In Episode 409 of Things We Said Today, Darren Devivo, Ken Michaels and Allan Kozinn have a chat with Dana Klosner about her book “Beatlemania Lives On – Superfans in the 21st Century,” a fun read about the current state of Beatle fandom, based on interviews with everyone from Peter Asher and Laurence Juber to fans who have turned their onstage autographs into tattoos, with authors, DJs (Darren was among her interviewees) and Beatles tribute band musicians. For those who prefer to...

            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.) For those who want to listen selectively, the news segment...

            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 session. Apologies for any sound issues - this was a live...

            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 [email protected], join our "Things We Said Today Beatles Fans"...

            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 the time and the Beatles’ visit. For fans of the news segment,...

            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 “The Beatles As Musicians” two-volume set, Jack Petruzzelli,...

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://www.youtube.com/watch?v=vPigWiKgyf8             As always, we...

  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 the show or any other episode. We invite you to send your...

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 instruments and voices in a stereo soundstage than has ever been...

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 the news segment this time and in recent shows: Denny Laine’s Go...

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 Laine. Here are the links: Denny Laine: Go Fund Me...

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 Laine. Here are the links: Denny Laine: Go Fund Me...

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...

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 The Yellow Submarine” and “It’s All In the Mind – Inside the...

            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-host poses two opinion questions that the others haven’t heard in...

            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 thoughts about this episode of the show or any other episode. We...

            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 thoughts about this episode of the show or any other episode. We...

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 with Ringo, and also discuss with Mark the (mostly Beatles) tracks on which...

            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 – that we’ll be speaking with Mark again for our next show, so...

            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 episode in which Ken and Steve Marinucci interviewed Mr....

            In episode 391 of Things We Said Today, Ken Michaels, Allan Kozinn and Darren Devivo discuss George Harrison’s “Living in the Material World” album – Ken’s favorite album of all time – on its 50th anniversary (along with a quick overview of what George got from the “Bhagavad Gita,” and what he was telling us about it through the album). 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...

              In episode 390 of Things We Said Today, Ken Michaels, Allan Kozinn and Darren Devivo revisit “The Beatles 1962-1966” (the “Red” Album) and “1967-1970” (the “Blue” Album) on their 50th anniversary, each adding (and in some cases deleting) tracks to make updated 2023 versions. 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...

            In episode 389 of Things We Said Today, Ken Michaels, Allan Kozinn and Darren Devivo speak with Denny Seiwell, who played drums on the RAM album and became the first drummer for Wings (1971-3). The subject is mostly Red Rose Speedway, released 50 years ago this month, but Denny discusses other aspects of his time with Wings as well.             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...

            In episode 388 of Things We Said Today, Ken Michaels, Allan Kozinn and Darren Devivo celebrate the 60th anniversary of the release of the Beatles first UK LP, “Please Please Me” by looking at various aspects of the album and its individual tracks. (Plus a rare cameo by Yoda, one of Allan’s cats.) 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...