Monday, March 18, 2024

AccuRadio Song Of The Day-Mac and Katie Kissoon


Artist:Mac and Katie Kissoon

Song:Chirpy Chirpy Cheep Cheep

Album:Hard to Find 45s on CD Vol. 11: Sugar Pop Classics


The brother sister duo of Mac and Katie Kissoon scored a top 20 hit with the 1971 single Chirpy Chirpy Cheep Cheep. It was their only chart single in the US so they are a one hit wonder. The two were born in Trinidad and moved to England with their family in 1962. Katie Kissoon recorded four singles in 1965 as Peanut. Then she was a member of The Rag Dolls and they released a couple of singles. Mac Kissoon was a member of The Marionettes. Then he led a band that toured US military bases in Europe. He released a solo album in 1970. Lally Stott wrote Chirpy Chirpy Cheep and it was a hit in Italy where he was living at the time. The Scottish band Middle of the Road were living in Italy and producer Giacomo Tosti signed them to RCA and produced a 1971 album featuring Chirpy Chirpy Cheep Cheep. That recording topped the British Singles chart and was a hit across Europe. But it went nowhere in the US. Mac and Katie Kissoon recorded Chirpy Chirpy Cheep Cheep with producer Miki Dallon. He sold it to ABC Records in the US. The record reached #20 on the Billboard Hot 100. I'm not sure why the Middle of the Road version didn't chart in the US. But I get the impression that the band didn't like the song and planned to tour in the US and didn't want Chirpy Chirpy Cheep Cheep to be their calling card. You can get Chirpy Chirpy Cheep Cheep on this various artists comp from the oldies label Eric Records. This was Mac and Katie Kissoon's only US chart single. But they had success in England with hits like Sugar Candy Kisses and Don't Do It Baby in 1975. After recording five albums in the 70s, Mac and Katie Kissoon became session singers singing backup for all kinds of acts. Both were regulars in James Last's band in the 80s. It looks like they are now retired. Here's a video for Chirpy Chirpy Cheep Cheep by Mac and Katie Kissoon.


 

Sunday, March 17, 2024

Big Bad Blog Video Theater-Jaqueline Amorim vs Cory McKenna

 Here's the fight video of Jaqueline Amorim vs Cory McKenna from last night's UFC show in Las Vegas. This fight is at Strawweight. Jaqueline is 28 years old from Manaus, Brazil. She trains at American Top Team in Coconut Creek, FL with coach Conan Silveira. She's 1-1 in the UFC. She's a finisher with elite BJJ. Her one loss was by decision so endurance could be a problem. Cory is 24 years old from Wales. But she now trains with Danny Castillo at Team Alpha Male in Sacramento. Her UFC record is 3-1 but that loss convinced her to leave home. Jaqueline is much quicker than Cory and wastes no time taking her down and tries to finish her with an arm triangle. Ref Mike Beltran thought Cory tapped but then he changed his mind and told them to continue. Jaqueline simply switched to an armbar and the fight was over at 1:38 of round one. Beltran's mistake could have been a big problem but Jaqueline did great and got a $50,000 bonus. Enjoy the video!

Big Bad Blog Video Theater-Chelsea Chandler vs Josiane Nunes

Here's the fight video of Chelsea Chandler vs Josiane Nunes from last night's UFC show in Las Vegas. This fight is at Bantamweight. Both of these fighters were brought in as Featherweights. Chelsea missed weight. She is 33 years old. She trains at Cesar Gracie Jiu Jitsu in Stockton, CA. That's the Diaz brothers. She's 1-1 in the UFC. Josiane is 30 years old. She trains at Striker's House in Curitiba, Brazil. She's 3-0 in the UFC. Her big problem is she is 5'2" trying to fight girls who are much taller than her. Round one was the key round in this fight. Chelsea won round two by taking Josiane down and controlling her. She didn't try to finish. Josiane won round three with striking. In round one, Josiane displayed very effective striking but Chelsea may have stolen the round with a late round takedown. I scored it 10-9 for Josiane and all three judges scored it 10-9 for Chelsea. So Chelsea won the fight 29-28. The round could have gone either way. I was expecting a split decision. I doubt that either fighter has a long term future in the UFC. They aren't good enough. Enjoy the video! 

