Cover Songs
The remainder of the album consisted of cover versions, several of which had been staples of The Beatles' live shows years earlier, especially in Hamburg, Germany and at The Cavern in Liverpool, including Chuck Berry's "Rock and Roll Music", Buddy Holly's "Words of Love", and two by Carl Perkins, "Everybody's Trying to Be My Baby", sung by Harrison and "Honey Don't", sung by Ringo Starr.
Many critics panned the cover version of "Mr. Moonlight". Stephen Thomas Erlwine of allmusic called it Lennon's "beloved obscurity" that wound up as "arguably the worst thing the group ever recorded." Q magazine agreed, calling "Mr. Moonlight" "appalling." Rowley noted that the original by Dr Feelgood and the Interns was "hardly outstanding". A cover of Little Willie John's "Leave My Kitten Alone" was recorded at the same session, but rejected from inclusion on the finished album; it was widely bootlegged before seeing official release on 1995's Anthology 1 compilation.
The recording of the medley of "Kansas City" and "Hey, Hey, Hey, Hey!" was memorable for McCartney, who in 1984 said that it required "a great deal of nerve to just jump up and scream like an idiot." His efforts were egged on by Lennon, who "would go, 'Come on! You can sing it better than that, man! Come on, come on! Really throw it!'" The song was inspired by Little Richard, who combined "Kansas City" with his own composition, "Hey, Hey, Hey, Hey!", but Rowley found the lead vocals "strained" and considered it McCartney's "weakest Little Richard cover version" (although McCartney only recorded one other Little Richard cover, "Long Tall Sally", while with The Beatles). However, in contrast to this Ian MacDonald, in his book Revolution in the Head: The Beatles' Records and the Sixties, calls it "One of The Beatles best covers". The original LP sleeve listed the song as "Kansas City" (Leiber & Stoller). After the attorneys for Venice Music complained, the record label was revised to read "Medley: (a) Kansas City (Leiber/Stoller) (P)1964 Macmelodies Ltd./KPM. (b) Hey, Hey, Hey, Hey! (Penniman) Venice Mus. Ltd. (P)1964."
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