AccuRadio Song Of The Day-George Winston

Artist:George Winston

Song:Thanksgiving

Album:December

Back in the 1950s, there was a significant market for easy listening instrumental music aimed at an older audience. These are people who listened to Glenn Miller and Tommy Dorsey in the 40s. When swing faded, they needed something to listen to. They weren't going to listen to bebop or Rock 'n' Roll. Probably the main easy listening instrumental artist of the 50s was Percy Faith. He was a house arranger for Mitch Miller at Columbia Records. All the major labels released this kind of music. And it was a consistent seller until the market for it dried up in the late 60s. That's when guitarist William Ackerman saw a need in the marketplace and started Windham Hill Records. Windham Hill's best selling artist was pianist George Winston. His albums from the 80s like December are still consistent sellers today. It's much different from Percy Faith but it's aimed at a similar audience. Winston was born Feb. 11, 1949 in Hart, MI. but he grew up in Miles City, MT. His big musical influence was Vince Guaraldi's music for the 1965 TV special A Charlie Brown Christmas. He was influenced by jazz legends Fats Waller and Earl Hines to play solo piano. Winston first recorded in 1972 for guitarist John Fahey's Takoma label. Guitarist William Ackerman started Windham Hill Records in 1975 to record his own solo acoustic guitar. He invited some of his like minded friends to record. The big difference between Takoma and Windham Hill is Windham hill had major label distribution through A&M Records. And that's when Winston sent a demo to Ackerman. Winston would soon become Windham Hill's best selling artist. The 1980 album Autumn and the 1982 album Winter into Spring were both certified Platinum. And the 1982 album December has been certified 3XPlatinum. December is technically a Christmas album. But Winston said it's a tribute to the winter season influenced by his upbringing in Montana. It's all solo piano and Winston wrote most of the songs including Thanksgiving. This album is available on CD. So now the music business had to find a label for this music. At first Billboard called it "soft jazz" but ultimately called it New Age because it was ambient and much different from the easy listening music of the past. Winston and Windham Hill had continued success in the 80s. Winston was nominated for a Grammy for his 1984 album The Velveteen Rabbit narrated by Meryl Streep. He also composed the music for the 1988 miniseries This Is America, Charlie Brown. And he recorded a Vince Guaraldi tribute album. After PolyGram purchased A&M in 1989, Ackerman sold Windham Hill to BMG in 1992. They closed Windham Hill in 2007. After that, Winston recorded for RCA and Sony Classical until his death from cancer on June 4, 2023 at age 74. Here's George Winston performing Thanksgiving.

AccuRadio Song Of The Day-Nick Heyward

Artist:Nick Heyward

Song:Whistle Down the Wind

Album:The Greatest Hits of Nick Heyward & Haircut One Hundred

Nick Heyward was the lead singer and songwriter of the British band Haircut One Hundred. After they had success mostly in England, Heyward left to go solo. Haircut One Hundred's biggest hit in the US was the top 40 single Love Plus One. Heyward was born May 20, 1961 in Beckenham, Kent, England but he grew up in South London. Heyward studied art in school and he has worked as commercial artist since he left school at age 16. So music is a sideline for him. He formed Haircut One Hundred with friends from school and their 1982 album Pelican West on Arista did very well in England. They were about to record their second album when Heyward announced he was going solo. He said he had already recorded with Abbey Road Studios recording engineer Geoff Emerick and session musicians. He was still on Arista. The 1983 album North of a Miracle featured the single Whistle Down the Wind. It reached #13 on the British Singles chart. Fans here may have heard the song in the 1983 film Sixteen Candles and it appears on the soundtrack album. This comp has a mix of solo and Haircut One Hundred songs. Heyward has also recorded for Reprise, Epic, Creation and most recently on his own label in 2017. But he hasn't had the same success that he had with Haircut One Hundred. Commercial art is still his main business. But he continues to perform and has reunited with Haircut One Hundred occasionally. Here's the video of Whistle Down the Wind by Nick Heyward. 

