AccuRadio Song Of The Day-Enuff Z'Nuff

Artist:Enuff Z'Nuff
Song:Fly High Michelle
Album:Favorites





Enuff Z'Nuff looked like an 80s hair metal band but musically were probably closer to power pop. They had brief success in the late 80s but by the time they toned down their look it was too late. They're still around and have a cult following led by Howard Stern. Lead singer Donnie Vie and bassist Chip Z'Nuff met in Chicago in 1984 and formed Enough Z'Nuff. They appeared in the 1986 film Henry: Portrait of a Serial Killer but they were unable to get a record deal. By 1989 the group name was changed to Enuff Z'Nuff and Vie and Z'Nuff brought in new members Derek Frigo on guitar and Vik Foxx on drums. They signed with Atco Records. It's thought that Atco changed the group name and suggested the hair metal look though the band's music was probably closer to Cheap Trick than Poison. A couple of singles including Fly High Michelle charted. The band toned down the glam look for the 1991 album Strength. But it looks like it was too late as the album did poorly and Atco dropped them. They recorded one album for Arista and then Foxx left for Vince Neil's band. Arista dropped them and Frigo left the band. This comp is a good intro to their music. Enuff Z'Nuff is still around. Howard Stern is a big fan and has had them on his show many times. They continued to record though Vie left the band in 2002. An attempted 2004 reunion tour was cancelled when Derek Frigo died of an accidental drug overdose. Vie returned in 2006 and then left again in 2013. Z'Nuff still leads Enuff Z'Nuff. They are still touting and recording. Here's the video for Fly High Michelle by Enuff Z'Nuff.

Review of The Ultimate Fighter 20 episode 6

Here's the video for The Ultimate fighter 20 episode 6. The fight in this episode is Aisling Daly of Team Pettis against Angela Magana of Team Melendez. There's no drama in this episode. I've seen both fighters in the past and both are inconsistent. They can be very good or not so good.
Aisling is from Ireland and she's having trouble with the Las Vegas heat. But getting a shout out from teammate Patrick Holohan while watching UFC Dublin seems to lift her spirits. Angela talks about her trials and tribulations and how MMA saved her life. I think she tends to let her emotions get the best of her sometimes. And that can be a problem in the cage. Angela gets a takedown in round one and takes Aisling's back. But Aisling defends Angela's rear naked choke well. It is never close to being applied properly. Angela seems to be going for Aisling's arm when the ref stands them up with two minutes left in the round. He shouldn't have done that but I don't know if Angela could have gone farther. But she expended so much energy in round one, will she have anything left? The answer is no. Aisling took control in round two. And then in the extra round, Aisling finished Angela with ground and pound. So Team Pettis is pitching a shutout with six wins in a row. Next week it will be Rose Namajunas against Alex Chambers. Enjoy the video!

Ronda Rousey vs Cat Zingano moved to Feb. 28 UFC show

Ronda Rousey, Cat Zingano

UFC president Dana White announced yesterday on Instagram that Ronda Rousey defending her UFC Women's Bantamweight Championship against Cat Zingano has been moved to UFC 184 Feb. 28 at Staples Center in Los Angeles. It will co-main event the show with Chris Weidman vs Vitor Belfort. Ronda vs Cat was scheduled for UFC 182 Jan. 3 in Las Vegas. It has been replaced by Myles Jury vs Donald Cerrone. This shuffle was done for a couple of reasons. This will be the UFC's first time in Los Angeles since last summer's UFC 176 was cancelled. As a Los Angeles resident, Ronda should be a pretty good live draw. I guess they want the show to be extra special after the disappointing cancellation. The delay will also give Cat more time to recover completely from a neck injury suffered in her last fight. Last month, White said the plan was for Ronda to fight in January and then fight again in Brazil in March probably against Bethe Correia. With that plan out the window, the UFC has to do something with Bethe. Recently, Miesha Tate and Bethe have been yapping at each other on Twitter. Miesha thinks if she beats Bethe it puts her in line for another title shot that most fans don't want to see. She doesn't seem to understand that the only reason Bethe is being considered for a title shot is because of the Four Horsewomen stuff. And Ronda vs Bethe was only going to happen in Brazil. So Miesha is grasping at straws. But I guess the UFC could do Miesha vs Bethe now since they have been talking it up. If they decide to do that, I will analyze it in more detail.

AccuRadio Song Of The Day-Jan Garbarek

Artist:Jan Garbarek
Song:For Turiya
Album:Folk Songs





Norwegian sax player Jan Garbarek probably typifies the cool sound of the German jazz label ECM Records. He has recorded for them since 1970. The 1979 album Folk Songs is one of a series he recorded with Brazilian guitarist and pianist Egberto Gismonti and bassist Charlie Haden. Garbarek was born Mar. 4, 1947 in Mysen, Norway and he grew up in Oslo. His father was a polish POW who moved to Norway after WWII. Garbarek got his start working in George Russell's band when Russell lived in Europe. He recorded one album for Bob Thiele's Flying Dutchman before signing with ECM in 1970. He still records for them today. Though Garbarek started out as an Albert Ayler disciple playing Avant Garde, he softened his tone in the early 70s while touring with Keith Jarrett. His music is sometimes mislabeled as New Age as his sound is typical of Scandinavian jazz. For Turiya is from the 1979 album Folk Songs. Garbarek first recorded with Brazilian guitarist and pianist Egberto Gismonti in 1977 and then added bassist Charlie Haden for the 1979 album Magico. Haden was best known for his days with Ornette Coleman but he was a very versatile musician. These three toured together for about three years. Though Gismonti wrote and arranged most of the songs, Haden wrote For Turiya and recorded it with harpist Alice Coltrane on the 1976 album Closeness. This was an album of duets with Coltrane, Keith Jarrett, Ornette Coleman and Paul Motian. Both Folk Songs and Closeness are available on CD. I chose Folk Songs because of the video clip. In 2012, ECM released the Garbarek, Gismonti and Haden live recording Magico: Carta de Amor which was recorded in 1981 but not released. Garbarek's latest CD Concert In Athens is a tribute to Greek film composer Eleni Karaindrou and was released Jan. 2013. He is currently touring Europe. Charlie Haden died recently and I hope to feature him down the road. He recorded a lot of different kinds of music and can be tough to do. I might have done him the other day except for CD availability. Here's Jan Garbarek with Egberto Gismonti and Charlie Haden performing For Turiya in Europe late 70s.

Gabi Garcia to make MMA debut in freak show match

Real Fight Championship announced today the card for their debut show Dec. 23 at Differ Ariake. Among other things, they announced that Kron Gracie will make his MMA debut against an opponent to be announced. But the fight of interest to readers of this blog will have Brazilian Jiu Jitsu champ Gabi Garcia making her MMA debut against women's MMA pioneer Megumi Yabushita. If you're familiar with these two, you'll know why I call it a freak show match. Last year, Gabi said she was tired of BJJ and wanted to try MMA. The problem is she weighs over 200lbs and there aren't any fighters in that weight class and there haven't been any for several years. So the solution is to have her fight in Open Weight which only exists in Japan because it's not regulated. A fight like this would never get approved in the US or anywhere else. Yabushita normally fights at 135lb. But she's done this kind of thing before. Long time fans will recall that she beat the 300lb Russian Svetlana Goundarenko on the 2000 REMIX tournament. But more recently she lost to 200lb Lana Stefanac on the Dec. 26, 2007 Smackgirl show. Stefanac was a very good fighter but was forced to retire because there was no competition for her. Not to mention that Yabushita is now 43 years old and should retire from MMA but won't. She hasn't won a fight in over four years. That these promoters were forced to make a freak show match like this proves that there is no fighters for Gabi Garcia. It reminds me of when pro wrestler Kia "Amazing Kong" Stevens (280lbs) wanted to try MMA and promoters were forced to find a female sumo wrestler with no MMA experience for her to fight. That match was a joke. And this one will be a joke too. And the promoters didn't even put Gabi on the poster.

