Episode 48 (Bonus): Brian Ritchie of the Violent Femmes on how "My Sweet Lord" inspired him to play guitar
Release Date: 12/20/2023
Episode 61: Nellie McKay, singer-songwriter, actor, and comedienne
Everything Fab Four
Known for her genre-bending music, sharp social commentary, and activism for animal rights and social justice, Nellie McKay was born in London and raised in the United States, where she studied jazz at the Manhattan School of Music. Her performances at various New York City music venues, including the Sidewalk Cafe and Joe's Pub, drew attention from record labels, which resulted in her debut album Get Away from Me. Produced by Beatles engineer Geoff Emerick, The New York Times lauded the LP as a tour-de-force. Nellie’s music can been heard on Mad Men, Boardwalk Empire, Weeds,...
info_outline
Episode 60: Psychedelic rockers Blac Rabbit, creators of our theme song "Seize the Day"
Everything Fab Four
Joining host Ken Womack on the first episode of season 7 is Blac Rabbit — familiar voices to our listeners. In 2018, Blac Rabbit released their first LP, "Interstella," which included the debut single “Seize the Day,” which has served as the "Everything Fab Four" theme song since our very first episode featuring Steve Lukather in September 2020. In 2018, a 48-second video of twin brothers Amiri and Rahiem Taylor, the guitarists and singer-songwriters who perform as Blac Rabbit, playing the Beatles' “Eight Days a Week” went viral, racking up millions of views. They went from staging...
info_outline
Episode 59 (Bonus): Singer-songwriter Peter Wolf on his musical upbringing: "It took me a while to warm up to the Beatles"
Everything Fab Four
On this episode of Everything American singer-songwriter Peter Wolf joins host Ken Womack to discuss Wolf’s life in music and his earliest musical influences.
A native of the Bronx, Wolf spent his youth soaking up New York City’s music scene, especially the Apollo Theater’s array of soul, rhythm & blues, and gospel performers. After moving to Boston, he attended Tufts University’s Museum of Fine Arts. During this period, he formed his first band, The Hallucinations, which perfo
info_outline
Episode 58 (Bonus): Paul Reiser's father "tolerated" the Beatles on Ed Sullivan
Everything Fab Four
On this episode of Everything Fab Four, actor and comedian Paul Reiser joins to discuss his first memories of the Beatles on Ed Sullivan and share the Beatles song that “still kills [him].”
info_outline
Episode 57: Guitarist George Benson on what makes Beatles’ songs so special: “They had great stories”
Everything Fab Four
On today’s episode, American jazz fusion guitarist and singer-songwriter George Benson drops by to discuss what gave the Beatles “prestige” and how the band helped Black musicians succeed.
info_outline
Episode 56 (Bonus): How the Beatles inspired these 1970s television icons
Everything Fab Four
On this bonus episode of Everything Fab Four, we trace two television icons from the 1970s—both very different in terms of target audience, but united in the inspiration that they drew from the Beatles.
info_outline
Episode 55: Rosanna Arquette on growing up with the Beatles: "I always loved ‘Revolver’”
Everything Fab Four
On this episode of Everything Fab Four, actor and activist Rosanna Arquette shares her favorite Beatles song and recounts where she was when John Lennon died.
info_outline
Episode 54: Jamie Bernstein says her father Leonard Bernstein was “almost as obsessed with ‘Sgt. Pepper’ as I was"
Everything Fab Four
Author and filmmaker Jamie Bernstein joins Everything Fab Four to discuss growing up with a world-famous father, and why Leonard Bernstein chose Beatles songs to explain musical concepts.
info_outline
Episode 53: Darius Rucker on the Beatles' legacy: “Everybody else has to line up behind them”
Everything Fab Four
On this episode, legendary singer-songwriter Darius Rucker joins Everything Fab Four to share how he first discovered the Beatles at five, and which Beatles album he thinks is the “most perfect album ever made.”
info_outline
Episode 52: Joan Osborne on how the Beatles inspired her to try different musical styles
Everything Fab Four
Grammy-nominated American recording artist Joan Osborne joins Everything Fab Four to talk about hearing “Revolution 9” at a makeout party and how her music career began.
info_outlineBrian Ritchie, bassist for the folk punk band the Violent Femmes, joins host Kenneth Womack on this episode to chat about his first Beatles records and the 40th anniversary of the Femmes’ debut album.
Ritchie co-founded the Violent Femmes with percussionist Victor DeLorenzo in 1981, and the duo were later joined by singer-songwriter Gordon Gano. Ritchie came up with band’s distinctive name on a whim, employing it during their early days playing in Milwaukee’s coffee houses. In August 1981, the Violent Femmes were discovered performing on a street corner in front of the Oriental Theatre by James Honeyman-Scott, the guitarist for the Pretenders, and Chrissie Hynde invited the Femmes to play an acoustic set prior to the Pretenders’ show that night.
In 1983, the Violent Femmes released their self-titled debut album, which emerged as a key soundtrack for the burgeoning alternative and college-oriented rock movements. The inaugural LP featured many of the band’s best-known songs, including “Blister in the Sun,” “Kiss Off,” “Add It Up,” and “Gone Daddy Gone.” The album became the Femmes’ most successful LP, eventually earning platinum status from the Recording Industry Association of America.
Over the years, the Femmes have recorded 10 studio albums, including Hallowed Ground (1984), The Blind Leading the Naked (1986), and Why Do Birds Sing? (1991). The group is widely considered to be a key influence on the 1980s and 1990s alternative rock scene.