Things We Said Today Beatles Radio Show

            A number of correspondents have asked why the Beatles “Red” and “Blue” album reissues were not covered on Things We Said Today, so in episode 408, Ken Michaels, Allan Kozinn and Darren Devivo catch up with those releases, as well as the more recent “Underdubbed” version of Paul McCartney’s “Band on the Run.” (Allan also offers a preview of the new HMC bootleg release with earlier versions of the “Band on the Run” tracks...

            This was the Things We Said Today panel at the Fest for Beatles Fans at the TWA Hotel, February 10, 2024. Ken Michaels, Darren Devivo and Allan Kozinn were joined by Allan’s McCartney Legacy co-author, Adrian Sinclair, to discuss Paul’s penchant in the mid-70s (i.e., the period covered in The McCartney Legacy Vols. 1 & 2) for recording outside London.  [Thanks to Andy Nicholes of the Two Legs podcast for taping the ...

            During our hiatus we missed a few relatively eventful weeks of news, so in Episode 406, Ken Michaels, Allan Kozinn and Darren Devivo catch up with all that, and discuss some recent news events and releases.

            As always, we welcome your thoughts about this episode of the show or any other episode. We invite you to send your comments about this or any of our other shows to our email address thingswesaidtodayradi...

            In Episode 405, Ken Michaels, Allan Kozinn and Darren Devivo welcome author Bruce Spizer and Beatlefan Executive Editor Al Sussman for a discussion of our time at the recent Fest for Beatles Fans at the TWA Hotel at Kennedy Airport [11:00 to 49:50] and our memories of the start of Beatlemania in the United States, 60 years ago this month [starting at 49:50]. Along the way, we challenge a few of the standard myths about ...

            Episode 404 is our last Things We Said Today for 2023, and it’s a long one – and something different. Catching up with the news of the last few weeks, Ken Michaels, Allan Kozinn and Darren Devivo pay tribute to the late Denny Laine [04:00-33:00], followed by plenty more news [33:00-50:00], But for the main part of the show [at 50:00] we welcome the faculty of the RPM School – Walter Everett, author of the extraordinary ...

In episode 403 of Things We Said Today, Ken Michaels, Allan Kozinn and Darren Devivo speak with the author Kenneth Womack about his excellent new book, “Living the Beatles Legend – The Untold Story of Mal Evans,” and to Mal’s son, Gary Evans.

            During the news segment, Ken noted the streaming version of the concert presented at the Troubadour to raise money for Denny Laine’s medical treatment. Here is the link: https://ww...

In episode 402 of Things We Said Today, Allan Kozinn and Darren Devivo (Ken Michaels is taking a week off) speak with the author in impresario Vivek Tiwary about the 10th anniversary expanded reissue of “The Fifth Beatle,” his graphic (in the graphic novel sense) biography of Brian Epstein. We last spoke with Vivek in episode 241 (back in the audio-only days).

            As always, we welcome your thoughts about this episode of ...

In episode 401 of Things We Said Today, Ken Michaels, Allan Kozinn and Darren Devivo have another lengthy and enlightening discussion with the great director Peter Jackson about the “Now and Then” video – his debut as a music clip director – as well as an extraordinary demonstration of his MAL system and how it has been used to de-mix Beatles recordings to allow stereo (and Atmos) remixes with far more flexibility in placing instru...

To celebrate our 400th episode, Ken Michaels, Allan Kozinn and Darren Devivo welcome back two past co-hosts, Steve Marinucci and Al Sussman, for a look back at some of the show’s history and a discussion of social media, podcasts and other ways of exploring the Beatles legacy, and its effect on the world of Beatles scholarship, fandom and the Beatles popularity in 2023.

Here are the links for several items that were mentioned in th...

In episode 399 of Things We Said Today, Ken Michaels, Allan Kozinn and Darren Devivo have a chat with the producer, engineer, songwriter and multi-instrumentalist Bruce Sugar about his work with Ringo since “Ringo Rama,” and offer their reactions to Ringo’s new EP, “Rewind Forward.”

