Episode 35: Queen of Christmas Darlene Love on what the Beatles took from Black musicians, and what they gave back
Release Date: 11/22/2022
Episode 64: Jake Clemons on Clarence, the Beatles and protest songs
Everything Fab Four
Born in February 1980, Jake has been a member of Bruce Springsteen’s E Street Band since 2012, when he was tapped to play saxophone in place of his late uncle, the renowned Big Man himself, Clarence Clemons. Jake has toured extensively with Springsteen and the E Street Band, handling saxophone, percussion, and backing vocal duties on the Wrecking Ball World Tour, the High Hopes Tour, The River Tour, 2017’s Australia and New Zealand Summer Tour, and the recently completed 2023-2025 tour. He has also mounted tours with the Jake Clemons Band, which has crisscrossed the globe, including stints...
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Episode 63: “Rocky Horror” cast on the one thing they have in common with the Beatles
Everything Fab Four
The longest-running theatrical release in film history, "The Rocky Horror Picture Show" is celebrating its 50th anniversary with original cast members Barry Bostwick (who played the iconic Brad Majors), Nell Campbell (who played the effervescent Columbia) and Patricia Quinn (who played the incomparable Magenta). They join our host, Kenneth Womack, this week for a spirited conversation about the collaboration behind the underdog movie that became a beloved cult classic, Tim Curry's powerful star turn, and the making of those iconic musical numbers.
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Episode 62: Max Weinberg on The Beatles, Bob Dylan, and his own first band
Everything Fab Four
This episode's guest is E Street Band drummer and Rock and Roll Hall of Famer Max Weinberg. In 1974, Max Weinberg answered an ad requesting a drummer capable of playing R&B and jazz for an audition. Weinberg had never seen Bruce Springsteen and the E Street Band and was unfamiliar with their material, but the skill, acumen, and attentiveness he displayed on Fats Domino's "Let the Four Winds Blow" won him the job. His ability to take cues from Springsteen — specifically, playing a rim shot when Bruce held up his hand to stop the band and then starting back into the song — made a...
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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,...
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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...
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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
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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].”
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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.
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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.
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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_outlineKen Womack's guest this week is Rock and Roll Hall of Fame member Darlene Love (born Darlene Wright). Best known for her holiday hit “Christmas (Baby Please Come Home),” in addition to her vocals on records by “girl group” The Crystals and her acting roles such as in the “Lethal Weapon” film series, Love's beginnings were modest, having started out singing in the Los Angeles church choir where her father was the pastor. She began working in 1962 with notorious producer Phil Spector (who’d given her the “Love” surname for recording, and who also worked on several Beatles-related projects). In light of his later troubles, Love explains to Womack, “I will say this: He was not the same guy to me back then that he later came to be.” In this conversation she dives deep into her storied career, opens up about working with Phil Spector, and answers a complex question: Were the Beatles influenced by Black musicians, or did they steal from them?