AccuRadio Song Of The Day-Tony McManus

Artist:Tony McManus
Song:The Lament for the Viscount of Dundee/Dr. MacPhail's Reel
Album:Ceol More




Scottish guitarist Tony McManus specializes in traditional songs and he also works a lot as a sideman and he appears on instructional videos. He was born in 1965 in Paisley, Scotland. He taught himself to play guitar. His first big break was appearing with Scottish supergroup Celtic Fiddle Festival in 1988. He also worked as an accompanist for Catriona MacDonald, Brian McNeill and Alasdair Fraser. He has also performed with jazz guitarist John McLaughlin. McManus signed with Greentrax and released his debut album in 1996. Greentrax specializes in traditional Scottish music. His recordings are licensed to Compass Records in the US. The Lament for the Viscount of Dundee/Dr. MacPhail's Reel is from the 2002 album Ceol More. Both are traditional Scottish songs that are normally played on bagpipes and McManus adapted them for the guitar. McManus also works a lot as a sideman and he has done instructional videos for Stefan Grossman. His latest album Round Trip was recorded with Italian singer and guitarist Beppe Gambetta for the Canadian label Borealis in 2015. He's still active as a sideman and I'm sure he will record in the near future. Here's Tony McManus performing The Lament for the Viscount of Dundee/Dr. MacPhail's Reel at Buerger Bahnhof in Germany 2014.

AccuRadio Song Of The Day-Chuck Wicks

Artist:Chuck Wicks
Song:Stealing Cinderella
Album:Starting Now





Chuck Wicks scored a top five country hit with his 2007 debut single Stealing Cinderella. Since then his career has taken some twists and turns. Fortunately he has had success as a songwriter. He was born June 20, !979 in Smyrna, DE. He grew up on a potato farm. He moved to Nashville in 2002 and signed with RCA in 2006. He was also in the cast of the Fox reality series Nashville. The show was canceled after two episodes. It was supposed to chronicle the lives of aspiring Nashville singers. Jamey Johnson was the best known member of the cast. Meanwhile Wicks recorded his debut album Starting Now produced by veteran session musicians Dann Huff and Monty Powell. Stealing Cinderella was the first single. It reached #5 on the Country Singles chart. Wicks wrote the song with veteran songwriters Rivers Rutherford and George Teren. Wicks co-wrote most of the songs on the album. While he started work on his second album, Wicks appeared on the 2009 season of Dancing With The Stars with Julianne Hough. They dated for a few months. After RCA released a couple of singles from Wicks' upcoming album, they decided to cancel the album and release Wicks. He was in good company as Alan Jackson and Martina McBride were among those released at the time. Fortunately Jason Aldean recorded one of Wicks' songs. He self released a 2013 EP. Then Wicks signed with Blaster Records. An album was released in 2016. A new single was recently released so it looks like he is working on a new album. He is also a co-host of the Nash FM radio show America's Morning Show. I think Wicks is a bland performer. He might be better off sticking to songwriting. Here's the video for Stealing Cinderella by Chuck Wicks.

AccuRadio Song Of The Day-The High Kings

Artist:The High Kings
Song:Red Is The Rose
Album:Decade: Best Of The High Kings





The High Kings are an Irish folk group under the musical direction of David Downes formerly of Riverdance and also one of the creators of Celtic Woman. The High Kings are more authentic because they have roots in Irish music. They have had success in Ireland and on the Billboard World Music chart. Finbarr Clancy is the son of Bobby Clancy. He toured with The Clancy Brothers in the 90s. Brian Dunphy was in Riverdance and he was in The Three Irish Tenors. His father Sean Dunphy had success in the 60s. Martin Furey is the son of Finbar Furey of The Fureys. He led the group Bohinta in the early 90s. Darren Holden was in Riverdance on Broadway and has also recorded solo. Downes assembled The High Kings and their debut CD The High Kings was released in 2008 by EMI. They toured the US with Celtic Woman. They have been very successful on Billboard's World Music chart. Red Is The Rose is from the 2010 CD Memory Lane which was released on Universal. It is the traditional Scottish folk song Loch Lomond with Irish lyrics. Tommy Makem popularized it in the 70s. This comp is available as a digital download and is a good intro to their music. Martin Furey retired in 2017. He was replaced by George Murphy from the TV competition show You're A Star. The High Kings just started a US tour. They are probably due for a new album. Here's the video for Red Is The Rose by The High Kings.

