Episode 61: Nellie McKay, singer-songwriter, actor, and comedienne
Release Date: 09/23/2025
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.
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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.
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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.”
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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_outlineKnown 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, Grey’s Anatomy, NCIS, Nurse Jackie, and SMILF. Nellie has made numerous radio appearances on NPR’s Mountain Stage, A Prairie Home Companion, eTown, and Marion McPartland’s Piano Jazz. She is a recipient of PETA’s Humanitarian Award and the Humane Society’s Doris Day Music Award in recognition of her dedication to animal rights.
She has won a Theatre World Award for her portrayal of Polly Peachum on Broadway in The Threepenny Opera.
Nelli co-created and starred in the award-winning off-Broadway hit Old Hats and has written three acclaimed musical biographies, including I Want to Live!, the story of Barbara Graham, the third woman executed in the gas chamber at San Quentin, Silent Spring: It’s Not Nice to Fool Mother Nature, an exploration of environmental pioneer Rachel Carson, and A GIRL NAMED BILL: The Life and Times of Billy Tipton.
Nellie will be performing at the inaugural Everything Fab Four Fest, taking place this November 6th through 8th at the Berkeley Oceanfront Hotel in Asbury Park, New Jersey, where we'll be celebrating the 60th anniversary of the Beatles' Rubber Soul album. Visit ef4fest.com for more information and to book your tickets.