Big Bad Blog Video Theater-Tecia Pennington vs Luana Pinheiro

Here's the fight video of Tecia Pennington vs Luana Pinheiro from last night's UFC show in Las Vegas. This fight is at Strawweight. Tecia is 35 years old. She trains at Pound 4 Pound Muay Thai in Colorado Springs, CO. with coach Justin Houghton. Her UFC record is 10-7. She's a striker with no ground game or punching power. So she tends to be in close fights. Look, she's been in the UFC since 2015 and she was in last night's curtain jerker. Shouldn't that send a message to her? Luana is 31 years old from Belo Horizonte, Brazil. She trains at BH Rhinos with coach Christiano Lazzarini. Her UFC record is 3-3 and she's on a three fight losing streak. She said in interviews this week that she was going to take Tecia down and submit her. But she didn't do that. Instead it was three rounds of nothing. Neither was any good. The judges gave Tecia rounds one and three and Luana round two. It could have gone the other way. If Luana had shown any aggression, she would have won the fight. Instead, they both stunk out the joint. Afterwards, Tecia complained about not being ranked higher. But when she wins by a questionable decision, she doesn't deserve to be ranked at all. Enjoy the video! 

Big Bad Blog Video Theater-Denise Gomes vs Elise Reed

Here's the fight video of Denise Gomes vs Elise Reed from last night's UFC show in Las Vegas. This fight is at Strawweight. Denise is 25 years old. She's a former PRVT fighter who now trains at The GAEA Project with Jessica Aguilar. Her UFC record is 4-2. In her last fight, she beat former title contender Karolina Kowalkeiwicz. Elise is 32 years old. She trains at Kickside Martial Arts in Princeton, NJ with coach John Kanabay. Her UFC record is 4-4. I never thought she belonged in the UFC so a release wouldn't surprise me if she loses. Denise wins round one easily 10-9. Then in round two, she nails Elise with a left hook and pounds her until the ref stops it at 30 seconds of round two. Enjoy the video! 

Big Bad Blog Video Theater-Luana Santos vs Tainara Lisboa

Here's the fight video of Luana Santos vs Tainara Lisboa from last night's UFC show in Las Vegas. This fight is at Bantamweight. Luana is 25 years old from Sao Paulo, Brazil. She is now training with John Wood at Syndicate MMA in Las Vegas. Her UFC record is 3-1. She lost her last fight and was so unhappy that she moved to Vegas. The move to Bantamweight is because it's an easier path to the top of the division. Tainara is 34 years old from Sao Paulo, Brazil. She trains at DAMAS 013 with coach Bruno Polengo. Her UFC record is 2-0. We haven't seen her since 2013 because she had knee surgery. Luana didn't waste any time taking Tainara down. She controlled from top position but wasn't able to advance her position. Luana won round one 10-9. She did the same in round two and at the end of the round, she submitted Tainara with an Americana at 4:59 of round two. This was the first Americana submission in a UFC women's match. Luana said afterwards that she plans to continue to fight at Bantamweight. Enjoy the video! 

AccuRadio Song Of The Day-Robert Lindsay

Artist:Robert Lindsay w/Maryann Plunkett and Company

Song:Lambeth Walk

Album:Me and My Girl

Actor Robert Lindsay is best known for his many appearances on the London stage and on TV. He has appeared with the Royal Shakespeare Company and has been awarded two Olivier awards and a British Academy Television award. But in his only Broadway appearance, he won a Tony for the 1986 production of the musical Me and My Girl. He was born Dec. 13, 1949 in Ilkeston, Derbyshire, England. He attended Clarendon College and then the Royal Academy of Dramatic Art in London and graduated in 1970. After appearing in a couple of films and TV episodes, he was a regular on the ITV sitcom Get Some In! (1975-77) and then he starred in the BBC sitcom Citizen Smith (1977-80). This was followed by several appearances in the BBC Television Shakespeare series. And that's when he got the starring role of Bill Snibson in the 1985 revival of the musical Me and My Girl. Emma Thompson was his co-star. Me and My Girl was written by Douglas Furber and L. Arthur Rose and was first performed in 1937 starring Lupino Lane. The show clearly is based on the British music hall scene of the early 1900s. Though the show was a hit at the time, attempted revivals failed until Stephen Fry wrote a revised version and brought it it to the London stage. After the show won two Olivier awards including one for Lindsay, The producers decided to bring it to Broadway in 1986. Lindsay was the only original cast member. The other stars were Maryann Plunkett, George S. Irving and Jane Connell. Me and My Girl was nominated for 13 Tonys and won three including one for Lindsay. The show ran for over three years and Jim Dale and Tim Curry were among those who replaced Lindsay during the run. The Original Cast album is available as a budget CD. A 70th Anniversary production of Me and My Girl toured England in 2006. This was Lindsay's only Broadway appearance. He continues to appear on the London stage in the shows Beckett (1995), Oliver! (1997). He also appears on lots of British TV. The one film you may recognize is the 1997 John Cleese film Fierce Creatures. Most recently he has been a regular on the BBC drama Sherwood and the Channel 4 miniseries Generation Z. Here's Robert Lindsay with Maryann Plunkett and company performing Lambeth Walk from the musical Me and My Girl on the 1987 Tony Awards broadcast.