AccuRadio Song Of The Day-Umphrey's McGee

Artist:Umphrey's McGee
Song:No Diablo
Album:Similar Skin





Umphrey's McGee is a jam band in the tradition of The Grateful Dead or Phish. Musically they are probably closer to Frank Zappa though they are capable of performing any kind of music. They are a very successful concert draw. Umphrey's McGee was formed in 1997 at the University of Notre Dame in Indiana. It was a merger of two bands. The lead singer and guitarist is Brendan Bayliss along with Joel Cummins on keyboards, Ryan Stasik on bass and Mike Mirro on drums. The band is named after Bayliss' cousin. They released an album in 1998 and added percussionist Andy Farag. His father became their manager. Then they released a live album and guitarist Jake Cinninger joined in 2000. Cinninger brought a lot of songs from his previous band Ali Baba's Tahini. Cinninger and Cummins released solo albums followed by a new Umphrey's McGee album Local Band Does OK in 2002. This is when they started playing big music festivals like Bonnaroo. Mirro left in 2002 to attend medical school. He was replaced by Kris Myers. They continued to record and tour. They finally got national distribution for their CDs. Rolling Stone hailed Umphrey's McGee as "the next Phish" in 2004. For the 2011 album Death By Stereo, Umphrey's McGee finally signed with a major label, Dave Matthews' ATO label. That album was designed as an intro for new fans. Then they went back and started their own label Nothing Too Fancy. The 2014 CD Similar Skin was the first album on the new label. Mike Mirro died in 2014. Umphrey's McGee continue to tour and record regularly. Their latest CD It's You was released May 2018. Their music is a mix of several styles including progressive rock and jazz. El Diablo is as close to a pop song as you will hear from them. Here's Umphrey's McGee performing El Diablo in the recording studio.

Frank Pozen's Big Bad Podcast Feb. 24, 2019

UFC on ESPN+ 3 review and new fight announcements.

Big Bad Blog Video Theater-Gillian Robertson vs Veronica Macedo

Here's the match video of Gillian Robertson vs Veronica Macedo from yesterday's UFC show in Prague, Czech Republic. Gillian is from Niagara Falls, ON and she trains at American Top Team in Florida. For this fight she trained at Roofusport in Milwaukee. She is a submission specialist with subpar striking. Veronica was born in Venezuela but she lives in France. She lost her two UFC fights. I don't think she belongs in the UFC. Gillian took Veronica down early in round one and I wouldn't say she dominated because Veronica turned things around a couple of times. But Veronica was defending most of the time and she really didn't generate any offense. I scored round one 10-9 for Gillian. Veronica's only hope in round two was to keep the fight standing. But Gillian got another takedown and after a couple of submission attempts, she got Veronica's back and won with a rear naked choke. It's good to see Gillian bounce back from a loss. I really like Gillian's submission skills. But she really needs to improve her striking if she's going to get anywhere with some of the better fighters in the Flyweight division. Her striking needs to be good enough to set up her takedowns just to make things more difficult for opponents to anticipate what she will do. As for Veronica, she could be headed for Palookaville. Enjoy the video!

Big Bad Blog Video Theater-Liz Carmouche vs Lucie Pudilova

Here's the match video of Liz Carmouche vs Lucie Pudilova from yesterday's UFC show in Prague, Czech Republic. The big deal is that Lucie is the only fighter on the UFC roster from the Czech Republic. And the crowd response for her was tremendous. The problem is she is a terrible fighter. She was 2-2 in the UFC coming into this fight and she didn't look good even when she won. Liz was never a great fighter. And now that she is older and has had some injuries, she's gotten worse. But she's the best fighter Lucie has ever faced. This fight was about as bad as I thought it would be. After the fight, Liz said her strategy was to make Lucie miss her punches. That part of her strategy worked great. But Liz settled on winning a decision instead of being more dominant. The end result was that the first two rounds were awful. Most of the first round was clinching on the fence. And round two was light sparring. So I scored both rounds 9-9 because neither fighter did anything. And I know judges don't score tie rounds. But maybe they should. In round three, Liz finally got a secure takedown and exerted enough control that I scored the round 10-9. So my score was 28-27 for Liz. The judges scored the fight 2X29-28 and 30-27 for Liz. The crowd booed the decision so loudly that we could barely hear Liz's post fight interview. And as bad as Lucie was, there is no excuse for Liz to not dominate and finish unless she's not capable of doing that anymore. Check out the fight for yourself.

AccuRadio Song Of The Day-The Five Americans

Artist:The Five Americans
Song:Western Union
Album:The Best Of The Five Americans





Western Union was a top five hit in 1967. The Five Americans scored some other chart singles but Western Union was their most memorable song. Though they lived in Dallas, lead singer and guitarist Mike Rabon was from Oklahoma. He met keyboard player John Durrill in 1962 at Southeastern Oklahoma State and they decided to form a band. They called themselves The Mutineers after a club they played called Pirates Nook. Other members were Norman Ezell on guitar, Jim Grant on bass and Johnny Coble on drums. At first they were an instrumental band heavily influenced by Duane Eddy. They released a 1963 single and then with the British Invasion started singing Beatles covers. Durrill experimented with keyboards and settled on a Vox organ which became a big part of their sound. When Rabon decided to move to Dallas, Coble was replaced by Jimmy Wright. They signed with Abnak Records owned by John Abdnor Jr. whose father was a multi millionaire. He insisted on the name change to The Five Americans. When the 1965 single I See The Light got radio airplay, it was picked up by Hanna-Barbera's HBR label. It reached #26 on the Billboard Hot 100. But they were having trouble with Abdnor. They wanted to sign with a larger label but he wouldn't let them leave. They started working with producer and rockabilly legend Dale Hawkins. The result was Western Union reached #5 on the Billboard Hot 100 in 1967. The song came about when Rabon was fooling around in the studio and he played a riff that sounded like a telegraph key. The song wrote itself. They continued to have problems with Abdnor. Durrill and Ezell left in 1968. The band continued as Michael Rabon and the Five Anericans until they split up in 1969. You can get all their hits on this comp from the reissue label Sundazed. Rabon recorded as Choctaw for UNI Records in 1970. Wright was also in that band. Then Rabon was in session musician Doug Rhone's band Gladstone who recorded for ABC Probe. He has worked for the Oklahoma school system for many years. Durrill wrote the 1974 Cher hit Dark Lady. And he was also a member of The Ventures for a while. Ezell has recorded Christian music. Grant and Wright both became artists. Grant died in 2004. Ezell died in 2010. Wright died in 2012. Here's The Five Americans performing Western Union on The Steve Allen Show 1967.