AccuRadio Song Of The Day-Debra Laws

Artist:Debra Laws f/Ronnie Laws
Song:Very Special
Album:WDAS 105.3 FM Classic Soul Hits Volume 9




Though Very Special was the only significant hit for singer Debra Laws, the song is now considered a Quiet Storm classic and is frequently sampled by hip hop guys. I suspect that fans of the song don't know anything about Debra. She was born Sept. 10, 1956 in Houston the seventh of eight children. Her older brothers Hubert Laws and Ronnie Laws are veteran jazz sax and flute players and sister Eloise Laws is also a singer. And family is Debra's story. As with Eloise, Debra has spent most of her career singing in Ronnie Laws' band and as a background singer. Debra sang on albums by Hubert and Ronnie Laws in the 70s. After Eloise Laws had some success with the 1978 album Eloise, Ronnie Laws got Debra a record deal with Elektra Records and he produced the 1981 album Very Special using musicians from his band. The single Very Special reached #11 on the R & B Singles chart. And as I said, it is a Quiet Storm classic. Ronnie Laws sings on the record and also plays the sax solo. The guitar solo is by veteran blues guitarist Arthur Adams. Very Special was written by background singer Lisa Peters and Ronnie Laws' drummer William Jeffery who also wrote the arrangement. The song is frequently sampled and a rap cover was recorded by Big Daddy Kane in 1993. It was also sampled on the 2003 Jennifer Lopez hit All I Have. The Laws family sued Sony for unauthorized use of Debra's voice. That was dismissed but a lawsuit against Warner Music for allowing Debra's voice to be used on the record without her consent was settled out of court. You can get Very Special on this Collectables various artists comp which is part of a series of CDs produced for Philadelphia radio station WDAS. Debra Laws didn't record another solo album until 1993. She went back to touring with Ronnie Laws and also as a studio singer. Here's a video for Very Special by Debra Laws featuring Ronnie Laws.

AccuRadio Song Of The Day-Confederate Railroad

Artist:Confederate Railroad
Song:Daddy Never Was The Cadillac Kind
Album:The Very Best Of Confederate Railroad





Confederate Railroad had success in the early 90s with two Platinum albums and four top ten country hits including Daddy Never Was The Cadillac Kind in 1994 which was their final top ten hit. I guess they are compared to Alabama and similar groups. Confederate Railroad are from Atlanta with Danny Shirley on lead vocals and rhythm guitar, Michael Lamb on lead guitar, Chris McDaniel on keyboards, Warren "Gates" Nichols on steel guitar, Wayne Secrest on bass and Mark Dufresne on drums. They formed in 1987 after Shirley had some success as a solo artist. They played local clubs in Atlanta and went on the road with David Allan Coe and Johnny Paycheck. For several years they were the house band at Miss Kitty's in Marietta, GA. They signed with Atlantic Records in 1991 and worked with legendary Muscle Shoals pianist and producer Barry Beckett. Their 1992 debut CD Confederate Railroad was certified 2XPlatinum. Queen Of Memphis reached #2 on the Country Singles chart and Jesus and Mama and Trashy Women were also top ten hits. Their 1994 CD Notorious was certified Platinum. Daddy Never Was The Cadillac Kind reached #9 on the Country Singles chart and was Confederate Railroad's final top ten country hit. The song was written by veteran Nashville songwriters Dave Gibson and Bernie Nelson. Gibson was a member of the early 90s group Gibson/Miller Band. Nelson has worked with Barry Beckett since the 70s. Their next two albums weren't as successful as the first two and Confederate Railroad left Atlantic in 1998. You can get all their hits on this Rhino comp. They're still around. They released a live CD on E1 Music in 2010. And they still tour. Gates Nichols died in 2010 and was replaced by Sawyer Brown's Bobby Randall. There have been other changes but Shirley, Secrest and Dufresne are still in the band. here's the video for Daddy Never Was The Cadillac Kind by Confederate Railroad.

Review of WWE Total Divas season 3 episode 10

Before I review the "mid-season finale" of WWE Total Divas, last week the WWE announced that Total Divas will return on Jan. 4, 2015 and Alicia Fox and Paige have been added to the cast. Alicia has been in the WWE for a long time and Paige is the youngest Diva but she has a lot of wrestling experience. Of course this episode of WWE Total Divas has a wedding along with two other phony storylines. We begin in Portland, OR with Fandango asking Nattie Neidhart about her marital problems which she brought to work on last week's episode. Nattie talks to Nikki Bella and Nikki comes to the conclusion that maybe it's OK not to be married to John Cena. Next, Eva Marie is getting her wedding dress. She says her dress is sleek and sexy but it looks trashy. What kind of a wedding dress is that? Then Nikki tells Cena about her talk with Nattie and that she has accepted that they will never marry. At a photo shoot, Nattie tells Eva Marie that she doesn't want to sit with TJ at the wedding dinner. Eva tells her the seating plan can't be changed. The Bella Twins and Bryan Danielson go for coffee and Nikki tells Brie that she has accepted that she will never marry John Cena. Of course Brie doesn't accept this and that's OK. But later she recruits her family to confront Cena about this without telling Nikki. Mind your own damn business. And she would in real life. But not in a phony baloney reality show. I hated this storyline. It makes no sense. And her mom tries to convince her to stay out of it. But her brother agrees with her and they are going to confront Cena. We go to the site of the wedding in California wine country. Nattie and TJ are in separate rooms. The Bella Twins go to a winery. We get an unnecessary and lengthy wine commercial. And the twins get smashed. They bicker about Nikki's decision. While Eva Marie has her rehearsal, The Bella Twins are at dinner with Nattie and TJ. The twins are still drunk and Nattie and TJ still bicker. We finally have the wedding. Eva Marie is wearing a black wig because that's her real hair colour. I doubt they used a real minister because he called her Eva Marie which is not her real name. Afterwards, Nattie tries to rearrange the seating plan. Ariane tells her to have a cocktail and relax. Nattie's behaviour is very childish. Brie is still sticking her nose in Nikki's business. At the dinner, Nattie and TJ are at the same table after all. She's sitting next to her enemy Summer Rae and Summer jokes about it. In Phoenix, Brie, her brother JJ and mom meet with Cena and express their concerns. They tell him that if she won't marry Nikki, he should let her go. Remember Nikki doesn't know about this meeting. Cena says he was upfront with Nikki and didn't trick her. He is clearly pissed off but shows remarkable restraint in not going off on them. We don't see much restraint on this show. But he does give Nikki the option of leaving. And her answer is your cliffhanger for next season. Enjoy the video and see you in January!
WWE Total Divas 26/10/14 Season 3 Episode 10... by moneyinthebank2014

After her win, Satoko Shinashi calls out Korean idol fighter Ga Yeon Song

Ga Yeon Song

Not surprisingly, Satoko Shinashi easily won her fight over 15 year old Korean kickboxer Ye Jin Jung on yesterday's DEEP show. It was over in about a minute of round one via TKO. Some fans asked me about the morality of a 15 year old fighter. There is no real age limit outside North America. Remember MIZUKI made her pro MMA debut at 16 years old and she was kickboxing before that. And there are pre-teen female kickboxers in Thailand. But Jung had no prior MMA experience so I thought she was ill prepared for someone as experienced as Shinashi. What was interesting is that after the fight, Shinashi called out the "Korean idol fighter" to meet her at the DEEP New Year's Eve show. She's talking about 19 year old singer/actress/fighter Ga Yeon Song. This call out was no doubt prompted by DEEP matchmaker Shigeru Saeki who needs a lot of matches for the New Year's Eve show. Ga Yeon Song won her debut fight over Emi Yamamoto on the Aug. 17 ROAD FC show. You can check out the video of the fight below. Song wins easily but Yamamoto is 33 years old making her MMA debut. She trains at Mori Dojo in Yamaguchi owned by journeyman fighter Akihiko Mori who has also fought for ROAD FC. The big deal in Korea about Song is she was on the Korean reality show Roommates which is about a singing group. She has been martial arts training since she was a child but got more serious about it in the last couple of years. ROAD FC owner Jung Moon Hong saw her at an amateur event and thought she was too beautiful to be a fighter. He was surprised to learn her martial arts background. At first he hired her as a ring girl. But then she left Roommates earlier this year to concentrate on MMA. They have given her the nickname The Deadly Beauty. And though I agree that she needs to fight better competition, I think ROAD FC would be making a huge mistake allowing her to fight someone as experienced as Satoko Shinashi. She would be in way over her head. But I'm not surprised that Saeki wants her. He likes idol fighters. And I guess he thinks if he makes a big deal about it, Hong won't be able to resist. Check out her fight video for yourself.

