Kansas City/Hey-Hey-Hey-Hey! (I’ll call it Kansas City) is a cover version from the Beatles For Sale album. It had been a staple of the Beatles’ Cavern Club setlists. The Kansas City part of the song is a very early rock’n’roll song written by Leiber and Stoller (both then just 19 years old) in 1952, but the Hey-Hey-Hey-Hey! part and the medley as a whole was originated by Little Richard and McCartney sings the lead vocal in his “Little Richard voice”. The Beatles version, which was recorded in a single take, is a great cover which more than hints at their power as a live act.

The Beatles Bible

One of The Beatles’ most thrilling rock ‘n’ roll performances, ‘Kansas City/Hey-Hey-Hey-Hey’ was recorded for Beatles For Sale in a single take in October 1964.

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Wikipedia

"Kansas City" is a rhythm and blues song written by Jerry Leiber and Mike Stoller in 1952.[1] First recorded by Little Willie Littlefield the same year, as "K. C. Loving", the song later became a chart-topping hit when it was recorded by Wilbert Harr…

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Little Richard was arguably the single most important foundational influence on the Beatles. Lennon, the leader of the group, had been completely blown away the first time he heard Little Richard:

“The most exciting thing…was when he screamed just before the solo… It used to make your hair stand on end. When I heard it, it was so great, I couldn’t speak. You know how it is when you are torn. Elvis was bigger than religion in my life…I didn’t want to leave Elvis. We all looked at each other, but I didn’t want to say anything against Elvis, even in my mind.” (Phillip Norman, John Lennon: The Life)

When Lennon first met McCartney, Paul sang this very song, having already worked out a more than passable imitation of Richard’s uniquely powerful vocal sound. It must have been an important factor in Lennon’s decision to recruit McCartney.

The Beatles first met Little Richard when when he visited Britain in 1962, not long after they’d been signed by EMI. His appearance as the headliner on a bill with the Beatles just below, was arranged by Brian Epstein. It came after a five year period during which Richard abstained from rock’n’roll for religious reasons. Richard was a hero to them – Lennon asked for an autograph.

After the UK appearance, he went on to join the Beatles during their last period in Hamburg where they shared a bill at the Star Club.

A great deal of the Beatles sound built on Little Richard’s style, the benchmark they aimed for in the intensity of their rockiest vocals and piano-driven arrangements. Little Richard largely invented that “overdriven” singing style. Although McCartney is directly mimicking Richard in Kansas City and in his own songs like I Saw Her Standing There, the same raw power underpins Lennon’s versions of Twist And Shout and Money. Even as their music explored new territory, his inspiration remained a key ingredient in their sound throughout their recording career. For example you can hear traces of Little Richard in McCartney’s vocals for Sgt Pepper’s Lonely Hearts Club Band, Helter Skelter and Oh Darling!

When he died in 2020, McCartney wrote:

I owe a lot of what I do to Little Richard and his style; and he knew it. He would say, ‘I taught Paul everything he knows’. I had to admit he was right.