Carla Esparza vs Livinha Souza added to Apr. 27 UFC show

Combate reported this morning and the UFC has confirmed that Carla Esparza vs Livinha Souza has been added to UFC on ESPN 3 Apr. 27 at BB&T Center in Sunrise, FL. This fight will be at Strawweight. This is a tough fight for Carla. She is a former Strawweight champ who had shoulder surgery a couple of years ago. Since then she has a 3-3 record and she is on a two fight losing streak. She was dominated by Tatiana Suarez in her last fight. Livinha is a former Invicta Strawweight Champion. Her UFC debut was delayed due to injury. She is 2-0 in the UFC though I was not impressed with her recent performance winning by split decision over newcomer Sarah Frota in Brazil. If Livinha can dominate Carla, that could solidify her Strawweight Championship contender status. But if it's close or Carla wins, that's a different story. And Carla needs a win because right now she looks like she's on her way down. On paper this should play out on the ground as Carla is an elite wrestler and Livinha has elite BJJ. But Livinha has better striking so she may want to keep it standing. A win for Livinha will get her closer to the title. The UFC has also rebooked Jessica Penne vs Jodie Esquibel for this show.

AccuRadio Song Of The Day-DJ Jazzy Jeff & The Fresh Prince

Artist:DJ Jazzy Jeff & The Fresh Prince
Song:Summertime
Album:The Best Of





DJ Jazzy Jeff & The Fresh Prince were important in making rap accessible to families. The 1991 single Summertime was their only top five hit. Jeff Townes and Will Smith met at a 1985 party. They did an impromptu performance and decided to join forces. After the single Girls Ain't Nothing But Trouble got airplay, Russell Simmons signed them to Jive Records. Their 1987 debut album Rock The House was certified Gold. And they toured with Run DMC. The 1988 album He's The DJ, I'm The Rapper was their breakthrough especially the single Parents Just Don't Understand. It reached #12 on the Billboard Hot 100 and it won a Grammy. The album was certified 3XPlatinum. It made Townes and Smith household names. The rap community had mixed feelings because their music was clean. But it was important for parents that this was OK for kids. It showed that rap could be different things to different audiences. After the 1989 album And In This Corner... didn't do as well, Smith signed to do the sitcom The Fresh Prince of Bel-Air. That made him a big star. Townes appeared on the show in a supporting role. The whole thing was Quincy Jones' idea. The 1991 album Homebase had a more mature sound. The single Summertime reached #4 on the Billboard Hot 100. The song is based on the Kool & The Gang classic Summer Madness. The album was certified Platinum. So it was a successful comeback. Their final album was Code Red in 1993. The single Boom! Shake the Room reached #13 on the Billboard Hot 100. Then Smith went on to concentrate on his acting career. He has also had solo success. You can get all of DJ Jazzy Jeff & The Fresh Prince hits on this budget comp. Of course Smith is a big star. What about Townes? Though he has occasionally reunited with Smith, Townes has been a producer since the mid-90s. He has worked with Jill Scott, Floetry and many others. And he occasionally releases solo albums. Here's the video for Summertime by DJ Jazzy Jeff and The Fresh Prince.

Antonina Shevchenko vs Roxanne Modafferi added to Apr. 20 UFC show

My next fight 👊🏻👊🏻👊🏻 April 20th #UFCSaintPetersburg
Мой следующий бой 👊🏻 20 апреля
До встречи в России!

Repost @mma_fightnightlive #UFC pic.twitter.com/7K65x8OGwE

— Antonina Shevchenko (@AntoninaPantera) February 22, 2019

The UFC announced yesterday at a Q&A session in Prague, Czech Republic that UFC on ESPN+ 7 will be Apr. 20 at the Yubileyniy Arena in Saint Petersburg, Russia. One of the announced fights is Antonina Shevchenko vs Roxanne Modafferi at Flyweight. Of course Antonina is the older sister of UFC Flyweight Champion Valentina Shevchenko. Obviously they are very similar. Both are kickboxers. Having seen Antonina twice, I don't think she is as good as Valentina. She's kind of a carbon copy. Antonina does a lot of the same things as Valentina but not as well. I suppose she could improve but she's already 34 years old with only seven fights. So I have my doubts about her. Roxanne should be a good test for her. There was a time when Roxanne wouldn't punch anyone. But John Wood of Syndicate MMA has broken her of that stupid habit. Finally she made it to the UFC through TUF 26. She's 1-2 in the UFC and she lost her last fight to Sijara Eubanks. At 36 years old she's probably as good as she will ever be. But she's a step up in competition level than Antonina's previous opponents. So this fight could tell us if Antonina is any good.

Frank Pozen's Big Bad Podcast Feb. 22, 2019

UFC on ESPN+3 preview and new fight announcement.