AccuRadio Song Of The Day-Johnny Lee

Artist:Johnny Lee
Song:Lookin' For Love
Album:The Best Of Johnny Lee





Johnny Lee scored his first number one country hit with Lookin' For Love in 1980. It crossed over to the pop top five. It was from the 1980 film Urban Cowboy. He had some other country hits in the 80s and then faded by the late 80s. He was born John Lee Ham July 3, 1946 and grew up on his parents dairy farm in Alta Loma, TX. He had a band in high school and after a tour in the US Navy, he joined Mickey Gilley's band and worked for ten years at Gilley's nightclub in Pasadena, TX. Lee was the star performer when Gilley was touring. Lee recorded for ABC/Dot and GRT Records. He had a top 20 country hit in 1977 with Country Party which was a reworking of Rick Nelson's Garden Party. Lee appeared in the 1979 TV movie The Girls In The Office. The 1980 film Urban Cowboy was shot mostly at Gilley's. Full Moon Records owner Irving Azoff asked Lee to record a song for the film. Lookin' For Love topped the country charts and reached #5 on the Billboard Hot 100. Teacher Wanda Mallette got the idea for the song while observing her second grade students and wrote it with partner Patti Ryan. They sent a demo to veteran songwriter Bob Morrison and after a few changes, it bounced around Nashville for a while before Lee recorded it. So now Lee had a record deal. He had three more #1 country hits and you can get them all on this comp from Curb Records. The soundtrack for Urban Cowboy is also available on CD. In 1983, Lee married actress Charlene Tilton of the TV series Dallas. So Lee was riding high in the early 80s. His decline began when Azoff sold Full Moon to Warner Bros. They dropped him in 1986 and Tilton divorced him in 1987. Lee signed with Curb Records in 1989 and opened his own club down the street from Gilley's. Lee hasn't recorded since 2006 but he still tours. Here's Johnny Lee performing Lookin' For Love on The Ralph Emery Show 1980.

AccuRadio Song Of The Day-Alan O'Day

Artist:Alan O'Day
Song:Undercover Angel
Album:Ultimate Summer Hits





Songwriter Alan O'Day topped the charts with Undercover Angel in 1977. I think most folks know the song but know nothing about O'Day's long musical career. He was born Oct. 3, 1940 in Hollywood, CA. His dad was a photographer and his mom a writer for the Pasadena Star-News. As a teen, O'Day was in bands like The Imperials, The Shoves and The Renes. With his high school buddy Arch Hall Jr., he got to work on films directed by Hall's dad Arch Hall Sr. like 1962's Wild Guitar. The two led the band The Archers. Then O'Day was in the backup group Alan & Bob & Denny. After that ended, O'Day worked has a songwriter for Warner Bros. Music. His biggest hits as a songwriter were Angie Baby for Helen Reddy and Rock and Roll Heaven for The Righteous Brothers. O'Day recorded an album in 1973 that went nowhere. In 1977, Warners started Pacific Records for house songwriters to record. O'Day's album Appetizers was the first album released on that label. Undercover Angel topped the charts in Feb. 1977. The background vocals are by Carol Parks who was married to session guitarist Dean Parks. But the album didn't do that well and O'Day's 1979 album Oh Johnny stiffed too. One of his other singles charted so technically O'Day is not a one hit wonder. You can get Undercover Angel on this various artists budget CD from Collectables. O'Day left Warners in 1982 and wrote a hundred songs with Janis Liebart for the Jim Henson TV Series Muppet Babies. They also wrote songs for the National Geographic video series Really Wild Animals. He released a couple of CDs but mostly O'Day lived in Nashville and wrote and produced songs until his death on May 17, 2013 at age 72. Here's a video for Undercover Angel by Alan O'Day.

Big Bad Blog Video Theater-Marloes Coenen vs Annalisa Bucci

Here's the fight video of Marloes Coenen vs Annalisa Bucci from last night's Bellator show. They are going to launch a 145lb women's division in 2015 but I don't think there is much competition for Marloes. Bucci is an Italian kickboxer with a 7-3 MMA record. But as we see in this fight, she has no ground game. I got a good laugh from an interview Marloes did with MMA Junkie where she said she wanted a KO. So what does she do ten seconds into this fight? She takes Bucci down and most of the fight was on the ground. And that wasn't good for Bucci because she showed nothing on the ground even when she was on top. Marloes landed elbows from the bottom. Ref Big John McCarthy kept yelling at Bucci to do something. Of course Bucci had to respect Marloes because of her ability to hook a submission from any position. But there's such a thing as showing too much respect. She did nothing. Marloes kept trying for submissions until she finished with a rear naked choke early in round three. Meanwhile, Bellator commentators Sean Wheelock and Jimmy Smith tried to sell this as a tough match for Marloes and refused to label it as the mismatch that it was. Smith is usually more honest than that. When I watched Bucci fight on Youtube, I knew she would have nothing for Marloes. But she was even more timid than I thought she would be. The problem with 145lb is a lot of the fighters have dropped to 135 to try to get into the UFC. But Marloes doesn't want to do that and as a result the competition level at 145 is low. She'll be a big fish in a small pond. Enjoy the video!

AccuRadio Song Of The Day-Haydn Quartet

Artist:Haydn Quartet f/Harry Macdonough
Song:Will You Love Me In December As You Do In May?
Album:1906: When Things Was Lookin' Bright




The Haydn Quartet was a very popular vocal group in the early days of recorded sound. They were formed in 1896 as the Edison Quartet recording for Edison Records owned by phonograph inventor Thomas Edison. They changed the name to Haydn Quartet to record for other companies. Harry Macdonough was born John Scantlebury Macdonald May 30, 1871 in Hamilton, ON. He joined the Haydn Quartet in 1898. The group signed with Victor Records in 1901 and had success with songs like In The Good Old Summertime and Sweet Adeline. Will You Love Me In December As You Do In May? was released in 1906. While Macdonough was singing for the Haydn Quartet, he was recording studio manager for Victor in New York. By 1908, he left the Haydn Quartet and after several years at Victor as sales manager and later A & R manager, he moved to Columbia Records in 1925. He died on Sept. 26, 1931 at age 60. Will You Love Me In December As You Do In May? was written by future New York City mayor Jimmy Walker and Ernest Ball who also wrote When Irish Eyes Are Smiling. The song is a barbershop quartet standard. This recording is on a CD that is part of a series released by the historic music label Archeophone. This one covers songs from 1906. In 1910, Victor replaced the Haydn Quartet with the American Quartet featuring several Haydn Quartet members. The Haydn Quartet disbanded in 1914. Their sheet music was very popular in the early days of sound recording. And yes, this is the oldest recording I have ever featured on this blog. Here's a video for Will You Love Me In December as You Do In May? by the Haydn Quartet featuring Harry Macdonough.

