Everything Fab Four

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Episode 26: Dave Mason of Traffic on Being Part of the 1960s London Rock Renaissance Feb 08, 2022

Show notes

Kenneth Womack's guest on this episode of "Everything Fab Four" is English singer/songwriter Dave Mason, who first found fame and was inducted into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame for his work with the rock band Traffic. He wrote and sang lead on Traffic's 1968 single "Feelin Alright?" which also went on to become a hit for Joe Cocker and throughout the years has been covered by a wide range of artists, from the Jackson 5 to Widespread Panic. Over the course of his legendary career, Mason has played and recorded with many notable musicians, including Paul McCartney and George Harrison, and on Jimi Hendrix's version of "All Along the Watchtower." In this conversation, Mason talks about being a young musician in London when the Beatles hit, listening to "Sgt. Pepper" at George Harrison's house, what it was like playing with Jimi, and more.

Episode 25: Janis Ian on the Beatles, "Baby Shark" and the origins of "At Seventeen" Jan 25, 2022

Show notes

Singer/songwriter Janis Ian started her music career as a folk prodigy, writing and recording "Society's Child," her groundbreaking 1966 song about an interracial couple, at age 14. She won a Grammy Award for her 1975 hit "At Seventeen" and the song was inducted into the Grammy Hall of Fame in 2008. Her new EP, "The Light at the End of the Line," her first album of new material in 15 years, will be followed by her farewell North American tour this year. In this conversation, she and host Ken Womack talk about the impact of technology on creativity, her Beatles fan origin story, the violent reactions her groundbreaking song "Society's Child" faced, the origins of "At Seventeen," and the enduring appeal of "Baby Shark."

Episode 24: Rickie Lee Jones on John Lennon, Paul McCartney and the women in their songs Jan 11, 2022

Show notes

On this episode of "Everything Fab Four," host Kenneth Womack interviews the Duchess of Coolsville herself, two-time Grammy Award-winning singer/songwriter Rickie Lee Jones. In their conversation, she breaks down the differences in how John Lennon and Paul McCartney wrote women in their songs, how to keep a creative body of work innovative, how the Beatles' map of songwriting influenced hers, and her 2021 memoir, "Last Chance Texaco."

Episode 23: Weird Al's childhood promise: "Some day when I'm super rich I'm going to own every Beatles album" Dec 14, 2021

Show notes

"Weird Al" Yankovic has come a long way since his days making music in his bedroom with an accordion and a "cheesy little cassette tape recorder" and submitting to the Dr. Demento Show. On this episode, he and Ken talk about how Al's songwriting process has become more elaborate over the years, the story behind why Paul McCartney vetoed his "Live and Let Die" parody, getting a cease and desist from George Harrison's lawyer, and his upcoming tour, which he hopes will be a "a super-spreader of joy."

Episode 22: Hayley Mills on a date with her favorite Beatle: "It was an unforgettable evening" Nov 30, 2021

Show notes

English actress Hayley Mills was a child screen prodigy. During her initial six-year run at Disney, she appeared in six films, including a career-making turn as twins in "The Parent Trap." Her memoir "Forever Young" is out now. In this conversation with host Ken Womack, Mills recounts being a Beatles fan from the early days — including the time she went on a date with George Harrison — and now one of three generations of Beatles fans in her family. She also talks about what Walt Disney was like at work, and how adults in her life reacted to her sudden child-star status.

Episode 21: Margaret Cho on why "there were really about ten Beatles" Nov 02, 2021

Show notes

Margaret Cho is a Grammy and Emmy Award nominated stand-up comedian, actress, and singer-songwriter. In this episode, she and host Ken Womack talk about her journey to becoming a comic, her gateway album into Beatles fandom, and why her favorite Beatle — of, she suggests, up to ten Beatles in total — would have been Brian Epstein.

Episode 20: Ed Begley Jr. on how he helped "SNL" try to reunite the Beatles Oct 19, 2021

Show notes

Season 3 launches with actor and environmental activist Ed Begley Jr. ("Better Call Saul," "Ghostbusters: Answer the Call," "A Mighty Wind"). Our host Kenneth Womack sits down with Begley to talk about a night out with Harry Nilsson that led to dinner at the Dakota with John Lennon and Yoko Ono and how that led to Begley playing a role in the "Saturday Night Live" on-air campaign to try to reunite the Beatles; how he successfully helped bring the late George Harrison's legendary Rosewood Telecaster back to George's family, and how Greta Thunberg is inspiring him to do even more for the environment.

Episode 19: Richard Marx on Ringo's "stunning" skills and why Lionel Richie is "an angel in my life" Jul 07, 2021

Show notes

Richard Marx's self-titled first album went triple platinum in 1987. Between then and 1994, he racked up 14 top 20 hits, including radio classics like "Endless Summer Nights" and "Right Here Waiting." The prolific songwriter and musical collaborator is also now an author — Stories to Tell, his candid and entertaining memoir about the art and business of music, is out now. In this episode of "Everything Fab Four," he and host Ken Womack talk about how Paul McCartney's melodies influenced his songwriting, singing "Help!" in Berlin when the wall came down, why "Ringo's everything you want Ringo to be," and the day when the "incredibly kind" Lionel Richie called him, a 17-year-old aspiring songwriter, and changed his life.

Episode 18: K. Flay on "Sgt. Pepper's" and her dynamic creative process Jun 22, 2021

Show notes

Genre-defying singer/songwriter K. Flay was raised by parents who were "Beatles over Stones, one hundred percent," and as a kid she was drawn to "acid trip Beatles-ness" songs. In this wide-ranging conversation with host Ken Womack about creativity and creation, K. Flay discusses why genre doesn't matter, Baby Boomers, her approach to songwriting, collaborating with Tom Morello, and how the Beatles prepared us for playlist culture.

Episode 17: Seeing rock history through photographer Ethan Russell's lens Jun 08, 2021

Show notes

Ethan Russell is one of rock's most influential photographers — and the only one to shoot album covers for the Beatles, The Who and The Rolling Stones, whose work he also chronicled as the band's primary photographer from 1968-72, including their ill-fated Altamont show. Pete Townshend once called him "the civilized eye of an uncivilized art form — rock and roll." Through his camera, Russell has had a front-row seat to many of rock's great historical moments, including shooting the Beatles' "Let It Be" cover and the band's final photo session. But his life could have gone in an entirely different direction. "If Cambridge had accepted me, I never would have done the cover for 'Let It Be,'" Russell tells our host, Ken Womack during their wide-ranging conversation about his career and experiences in documenting so many iconic moments in rock.

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