AccuRadio Song Of The Day-Country Joe McDonald

Artist:Country Joe McDonald
Song:Roll On, Columbia
Album:The Best Of Country Joe McDonald





Country Joe McDonald is best known as leader of Country Joe and the Fish. They became famous because of their performance at Woodstock. McDonald has recorded and toured solo for many years usually paying tribute to Woody Guthrie and other folk music legends along with political protest songs. Roll On, Columbia is historically significant because Guthrie's original recording was lost for many years. McDonald was born Jan. 1, 1942 in Washington, DC but her grew up in El Monte, CA. After three years in the US Navy, McDonald busked and played coffee houses in Berkeley. And that's where he met Barry Melton and formed Country Joe and the Fish in 1965. McDonald began recording solo before the band's 1970 split. His solo debut was Thinking Of Woody Guthrie in 1969. The album was produced by folk music historian Samuel Charters with Nashville session musicians Grady Martin, Ray Edenton, Hargus "Pig" Robbins, Harold Bradley, Norbert Putnam and Buddy Harman. He recorded mostly Guthrie standards. But Roll On, Columbia was one of 26 songs Guthrie wrote and recorded for a documentary about the Columbia River in Washington in 1941. When the producers of the film had second thoughts about using Guthrie, his recordings were shelved. They were discovered and released by Rounder Records in 1987. Roll On, Columbia is now Washington's official folk song. The song is Leadbelly's Goodnight Irene with new lyrics. This comp has Country Joe and the Fish songs and McDonald solo songs. McDonald retired in 2017 but he still performs occasionally. Here's Country Joe McDonald performing Roll On, Columbia at Jorma Kaukonen's Fur Peace Ranch in Ohio 2012.

AccuRadio Song Of The Day-The Clancy Brothers and Tommy Makem

Artist:The Clancy Brothers and Tommy Makem
Song:Johnson's Motor Car
Album:In Person At Carnegie Hall




The Clancy Brothers were a big part of the early 60s folk music boom. They released several albums with Tommy Makem including this 1963 Carnegie Hall concert which was a big seller at the time. There were four Clancy Brothers. There was Paddy, Tom, Bob and Liam all born in Ireland. Makem was also born in Ireland. After serving in the Royal Air Force during WWII, Paddy and Tom Clancy moved to North America. They lived in Toronto for a couple of years and they moved to Greenwich Village in New York City in 1951. They acted on Broadway shows but they also performed music after shows. These shows attracted big name folksingers like Pete Seeger and Woody Guthrie. Bobby Clancy briefly joined them in New York. But he returned home to take over dad's insurance business and was replaced by Liam Clancy in 1956. Meanwhile Tommy Makem moved to New York and he was friends with Liam. They started their own record label Tradition Records. It was owned by Guggenheim heiress Diane Hamilton who loved folk music. They recorded several albums as The Clancy Brothers and Tommy Makem because they couldn't think of a group name. They were successful enough locally that The Ed Sullivan Show came calling. Then they wore sweaters sent by their mom and that became their trademark look. After appearing on the Sullivan show, legendary producer John Hammond signed then to Columbia Records. This led to worldwide success including back home in Ireland where they were unknown because they lived in the US. Their most successful album and the one you should get is In Person At Carnegie Hall recorded Mar. 22, 1963. The album reached #50 on the Billboard Top LPs chart. Sony released the full concert on two CDs in 2009. Johnson's Motor Car is an Irish rebel song written by poet Willie Gillespie in 1920. The Clancy Brothers and Tommy Makem continued to have success in the 60s. Makem left to go solo in 1969. The Clancy Brothers continued for many years. But their 60s recordings and the influence they had on Bob Dylan and others will be their legacy. Here's The Clancy Brothers and Tommy Makem performing Nightingale and Johnson's Motorcar on The Ed Sullivan Show in 1963.

Sarah Moras vs Leah Letson added to May 4 UFC show

The UFC announced today that UFC on ESPN+8 will be May 4 at Canadian Tire Centre in Ottawa. They announced several matches for this show including Sarah Moras vs Leah Letson. This fight will be at Bantamweight. Sarah is 30 years old from Kelowna, BC. Her record is 5-4 and 2-3 in the UFC. She trains at the UFC Performance Center in Las Vegas. Sarah is a wrestler with subpar striking. If she can score takedowns and control her opponent from top position, she can win and get submissions. Unfortunately in her loss to Talita Bernardo, Sarah wound up on the bottom and Talita just sat on her to win the fight. Sarah should have won that fight. She needs to stop beating herself. Leah is 26 years old from Milwaukee. Her record is 5-1 and 1-0 in the UFC. She was on TUF 28 which was for Featherweights. But the UFC signed her as a Bantamweight. I saw her on the show and in her split decision win over Julija Stoliarenko. She's a midcard fighter at best. And that's where this fight is.

Big Bad Blog Video Theater-Mandy Rose vs Asuka

Here's the match video of Mandy Rose vs Asuka from last night's episode of Smackdown. The whole purpose of this match is to set up a title match at Fastlane. While Asuka is being interviewed in the ring, Mandy Rose and Sonya Deville come out to challenge Asuka. Once the match begins, Lacey Evans strolls out. They did this at Elimination Chamber. They had her stroll out and then return to the back. Other than the Royal Rumble, that is all that Lacey has done so far. That won't get her over. On this occasion, Sonya sends her to the back. But the distraction is enough to give Mandy the upper hand for the time being. The match continues until Mandy fakes an eye injury. Not surprisingly this ends with Mandy winning the match with a rollup. So that will set up a title match at Fastlane. Corey Graves said on commentary that Mandy fooled Asuka. But that's not true. Asuka knew she was faking but the ref held her back. I hate it when the refs are made to look stupid. At least Asuka is back on TV where she belongs. Enjoy the video!