 

AccuRadio Song Of The Day-Galactic

Artist:Galactic

Song:Something's Wrong with This Picture

Album:Crazyhorse Mongoose & Cooling Off

Galactic is a modern funk band heavily influenced by legends like The Meters. They are known for playing extended jams in New Orleans clubs and on tour. Guitarist Jeff Raines and bassist Robert Mercurio were childhood friends growing up in Chevy Chase, MD. They moved to New Orleans in 1994 to attend college. But they really wanted to form a band. At first it was called Galactic Prophylactic and then shortened to Galactic. For the 1996 album Coolin' Off, the rest of the band was lead singer Theryl DeClouet, Richard Vogel on organ, Stanton Moore on drums, Ben Ellman on sax and harmonica and Eric Gordon on trumpet. The only departure was when DeClouet left in 2004 due to health problems caused by the band's heavy tour schedule. He died in 2018. When Galactic isn't touring, Moore is recording in all kinds of bands. Something's Wrong with This Picture is from Galactic's 1996 debut album Coolin' Off. The album was produced by Dan Prothero and released on his Fog City label. When Galactic signed with Capricorn for the 2008 album Crazyhorse Mongoose, they re-released Coolin' Off. These albums were released as a twofer by Floating World in 2017. For the most part, Galactic writes all their own songs. And though they are mainly influenced by New Orleans funk, they have incorporated other styles of music and bring in guest vocalists. Though the famed New Orleans club Tipitina's is Galactic's home base, they tour a lot. For a while, they were an instrumental band. But Angelika "Jelly" Joseph has been lead singer since 2019. It looks like Galactica's early albums are owned by Sony, they have recorded for Anti-, Sanctuary and the Dutch label Provogue. They last released a new album on their own label in 2019. But Galactica recently released an album with Irma Thomas on Thirty Tigers. In the jam band tradition, Galactica releases plenty of unauthorized live CDs. They recently released a deluxe edition of Crazyhorse Mongoose. I expect them to do that for Coolin' Off as well. Here's the video for Something's Wrong with This Picture by Galactic featuring vocals by Ivan Neville and Angelika "Jelly" Joseph.

  

AccuRadio Song Of The Day-Ozuna

Artist:Ozuna f/Cardi B

Song:La Modelo

Album:Aura

Puerto Rican singer songwriter Ozuna is a big star in Latin America. But he crossed over to pop with the 2017 single La Modelo mostly because the popular rapper Cardi B was the guest artist. He was born Juan Carlos Ozuna Rosado Mar. 13, 1992 in San Juan, Puerto Rico. His father is Dominican and his mother is Puerto Rican. Ozuna listened to salsa and bachata. But mostly he listened to reggaeton artists like Daddy Yankee and Don Omar and American artists like Jay-Z and Usher. He was raised by his paternal grandmother after his father was fatally shot and his mother didn't have the financial means to raise him. Ozuna decided to pursue a singing career at age twelve. He called himself J-Oz. Producer Fernando "Damian" Acevedo suggested he call himself by his surname Ozuna. He moved to New York's Washington Heights area in 2010. And though Ozuna learned a few things there, he returned with his family to Puerto Rico in 2013. Ozuna released a few singles starting in 2012. He signed with VP Entertainment and they decided to sign with Sony Latin to get Ozuna's music better distribution. He released the 2016 album Odisea and it was a big hit in Latin America. Several singles did well on the Latin charts. For the 2018 album Aura, Sony decided that the single La Modelo featuring Cardi B could take Ozuna to the next level because of her fame in the US. The single reached #3 on the Latin American chart and #52 on the Billboard Hot 100. That's as high as he was going to get in the US as plenty of radio stations won't play foreign language music. Aura reached #7 on the Billboard 200 so the album did well. Most of the album including La Modelo was produced by Chris Jeday (real name-Carlos Ortiz). He has produced reggaeton artists like Daddy Yankee. La Modelo has a Jamaican Dancehall vibe and the video was shot in Jamaica. Other guests include Wisin & Yandel, Romeo Santos, J Balvin, Natti Natasha and Akon. The album is available as a digital download. Ozuna released his latest album in 2023. He also releases non album singles and makes a lot of guest appearances. He still does well in Latin America. But I think maybe he releases too much music. Sometimes less is more and overexposure is possible. Listeners can get tired of him. Here's the video for La Modelo by Ozuna featuring Cardi B. 

