Bad Boy is a cover of a Larry Williams song which, in the UK, only appeared on a 1966 album called A Collection Of Beatles Oldies during their recording career. As the title suggests, that album consisted of already released songs, with Bad Boy being the odd one out. After the band broke up it appeared on their Past Masters collection and also on The Beatles Rock And Roll Music which is how I know the song.
The Beatles BibleThe Beatles recorded two Larry Williams songs during a single 10 May 1965 session: ‘Bad Boy’ and ‘Dizzy Miss Lizzy’, both of which were sung by John Lennon.
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WikipediaJohn Lennon was a particular fan of Larry Williams, and the Beatles ended up covering three of his songs, Slow Down, Bad Boy and Dizzy Miss Lizzy. Williams was a friend of Little Richard, and had stepped up as a kind of replacement at their record label Specialty when Richard, who struggled to reconcile his personal life and talent with his beliefs, stopped recording to pursue a religious calling in 1957.
Williams’ songs tend to have a similar sound to Little Richard’s, but maybe a little less intensity, and I think he sings in a slightly lower register. So while McCartney liked to perform Little Richard songs and could emulate his vocal sound, Lennon evidently enjoyed Williams’ style, which left a little more space for Lennon to expand into; it’s noticeable that Lennon’s vocal on Bad Boy is considerably more intense than Williams’, and he manages to get his tongue around (most of) the multisyllabic, witty lyrics. The Beatles’ performance as a whole is a bit raw and scrappy (the double tracked lead guitar doesn’t work too well) but it has a lot of energy. It sounds as if the whole band are enjoying themselves and it’s infectious.