AccuRadio Song Of The Day-Daft Punk

Artist:Daft Punk f/Pharrell Williams
Song:Get Lucky
Album:Random Access Memories





Get Lucky is the most successful single to date for the French duo Daft Punk. They have influenced dance music since the 90s but they occasionally cross over to pop. They are known for wearing helmets in public. Guy-Manuel de Homem-Christo and Thomas Bangalter met while in high school in Paris. They formed the trio Darlin' with Laurent Brancowitz in 1992. After releasing an EP and performing a couple of shows in England, Brancowitz left, Daft Punk was born. The name came from a negative review of one of their shows. They signed with Virgin Records in 1996. Their 1997 debut CD Homework was successful mostly in Europe and in dance clubs. Around The World topped the dance chart. The album sold two million copies. They recorded two more albums which did OK but not as well as the first album. And they also composed the score for the 2010 film Tron: Legacy. For the 2013 album Random Access Memories, Daft Punk moved to Columbia Records. They recorded the album in Los Angeles with studio musicians which was a departure from using electronic instruments. Musicians included Paul Jackson Jr. on guitar, Nathan East on bass and Omar Hakim on drums. Daft Punk wanted to work with the legendary Nile Rodgers for a while. But they finally got the scheduling worked out. Rodgers appears on three songs including Get Lucky. When Pharrell Williams heard about what Daft Punk was doing, he wanted in and he wrote the lyrics and sang lead on Get Lucky. It reached #2 on the Billboard Hot 100. The album sold two million copies. And it won an Album of the Year Grammy. Get Lucky won Record of the Year. Though Daft Punk have not recorded since then, they have been busy. They produced The Weeknd's hit single Starboy among other things. They may record again and maybe they won't. Here's the video for Get Lucky by Daft Punk featuring Pharrell Williams.

AccuRadio Song Of The Day-The Paradons

Artist:The Paradons
Song:Diamonds and Pearls
Album:The Bluejays Meet The Paradons





Diamonds and Pearls is a great doo wop song that was a top twenty hit in 1960. Unfortunately The Paradons split up soon after. They were from Bakersfield, CA. Members were West Tyler on lead vocal, William Powers on baritone, Bill Meyers on bass and Chuck Weldon on tenor. Edward Scott wrote the songs and Walter Gibson managed them. Powers was in The Scarlets who released a few singles in 1954. Local gigs got them a recording session with Milestone Records owned by bluegrass musician Werly Fairburn. Diamonds and Pearls was the second single. It reached #18 on the Billboard Hot 100 in 1960. They appeared on American Bandstand and went on tour. They played The Apollo in New York. There were two problems with The Paradons. One was that Milestone went out of business. The Paradons recorded a single for Warner Bros. The other problem was a financial dispute between The Paradons and Gibson. They seemingly disbanded but the four singers recorded as The Trend-Tones. You can get The Paradons Milestone recordings on this Collectables CD also featuring another Milestone act The Bluejays. Beware of alternate takes on various artists CDs. Meyers and Joey Karp revived The Paradons and Karp still leads a version of the group on the oldies circuit. Here's a video of Diamonds and Pearls by The Paradons.

Frank Pozen's Big Bad Podcast Feb. 18, 2019

UFC on ESPN 1, Invicta FC 34 and WWE Elimination Chamber reviews.

Big Bad Blog Video Theater-Emily Whitmire vs Aleksandra Albu

Here's the match video of Emily Whitmire vs Aleksandra Albu from last night's UFC show in Phoenix. Alexsandra is a striker so Emily was looking for an immediate takedown. Once she got it, she went for a rear naked choke and the fight was over in a minute. I guess Emily gave a great performance. But obviously I would like to see her against better competition. Enjoy the video!

Big Bad Blog Video Theater-Andrea Lee vs Ashlee Evans-Smith

Here's the match video of Andrea Lee vs Ashlee Evans-Smith from last night's UFC show in Phoenix. Andrea set the tone in round one. She came out and outstruck Ashlee by a significant margin. Ashlee is a wrestler so she should have been going for takedowns. But she didn't. And then her corner told her she was doing OK. She did score a takedown in round two. But she didn't do anything in top position. I thought she was resting. That's not a good sign. Ashlee was better in round three. But she was down two rounds and she needed a finish. I thought Andrea deserved the unanimous decision. I'd like to see her against better competition. Enjoy the video!

