October 6, 2020
#204 The Word & #203 Flying w/ Debbie Davis (singer, Debbie Davis & The Mezmerizers, Oh Crap! It's Christmas)
Ranking The BeatlesAbout this episode
There's a reason The Beatles are so associated with the word "love." While they wrote a huge amount of songs about romantic love, they became the flag-bearers for love as a universal cause. #204 "The Word" marks the first time we see the Fabs stepping into that spokesperson role, espousing the power of love and peace. Just two years later, on the heels of telling the world love was all they needed, they found a way to turn the most simple melody into an absurdly catchy instrumental for a spaced out druggy film, which is were we find ourselves with #203, "Flying." This week, we finally escape sausage land and get another dose of estrogen on our show! We're joined by powerhouse vocalist Debbie Davis, who's been singing professionally since she was 2 years old. Known as one of New Orleans' premier jazz vocalists, she's performed all over the world, accompanied by a variety of groups, duos, and with her signature ukulele. With Debbie in tow, we discuss the genre-crossing power of a good pop song, the confusion is can cause performers in figuring out how to end songs live where the Beatles faded them out, the Fabs touching on Motown and New Orleans R&B, using body parts for percussion, serving birthday cake to Sir Paul and watching him be a normal human when he walks out the wrong door. This episode was recorded Sept 9th, which was a BONKERS news days. We wondered aloud how weird things would be when we released the episode in early October. Yikes. Debbie's latest album is a duo release with pianist Josh Paxton, and is called "Interesting Times." This episode features the song "Other Than Everything, Everything's Great," as well as a live cover of "When I'm 64" from her and Josh's live album "Vices and Virtues." Both albums, as well as as the rest of Debbie's music, including her WONDERFUL "Oh Crap! It's Christmas" album can be heard at www.debbiedavismusic.com. You should buy them, because she's incredible. Be sure to follow along, leave your comments, and join in on the discussion on the rankings at Facebook (facebook.com/rankingthebeatles) and on Instagram @rankingthebeatles. Enjoying the show and want to show your support? Check out https://anchor.fm/rankingthebeatles/support!