AccuRadio Song Of The Day-Voices That Care

Artist:Voices That Carry

Song:Voices That Carry

Album:Rechordings

Back in the 80s, most music fans remember charity singles like Do They Know It's Christmas by Band Aid (1984) and We Are the World by USA for America (1985). Here's a 1991 single called Voices That Carry that reached #11 on the Billboard Hot 100. The single was supposed to boost the morale of the US Troops in Operation Desert Storm and the International Red Cross. Of course there was a music video and then a documentary aired on Fox on Feb. 28,1991. That was the date desert storm ended. I don't think that Voices That Carry was as successful as We Are the World. The song was written by David Foster, Linda Thompson and Peter Cetera. Of course Foster produced and arranged the record. Typically this kind of single is only released as a single. After a little investigation, I found that Foster released Voices That Carry on his 1991 album Rechordings. It's available as a budget CD. Among the singers who appeared on this record in order are Ralph Tresvant, Randy Travis, Celine Dion, Peter Cetera, Bobby Brown, Brenda Russell, Jani Lane of Warrant, Luther Vandross, Garth Brooks, Kathy Mattea, Gunner & Matthew Nelson, Michael Bolton, The Pointer Sisters, Little Richard and Will Smith. Mark Knopfler plays the guitar and Kenny G plays the sax. The end of the song was sung by Warren Wiebe. When I was watching the video, I didn't know about him. He was a session singer and very good friends with Foster. He committed suicide in 1998. Not surprisingly, there's also a choir. You should recognize Ahmad Rashad, basketball players Clyde Drexler, Dominique Wilkins, David Robinson, Michael Jordan and Magic Johnson. Plus hockey player Wayne Gretzky. Everyone is on Wikipedia so you look for yourself. They tend to go overboard with these charity singles. And in this case, it's a little too similar to We Are the World. Here's the video for Voices That Carry by Voices That Carry. 

AccuRadio Song Of The Day-Keiko Matsui

Artist:Keiko Matsui

Song:Safari

Album:Sapphire

Japanese jazz pianist Keiko Matsui has been very successful in the smooth jazz market since the 90s. She writes and produces everything with husband Kazu Matsui. She's bounced around a lot of labels but she currently distributes through Shanachie. She was born Keiko Doi July 26, 1961 in Tokyo. Keiko began taking piano lessons at age six. At first she studied classical piano. But she got interested in jazz as a teen and she started writing. Keiko studied children's culture at Japan Women's University and then she studied at the Yamaha Music Foundation. She started the band Cosmos and recorded several albums for the Japanese label Pony Canyon. Then she met and married Kazu Matsui. He plays the Japanese Bamboo Flute. You have probably heard him in films. Keiko signed a solo deal with Passport Records. They were soon taken over by MCA. Her husband produces all her albums. She moved to the Japanese label White Cat in 1992. They were distributed in the US by Unity. Safari is from the 1995 album Sapphire. It topped Billboard's Contemporary Jazz chart. She's been popular in the smooth jazz market since then. The album includes guest vocals by Karla Bonoff and Valerie Carter. Musicians include Paul Taylor on sax, Rob Mullins on keyboards, Derek Nakamoto on bass and Lenny Castro on percussion. This album is available on CD. Shout Factory has the rights to Keiko's 90s albums. Keiko recorded for Narada in the 00s. Since 2011 she has recorded for Shanachie. Her latest CD was released in 2023. Keiko will begin a tour in August that will run through November. And she will do a couple of jazz cruises in Feb. 2026. Keiko puts on a pretty good show so I recommend her to smooth jazz fans. Here's the video for Safari by Keiko Matsui.