Big Bad Blog Video Theater-Cynthia Calvillo vs Cortney Casey

Here's the match video of Cynthia Calvillo vs Cortney Casey from last night's UFC show in Phoenix. But first Jessica Penne vs Jodie Esquibel was cancelled yesterday. Jessica missed weight but it was cancelled after Jessica was working out yesterday and she sprained her ankle. Unbelievable!!! Now on to this fight. It was awful. Cynthia won by unanimous decision. I scored it a draw. Round one was so bad I scored it 9-9. That means neither of them did much of anything. Judges don't usually score tie rounds but maybe they should sometimes. And if they're not doing anything, the ref can warn them. They were so cautious. Neither wanted to make a mistake. The other two rounds weren't much better. But at least there was enough that I could tell you who won the round. I scored round two 10-9 for Cynthia and round three 10-9 for Cortney. So I scored the fight a draw. Two of the judges scored it 29-28 and the third scored it 30-27 for Cynthia. Afterwards, Cynthia called out Tatiana Suarez who has a fight coming up. If Tatiana wins, I expect her to get a title shot. Check out the video for yourself.

AccuRadio Song Of The Day-X Ambassadors

Artist:X Ambassadors
Song:Renegades
Album:VHS





Renegades was one of two top twenty hits from the X Ambassadors 2015 debut CD VHS. They have a new album coming out shortly. They were called Ambassadors when they were formed in 2009 in Ithaca, NY. Keyboard player Casey Harris was also lead singer. His brother Sam Harris took over lead vocals soon after. Other members were Noah Felsdshuh on guitar and Adam Levin on drums. They were called Ambassadors when they released a 2009 EP followed by a 2012 album. Imagine Dragons leader Dan Reynolds heard them on the radio and he got them a deal with Interscope. They released a couple of EPs and toured with Panic! at the Disco and Imagine Dragons. Their 2015 debut album VHS was produced by Alex Da Kid who has also produced Imagine Dragons. Renegades was the second single. It reached #17 on the Billboard Hot 100. The song was written for a Jeep Renegade commercial. There are several disabled athletes in the video. Casey Harris is blind. A second single Unsteady reached #20. The album was certified Platinum. X Ambassadors also appeared on the single Sucker For Pain from the film Suicide Squad. They have released a couple of singles from the upcoming album Joyful and they are going on tour. A release date has not been announced but it should be out soon. The question is can X Ambassadors distinguish themselves from similar bands like Imagine Dragons. This new album should tell us. Here's the video for Renegades by X Ambassadors.

AccuRadio Song Of The Day-Guordan Banks

Artist:Guordan Banks
Song:Keep You In Mind
Album:Insecure: Music From The HBO Original Series





Guordan Banks topped the Adult R&B charts in 2016 with Keep You In Mind. You may have heard it on season one of the HBO series Insecure. Banks is mainly a songwriter but he records on his own label. He was born Dec. 21, 1987 in Philadelphia. His first name is pronounced "Jordan". His parents are preachers so not surprisingly he grew up singing in church. He was planning to go to law school but he decided to pursue music instead. John Legend has been a big influence and Banks has written songs for Legend, Keyshia Cole and others. He released a mixtape in 2014 on rapper Meek Mill's Dream Chasers label. He has worked on some of Meek Mill's albums. Keep You In Mind is from Banks' debut album Insecure released on his own label. Banks wrote and produced the song with K Roosevelt (Kevin Moore). Raphael Saadiq heard the song and picked it up for season one of Issa Rae's HBO series Insecure. That soundtrack album and also Banks' album are available as digital downloads. Keep You In Mind topped the Adult R&B chart. Since then Banks lost 70 pounds. So he now looks different than how he looks in this video. He says he did this because his father died when Banks was 16 and his family has a history of diabetes. Something tells me we're going to hear much more from Guordan Banks. Here's the video for Keep You In Mind by Guordan Banks.

Eye poke kills Invicta FC 34 main event

Not the most exciting end to the night, but it was a great card from top to bottom! And congrats to the new champ @vanessaportomma! #InvictaFC34 pic.twitter.com/nkyIUaQDOQ

— UFC FIGHT PASS (@UFCFightPass) February 16, 2019

Invicta FC 34 aired last night on UFC Fight Pass. Unfortunately the main event ended prematurely due to an eye poke. The fight was for the vacant Invicta Flyeweight Championship. Vanessa Porto won the first three rounds over Pearl Gonzalez. Pearl was going to need a finish to win the fight. The eye poke happened halfway through round four. Vanessa was not going to be able to continue. The usual procedure is if the fight went long enough, a decision is based on the first three rounds. So Vanessa Porto is the new Invicta Flyweight Champion. The fight was OK. I thought Vanessa performed much better than she has in the past. It was one sided. Pearl had nothing for her. They also ran a Flyweight mini tournament to determine the number one contender. The first fight had Marina Rodriguez beat Milana Dudieva by split decision. I thought it was a close fight that could have gone either way. The main problem is Marina, like her teammate Alexa Grasso, isn't aggressive enough and it puts her in tough situations. I'm not sure she won this fight. The other fight had DeAnna Bennett over Miranda Maverick by unanimous decision. I didn't think either fighter performed very well. So now the winner of Marina vs DeAnna will face Vanessa for the Invicta Flyweight Championship. The Featherweight fight between Faith McMah and Helena Kolesnyk was cancelled when Helena missed weight by ten. I hope we don't see her again. In a tournament alternate bout, Tracy Cortez beat Erin Blanchfield by split decision. At least they got the right winner. In a Flyweight bout, Victoria Leonardo beat Jamie Malinowski by first round rear naked choke. In a 150 lb catchweight bout, Courtney King beat Holli Logan by second round rear naked choke. Holli missed weight and she looked awful. And in the Flyweight opener, Caitlin Sammons beat Chtistina Ricker by second round TKO. The show was OK. But the end of the main event really killed it. And I was fine with Vanessa not continuing and still winning the fight. It wasn't her fault. She was winning the fight anyway and I don't think Pearl deserves a rematch.

