recorded?

“Kansas City / Hey-Hey-Hey-Hey!” was recorded on 18 October 1964 at EMI Studios, Abbey Road, Studio Two. Two takes were recorded; take 1 was selected as the master.¹

How many takes did Kansas City / Hey-Hey-Hey-Hey! require?

Two takes were recorded. Lewisohn notes that “take one was superior by far” and it was selected as the master.¹

On this page

Story

What’s distinctive

Recording

Equipment

Recording Timeline

Studio Notes

Releases

Sources

Frequently asked