 

AccuRadio Song Of The Day-Richard Bona

Artist:Richard Bona

Song:Te Dikalo

Album:Scenes from My Life

Richard Bona was born in Cameroon but he now lives in New York City. He's mainly a bassist but he plays other instruments. And he also sings. His albums are usually a mix of jazz and African music. These days he's mainly a sideman. He last recorded as a leader in 2016 and he seems to prefer being part of a band anyway. He was born Bona Pinder Yayumayalolo Oct. 28, 1967 in Minta, Cameroon into a family of musicians. His grandfather was a singer and so was his mother. Bona learned to play the balafon which is an African xylophone. And he made his own instruments. He started playing in French clubs as a teen. And that's when he learned about jazz. As a tribute to Jaco Pastorius, Bona made the bass his main instrument. Bona moved to Dusseldorf, Germany to study music and then he moved to Paris. As I have said before, there is a significant community of African musicians in Paris. While in Paris, Bona played jazz clubs with guys like Manu Dibango, Salif Keita and Didier Lockwood. Bona moved to New York in 1995 and played with Joe Zawinul, The Brecker Brothers, Branford Marsalis and many others. Then he signed with Columbia Records and released his 1999 debut album Scenes from My Life. Bona wrote, produced and arranged everything and it looks like he played most of the instruments too. He toured with Pat Metheny in 2002. Bona recorded two albums for Columbia. He has also recorded for Universal, EMI and Qwest. His latest album was released in 2016. He still plays shows but he's mostly a sideman these days. He's a member of Mandoki Soulmates which is an all star band led by drummer Leslie Mandoki. Here's Richard Bona performing Te Dikalo at the 2006 North Sea Jazz Festival in Rotterdam, The Netherlands.

 

AccuRadio Song Of The Day-Larry Fleet

Artist:Larry Fleet

Song:Where I Find God

Album:Stack of Records

Country music singer songwriter Larry Fleet got a record deal after appearing on the TV talent competition show Real Country. The 2021 single Where I Find God is his biggest hit to date. He was born Feb.14,1986 in White Bluff, TN. His great grandfather and uncle had a bluegrass band. He played with them as a child. His uncle taught him to play guitar. Fleet played local clubs for a couple of years before he decided to move to Nashville to try and get a record deal. Jake Owen saw Fleet perform at a wedding. Owen was a judge on the USA Network singing competition show Real Country. Fleet finished second on the show and that got him a record deal at Big Loud Records and producer Joey Moi who produced Florida Georgia Line. Where I Find God was the first single and it reached #43 on the Country Singles chart. This was followed by the album Stack of Records. Fleet wrote all the songs with co-writers. For Where I Find God, Connie Harrington discovered Fleet through social media where he posted a gospel song every Sunday. She asked him if he wanted to write with her and Where I Find God is the song they wrote. Connie has written hits for Terri Clark and Blake Shelton. This album is available as a digital download. The 2023 album Earned It did not do as well. It makes me wonder if Fleet will have long term success. He might be better off sticking to songwriting. He doesn't seem distinctive enough for me. Judge for yourself. Here's the video for Where I Find God by Larry Fleet.

 

AccuRadio Song Of The Day-Chip Zien

Artist:Chip Zien f/ Tom Aldredge

Song:No More

Album:Into the Woods: Original Broadway Cast

Actor Chip Zien is best known for playing The Baker in the 1987 production of Stephen Sondheim's Broadway musical Into the Woods. He's appeared in films and TV. But he seems to prefer Broadway. He recently returned to Broadway in a new musical Harmony. He was born Mar. 20, 1947 in Milwaukee. After studying at the University of Pennsylvania, Zien moved to New York. In the 70s, he appeared in shows like All Over Town and Redemption Center. His most significant TV role was in the NBC sitcom Love, Sidney as Tony Randall's boss. He finally got his big break on Broadway playing The Baker in the Stephen Sondheim musical Into the Woods. He appeared in that show from 1985-89 and he also appeared in a 2012 revival of the show. Other significant shows include Falsettos in 1992 and most recently in the Barry Manilow musical Harmony. His most significant film was the 2006 film United 93. On TV, other than the series I mentioned, he does plenty of guest shots. He lives in New York and is married to dance instructor Susan Pilarre. They have two kids. Into the Woods is still the biggest show Zien appeared in and the Original Broadway Cast is available on CD. Here's Chip Zien featuring Tom Aldredge performing No More in the Broadway musical Into the Woods. 

