Breakfast with Behka and The Beatles Recap: Week of February 9

Here's a look back at all the songs I played and talked about on this week's edition of BWB&TB.We're in the middle of covering Beatles for Sale, and every track this week was a Beatle cover of another famous song.

On Monday, I played "Mister Moonlight".

"Mr. Moonlight" is a song written by Roy Lee Johnson. The first known recording of the song was by blues pianist Piano Red, recording as "Dr. Feelgood and the Interns". It was released as a B-side of a minor rhythm & blues hit single (titled "Dr. Feelgood") in 1962. The record became something of a cult favorite among several young British R&B enthusiasts, some of whom would soon go on to become members of well-known bands. The Beatles had covered the song in their live act for years before it appeared on record. Their recording features Latin-style percussion, prominent vocal harmonies, and, unusually, an organ solo. John Lennon sings lead, with backing vocals from Paul McCartney and George Harrison.

On Tuesday, I played "Kansas City/Hey Hey Hey Hey".

"Kansas City" is a rhythm and blues song written by Jerry Leiber and Mike Stoller in 1952. First recorded by Little Willie Littlefield the same year, the song later became a #1 hit when it was recorded by Wilbert Harrison in 1959. "Kansas City" became one of Leiber and Stoller's "most recorded tunes, with more than three hundred versions," with several appearing in the R&B and pop record charts -the Little Richard version being one of the most popular. In 1964, The Beatles recorded Little Richard's "Kansas City" (next called "Kansas City/Hey, Hey, Hey, Hey"), a song they began performing in their early Hamburg days. Little Richard was a huge influence on Paul McCartney in particular.

On Wednesday, I played "Eight Days A Week".

"Eight Days a Week" is a song written by John Lennon and Paul McCartney, based on McCartney's original idea. Paul McCartney has attributed the inspiration of the song to at least two different sources. In a 1984 interview with Playboy, he credited the title to Ringo Starr, who was noted for his malapropisms, which are credited as the source of other song titles (such as "A Hard Day's Night" and "Tomorrow Never Knows"). Although it was a huge American hit, the group did not think highly of the song (Lennon called it "lousy") and they never performed it live.

On Thursday, I played "Words of Love".

"Words of Love" is a song written by Buddy Holly and recorded by him on April 8, 1957. Holly harmonized for himself, by tape-recording each part and combining them. The song was not a notable hit for Holly, although it is regarded as one of his important recordings, and is available in most standard Holly collections.  The Beatles' version was recorded on October 18, 1964. John Lennon and Paul McCartney, who were fans of Holly, harmonized on their version, holding to the vocal and instrumental sound of Holly's original as well as they could. When they had played this song in their early days at the Cavern Club in 1961 and 1962, Lennon and George Harrison were the vocalists. Ringo Starr played a packing case on this song as well as drums, to achieve a similar sound to Holly's "Everyday."

On Friday, I played "Honey Don't".

"Honey Don't" is a song written by Carl Perkins, originally released on January 1, 1956 as the B-side of the "Blue Suede Shoes" single, Sun 234. The Beatles recorded their version on October 26, 1964 one of the last songs recorded for Beatles for Sale, which was released in the United Kingdom on December 4, 1964.  Although John Lennon had previously sung the song live, Ringo Starr performed it for the album, his requisite one lead vocal per album. During the song, he makes self-referential remarks leading into Harrison's guitar riffs, saying, "Rock on George, one time for me!" and then "Rock on, George, for Ringo one time!"

Join me again next week at 6:00 a.m., where we'll pick up Beatles for Sale on "Every Little Thing".

Rocking for Ringo,
Behka