AccuRadio Song Of The Day-The Cause

Artist:The Cause
Song:Do Something Now
Album:The Steve Camp Collection





Back in the 80s you probably all remember charity singles like Do They Know It's Christmas by Band Aid and We Are The World by USA For Africa. Those are probably the best known charity singles but there were plenty of other charity singles at the time. The 1985 single Do Something Now gathers many of the Contemporary Christian Music (CCM) artists of the time. They called themselves Christian Artists United to Save the Earth or The Cause. The proceeds went to Compassion International for African famine relief. That organization has been around since the 50s and it's still around. They basically copied We Are The World. Maybe they should have tried to do something different so they don't look like copycats. The song was written arranged and produced by popular CCM artist Steve Camp. And of course the choir was all popular CCM artists. The song begins with a solo by Amy Grant who was probably the most popular CCM artist at the time. The other solos are by Second Chapter of Acts, Dana Key of DeGarmo & Key, Evie Karlsson, Jessy Dixon, Kathy Troccoli, Larry Norman, Matthew Ward, Michelle Pillar, Mylon Lefevre, Phil Keaggy, Russ Taff, Sandi Patti, Scott Wesley Brown, Sheila Walsh and Steve Taylor. Sparrow Records only released Do Something Now as a single. But you can get it as a digital download as part of The Steve Camp Collection. By the 80s CCM was heavily influenced by secular music. So it's not surprising that this record comes across as very derivative of We Are The World. Here's the video of Do Something Now by The Cause.

Frank Pozen's Big Bad Podcast Feb. 15, 2019

Invicta FC 34, UFC on ESPN 1 and WWE Elimination Chamber preview.

AccuRadio Song Of The Day-Washboard Sam

Artist:Washboard Sam
Song:Soap and Water Blues
Album:The Washboard Sam Collection





Robert Clifford Brown was very successful in the 30s and 40s as Washboard Sam. His career ended in the early 50s when he was unable to adjust to electric blues. His listed birthdate is July 15, 1910 in Walnut Ridge, AR but research indicates that he may have been born in 1903 in Jackson, TN. He was the illegitimate half brother of blues legend Big Bill Broonzy. They were very close and they recorded and toured together for years. Brown moved to Memphis in the early 20s where he met Sleepy John Estes and Hammie Nixon. They played streetcorners for tips. That's where he was named Washboard Sam. In 1932, Brown followed Broonzy to Chicago and they performed regularly. And Brown recorded with Broonzy after he signed with RCA's Bluebird label. Brown was a member of the Bluebird house band until producer Lester Melrose decided to record Brown as Washboard Sam. From 1935 until the late 40s Brown was very successful. Brown had a great singing voice. And though he could perform standard acoustic blues, he was very adept at writing novelty songs known as "hokum". The 1947 recording Soap and Water Blues is typical of "hokum". It's about a guy complaining about his girlfriend's body odor. Musicians are Big Bill Broonzy on guitar, Willie Dixon on bass, Bob Call on piano and J.T. Brown on sax. Call was a member of Broonzy's band. You can get all of Washboard Sam's recordings on this 3CD comp from Acrobat Records. By the early 50s blues was going to electric instruments especially in Chicago. Record companies started using drums instead of washboards. Washboards are still used today in Zydeco and Creole music. After recording for Chess in 1953, Brown retired from music though he did return for the early 60s blues boom. He died on Nov. 6, 1966 at age 56. Here's a video for Soap and Water Blues by Washboard Sam.

Movie review-Teddy Pendergrass: If You Don't Know Me

Teddy Pendergrass was one of the most popular recording artists of the 70s, first as lead singer of Harold Melvin and the Blue Notes and then as a solo artist. His nickname was Black Elvis. But it all came crashing down after a 1982 car accident made Pendergrass a paraplegic. This documentary Teddy Pendergrass: If You Don't Me tells his story. The film was produced by his family and his manager Shep Gordon for BBC Films and directed by Olivia Lichtenstein. It is airing on Showtime in the US and Crave TV in Canada. One of the interesting things about this film is that Pendergrass recorded a series of cassettes detailing his life in preparation for his 1998 autobiography. His voice is heard several times during the film. The film begins with a recreation of the 1982 car accident. Recreations are used a couple of times in the film but not to a great extent. Pendergrass was born Mar. 26, 1960 in Kingstree, SC and he was raised by his mother in Philadelphia. He grew up singing in church and he was an ordained minister at age ten. He sang with friends on streetcorners and took up the drums. The Blue Notes leader Harold Melvin hired Pendergrass as a drummer in 1970. But after Melvin heard him sing, Pendergrass was made lead singer. The Blue Notes signed with Philadelphia International owned by legendary producers Kenny Gamble and Leon Huff. They were supposed to be called The Blue Notes. But Melvin convinced Gamble and Huff to call them Harold Melvin and the Blue Notes. Gamble and Huff talk about this in the film. They had some big hits including If You Don't Know Me By Now. But many fans didn't know that Pendergrass was the lead singer. Questlove of The Roots admits that he didn't know. This was a big problem for Pendergrass and he left to go solo in 1975. Pendergrass scored four straight Platinum albums and hit singles like Turn Out The Lights. And he was a big hit in concerts with female fans tossing undergarments on stage. He was not only a great singer but he had tons of charisma. His manager Shep Gordon talks about this in the film. It all ended on Mar. 18, 1982 when Pendergrass crashed his Rolls Royce. He suffered a spinal cord injury and he was a paraplegic. During his recovery, Pendergrass left Philadelphia International for Elektra Asylum. Bob Krasnow of Elektra Asylum is interviewed in the film. Pendergrass released an album in 1984. But he wanted to return to the stage. I won't spoil it by going into detail. But Pendergrass performed Reach Out and Touch with Nickolas Ashford and Valerie Simpson at Farm Aid July 13, 1985. Valerie talks about this in the film. That's when the film ends. Pendergrass continued to record regularly until 1993. He performed a couple of times until he retired in 2006. After 2009 colon cancer surgery, Teddy Pendergrass died on January 13, 2010. This film is worth checking out. It airs on Showtime in the US, Crave TV in Canada and the BBC in England. Check out the trailer.