AccuRadio Song Of The Day-Billy Lewis

Artist:Billy Lewis
Song:Heart Trouble
Album:An Introduction To New York Blues





Billy Lewis is best known as leader of a later and unauthorized version of The Drifters. But it looks like in an earlier life, he recorded a few singles for legendary producer Bobby Robinson including Heart Trouble in 1960. It sounds great but the sound was probably dated then which is why it went nowhere. Lewis was from Jacksonville, FL and he moved to New York. Bobby Robinson owned the New York record shop Bobby's Record Shop. He worked with Atlantic Records owner Ahmet Ertegun in the early 50s and owned various record labels in the 50s and early 60s. Later on in the 70s he was involved in the early days of rap music. Robinson produced blues artists like Sonny Terry & Brownie McGhee, Champion Jack Dupree and Elmore James. But his biggest hit was the 1959 smash Kansas City by Wilbert Harrison. No doubt he was looking for another hit when he released Heart Trouble by Billy Lewis in 1960. Robinson did strike gold again with Ya Ya by Lee Dorsey and Tossin' and Turnin' by Bobby Lewis. You can get Heart Trouble on this CD that seems to be a Bobby Robinson sampler. Billy Lewis resurfaced as a member of the Drifters in 1975. He left in 1979 but then formed his own version of the Drifters. He returned to The Drifters in 1986 and left again in 1989. He started his own group called Sound of the Drifters and then later led Billy Lewis' Nu Drifters. He even released a CD called Keep The Legend Alive in 2005. Attempts by the owners of the Drifters name to stop Lewis were unsuccessful. And he wasn't the only one leading an unauthorized version of The Drifters. It's very confusing. Lewis continued until his 2010 death. He always claimed he recorded for major labels. I don't think that was true but he did record for Bobby Robinson. Here's a video of Heart Trouble by Billy Lewis. Thanks to Soul Music HQ for the Billy Lewis bio.

Ronda Rousey vs Cat Zingano set for Jan. 3 UFC show

Ronda Rousey, Cat Zingano

Last night the UFC announced that Ronda Rousey defending her UFC Women's Bantamweight Championship against Cat Zingano is official for UFC 182 Jan. 3 in Las Vegas. Maybe you thought it was already official. But after Cat won over Amanda Nunes last month, she allowed herself to be given a six month medical suspension for a possible stinger. So she had to be medically cleared before the fight could be announced. I'm not sure what was going to happen if she didn't get that clearance. I know what you're asking. Can Cat beat Ronda? Probably not. As Ronda's career evolves, she's going to be even tougher to beat as she has become a more complete fighter. She also fights with an urgency that is unmatched in the UFC. When she recently told Jim Rome that she would rather die in the cage than lose, that's an extraordinary mindset. And that comment didn't surprise me as she has said stuff like that in the past. She broke her hand in her win over Alexis Davis. And she had knee surgery. She says she will be even better on two good legs. In her two UFC fights, Cat has come out very poorly in round one. If she does the same thing in this fight, she won't get out of the first round because Ronda is a finisher. Cat won't get that second chance. Last month, UFC president Dana White said that if Ronda successfully defends her title against Cat, she will fight in Brazil in March. The likely opponent will be Four Horsewomen nemesis Bethe Correia. Lately Miesha Tate has been campaigning for a fight against Bethe. Miesha figures if she beats Bethe, she gets another title shot. But I think the UFC wants a Brazilian to fight Ronda in Brazil. And of course there is heat between Ronda and Bethe because of the Four Horsewomen thing. So I don't believe they will risk the possibility that Bethe could lose to Miesha and will save her for the title shot in March. Having a Brazilian fight for the title in Brazil would be a big deal.

Review of The Ultimate Fighter 20 episode 5

After two weeks off, The Ultimate Fighter 20 returned last night. The featured bout was Felice Herrig of Team Pettis vs Heather Jo Clark of Team Melendez. In Canada, the show was pre-empted by NHL hockey and aired at 1AM. I PVRd it and watched it this morning. And of course I am posting the video. On a side note, there are rumours that the UFC will leave Rogers Sportsnet for TSN in 2015. When asked about this recently when the UFC was in Halifax, UFC Canada president Tom Wright said there would be an announcement shortly. With all the money Rogers has spent on the NHL and the WWE, they don't have room for the UFC. So this episode began with the announcement that Justine Kish would need knee surgery and would be forced to drop out of TUF. UFC president Dana White decides to give Tecia Torres a second chance and she switched to Team Pettis. This did not go over well with Gilbert Melendez or Team Melendez. But as White explained, the teams are just a means to an end and it's still an individual sport. But the Team Pettis girls are not likely to be very helpful to Tecia. As we saw in the last episode, Heather hurt her knee and was driving her teammates crazy whining about it. Angela Magana was very vocal. Her dislike of Heather goes back to a failed reality show called Ultimate Women Challenge that was filmed but was never completed. In fact, some of the girls who were on that show sued the producers. Felice says she doesn't know how her beef with Heather began. It actually began on Twitter. Heather thought Felice was trying to duck her. And she also doesn't like the way Felice markets herself. I think Felice should teach marketing to other female fighters because some need help. They did fight in Bellator and Felice won after Heather broke her arm in the second round. I thought Heather won the first round. So obviously Heather wants revenge. She seems to have a lot of confidence in her pre-fight talking head shots. Felice expresses doubts and fear and says she tends to do that routinely before fights. But fear is a great motivator. I don't think either fighter is a title contender but their beef is attractive to the producers. I will say Felice looked more ripped than usual. I thought the first round was very close. Heather got a standing guillotine. But she made a mistake by sticking with that instead of transitioning to something more effective. Felice got a takedown but didn't advance her position. Heather reversed but Felice attempted an armbar from the bottom. Then Felice got on top again and I would score the round 10-9 for Felice based on that late round move. Felice easily won round two so she got the win. Afterwards, Heather apologized to Felice for judging her. But last night they appeared on Tuf Talk with Karyn Bryant and Felice didn't buy Heather's apology. She also doesn't care for Heather's post loss excuses. You can even see a marked contrast in the clothes they wear on the show. I have included that video as well. Next week, Aisling Daly of Team Pettis will face Angela Magana of Team Melendez. Enjoy the videos!

AccuRadio Song Of The Day-Zoot Sims and Jimmy Rowles

Artist:Zoot Sims and Jimmy Rowles
Song:(I Wonder) Where Our Love Has Gone
Album:If I'm Lucky





Sax player John "Zoot" Sims started out in big bands but by the 70s he had a very successful solo career. Pianist Jimmy Rowles was more sideman than leader and recorded several albums with Sims in the late 70s. Sims was born Oct. 29, 1925 in Inglewood, CA. His parents were in vaudeville. Heavily influenced by Lester Young, he got the nickname Zoot while in Kenny Baker's band in the early 40s. After stints with Benny Goodman, Sid Catlett and the US Army during WWII, He made his name as one of Woody Herman's Four Brothers. His band with Al Cohn during the 60s was very successful. Sims moved to New York in 1973 and signed with Verve Records founder Norman Granz' new label Pablo Records. Rowles was born Aug. 19, 1918 in Spokane, WA and moved to Los Angeles in the early 40s. So I'm sure Sims and Rowles crossed paths many times. Though Rowles sometimes recorded as a leader, he was primarily an accompanist and studio musician. He worked with Billie Holiday, Peggy Lee and Ella Fitzgerald. He moved to New York in 1973. Sims and Rowles recorded several albums together for Pablo including If I'm Lucky in 1977. Other musicians are Czech born bassist George Mraz who had been on some of Sims' other Pablo albums and Elmer "Mousey" Alexander on drums. He replaced Gene Krupa in the Benny Goodman band. Rowles chose the songs and wrote the arrangements. (I Wonder) Where Our Love Has Gone was written and first recorded by pianist Buddy Johnson in 1948 with vocals by Arthur Prysock. Only someone as knowledgeable as Rowles would know a song like that. Sims and Rowles continued to work together until Sims died on Mar. 23, 1985 at age 59. Rowles recorded (I Wonder) Where Our Love Has Gone on his 1994 album Lilac Time. I think that was his final album before his death on May 28, 1996 at age 77. Here's a video for (I Wonder) Where Our Love Has Gone by Zoot Sims and Jimmy Rowles.