Big Bad Blog Video Theater-Macy Chiasson vs Pannie Kianzad

Here's the fight video of Macy Chiasson vs Pannie Kianzad from last night's UFC show in Las Vegas. This fight is at Bantamweight. Both fighters were in TUF 28 for Featherweights and Macy beat Pannie in the final. I expected the same result. Macy is 32 years old from New Orleans. She trains at Fortis MMA in Dallas with Saif Saud. Her UFC record is 6-3. She's a good fighter but probably not a title contender. Pannie is 32 years old. She lives in Denmark but she trains in Sweden. Her UFC record is 5-4. She's a midcard fighter at best. That both of these fighters are ranked in the top ten says more about the lack of depth in the Bantamweight division than anything else. As I expected, it didn't take long for Macy to take Pannie down and submit her with a rear naked choke at 3:54 of round one. Macy got a $50,000 bonus for that. Her problem is when she has gotten the opportunity to get in a position to be a title challenger, she has failed miserably. This win doesn't help her get that title shot. Enjoy the video! 

AccuRadio Song Of The Day-Souad Massi


Artist:Souad Massi

Song:Yawlidi

Album:Deb


Souad Massi is an Algerian singer songwriter who has lived in Paris since 1999 because of the political climate at home. That's not unusual for African musicians. And though you won't understand what she's singing, her music is in the Western style as she works with French studio musicians. She was born Aug. 23, 1972 in Algiers, Algeria. She started singing as a child. She was a big fan of country and roots music. In the early 90s, Souad joined the Algerian political rock band Atakor. She was in that band for eight years. They were influenced by Led Zeppelin and U2. They released a successful album. But they became a target because of political content. After anonymous death threats, Souad moved to Paris in 1999. After performing at the Femme d'Algerie festival in Paris, she signed with Island Records and released the 2001 album Raoui. The album was a hit in France. Souad sings mostly in Arabic and French. Yawlidi is from Souad's 2003 album Deb. It was her second album. As with all her albums, Souad writes and produces her own music with French studio musicians like Jean-Francois Kellner on guitar, Jean-Rene Zapha on bass and David Fall on drums. They tour with her too. This album is available on CD. A few years ago, Universal sold Souad's French contract to the British label Wrasse. They were already releasing her albums internationally. So her recent albums including the 2022 album Sequana are on Wrasse. She's worth checking out. Here's Souad Massi with Jean-Francois Kellner on guitar, Rabah Khalfah on debourka, Jean-Rene Zapha on bass and David Fall on drums performing Yawlidi at the Bridgestone Music Festival in Sao Paulo, Brazil June 21,2008.


  

Saturday, March 16, 2024

AccuRadio Song Of The Day-Keith Carradine


Artist:Keith Carradine

Song:I'm Easy

Album:Singers and Songwriters: Late '70s


Actor Keith Carradine had success on his brief foray into music when I'm Easy was a top 20 hit in 1976. Carradine wrote and performed the song in the 1975 film Nashville. Carradine recorded two albums in the late 70s and then returned to acting. He was born Aug. 8, 1949 in San Mateo, CA. Of course his father was legendary actor John Carradine and his brothers are all actors too. His childhood was troubled as his father drank and his mother was mentally ill. They divorced in 1957 and after a custody battle, Carradine was raised by his maternal grandmother. After performing in high school, Carradine studied drama for one semester at Colorado State University. After returning to California, his older brother David Carradine helped him get into acting. After appearing in the 1969 Broadway musical Hair, Robert Altman cast him in the 1972 film McCabe & Mrs. Miller and the 1974 film Thieves Like Us. Altman knew that Carradine could sing and play guitar. So he was a natural as womanizing folk singer Tom Frank in the 1975 film Nashville. After he wrote and performed I'm Easy in Nashville, ABC Records released it as a single and it reached #17 on the Billboard Hot 100 and it won the Best Original Song Oscar. Carradine signed a two album deal with Asylum Records. The 1976 album I'm Easy did OK. Carradine rerecorded I'm Easy for the album. He wrote all the songs on the album. L.A. Express drummer John Guerin produced and arranger Dave Grusin played piano and led the band of studio musicians. After his 1978 album Lost & Found, Carradine returned to acting and never recorded again. Neither the Nashville soundtrack or Carradine's album are available but you can get I'm Easy on this 2CD Time Life various artists comp. Carradine still appears regularly in films and on TV. He will appear in the upcoming Blumhouse film They Listen. On TV he mostly does TV movies and guest shots. But he was a regular on the series Madam Secretary a few years ago. Carradine's one notable singing appearance was in the 1991 Broadway musical The Will Rogers Follies for which he was Tony nominated. Here's Keith Carradine performing I'm Easy in the 1975 film Nashville. 


