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].”

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 Mad About You, one of the defining c...

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 Other Side of Abbey Road.

Things real...

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 program’s legions of child viewers. The...

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 a poet, political activist, and the...

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, theatre and literature. Famous Father G...

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 million albums worldwide. Their Doub...

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 album Soul Show: Live at Delta 88...

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. Brooks's Terms of Endearment, Woody...

English-American music icon Billy Idol joins Everything Fab Four to discuss the exhilaration of being a Beatle fan “in real time” and how his voice was mistaken for Paul McCartney’s.

Billy Idol began his rock n roll career as the guitarist for Chelsea, subsequently achieving renown on the London punk rock scene in the 1970s, when he performed as the lead singer for Generation X. His career truly exploded in the 1980s when he moved...

To celebrate the sixtieth anniversary of the Beatles’ first appearance on the Ed Sullivan Show, our guests revisit the evening that the Beatles graced their living rooms for the first time, on this special episode of Everything Fab Four. These Beatles lovers include Steven van Zandt from Bruce Springsteen’s E Street Band, R&B singer Darlene Love, actor Billy Bob Thornton, and even one lucky audience member from that first Ed Sulliv...

Brian 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 earl...

On this episode, Grammy Award-winning American singer-songwriter and activist Joan Baez joins host Ken Womack to share her memories of meeting the Beatles for the first time and witnessing their final live concert.

Baez's time-eclipsing folk music often champions songs of protest and social justice. Over the years, she has recorded 30 albums in genres ranging from folk rock, pop and country to gospel music. As a performer, Baez has...

Sophie B. Hawkins, the Grammy-nominated American singer, songwriter, multi-instrumentalist, and painter, joins host Kenneth Womack on the season five finale episode of “Everything Fab Four.” Hawkins started her Beatles journey as a kid with “Revolver,” and remembers playing along with tennis racket guitars and couch cushion drums. “Even as a non-musician, you can sing basically every part.” In this conversation, she digs deep into ...

This week's guests are Margo Precht Speciale and Andrew Solt, who join host Kenneth Womack for a special episode devoted to celebrating the 75th anniversary of The Ed Sullivan Show and its lasting impact on American culture, including Beatles fandom.

The granddaughter of Ed Sullivan, Precht is a documentary filmmaker, as well as a UCLA graduate with a degree in Sociology. Her latest project traces her grandfather’s life and work as...

On this episode, the Boxmasters — an American rock band comprised of Grammy Award-winning recording engineer J.D. Andrew and Academy Award-winning actor Billy Bob Thornton — join host Ken Womack for a spirited discussion of songwriting, recording, and what Thornton says is "the most difficult thing about being a Beatles fan."

Formed in 2007, the Boxmasters have recorded a diverse catalog of music that touches on their shared love o...

Ken Womack's guest this week is Grammy-nominated American jazz guitarist Dan Wilson. Hailing from Akron, Ohio, Wilson made his recording debut with pianist Joe McBride and performed to worldwide acclaim with Joey DeFrancesco and Christian McBride’s Tip City, eventually recording his debut as a band leader with "To Whom It May Concern" in 2012. Over the years, Wilson has shared the stage with a host of jazz greats including Eric Mar...

In this episode, Ken Womack talks with Grammy Award-winning singer-songwriter Madison Cunningham. She made her recording debut in 2014 with the self-released gospel album “Authenticities,” which reflected her exploration of faith. In 2017, Cunningham joined the cast of American Public Media’s “Live from Here.” In 2019, she released her breakthrough LP "Who Are You Now," nominated for the Best Americana Album Grammy. Her 2020 EP, “W...

Legendary singer-songwriter, author, and rock ‘n’ roll star Ian Hunter's illustrious career is now in its seventh decade. His rock ‘n’ roll life has long been marked by collaboration, from the golden age of Mott the Hoople to his fabled partnership with Mick Ronson and 21st-century renaissance with his crack backing combo, the Rant Band. Over the years, Hunter has enjoyed numerous chart successes, especially Mott the Hoople’s inter...

This episode’s guest is Barbara Feldon, a model, author and actress best known for portraying “Agent 99” on the classic ‘60s sitcom “Get Smart.”

Feldon was born Barbara Anne Hall in a suburb of Pittsburgh and studied drama at Carnegie Mellon University. Soon after, she departed for New York City to pursue a career in acting, where a stint as a showgirl led to her appearance on the game show, “The $64,000 Question,” where she took h...