Singer, actress and (as dubbed by David Letterman) "Christmas Queen" Darlene Love joined host Kenneth Womack to talk about being a contemporary of the Beatles in the 1960s music scene and more on the latest episode of "Everything Fab Four," a podcast co-produced by me and Womack (a music scholar who also writes about pop music for Salon) and distributed by Salon.
Rock and Roll Hall of Fame member Love, who was born Darlene Wright, is best known for her holiday hit "Christmas (Baby Please Come Home)," in addition to her vocals on records by "girl group" The Crystals and her acting roles such as in the "Lethal Weapon" film series. Her beginnings were modest, having started out singing in the Los Angeles church choir where her father was the pastor — that is, of course, before beginning work in 1962 with notorious producer Phil Spector (who'd given her the "Love" surname for recording, and who also worked on several Beatles-related projects). In light of his later troubles, Love explains to Womack, "I will say this: He was not the same guy to me back then that he later came to be."