Friday, March 15, 2024

AccuRadio Song Of The Day-The Katinas


Artist:The Katinas

Song:Thank You

Album:Destiny


The CCM group The Katinas had success in the early 00s on Gotee Records. They are still around but they record for their own label. The Katinas are five brothers from Samoa. They all sing but John and Jesse are the lead singers. Sam plays keyboards, James plays bass and Joe plays drums. They also write songs. They grew up singing in church and the family moved to the state of Washington in 1988. Their mom died shortly after the move. They released a couple of albums and their live shows got them a deal with the CCM label Gotee owned by Toby Mac of DC Talk. The Katinas had success on the Christian charts with the 1999 album The Katinas and the 2001 album Destiny. Toby Mac produced and The Katinas wrote most of the songs. The Katinas' music has more of an R&B feel than most CCM artists so it also appealed to gospel fans. They released a total of five albums on Gotee including a live album and a Christmas album. Since then they have released albums on their own Destiny label. Their latest album was a 2018 Christmas album. It doesn't look like they are active right now. They played a show a few months ago but that looks like a one time thing. Here's The Katinas performing Thank You on a Gaither DVD.


Thursday, March 14, 2024

AccuRadio Song Of The Day-The Flying Lizards


Artist:The Flying Lizards

Song:Money

Album:The Flying Lizards


This 1979 cover of the Motown classic Money was a top ten hit in England. It wasn't as big a hit in the US because radio stations were reluctant to play the emerging New Wave sound. But the video was played a lot on MTV. So I think the song was a bigger hit than its chart position. It's still a one hit wonder. The guy behind The Flying Lizards was Irish composer David Cunningham. He was attending Maidstone College of Art in Canterbury, England when he self released a 1975 album of minimalist music called Grey Scale. As an experiment, he recorded a minimalist cover of the Eddie Cochran classic Summertime Blues. The deliberately flat vocals were by his classmate Deborah Evans. He turned it into a demo and Virgin Records was the only label that liked it. They released it as The Flying Lizards and it did well enough that they agreed to a second single. That single was Money and after it reached #7 on the British Singles chart, Virgin wanted a whole album. Cunningham brought in free music composers David Toop and Steve Beresford to help him. Then Money crossed the pond and reached #50 on the Billboard Hot 100. MTV played the video in heavy rotation so I think the record was a bigger hit than the chart position. I suspect that radio stations didn't like the song and refused to play it. It reached #7 in Canada. The album is available. Cunningham released three Flying Lizards albums. Then he retired the name. In recent years he he has worked with composer Michael Nyman on some of Peter Greenaway's films. I guess Money is the prototype of the fluke one hit wonder. Here's the video for Money by The Flying Lizards. 


