Leave My Kitten Alone

"Leave My Kitten Alone"
Single by Little Willie John
B-side"Let Nobody Love You"
ReleasedJune 1959 (1959-06)
GenreR&B
Length2:32
LabelKing
Songwriter(s)Little Willie John, Titus Turner, James McDougal
Little Willie John singles chronology
"Made for Me"
(1959) 		"Leave My Kitten Alone"
(1959) 		"Let Them Talk"
(1959)

"Leave My Kitten Alone" is a song written by Little Willie John, Titus Turner, and James McDougal, first recorded by Little Willie John and released in 1959 as a single through King Records. It is an R&B song that follows a 24-bar blues format.

Little Willie John

The original version of the song, by Little Willie John, on King Records, reached No. 13 on the Billboard R&B chart and No. 60 on the pop chart on its first release in 1959.[1][2] A second release again reached No. 60, after cover version by Johnny Preston reached No. 73 on the singles chart in early 1961.[1] Over the intervening decades, numerous covers have been recorded, in different musical genres, sometimes with altered lyrics.

The Beatles

An early version by the Beatles was released in 1995 on Anthology 1.[3] On August 14, 1964, during the recording sessions for Beatles for Sale, the Beatles recorded five takes of "Leave My Kitten Alone", adding overdubs to the last take.[3] The song was never mixed and was not included on Beatles for Sale.[4]

The song was remixed in 1982 by John Barrett in preparation for The Beatles at Abbey Road, a video presentation shown as part of a public tour of the Abbey Road Studios the following year. It was again remixed in 1984 by Geoff Emerick in preparation for inclusion on the unreleased Sessions project. In 1994, Emerick remixed the song yet again, this time for the Anthology project; it finally saw official release on the project's first volume the following year.

Other covers

Elvis Costello and the Attractions recorded a cover of "Leave My Kitten Alone" in 1986 during the sessions for Blood & Chocolate.[5] It was left off the original album and later released on the album's 2002 reissue by Rhino Records. In a review for the reissue, Kent Benjamin of Goldmine referred to Costello's rendition as one of his best covers and "finest rockers".[6] It was also praised by AllMusic's Stephen Thomas Erlewine.[7] Costello himself admitted in the 2002 reissue's liner notes that it should have been included in the original album.[8]

References

  1. ^ a b Joel Whitburn, Top Pop Singles 1955-2002, Billboard, 2003, ISBN 0-89820-155-1, p. 362
  2. ^ Whitburn, Joel (2004). Top R&B/Hip-Hop Singles: 1942-2004. Record Research. p. 228.
  3. ^ a b Anthology 2 (booklet). The Beatles. London: Apple Records. 1994. p. 43. 34445.{{cite AV media notes}}: CS1 maint: others in cite AV media (notes) (link)
  4. ^ Lewisohn, Mark (1988). The Beatles Recording Sessions. New York City: Harmony Books. ISBN 0-517-57066-1.
  5. ^ Thomson, Graeme (2004). Complicated Shadows: The Life and Music of Elvis Costello. Edinburgh: Canongate Books. pp. 233–236. ISBN 978-1-84195-796-8.
  6. ^ Benjamin, Kent (May 31, 2002). "Elvis Costello: "This Year's Model"; "Blood and Chocolate"; "Brutal Youth"". Goldmine. 28 (11): 76. ISSN 1055-2685. ProQuest 1495601.
  7. ^ Erlewine, Stephen Thomas. "Blood & Chocolate [Rhino Bonus Disc] – Elvis Costello & the Attractions / Elvis Costello". AllMusic. Archived from the original on December 25, 2022. Retrieved November 21, 2023.
  8. ^ Costello, Elvis (2002). Blood & Chocolate (reissue) (CD liner notes). Elvis Costello and the Attractions. US: Rhino Records. R2 78355.