Episodes

#132 – Kansas City/Hey-Hey-Hey-Hey with musician Kyle Melancon (drummer, Imagination Movers, ex-Dash Rip Rock)

By the time of Beatles for Sale at the end of ’64, the band were exhausted, overworked, and for good reason. They’d been working nonstop for YEARS with a schedule that most artists would shudder at. While their previous album had been their first of all originals, this time, the tank was a bit lower than before, and the band had to revert back to covers they’d been doing since the Cavern and Hamburg days. Even though they may have been tired, they pulled out a fiery cover of Little Richard’s version of “Kansas City/Hey-Hey-Hey-Hey”, which was in fact a medley of “Kansas City” and a song of his own. In 1959, at one point there were 5 different covers of “Kansas City” on the Billboard charts. 

The fabs manage to turn in one of the more energetic moments on Beatles For Sale here. Paul’s Little Richard vocal tribute is always on point, Ringo gives a swinging backbeat. The gang vocals are 100% pure energy and fun, you can’t not want to singalong. To me, this is a real highlight and a killer cover from the band. That said, I have a real sweet spot for Beatle covers. This isn’t their best Little Richard cover though, and we won’t get to that one for quite a while.

Joining us this week is yet another member of the 5 timers club, our buddy and bandmate Kyle Melancon. Recorded on Toss Day 2022 (thanks, Ringo) we cast a wide net on Beatlechat, ranging from poorly-made Beatle albums, what makes their covers successful or unsuccessful), the long strange version of “Kansas City,” that ol’ N’awlins classic Jazzbolaya, and we introduce a new element to our show! What do you think? Too high? Too low? Just right? Let us know in the comments on Facebook https://www.facebook.com/rankingthebeatles, Instagram @rankingthebeatles, or Twitter @rankingbeatles! Be sure to check out RTB’s official website, www.rankingthebeatles.com and our brand new webstore!! RANK YOUR OWN BEATLES with our new RTB poster!  Pick up a tshirt, coffee cup, tote bag, and more! Enjoying the show, and wanna show your support? Buy Us A Coffee!

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Reviews

Judge Timbers

Ranking the songs of the Beatles? What could possibly go wrong? But somehow this podcast gets it just right thanks to the wit and charm of the co-hosts and their guests. The listener quickly discovers the rankings are used not to incite heated arguments but rather as a starting point to spark a positive deep dive into every Beatle song. Put simply, Ranking The Beatles is a welcome addition to the Beatle podcast universe.

spazaru

Required listening if you like The Beatles at all. Great guests every week and Jonathan and Julia are fun and genuinely funny (even the tired Mike Love jokes). I listen every Tuesday morning as soon as I wake up. One week around Christmas they took the week off so I just slept the whole week until there was a new episode. It was worth the wait.

finfan64

Nice to see a truly excellent new Beatles podcast. This one is hosted by a very appealing young couple, who along with their well selected guests, have a winning combination of professional musical knowledge and the enthusiasm of fans. It’s an interesting format that by definition promises to only get better as it goes along. If they can make the “Only a Northern Song” episode good then they’re unstoppable

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