The AKA
Blues Connection
Documenting Rock 'n'
Roll's Roots in the Blues
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Featuring
Blues Connection
Copyright © 2002-2004 |
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The Blues Connections Of The Beatles
When the Beatles first came to the U.S.A., a reporter asked them what they wanted to see while in America. Instead of naming sights like the Empire State Building or the Grand Canyon, they said that they wanted to see Muddy Waters and Bo Diddley. This answer is a little mystifying since their music was shaped much more by the influence of the early rock 'n' roll of R&B artists like Little Richard and Chuck Berry than by the more heavily blues-based rock of Bo Diddley or the straight blues of Muddy Waters. The fact is, the Beatles were not nearly as devoted to the blues as many of the British Invasion bands (The Rolling Stones, The Animals, The Who, etc.) that followed them into America. Yet, they did pick up on the blues through the music of their rock 'n' roll idols. For example, they did a cover of Carl Perkins's "Matchbox" which Perkins adapted from the legendary blues musician Blind Lemon Jefferson's "Match Box Blues" . And they recorded bluesman Little Willie Littlefield's song "Kansas City" (a.k.a. "K.C. Loving") by way of Little Richard who did a version of the song as a medley in combination with his own composition "Hey! Hey! Hey!". The Beatles based their version on Little Richard's record, including combining the two songs as he did. Rather than the blues, the Beatles preferred the more modern, revved-up sound of rhythm 'n' blues practiced by early black rock stars like Chuck Berry and Little Richard. They released recordings of Richard's "Long Tall Sally" and "Hey! Hey! Hey!" and several of Berry's tunes including "Rock and Roll Music" and "Roll Over Beethoven". They were also influenced by the R&B of the Isley Brothers; not only did they record the Isley's "Twist and Shout", but this song was also the inspiration for the Beatles' head-shaking "woo woo" that appears in songs like "She Loves You" and "From Me to You". Both John Lennon and Paul McCartney were huge followers of R&B artist Larry Williams. Three of his songs were covered on Beatles albums--"Dizzy Miss Lizzy" on Help!, "Bad Boy" on Beatles VI, and "Slow Down" on the Long Tall Sally EP. Also, Lennon's Rock 'n' Roll album includes a version of Williams's "Bony Moronie" and McCartney's Run Devil Run long player has a cover of Williams's "She Said Yeah". Another Williams song, "Short Fat Fanny", was part of the live repertoire of the Lennon/McCartney pre-Beatles band called the Quarry Men. The Beatles were fans of two other relatively obscure rhythm 'n' blues artists--Little Willie John, the man whose incredible version of "Fever" was also the first recording of this classic song, and Arthur Alexander, a great songwriter whose "You Better Move On" was covered by the Rolling Stones. The Beatles recorded Little Willie John's "Leave My Kitten Alone", but did not release it. The recording--which contains one of John Lennon's greatest vocal performances--was finally released many years later. A cover of Arthur Alexander's "Anna (Go to Him)" appears on the Beatles first album Please Please Me, and they performed his "A Shot of Rhythm and Blues" as part of their early repertoire. After their first few albums, the Beatles almost exclusively recorded songs which they had written themselves. But John Lennon and Paul McCartney recorded a bunch of more R&B and blues songs in their solo careers. A list of many of those songs is below, arranged alphabetically by the name of the musician that composed, originally recorded, or popularized the song. Songs recorded by John Lennon Chuck Berry: You Can't Catch Me, Sweet Little Sixteen Big Mama Thornton: Hound Dog Sam Cooke: Bring it on Home to Me Fats Domino: Ain't That a Shame Lee Dorsey: Ya Ya Ben E. King: Stand By Me Lloyd Price: Just Because Little Richard: Rip It Up/Ready Teddy medley Larry Williams: Bony Moronie
Songs recorded by Paul McCartney Otis Blackwell: All Shook Up Chuck Berry: Brown-Eyed Handsome Man Roy Brown (also recorded byWynonie Harris): Good Rockin' Tonight Sam Cooke: Bring it on Home to Me Arthur "Big Boy" Crudup: That's All Right Mama Bo Diddley: Crackin' Up Fats Domino: I'm In Love Again, I'm Gonna be a Wheel Someday, Ain't that a Shame, Coquette Jesse Fuller: San Francisco Bay Blues (John Lennon also recorded this blues tune, but did not release it) Leadbelly: Midnight Special Little Richard: Lucille, Shake a Hand Little Willie Littlefield (also recorded by Wilbert Harrison and Little Richard): KansasCity Lloyd Price: Lawdy Miss Clawdy Tommy Tucker: Hi-Heel Sneakers Joe Turner: Honey Hush Larry Williams: She Said Yeah
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