AccuRadio Song Of The Day=Sophie B. Hawkins

Artist:Sophie B. Hawkins
Song:As I Lay Me Down
Album:The Best Of Sophie B. Hawkins





Singer songwriter Sophie B. Hawkins had two big hits in the early 90s and then seemingly dropped off the face of the earth. She had record company problems but she still records on her own label. She was born Nov. 1, 1967 in New York City. Apparently her parents were alcoholics. She studied African music as a teen and seemed to be headed for a career as a jazz vibraphonist. But then her demo got the attention of Bryan Ferry and he hired her as a percussionist. Eventually her demo got the attention of Columbia A & R exec Rick Chertoff. Chertoff and veteran producer Ralph Shuckett produced Sophie's 1992 debut CD Tongues and Tails. The single Damn I Wish I Was Your Lover reached #5 on the Billboard Hot 100. The video was banned by MTV as too sexy. They recut it and MTV played the second version. Sophie's second CD Whaler was produced by veteran British producer Steve Lipson (Frankie Goes To Hollywood). Columbia was concerned when the first single Right Beside You stiffed. So to help As I Lay Me Down, they had Sophie perform it on the TV series Party Of Five. It also appeared in the 1995 film Now and Then. It reached #6 on the Billboard Hot 100 and topped the Adult Contemporary chart. Sophie produced and recorded her third album Timbre and Columbia wanted her to rework it. When she refused, they dropped her and released the CD in 1999. This budget comp covers her first two Columbia CDs. Since then Sophie has recorded on her own label Trumpet Swan. Her latest CD The Crossing was released in 2012. Last year she appeared as herself on an episode of the NBC sitcom Community. Apparently she is working on new music right now. Here's the video for As I Lay Me Down by Sophie B. Hawkins.

Satoko Shinashi to return to MMA after six year hiatus

Satoko Shinashi, Ye Jin Jung

A few weeks ago, DEEP announced that Satoko Shinashi will return to MMA after a six year hiatus at the Oct. 26 TDC Hall show. They have now announced that her opponent will be teen kickboxer Ye Jin Jung. Shinashi's record is 29-2-2 and she made her debut in 2001. So I would consider her an MMA pioneer in Japan. She had title belts in Smackgirl and DEEP and was very popular. Her last fight was a win over Yukiko Seki on the Oct. 28, 2008 DEEP show. Then she announced she was pregnant. At the time, DEEP matchmaker Shigeru Saeki said that she would return in about a year after she had the baby. But she didn't return until now. Problem number one is Shinashi is now 37 years old. Who knows what she will be like? And I don't know if she has fought in a cage before. Though Shinashi is classified as Atomweight, that's 48kg and Shinashi fights ideally at 45kg (100lbs) which is called Pinweight. Right now, there are no 45kg female fighters in Japan. Knowing how Saeki thinks, I expected him to bring a CMA Korea kickboxer who has never fought MMA. And that's exactly what he has done. Ye Jin Jung is a 15 year old kickboxer. She has fought a couple of amateur MMA bouts on Road FC shows. DEEP is trying to sell this fight by saying that she's young enough to be Shinashi's daughter. Ugh! I don't know why it's not on a DEEP JEWELS show. They could use Shinashi's star power and it would be a bigger deal. It's just another filler match on a big DEEP show. So why is Shinashi returning? She was an instructor at the now closed DEEP dojo. She may be looking to open her own place and returning is a good way to promote that. She is currently classified as freelance.

AccuRadio Song Of The Day-Mis-Teeq

Artist:Mis-Teeq
Song:One Night Stand
Album:Lickin' On Both Sides





The R & B girl group Mis-Teeq were very successful in their native England. After an unsuccessful attempt to break through in the US, they split up in 2005. Because a rapper was part of the group, I think they were a cross between Destiny's Child and TLC. They started out in 1996. Lead singer Sabrina Washington and rapper Alesha Dixon were in the group Face2Face with Tina Barrett. When Tina left to join S Club 7, she was replaced by Zena McNally and Su-Elise Nash. They signed with Telstar Records and changed the group name to Mis-Teeq. When Zena figured out she was just going to be a background singer with Sabrina singing all the lead vocals, she quit and the group continued as a trio. Lickin' On Both Sides was their 2001 debut CD and it was certified Platinum in England. One Night Stand was the third single and it reached #5 on the British singles chart. The song was written and produced by the Norwegian duo Stargate in their early days. They would soon move to New York and have a lot of success with Ne-Yo and Rihanna. When Mis-Teeq's 2003 CD Eye Candy was also successful, they signed with Reprise Records in the US. Reprise released the 2004 CD Mis-Teeq which was a mix of the first two CDs. The single Scandalous was placed in the film Catwoman. But when that film bombed, Scandalous didn't do as well as hoped. It reached #35 on the Billboard Hot 100 and stalled. When their British label Telstar went bankrupt in 2005, Mis-Teeq decided to disband. Alesha Dixon has had the most successful solo career. She won the TV competition Strictly Come Dancing and then became a judge on the show and then a judge on Britain's Got Talent. She has released three solo albums. Sabrina Washington has released one solo album and was on the reality shows Celebrity Scissorhands and I'm A Celebrity...Get Me out Of Here. Su-Elise Nash lives in Australia and is out of the music business. There have been rumours about a possible Mis-Teeq reunion. Alesha says they have talked but there is nothing yet. Here's the video for One Night Stand by Mis-Teeq. There are two videos for this song. This is the British version.

Review of WWE Total Divas season 3 episode 9

With the WWE Total Divas season finale coming next week, a couple of major storylines have to be resolved. The first is the wedding of Eva Marie and Jonathan and the second is Nattie and TJ's marriage issues. BTW, Nattie admitted in an interview with SLAM Wrestling that the whole storyline is phony. So we begin with Nattie and Rosa Mendes buying cupcakes after working out. And we discover that driving is something else that Rosa is terrible at. We go to Eva Marie's parents house. And the big thing is her dad has cancer so having him at the wedding is a big deal to her. Then in Tampa, John Cena is away shooting his movie. So Nikki invites the girls over and Ariane says she would like a house like John Cena's. But it doesn't take a rocket scientist to see that she and Vinny don't have that kind of money. Nikki will show her some houses. Next Nattie and TJ visit a divorce lawyer to see what would have to be done. Both are horrified when talk turns to dividing up their three cats. At lunch, Eva Marie tells the others about her dad's cancer. Later at RAW, Brie tells her if she needs someone to talk to, she'll be there for her. Eva Marie blows her off. She says she doesn't want to discuss it at work. They show the Stephanie McMahon vs Brie Bella contract signing. I really enjoyed the end of that segment. Ha ha ha. Nattie and TJ are living in separate rooms and he's wise cracking about splitting up and she starts crying. Nikki shows Ariane a house that is way out of her league. Bryan Danielson explains to Brie that she should let Eva Marie alone about her dad. And they decide to throw her a surprise bridal shower. Nikki shows Ariane another house. It's still too expensive but Ariane likes it enough to show it to Vinny. Nattie invites Trinity to come see her cats. But it turns into an argument and Nattie takes TJ's clothes out of the dryer and throws them on the front lawn. Vinny goes to see the house and almost has a fit when he finds out the price. He doesn't think they can afford it. So they meet with Nikki and they tell her the only way they can make it work is if she waives her commission. That ain't happening so it doesn't end well. Part of the problem is no one knows what Vinny does for a living or how much he makes. It ain't John Cena money. Ariane is offended when Nikki points that out. But she's right. Any real estate agent needs to know what they can afford. Jonathan flies in to Richmond, VA for RAW and The Bella Twins tell him about the bridal shower. He will help surprise Eva Marie. Then Ariane apologizes to Nikki for going overboard trying to buy a house they can't afford. So they aren't mad at each other anymore. Guess what? Another argument at TJ and Nattie's house. He says he's leaving because he's tired of arguing. The girls successfully surprise Eva Marie and Jonathan gives her a new engagement ring. Eva admits that she may have taken Brie asking about her dad the wrong way. And she talks to her mom about keeping her in the loop about her dad's health. She tells Eva to call him more often and that's what she does. Finally, TJ is at RAW for the first time in a long time. Remember he was off for a long time with an injury. Nattie starts a fight with him accusing him of trying to embarrass her. That's ridiculous and it makes her look foolish. This fight ends this episode and I'm sure there will be more on next week's season finale. Enjoy the video!
WWE Total Divas S03E09 2014-10-19 by watchwwelive

