May 18, 1959: Wilbert Harrison hits NUMBER ONE on Billboard and wouldn’t chart again until 1970 when "Let's Work Together" made it to number 32 in the US…

May 18, 1959: 

 
Wilbert Harrison's recording of Leiber and Stoller's "Kansas City" rose to the top of the Billboard singles chart…

Four other versions of the tune all appeared in March of 1959:

Hank Ballard And The Midnighters did a great version…

Rocky Olson covered the tune on Chess…

Rockin' Ronald & The Rebels (no samples available) charted (low) with the tune,

 And even Little Richard took a shot at it…

But the Harrison version was by far the most popular!

 Further success for Harrison would have to wait until 1970 when "Let's Work Together" b/w "Kansas City Twist" made it to number 32 in the US…

(Canned Heat's cover of "Let's Work Together" charted in August 1970 and reached #26 in the Billboard Hot 100 singles chart)…

In 2001, Wilbert Harrison’s recording of "Kansas City" was given a Grammy Hall of Fame Award, and has also been named as one of The Rock and Roll Hall of Fame's 500 Songs that Shaped Rock and Roll….

in 1994, Harrison died of a stroke in a Spencer, North Carolina nursing home…He was 65 years old...

R.I.P. Wilbert Harrison

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