AccuRadio Song Of The Day-The Postal Service

Artist:The Postal Service

Song:The District Sleeps Alone Tonight

Album:Give Up: Deluxe 10th Anniversary Edition

Most music fans should be familiar with Ben Gibbard as the leader of the very popular band Death Cab for Cutie. The Postal Service was a side project that Gibbard formed with producer Jimmy "Dntel" Tamborello and Jenny Lewis of Rilo Kiley. The 2003 album Give Up was certified Platinum. That's excellent for an indie release. But Gibbard is so busy with Death Cab for Cutie that he never got around to recording a second Postal Service album. The band was formed after Gibbard appeared on a Dntel song called (This Is) The Dream of Evan and Chan from 2001 Dntel album Life Is Full of Possibilities. The song was so well received that both guys wanted to collaborate more. Jenny Lewis was brought in to contribute vocals. The name The Postal Service was because the collaboration was long distance. They sent recordings back and forth via FedEx and UPS. The album Give Up was released in 2003 on Sub Pop and it did really well. Songs were used in commercials and on the TV show Grey's Anatomy. They toured to support it. The US Postal Service sent a cease and desist letter to stop using the name. Gibbard worked out a licensing deal. So Gibbard had every intention of continuing The Postal Service. Gibbard started working on a new album in 2007. But Gibbard and Tamborello had difficulty working around their busy schedules. Gibbard finally admitted in 2012 that there wasn't going to be a second Postal Service album. He just didn't have the time. In 2013, The Postal Service released a 10th Anniversary 2CD Deluxe Edition of Give Up. They even toured to promote it. After the tour, Gibbard announced that The Postal Service had officially disbanded and there would be no second album. Well, almost. A documentary was released in 2014. And a live album was released in 2020. Except The Postal Service reunited for a 20th anniversary tour with Death Cab for Cutie in 2023. At the end of the tour, Gibbard admitted that Death Cab for Cutie takes up too much of his time to record a second Postal Service album. Maybe he should have said that twenty years ago. Here's the video for The District Sleeps Alone Tonight by The Postal Service.

AccuRadio Song Of The Day-Diana Ross & The Supremes

Artist:Diana Ross & The Supremes

Song:Someday We'll Be Together

Album:Anthology

The 1969 single Someday We'll Be Together was significant for two reasons. It was The Supremes final #1 hit and Diana Ross' final single with The Supremes before she went solo. Changes like this always drove Motown owner Berry Gordy nuts. The big problem with The Supremes was Florence Ballard wanted to sing lead and Gordy wouldn't allow it. Diana was the star. Florence suffered from depression and started drinking heavily and showing up inebriated. So who was going to  replace her? Gordy ultimately went with Cindy Birdsong of Patti LaBelle & The Blue Belles. She was already used to being a backup singer. She was still under contract to The Blue Belles so Gordy eventually bought out her contract. Gordy tried to get Florence to quit voluntarily. But after a drunken incident at the Flamingo Hotel in Las Vegas, Cindy permanently replaced her and Florence was fired. By 1968, there were already plans in place for Diana to leave The Supremes. Gordy had even decided that Jean Terrell would replace her. While performing with The Supremes at night, Diana was recording solo during the day. Someday We'll Be Together was supposed to be Diana's first solo single. But Gordy wanted a final Supremes #1 hit. So he released it as a Diana Ross & The Supremes record. Of course it topped the charts. It was not a new song. Harvey Fuqua, Johnny Bristol and Jackey Beavers wrote it and she sang it with her brother Johnny in 1961. Bristol unearthed the song and produced this new version with Fuqua who was the leader of The Moonglows and a Motown house producer. On the record, you can hear Bristol singing along with Diana. Since it was supposed to be a Diana Ross record, the background vocals were by Julia Waters, Maxine Waters and Merry Clayton. After they performed it on The Ed Sullivan Show, that was it. Jean Terrell was introduced at the Frontier Hotel in Las Vegas on Jan. 14, 1970. Gordy was so jittery that he wanted to replace Jean with Syreeta Wright. But Mary Wilson put her foot down and wouldn't allow it. The new version of The Supremes probably would have been more successful if Gordy had liked them. But they had some success until they disbanded for good in 1976. You can get all of The Supremes' hits on this 2CD budget comp. Here's The Supremes performing Someday We'll Be Together on The Ed Sullivan Show Dec. 21, 1969.