AccuRadio Song Of The Day-Larnelle Harris

Artist:Larnelle Harris f/Sandi Patty

Song:I've Just Seen Jesus

Album:Songs 4 Life: Renew Your Heart

Gospel singer Larnelle Harris is best known for his long association with Bill Gaither. He toured with Gaither for many years. I've Just Seen Jesus was his 1984 debut album and this duet with Sandi Patty was the first of many. Harris is a good singer. But if you're looking for contemporary black gospel, look somewhere else. He was born July 6, 1947 in Danville, KY. He started playing drums at age nine. But he got vocal training at Western Kentucky University in Bowling Green. After he graduated in 1969, Harris joined the gospel group The Spurrlows. They were led by Thurlow Spurr. He started out in a group led by his brother Theron Spurr. Harris was a featured singer with First Gear. They recorded two albums for Word's Myrrh label in the 70s. Spurr produced both albums. I guess he had big plans for Harris. So He took him to Bill Gaither who was just beginning his empire. He didn't have his own record company yet. Harris' 1985 album I've Just Seen Jesus was on Benson's Impact label. Spurr was still Harris' manager. Gaither was executive producer. The album was produced by Greg Nelson. Harris' duet with Sandi Patty I've Just Seen Jesus was the only duet on the album and the first time they sang together. And it won a Grammy for Best Gospel Performance by Duo or Group. Bill and Gloria Gaither wrote I've Just Seen Jesus with pianist Danny Daniels. You can get I've Just Seen Jesus on this Time Life 2CD various artists budget comp. It is also on a Sandi Patty duet comp. Say what you want about Gaither's music. But he was smart enough to know that Harris and Sandi duets were money. I'm surprised he hasn't released an album of all their duets. Harris was a regular part of the Gaither shows for about thirty years. At that point, it looks like he decided to stay close to his home in Kentucky. Harris last recorded in 2017 and he has also written his autobiography. So it looks to me like he's retired. Here's Larnelle Harris featuring Sandi Patty performing I've Just Seen Jesus on a 2012 Gaither Homecoming show. 

AccuRadio Song Of The Day-Faith No More

Artist:Faith No More

Song:Epic

Album:Who Cares a Lot?: Greatest Hits

Faith No More was mostly an album and touring band. But they scored a top ten hit with the 1990 single Epic. Their music was hard rock with rap and punk elements. They were called Sharp Young Men when they formed in San Francisco in 1979. They were Mike Morris on lead vocals, Wade Worthington on keyboards, Billy Gould on bass and Mike Bordin on drums. Bordin suggested a name change to Faith. No Man. And they released a 1983 single recorded with their long time producer Matt Wallace. He had set up a recording studio in his parents' garage. But he would go on to produce all of the band's albums. Worthington was replaced by Roddy Bottum and Gordin, Gould and Bottum quit the band and started Faith No More. They tried out several singers and guitarists but they settled on singer Chuck Mosley and guitarist Jim Martin. After releasing the 1985 album We Care a Lot on the indie label Mordam Records, Faith No More signed with Slash Records in 1986. Slash was soon sold to Warner Bros. and Faith No More was moved to London Records. After the 1987 album Introduce Yourself was released, Faith No More went on tour. Their videos were played on MTV. They were having trouble with Mosely on a European tour he was fired and replaced by Mike Patton. Martin heard him on a demo of his old band. What they didn't know at the time was that Patton was a good lyricist. So he wrote all the lyrics on the 1989 album The Real Thing. The big surprise was when the single Epic reached #9 on the Billboard Hot 100 and The Real Thing was certified Platinum. They had a very successful tour. This was the peak of Faith No More's success. This budget comp covers their entire history with London. Subsequent albums were experimental in nature. And that's not what fans want. They want the same music all over again. Album sales decreased and Martin left because he didn't like the musical direction. He was replaced by Dean Menta. After two more albums, Faith No More split up in 1998. They reformed in 2009 to tour. They released a new album in 2015. Faith No More continued to tour. But they went on hiatus when Patton refused to be in the band anymore. Bottum says they are on a "semi permanent hiatus". But never say never. Another Faith No More reunion would not be surprising. Here's the video for Epic by Faith No More.