Long Tall Sally

"Long Tall Sally", also known as "Long Tall Sally (The Thing)", is a rock and roll song written by Robert "Bumps" Blackwell, Enotris Johnson, and Little Richard and released on Richard's album Here's Little Richard. Richard recorded it for Specialty Records, which released it as a single in March 1956, backed with "Slippin' and Slidin'". [Wikipedia]

Long Tall Sally is a song by The Beatles, written by Penniman–Johnson–Blackwell and led on vocal by Paul McCartney. Little Richard cover; cut in one take, Paul's most Little-Richard-like vocal. Within the catalogue, its cover thread connects it to Anna (Go to Him), Chains, Boys; its one-take thread connects it to Twist and Shout, Rock and Roll Music. This Little Richard cover captured Paul's definitive exuberant impersonation of his rock'n'roll hero, recorded 1 March 1964. Remarkably, the final master was achieved in a single take—an achievement paralleling John's one-take 'Twist and Shout' performance. Paul's vocal preparation and ensemble rhythmic tightness rendered complex arrangement refinement unnecessary (Lewisohn 1988, p. 41). The song marks McCartney's demonstration of his rock and roll knowledge through vocal performance in Little Richard's style; the Little Richard cover was included alongside original compositions on the Long Tall Sally extended-play release (Kozinn 1995, p.23, 98).

The session work falls within the band's Beatlemania (1962–1964) period, recorded 1 Mar 1964 at EMI Studios, Abbey Road. George Martin produced; Norman Smith engineered. For session-by-session detail, see Mark Lewisohn's account on p.11 of The Complete Beatles Recording Sessions (excerpt below). The take one master emerged without any noted remakes or overdubs, suggesting Paul's vocal confidence and the ensemble's rhythmic precision. The straightforward arrangement—rhythm section plus Paul's uninhibited vocal energy—exemplifies the Beatles' increasing studio confidence. The track became a live mainstay, bridging cover-song foundation and original composition maturity (Lewisohn 1988, p. 41).

McCartney's vocal performance on the cover represents his interpretation of Little Richard's aggressive blues-shout style, a technique he had studied and integrated into his own recording approach (MacDonald 1994, p.52).

In the canonical discography it on the EP Long Tall Sally. Mono and stereo histories vary by era — see the dedicated section below. This Little Richard cover showcases Paul's vocal range mastery in a 2:01 duration rocker (among Beatles' shortest tracks). The single-take achievement demonstrates performer readiness and arrangement clarity. The track's live popularity illustrates the bridge between Beatlemania's cover-song foundation and subsequent original composition dominance (Lewisohn 1988, p. 41). The EP release was part of the band's single and extended-play strategy; mono mixes of the Long Tall Sally and Magical Mystery Tour songs are available in various collections and the 2009 Mono Box.

• Rolling Stone 500: Rolling Stone ' s list of The 500 Greatest Songs of All Time

Recognition mentions extracted from the Wikipedia article. Verify against the linked source before quoting.

Other recordings sharing era, vocalist, writer, key, studio, or producer with this one. Higher scores indicate stronger overlap on documented attributes.

• Kansas City / Hey-Hey-Hey-Hey! (score 10)
• A Taste of Honey (score 8)
• All My Loving (score 8)
• And I Love Her (score 8)
• Can't Buy Me Love (score 8)
• Hold Me Tight (score 8)
• I Saw Her Standing There (score 8)
• I'll Follow the Sun (score 8)