"Leave My Kitten Alone" was first recorded by Little Willie John in 1959 and Lennon with his instinct for good rock and roll sang the lead on the song that eventually came to light in 1985 when it was remixed for the Anthology 1 compilation.
Why it was never included on the 'For Sale' album is a bit of a mystery, maybe it threw the balance out with who took the lead. 'For Sale' had 4 to Lennon, 3 McCartney, 1 each for George Harrison and Ringo Starr, the other songs had the group backing or sharing vocals. One more lead by Lennon meant someone would not be included.
Maybe it was decided not to include another song written by someone other than Lennon and McCartney. There were already 5 by other writers on 'For Sale' including Carl Perkins and Chuck Berry.
Whatever the reason it's a shame more fans never got to hear this version at the time with Lennon producing a full throat rock and roll vocal at his best. This is the unreleased original rough mix from 1964.
The same day just two years later life was to change for Lennon. And big. He was quoted as saying "The Beatles are more popular than Jesus" in a newspaper article some months earlier and had gone completely unnoticed in England. But in the USA it was dragged out as front page news to Lennon's and the groups dismay as they toured the country. Wrong time, wrong place.
Thousands if not millions in the States burnt the records and Lennon spent the rest of the tour apologising and for years ahead looking over his shoulder.
Now if only he'd said "In Britain, The Beatles were more popular with teenagers than the church" which is what he meant in the first place and was probably true anyway, things would have been very different for him then and in the future.
Sometimes you just need to Leave That Kitten Alone.