Review of WWE Total divas season 3 episode 8

Again this week E! ran two episodes of WWE Total Divas and the season finale is next week. This episode has two stupid phony storylines. The third seems more plausible. The episode begins with The Bella Twins and Nattie Neidhart discussing the robbery at the Bryan Danielson household and how Danielson chased the robber down the street and put him in a rear naked choke. Then we go to their house and Mark Carrano calls to tell Brie that the two have been invited to the Teen Choice Awards. Not surprisingly, Danielson is not thrilled. But Brie is excited because usually she goes to these events with her sister. Obviously she wants a new dress. But he goes into her closet to show that she doesn't need a new dress. She tells him she can't go to this event wearing a dress she has already worn. He doesn't agree but she's right. It comes with the celebrity territory. And this is the one story that I think is real. Next we go to Eva Marie and Jonathan who are packing to move back to California to be close to family. They decide to do a road trip with Ariane and Vinny. Remember last year's road trip? Me too. This baloney was recycled by the producers. So Rosa Mendes is still looking for the perfect guy and she goes out on a date with a guy at some trampoline place complete with her huge fake boobs. Ugh! The problem with him is he's too young and he's a Christian so he wants to save himself for marriage. She can't wait that long. Eva Marie and Ariane pick up a trailer for their stuff. But I guess the producers thought it would be funny if Eva Marie had trouble driving with the trailer attached. She wrecked it and a new trailer was acquired for the trip. Next we go to The Bella Twins taking their mom out for her 50th birthday. When Brie pays for it, she gets a call from Danielson asking what she is up to. Apparently he gets a text from the bank when her spending exceeds a certain amount. I'm not surprised he's thrifty. How do you think he survived for ten years working for indy wrestling companies? Then we go to RAW in Cleveland and Summer Rae has football player Gary Barnidge backstage. She didn't tell Rosa she was dating him after last week's split. Though she didn't have to tell Rosa about it, she probably should have told her. This is the sort of thing that get Summer in trouble with the other girls. Rosa is pissed and she's a mental case anyway. So the road trip begins. And the big problem is that Jonathan has drawn up a schedule. They have to be in San Antonio for the next RAW. Big mistake and it causes conflict when they fall behind schedule. They're already behind because Vinny's flight from Los Angeles is delayed. Then Brie buys a dress for the Teen Choice Awards but she gets Nikki to pay for it so Danielson doesn't know. As part of the road trip, they stop at a tractor museum. Huh? It reminded me of last week's ostrich farm. It's the kind of stupidity that reality show producers cook up that is just stupid. Jonathan is stressing out. The Bella Twins go for coffee and Danielson calls after Brie pays for it. "Why are you spending $22 on coffee?". Because the road trip is behind schedule, they will have to stop in Mobile, AL. Apparently there are conventions in town because all the hotels are full. So they end up stopping at what appears to be a haunted house with one bed. More dumb stuff cooked up by the producers. Rosa goes out with a guy because she saw his abs on Instagram. Just stupid. And that goes double for the road trip at the house scenes. And the producers play spooky music in the background. Ugh! Brie shows her new dress to Danielson and she tells him what she did and why. He doesn't agree. They go to the Teen Choice Awards and he's not crazy about it but she is excited to be there with him. Afterwards, he admitted that she was right about buying a new dress for this. He will lighten up. Rosa takes Nattie to a lesbian bar. Nattie leaves but Rosa hooks up and stays out all night. As expected, the road trip ends with a four way argument. When they arrive in San Antonio, Eva Marie and Jonathan decide to end the road trip and ship their stuff to LA. In the final scene, Nattie wants to know why Rosa was out all night. Rosa says she swings both ways and had a great time with her one night stand. Grandma Nattie is befuddled but she tells her it's OK but she is concerned about a relapse. On to the next episode. Enjoy the video!
WWE Total Divas S03E08 2014-10-19 by watchwwelive

AccuRadio Song Of The Day-Mark Lindsay

Artist:Mark Lindsay
Song:Arizona
Album:The Complete Columbia Singles





Paul Revere and the Raiders lead singer Mark Lindsay scored a top ten solo hit with Arizona in 1970. He had some other minor hits but Arizona is the most memorable. At the same time, he continued as lead singer of the Raiders. He was born Mar. 9, 1942 in Eugene, OR and he grew up in Idaho. He met Paul Revere Dick while in high school and eventually they formed Paul Revere and the Raiders. The revolutionary war costume gimmick got Dick Clark's attention and he signed them to be regulars on the TV series Where The Action Is. They also signed with Columbia Records and scored a lot of hit singles. By 1968 Lindsay was the main writer and producer of the Raiders and Clark hired them to star in the TV series Happening. Lindsay started to branch out and he produced a country album for Raiders guitarist Freddy Weller. Then he decided to record solo. Fans thought he left the Raiders but Lindsay said his solo albums were just an extension of the Raiders. Lindsay hired Jerry Fuller to produce. Fuller produced Gary Puckett and the Union Gap and became a house producer at Columbia. Arizona was the third single and it reached #10 on the Billboard Hot 100. The song was written by veteran songwriter Kenny Young who also co-wrote Under The Boardwalk for The Drifters. Some of Lindsay's other songs including Silver Bird charted. When he decided to turn Indian Reservation into a Raiders song, it was the group's only number one hit. Lindsay recorded three albums for Columbia. You can get all his singles on this CD from Real Gone Records. Lindsay left the Raiders in 1975 and worked as a house producer for United Artists Records. He also got into jingles and worked on films, the most notable being Shogun Assassin in 1980. Lindsay continues to record occasionally and tour. He announced his retirement in 2003 but changed his mind. He was part of the Happy Together: 25th Anniversary tour with The Turtles and he released a new CD last year. Here's a video for Arizona by Mark Lindsay.

AccuRadio Song Of The Day-Hot Rize

Artist:Hot Rize
Song:Keep Your Lamp Trimmed And Burning
Album:Traditional Ties





Hot Rize was a bluegrass group that started out in the 70s and had some success in the 80s until they disbanded in 1990. They reformed in 2002. They influenced many current bluegrass groups. The formation of Hot Rize began with Pete Wernick aka Dr. Banjo. In the early 70s, he was in the group Country Cooking with Tony Trischka. They recorded two albums for Rounder Records. He moved to Colorado and started working with Tim O'Brien on the 1977 album Dr. Banjo Steps Out. The two added guitarist Charles Sawtelle and bassist Nick Forster. Hot Rize was a flour that sponsored the Flatt & Scruggs radio show. Back in the 30s, flour companies frequently sponsored country music radio shows. Hot Rize recorded two albums for Flying Fish Records. They also performed and recorded as the country swing band Red Knuckles & The Trailblazers. Keep Your Lamp Trimmed And Burning is from their 1984 album Traditional Ties. This was their first album on Sugar Hill Records. Keep Your Lamp Trimmed And Burning is a traditional gospel song usually performed by blues singers. O'Brien says he heard the song performed by Reverend Gary Davis. Hot Rize recorded four albums for Sugar Hill and disbanded in 1990. Many current bluegrass groups credit Hot Rize as an influence. Tim O'Brien has gone on to a significant solo career. Wernick leads the band Flexigrass and tours with his wife. Nick Forster hosts the eTown radio show. Hot Rize would occasionally reunite until Charles Sawtelle died in 1999. Then they reformed in 2002 with former Kentucky Thunder guitarist Bryan Sutton replacing Sawtelle. They just released their first album of new music in over twenty years titled When I'm Free and are currently touring. Here's Hot Rize performing Keep Your Lamp Trimmed And Burning at the Kentucky Center for the Arts in Louisville, KY July 28, 1987 from the DVD Classic Hot Rize with Red Knuckles & The Trailblazers.

