Everything Fab Four

In this episode, host Ken Womack talks to pioneering director Michael Lindsay-Hogg, the man behind early music video and promotional film production for rock legends such as the Beatles and the Rolling Stones. Having discovered his love of rock and roll in the 1950s, Michael began directing British television in his early twenties, including the live rock show "Ready Steady Go!" During the ensuing...

In this episode, host Ken Womack talks to Don Dannemann and Pat McLoughlin of the American rock band, The Cyrkle. During the 1960s, the Cyrkle scored two Top 40 hits in "Red Rubber Ball" and "Turn-Down Day." The band was formed by guitarists and lead singers Don Dannemann and Tom Dawes, who met while studying at Lafayette College. The group's big break came when they were discovered by attorney Na...

In this episode host Ken Womack talks to Brian Kehew and Kevin Ryan, acclaimed American audio historians, recording engineers, producers, and writers whose work has helped establish a definitive technical history of the Beatles' recording career. They are best known as the co-authors of Recording The Beatles . Originally published in 2006, it is an exhaustive, landmark study of the equipment, micr...

In our Season 8 finale, host Ken Womack welcomes the incomparable, Grammy Award-winning "Queen of Percussion" Sheila E! They discuss how her growing up in a musical family with "the hippest parents in the world" led to her luminous career that included the hits "A Love Bizarre" and "The Glamorous Life," plus working with Prince, Ringo Starr and a host of other artists.

In this episode host Ken Womack welcomes brothers, duo and self-proclaimed "Beatles fanatics" Nat and Alex Wolff. Raised in a show business family, they discuss how they were introduced to the Beatles' music before they were even born, how they went from starring in the hit Nickelodeon TV show "The Naked Brothers Band" to launching their own musical careers, working with Billie Eilish, their new a...

In this episode, host Ken Womack welcomes actor, musician and composer Greg Evigan, best known for his roles on the classic TV shows "B.J. and the Bear" and "My Two Dads." He began his career in the Broadway production of "Jesus Christ Superstar," followed by playing the lead role of Danny Zuko in a stage production of "Grease," and one of his first roles in Hollywood was a bit part in Ringo Starr...

In this episode host Ken Womack welcomes '80s pop sensation Tiffany, who was recently introduced to a new generation of fans thanks to "Stranger Things"! They discuss those '60s covers that skyrocketed her career, who in her family is the biggest Beatles fan, how she launched a culinary side business with her new cookbook "Pop Life," and much more.

In this episode, host Ken Womack welcomes award-winning actor and writer Brendan Hunt! Best known as "Coach Beard" on Apple TV's "Ted Lasso " (which he co-created alongside star Jason Sudeikis and friends), Hunt is now starring in his own one-man stage production, "The Movement You Need," currently showing at Chicago's Steppenwolf Theatre. The play explores Hunt's bittersweet memories of his Chica...

In our Season 8 premiere, host Ken Womack welcomes legendary musician, band leader, actor and comedian Paul Shaffer! In addition to being David Letterman's musical director and sidekick for 33 years, Shaffer has been a featured performer on "Saturday Night Live," guest star in multiple TV and film productions, and served as musical director and producer for the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame induction...

Host Kenneth Womack welcomes acclaimed documentary filmmaker Morgan Neville to discuss his new film on Paul McCartney's career after the Beatles, "Man on the Run." Neville's films include "20 Feet from Stardom," which won an Oscar and a Grammy, and "Won't You Be My Neighbor?" about the legendary TV host Fred Rogers. "Man on the Run" is out in select theatres February 19, and will be streaming on A...

Rob Sheffield joins host Kenneth Womack for a spirited discussion on "Rubber Soul," the Beatles' songwriting, and everything Paul McCartney and Taylor Swift have in common. Sheffield is a longtime writer and critic for Rolling Stone magazine, where he started in 1997. He is the author of the 2024 New York Times bestseller "Heartbreak Is the National Anthem: How Taylor Swift Reinvented Pop Music" a...

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 Tou...

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 co...

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"...

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 albu...

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 an...

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...

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]." Reiser began his career as a stand-up comedian, breaking into film with Barry Levinson's 1982 movie Diner . Reiser starred in the sitcom  My Two Dads  in the late 1980s, and later co-created the television show...

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. Benson recorded his first album The New Boss Guitar , at 21, and followed it up with It's Uptown with the George Benson Quartet. In 1969, he recorded his homage to the Beatles' album Abbey Road , entitled The Ot...

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.  First is the New Zoo Revue , the children's TV show that was broadcast from 1972 through 1977. Designed as a musical comedy, it ran for 196 episodes and imparting valuable life lessons to the prog...

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. As part of a large show business family—including siblings Patricia and David Arquette—Rosanna began acting as a child. Her father, character actor Lewis Arquette, was well known as "J.D. Pickett" on The Waltons , while her mother Mardi was...

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. Jamie Bernstein's 2018 memoir,  Famous Father Girl , traces the story of growing up with composer-conductor Leonard Bernstein, and pianist and actress Felicia Montealegre in an atmosphere bursting with music, the...

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."  Rucker first achieved multi-Platinum status in the music industry as lead singer and rhythm guitarist of the GRAMMY Award-winning band Hootie & the Blowfish, who have sold more than 25 mi...

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. Osborne moved to New York City to attend film school at NYU in the late 1980s, dropping out after becoming involved in the city's downtown music scene. In 1991, Osborne formed her own record label Womanly Hips, releasing her first...

On this episode, acclaimed actor and Beatles fan Jeff Daniels joins "Everything Fab Four" to discuss his experience filming a movie scene with George Harrison and getting his guitar signed by the Quiet Beatle. Across his five decade-long career, Jeff Daniels has worked with some of the world's most revered filmmakers. He made his screen debut in Miloš Forman's Ragtime, and followed with James L. B...