 

Wednesday, March 13, 2024

AccuRadio Song Of The Day-Sir Douglas Quintet


Artist:Sir Douglas Quintet

Song:She's About a Mover

Album:Complete Singles 1964-1966


The 1965 single She's About a Mover was the biggest hit for the Sir Douglas Quintet. The band's leader Doug Sahm had a long career as a musical cult figure. But this is where it all started. Sahm was from San Antonio, TX and as a high school student he was already building a reputation as a musician. The story goes that veteran producer Huey P. Meaux was analyzing Beatles records to see if there was a way to compete with them. He came to the conclusion that the beats resembled Cajun dance songs. So he wanted a group that could mix the two music styles. He already knew about Sahm and Meaux told him his idea. Sahm formed a band with his childhood pal Augie Meyers on organ, Frank Morin on sax, Jack Barber on bass and Johnny Perez on drums. Meaux gave them the name Sir Douglas Quintet because it sounded British. He released the single Sugar Bee and it flopped. But the second single She's About a Mover on Meaux's Tribe label reached #13 on the Billboard Hot 100. Sahm wrote the song and sang lead. Meyers' organ riff distinguished it from other songs of the era. After the single The Rains Came was a top 40 hit, Meaux released the album The Best of Sir Douglas Quintet. Shortly after, Sahm moved to San Francisco and formed an all new Sir Douglas Quintet. And he signed with Mercury. The band had some success on Mercury. But they rerecorded all their early songs including She's About a Mover. This CD from Varese is the only one that I can be sure has the original Tribe recordings. Remember the San Francisco band was different than the original band. So of course it's going to sound different. The Sir Douglas Quintet recorded for Mercury until 1973 and Sahm led a version of the band until his death on Nov. 18, 1999 at age 58. Meyers continued to work with Sahm including in the 90s band The Texas Tornados. Here's Sir Douglas Quintet performing She's About a Mover on Hullaballoo 1966. 


Tuesday, March 12, 2024

Big Bad Blog Video Theater-The Kabuki Warriors vs Zoey Stark and Shayna Baszler

Here's the match video of The Kabuki Warriors defending the WWE Women's Tag Team Championships vs Zoey Stark and Shayna Baszler from last night's episode of RAW. Zoey and Shayna's gimmick is they are tough. It's probably not enough for them to win the titles. The match was OK but not great. The commercial break in the middle didn't help. The end came when Shayna applied her Kirifuda Clutch finisher on Kairi. Obviously I don't recommend using that in a tag team match as it can be easily broken up. Then Dakota Kai grabbed Shayna's leg which distracted her enough that Asuka kicked her in the head and followed that with their Insane Elbow double team for the finish. I don't think there is a tag team that can beat The Kabuki Warriors right now. So I don't know what will be done with them for WrestleMania. Enjoy the video! 

AccuRadio Song Of The Day-Jackie Moore


Artist:Jackie Moore

Song:Precious, Precious

Album:Sweet Charlie Babe


R&B singer songwriter Jackie Moore had success in the early 70s mostly on the R&B charts. The 1970 single Precious, Precious was her biggest hit. No doubt the rise of disco killed her career. She was born in 1946 in Jacksonville, FL. After recording a couple of singles for Bang's Shout label and Wand, Jackie got together with her cousin and Atlantic Records house producer Dave Crawford. He wrote and produced the Linda Lyndell hit What a Man. At Atlantic he worked with Wilson Pickett. Crawford took Jackie to Sigma Sound Studios in Philadelphia to record. Precious, Precious was the first single in 1970 and it reached #12 on the R&B Singles chart and #30 on the Billboard Hot 100. It was certified Gold. This would turn out to be her biggest hit. Jackie wrote the song with Crawford and Crawford played piano on the song. It also features guitarist Cornell Dupree and The Memphis Horns. Andrew Love played the sax solo. They didn't record an album at first. Instead a few singles were released that didn't do as well as Precious, Precious. The album Sweet Charlie Babe was released in 1973. It has been released on CD by Collectables. That was Jackie's only album for Atlantic. The 1975 album Make Me Feel Like a Woman was released by TK's Kayvette label and recorded at Muscle Shoals with guys like Barry Beckett and Roger Hawkins. Then she recorded a couple of disco albums for Columbia produced by guitarist Bobby Eli. And that was Jackie's final album. She recorded a couple of singles in the early 80s. But like I said, disco killed her career. Some singers adapted to it and some didn't. Jackie Moore never recorded again and she died on Nov. 8, 2019 at age 73. Here's a video for Precious, Precious by Jackie Moore.