During the news segment of the show we promised links for Denny Laine’s Go Fund Me page as well as the ticket page for a benefit concert for Denny Lain...

In episode 399 of Things We Said Today, Ken Michaels, Allan Kozinn and Darren Devivo have a chat with the producer, engineer, songwriter and multi-instrumentalist Bruce Sugar about his work with Ringo since “Ringo Rama,” and offer their reactions to Ringo’s new EP, “Rewind Forward.”

During the news segment of the show we promised links for Denny Laine’s Go Fund Me page as well as the ticket page for a benefit concert for Denny Lain...

In episode 398 of Things We Said Today, Ken Michaels, Allan Kozinn and Darren Devivo take a look at John Lennon’s “Mind Games” album on the 50th anniversary of its release, and remember John on what would have been his 83rd birthday.

During the news segment of the show we promised links for Denny Laine’s Go Fund Me page and the All You Need Is Love Beatles Tribute Tour. Here they are:  

Denny Laine: Go Fund Me page: https://www.gof...

In episode 397 of Things We Said Today, Ken Michaels, Allan Kozinn and Darren Devivo talk to Steve Matteo about his new book, “Act Naturally – The Beatles on Film.”

During the show we mention a few people or subjects we’ve also covered in other episodes, so if you missed those, here are the relevant links:

Episode 337:  Our interview with Dr. Bob Hieronymus & Laura Cortner discuss their books about “Yellow Submarine,” – “Inside...

            In episode 396 of Things We Said Today, Ken Michaels, Allan Kozinn and Darren Devivo discuss Ringo’s new track, “Rewind Forward,” Dolly Parton’s new cover of “Let It Be” with Paul and Ringo, and the freshly liberated recording of the Beatles at Stowe, April 4, 1963 – and that’s just the news section. The rest of the show is Wrack Our Brains, an idea we borrowed from our colleagues at Talk More Talk, in which each co-hos...

            In episode 395 of Things We Said Today, Ken Michaels, Allan Kozinn and Darren Devivo choose their favorite and least favorite tracks from each of the Beatles British albums. It was harder than we expected, particularly selecting “least favorite” tracks, since let’s face it, the Beatles were the zenith of Western Civ and there are no actual bad tracks. (Hey…I heard that. No. There aren’t.)

As always, we welcome your thou...

            In episode 395 of Things We Said Today, Ken Michaels, Allan Kozinn and Darren Devivo choose their favorite and least favorite tracks from each of the Beatles British albums. It was harder than we expected, particularly selecting “least favorite” tracks, since let’s face it, the Beatles were the zenith of Western Civ and there are no actual bad tracks. (Hey…I heard that. No. There aren’t.)

As always, we welcome your thou...

            In episode 394 of Things We Said Today, Ken Michaels, Allan Kozinn and Darren Devivo reconvene for another chat with Mark Rivera, the saxophonist and multi-instrumentalist who has been the music director of Ringo Starr’s All-Starr Bands since the 1990s, as well as being a member of Billy Joel’s band since 1982, having worked with many other artists as well. This time we continue our discussion with Mark about working wi...

            In episode 393 of Things We Said Today, Ken Michaels, Allan Kozinn and Darren Devivo have a chat with Mark Rivera, the saxophonist and multi-instrumentalist who has been the music director of Ringo Starr’s All-Starr Bands since the 1990s, as well as being a member of Billy Joel’s band since 1982, and having worked with many other artists. We had such a good time – but had so many questions left when we ran out of time –...

            In episode 392 of Things We Said Today, Ken Michaels, Allan Kozinn and Darren Devivo celebrate Paul McCartney’s 81st birthday (on June 18) by choosing one favorite song of his from each decade he has been working – from the 1960s to the present.

            In the news segment, Ken noted the passing of Chas Newby, who played bass for the Beatles very briefly at the end of 1960. Here is a link to the Things We Said Today...