Kansas City-Wilbert Harrison(Cover)

Wilbert Huntington Harrison (January 5, 1929 – October 26, 1994)[1] was an American rhythm and blues singer, pianist, guitarist, and harmonica player

Harrison was born in Charlotte, North Carolina.[3] He had a Billboard number-one record in 1959 with the song "Kansas City".[2] The song was written in 1952 and was one of the first credited collaborations by the team of Jerry Leiber and Mike Stoller. It sold over one million copies, and was awarded a gold disc.[4] Harrison recorded "Kansas City" for the Harlem-based entrepreneur Bobby Robinson, who released it on his Fury record label.

At the height of the song's success, Robinson was sued by Savoy Records, which informed them that the release of the record in March 1959[5] violated a contract Harrison had with that label that was to expire in August 1959. The litigation, which lasted until September 1959, abruptly prevented Robinson from issuing follow-ups to "Kansas City", while Harrison was a star.[6]