AccuRadio Song Of The Day-Sammy Kershaw

Artist:Sammy Kershaw
Song:Third Rate Romance
Album:The Definitive Collection





Sammy Kershaw brought some Cajun flavour to country music of the 90s. He had nine top ten hits including this cover of the 70s hit Third Rate Romance. When his music career faded, he turned to Louisiana politics. He has returned to music recently. He was born Feb. 24, 1958 in Kaplan, LA. He is the third cousin of legendary Cajun fiddler Doug Kershaw. After his grandfather gave him his first electric guitar at age 11, Kershaw's father died and he went to work to support his family. He played local clubs at night. While in the 80s band Blackwater, Kershaw became addicted to drugs and alcohol. He quit cold turkey in 1988 and quit the music business. He took a management job at Wal-Mart. But one of his friends convinced Kershaw to send a demo to Mercury Records. He signed in 1990 and worked with producers Buddy Cannon and Norro Smith. Kershaw's 1991 debut CD Don't Go Near The Water was certified Platinum and his debut single Cadillac Style reached #3 on the Country Singles chart. Then from his second CD Haunted Heart, Kershaw scored his only number one country hit She Don't Know She's Beautiful in 1993. With his third album Feelin' Good Train, National Working Woman's Holiday and Third Rate Romance both reached #2 on the Country Singles chart. Of course Third Rate Romance was a top twenty pop hit in 1975 for the Amazing Rhythm Aces and it was written by that group's lead singer Russell Smith. Kershaw started to fade after this. Love Of My Life was his final top five country hit in 1997. He left Mercury in 1999. You can get all his Mercury hits on this comp. Kershaw recorded a duet with Lorrie Morgan in 1997. He became her fifth husband in 2001 and they recorded an album together on her label RCA. They divorced in 2007. While Kershaw recorded a couple of CDs, he turned his attention to politics and unsuccessfully ran twice for Louisiana Lieutenant Governor. He declared bankruptcy in 2007 mostly due to a failed restaurant he owned with Morgan. Kershaw now records for his own label Big Hit Records. In 2013, he released the CD All In The Same Boat with Joe Diffie and Aaron Tippin and they toured together. His latest CD Do You Know Me: A Tribute to George Jones was released in July and Kershaw is currently on tour. Here's the video for Third Rate Romance by Sammy Kershaw.

Joanna Jedrzejczyk vs Claudia Gadelha added to Dec. 13 UFC show

Claudia Gadelha, Joanna Jedrzejczyk

The Polish website MMA Rocks reported this morning that Joanna Jedrzejczyk vs Claudia Gadelha has been added to UFC on FOX 13 Dec. 13 at the US Airways Center in Phoenix. I've known about this fight for a while but I was waiting for a confirmed date. This fight will probably determine the first challenger for the UFC Strawweight Championship. Joanna won her UFC debut over Juliana Lima by unanimous decision on the July 26 show. Joanna is 7-0 and she can really punch. Also, when Lima tried to get in her head by clowning around, Joanna just ignored it and beat her up. Claudia is 12-0 and is also a BJJ whiz. She won her UFC debut over Tina Lahdemaki by unanimous decision on the July 16 show. I thought she won the fight easily but she seemed to run out of gas late in the fight. I was disappointed she didn't finish Tina. Claudia has finished most of her fights but Joanna will be the highest level competition she has ever fought. She will want to take it to the ground but that may not be that easy as Joanna has the power and technique to keep her at a distance. She's a very hard puncher. So I think this will be a good one.

AccuRadio Song of The Day-Adina Howard

Artist:Adina Howard
Song:Freak Like Me
Album:Do You Wanna Ride?





Adina Howard scored a top five hit with her 1995 debut single Freak Like Me and her million selling CD Do You Wanna Ride?. Then she seemingly fell off the face of the earth due to record company problems. She was born Nov. 14, 1974 in Grand Rapids, MI. She signed with the Atlantic Records label East West in 1994 by Atlantic head Sylvia Rhone, one of the more prolific black music talent scouts of the 90s. Adina was criticized by feminist groups for showing her butt on the cover of Do You Wanna Ride?. Some of the songs including Freak Like Me were pretty racy. I think this was done to distinguish Adina from other female artists who weren't doing that at the time. It worked because the album was certified Platinum and Freak Like Me reached #2 on the Billboard Hot 100. The song was written and produced by the duo Mass Order who released an album on Columbia in 1992 after some success with the single Lift Every Voice. Mass Order was Marc Valentine and Eugene Hanes. They produced other artists but Freak Like Me was their biggest hit. The record samples I'd Rather Be With You by Bootsy's Rubber Band and Sing A Simple Song by Sly & The Family Stone. The 2001 cover of Freak Like Me by Sugababes topped the British charts. Adina recorded her second CD Welcome To Fantasy Island and the single (Freak) And You Know It was released. But Atlantic decided there weren't any more hits on the album and cancelled the release. That was it for Adina on a major label. She tried acting and returned to music in 2004. She has released three CDs on small labels. She is also a chef and she owns a restaurant in Austin, TX. Here's the video for Freak Like Me by Adina Howard.

AccuRadio Song Of The Day-Charlie Byrd

Artist:Charlie Byrd
Song:Samba de Orpheus
Album:Byrdland/More Brazilian Byrd





Along with Stan Getz, guitarist Charlie Byrd was responsible for bringing Brazilian music to the US with the 1962 hit Desifinado. From there Byrd had a long career as a master of jazz on the acoustic guitar. He was born Sept. 16, 1925 in Suffolk, VA and he grew up in the nearby town of Chuckatuck. His father played guitar and taught Byrd to play at age 10. His younger brother Joe Byrd played bass in Byrd's trio for years. He was in the US Army during WWII and got to play with his idol Django Reinhardt while playing in the US Army band in Paris. After the war, Byrd studied jazz composition at the Harnett National Music School in New York City. He moved to Washington, DC in 1950 and lived in Italy studying with classical guitar legend Andres Segovia. Byrd first recorded as a leader for Savoy Records in 1957. He joined Woody Herman's band in 1959 and it was on a diplomatic tour of South America that Byrd discovered Brazilian music. When he got home, he played some recordings for Stan Getz and the two convinced Creed Taylor to produce the 1962 album Jazz Samba. The album was very successful and launched Brazilian music in the US. This led to a contract with Columbia Records in 1965. Samba de Orpheus is from the 1966 album Byrdland. Samba de Orpheus was written by Luis Bonfa for the 1959 film Black Orpheus and first adapted to jazz by pianist Vince Guaraldi on the 1962 album Jazz Impressions of Black Orpheus. Byrdland has Byrd's usual trio of his brother Joe Byrd on bass and Bill Reichenbach on drums. This was his trio for a decade. There are also guest appearances by Hal Posey on trumpet and album producer Teo Macero on sax. Byrdland is available on a Collectables twofer CD paired with the 1967 album More Brazilian Byrd. That has Byrd playing with an orchestra. I think most guitarists would agree with me that Byrd is better in a trio where you can really hear his techniques. Strings can drown him out. Byrd left Columbia in 1971 and recorded for Concord Jazz for the rest of his career. Charlie Byrd continued to record, tour, play local clubs in Maryland and educate until his death on Dec. 2, 1999 at age 74. Here's Charlie Byrd with Joe Byrd on bass and Chuck Redd on drums performing Samba de Orpheus probably in the 80s.

AccuRadio Song Of The Day-Fugees

Artist:Fugees
Song:Killing Me Softly With His Song
Album:Playlist: The Very Best Of Fugees





For a brief period of time in the mid-90s, the Fugees may have been the hottest group in music especially with this cover of Killing Me Softly With His Song. But they only recorded two albums before splitting up and attempts to reform have been unsuccessful. Lauryn Hill and Pras Michel met while in high school in South Orange, NJ and formed Tranzlator Crew. Michel's cousin Wyclef Jean joined the group and signed in 1993 with Ruffhouse Records with Columbia distribution. They changed the group name to Fugees which is a derogatory term for Haitian Americans. Pras and Jean are from Haiti. Their 1994 debut CD Blunted On Reality did OK with the single Nappy Heads charting. But the group wasn't happy with the album and they got more creative control for the 1996 CD The Score. It was a huge success and was certified 6XPlatinum. It was one of the top albums of 1996. Most of the album had original Fugees songs except for Killing Me Softly With His Song which reached #2 on the Billboard Hot 100. Of course most folks are familiar with Roberta Flack's 1973 version. But Flack didn't record it first. The song was written by Norman Gimbel and Charles Fox who usually write songs for films. It was written for and first recorded by Lori Lieberman in 1971 and Flack heard her recording of the song which is about Lieberman's impression of a Don McLean concert. For me, the Fugees recording is a straight cover. It's nothing special. I don't know why it was such a big hit. You can get all the Fugees hits on this budget comp. All three had successful solo careers after that and the Fugees have never recorded another album. They did reunite in 2005 to tour with plans to record. But conflict within the group scuttled that with Michel and Jean both blaming Hill for bad behaviour. I don't see them reuniting again. Here's the video for Killing Me Softly With His Song by Fugees.

