Paul McCartney recorded a version of Little Richard’s ‘Lucille’ for his 1988 album Choba B CCCP.
Written by Richard Penniman (Little Richard) and Albert Collins, it was recorded on 30 July 1956. ‘Lucille’ was released as a single in February 1957, with ‘Send Me Some Lovin” on the b-side.
The Beatles recorded ‘Lucille’ twice for BBC radio, on 3 and 7 September 1963. The recordings were released on the albums Live At The BBC and On Air – Live At The BBC Volume 2.
They also performed ‘Lucille’ twice during the Get Back/Let It Be sessions at London’s Twickenham Film Studios. They played the song on 3 January, the second day of filmed rehearsals, and again four days later.
I could do Little Richard’s voice, which is a wild, hoarse, screaming thing, it’s like an out-of-body experience. You have to leave your current sensibilities and go about a foot above your head to sing it. You have to actually go outside yourself. It’s a funny little trick and when you find it, it’s very interesting. A lot of people were fans of Little Richard so I used to sing his stuff.
McCartney’s solo version was taped on 20 July 1987, along with the bulk of Choba B CCCP: ‘Kansas City’, ‘Twenty Flight Rock’, ‘Lawdy Miss Clawdy’, ‘I’m In Love Again’, ‘Bring It On Home To Me’, ‘I’m Gonna Be A Wheel Someday’, ‘That’s All Right (Mama)’, ‘Summertime’, ‘Just Because’, and ‘Midnight Special’.