AccuRadio Song Of The Day-Nancy Wilson and Cannonball Adderley

Artist:Nancy Wilson and Cannonball Adderley
Song:Happy Talk
Album:The Very Best Of Nancy Wilson: The Capitol Recordings 1960-1976




When Nancy Wilson signed with Capitol Records in 1959, they wanted to turn her into a pop singer. Instead she took the advice of her mentor Julian "Cannonball" Adderley and stuck to jazz. It was Adderley who discovered Nancy in a Columbus, OH club and told her to move to New York City. Though she had some hit singles, she always returned to jazz and that is her legacy. One of the first things Nancy wanted to do when she signed with Capitol was record an album with Adderley. After recording the 1961 album The Swingin's Mutual with pianist George Shearing, she recorded the 1962 album Nancy Wilson/Cannonball Adderley. The album was recorded with Adderley's usual band with Nancy sitting in "as a sort of easy going third horn" as she said in the liner notes. Nancy sang on seven of the twelve songs singing mostly standards including Happy Talk from the Rodgers & Hammerstein musical South Pacific. The band was Cannonball Adderley on alto sax, his brother Nat Adderley on cornet, Joe Zawinul on piano, Sam Jones on bass and Louis Hayes on drums. Zawinul wrote the arrangements as he was Adderley's musical director. This album was released on CD in 1993 with a bonus track. But I'm going to recommend this three CD overview of Nancy's career at Capitol which includes three songs from the Adderley album. It's budget priced. Unfortunately, Nancy Wilson and Cannonball Adderley never appeared on TV together. Considering they were both constantly on tour, I'm sure it was difficult to have them record together. She did appear on Adderley's 1968 live album In Person. And she has appeared with other jazz musicians. After a long and distinguished career, Nancy Wilson retired in 2006. Here's Nancy Wilson performing Happy Talk with Lou Levy on piano, Al McKibbon on bass and Kenny Dennis (Nancy's husband) on drums on the TV series Jazz Scene USA 1962.

Review of WWE Total Divas season 3 episode 7

In this episode of WWE Total Divas, we have major relationship conflict on three fronts. The episode begins with Nattie Neidhart and Rosa Mendes driving to the arena and there's a noise from the back seat. It's Rosa's vibrator which she claimed she used that morning. Grandma Nattie is horrified. Nikki Bella and boyfriend John Cena are going to the premiere of a film The Bella Twins made while they were away from the WWE. It's called Confessions of a Womanizer. They showed a couple of scenes and it looks like direct to DVD fodder. Don't give up your day jobs girls. Rosa tells Nattie that she wants a serious relationship with a guy. She's on the hunt. Be vewy vewy quiet. I'm hunting for husbands. At Nikki's film premiere, the discussion turns to doing sex scenes in movies. Cena brings this up because he recently filmed a sex scene for the film Trainwreck starring Amy Schumer and written and produced by Judd Apatow. This film will be released June 2015. But he didn't tell Nikki about it. After a scene where Trinity suggests that Nattie should take TJ to marriage counseling, Cena and Nikki discuss Trainwreck. He reveals that he took part in a comedic sex scene. We discover quickly why he didn't tell her about it. She overreacts and claims that she is upset mostly because he didn't discuss it with her. She is full of crap and Cena knows it. The scene ends with Cena saying "Maybe I'm not with the right woman". He tells her she is insecure...which is true. As he explains, this is business. It's on a movie set. The WWE is in Cleveland and Rosa Mendes goes on a date with Cleveland Browns tight end Gary Barnidge. Yes, he's a real football player. The date goes fine. More about this soon. Nikki's mom and brother visit her in Tampa. When she tells them about Cena's sex scene, mom says "It comes with the business". So they think she has gone overboard too. Nattie and TJ go to the marriage counselor. I don't think it helps much and later on, TJ refuses to go again. She thinks one thing that could help is to give him a new WWE character. So they go to NXT to discuss it with the writers. Then we go to the RAW in Cleveland where Stephanie McMahon accepted her SummerSlam match with Brie Bella. Rosa takes Barnidge backstage and we find out he has met Summer Rae before. He used to play for the Carolina Panthers and she's from North Carolina. And she played in the Lingerie Football League. Guess where this is leading. When Nikki asks a couple of the girls about the sex scene, of course Grandma Nattie agrees with her. Now we know for sure she's wrong. Finally Brie plays amateur psychologist and tells Nikki she's insecure because of her past relationships. Thank you Dr. Freud. Speaking of which, TJ tells Nattie he won't go to the therapist again and she's creating problems out of nothing. Well, that could be the show producers. Rosa goes on a second date with Barnidge. The moment she tells him she wants a serious relationship, he asks for the cheque. Well, that's how it was edited. Guess who he turns to. Summer Rae, of course. More about this next week. Nattie goes to a WWE event in New York City and goes to dinner with WWE Wrestler Darren Young who is gay. When a paparazzi asks her about TJ, she says "We're not divorced yet". Young rolls his eyes. Finally Nikki and Cena make up. They both apologize and everything is hunky dory...until next time. We see Summer Rae on her date with Barnidge. Wait until Rosa finds out. In the final scene, TJ confronts Nattie about her divorce comment. Does she want a divorce? More drama to come next week. Enjoy the video!
WWE total divas season 3 episode 7 by kostasT1996

Review of WWE Total Divas season 3 episode 6

Last night E! ran two episodes of WWE Total Divas. I'm going to review them separately and of course post the videos. The subject of this episode is Eva Marie's bachelorette party. This episode begins with the usual Bella Twins stupidity until Nikki Bella's boyfriend John Cena shows up. They make fun of some guy eating avocado. These stupid scenes are useless. I wish the producers would knock it off. Ariane Andrew returns to WWE TV after supposedly taking time to train at NXT. Or that's what they are trying to sell the viewer. I don't believe she actually went to NXT for any length of time. They've given her a heel gimmick where she applies makeup while in the ring. She's still a terrible wrestler. Most of the girls and their men have been invited to Eva Marie's bachelorette party in Curacao. John Cena and Bryan Danielson can't go so The Bella Twins are going together. Nattie Neidhart and husband TJ Wilson are also going. Nattie hopes to fix their relationship. She moves back into the house. Ariane and Vinnie are also going but he wants to move to a larger place. Now we go to Curacao. Brie Bella's luggage is lost which will play into a later storyline. In Nattie and TJ's room, they can hear somebody (probably Eva Marie and Jonathan) having loud sex. So they decide to make phony sex noises but they don't have sex. The next morning, Nattie lies about this to the others. Yet another brilliant scene cooked up by the producers. After some cliff diving, Nikki is trying to get Brie to loosen up and have fun. But all Brie wants to do is buy stuff for her house. TJ thinks the best way to connect with Nattie is to take her to an ostrich farm. But he didn't want to have sex last night. Uh huh. Because she lost her luggage, Brie has to wear Nikki's clothes. So of course her boobs don't fit. So we get a series of jokes about this. Nikki wants Brie to get drunk. But apparently hubby Bryan doesn't want her to get drunk so she doesn't. They go for a massage but all Brie wants to talk about is her house. They go on a cruise and the girls wear red wigs to honour Eva Marie. On the way to dinner, Vinnie is frustrated with Ariane because of course he wants to get married and she doesn't. But she does agree to hire Nikki to help them find a new house. The Bella Twins continue to argue about Brie Mode. Nattie explains her relationship problems to Eva Marie. The Bella Twins talk about how marriage has changed Brie. Problem resolved...for now. Enjoy the video. Second episode coming right up.
WWE total divas Season 3 episode 6 by kostasT1996