AccuRadio Song Of The Day-Jennifer Rush

Artist:Jennifer Rush
Song:The Power Of Love
Album:The Power Of Love: The Best Of Jennifer Rush





The 1985 single The Power Of Love was the biggest hit for Jennifer Rush. She was more successful in Europe than in the US. She was born Heidi Stern Sept. 28, 1960 in Queens, NY. Her father is opera singer Maurice Stern. The family moved to Germany in 1969 and then to Seattle in 1973 when Stern joined the faculty of the University of Washington. Heidi released an album in 1979. She met songwriter and producer Gene McDaniels who suggested she launch her singing career in Germany. She signed with CBS. Her 1984 debut album Jennifer Rush was produced by Candy DeRouge (Wolfgang Detmann) and Gunther Mende. The three wrote most of the songs. When The Power Of Love became a hit in Europe including #1 in England, Epic in the US decided to release the album with a different cover. Though the video was in heavy rotation on MTV, The Power Of Love only reached #57 on the Billboard Hot 100. Covers of the song by Laura Branigan and especially Celine Dion were much bigger hits. Jennifer continued to have success in Europe. She last recorded in 2010 and she appeared on the 2015 TV show Idols South Africa as a mentor. According to her website, her dad got sick and her website has been inactive since then. So it looks like she retired. Here's the video for The Power Of Love by Jennifer Rush.

AccuRadio Song Of The Day-David Cassidy

Artist:David Cassidy
Song:Cherish
Album:Could It Be Forever...The Greatest Hits





David Cassidy was best known as the star of the 70s sitcom The Partridge Family with his stepmom Shirley Jones. Because Cassidy did his own singing, Bell Records producer Wes Farrell spun Cassidy off as a solo act. The 1972 single Cherish was Cassidy's only top ten hit. He was born Apr. 12, 1950 in New York City. His parents were actors Jack Cassidy and Evelyn Ward. Because they were touring, Cassidy was raised by his maternal grandparents in West Orange, NJ. His dad married Shirley Jones in 1956 and they had three sons including Shaun Cassidy who was also a singing star. Cassidy moved to Los Angeles in 1969 and he landed The Partridge Family in 1970. Though the show was a big success, Cassidy did not enjoy working on it. Nor did he like the mass hysteria of being a teen idol. Not surprisingly, he wanted to record his own music. His debut solo album Cherish was released in 1972. The ironic thing was the album was produced by the same people who produced The Partridge Family records. Wes Farrell was the producer. Tony Romeo, who wrote I Think I Love You, wrote most of Cassidy's songs. And Los Angeles studio musician group The Wrecking Crew played on the record. So it's not surprising that fans didn't know The Partridge Family from David Cassidy. Cherish reached #9 on the Billboard Hot 100. That song was written by Terry Kirkman of The Association. It topped the charts in 1966. When Cassidy toured, he sang his own songs and Partridge Family songs. It all came to a head when a girl died in a crowd crush at a 1974 London concert. Cassidy decided to quit touring and The Partridge Family. This comp has solo and Partridge Family hits. He moved to RCA and his three albums did OK especially in England. He tried to get into TV with the Police Story spinoff David Cassidy: Man Undercover but the show was cancelled after one season. Cassidy next recorded in 1985. By this time he was doing mostly live theater. He recorded again in 1990. Cassidy seemed to come to grips with his teen idol stardom late in life. He did Q&A sessions at his shows. He admitted alcoholism in 2008. But then he was arrested twice for DUI. He collapsed at a recording studio in 2017 and Cassidy died of liver failure on Nov. 21, 2017 at age 67. Here's a video of Cherish by David Cassidy.

AccuRadio Song Of The Day-Karen O

Artist:Karen O
Song:The Moon Song
Single:Music From and Inspired By The Motion Picture Her




Karen Lee Orzolek is best known as lead singer of the group Yeah Yeah Yeahs. She calls herself Karen O. As a solo artist she has mostly recorded for movies especially for director Spike Jonze. The Moon Song is from Jonze's 2014 film Her. It was nominated for a Grammy and an Oscar. Karen was born Nov. 22, 1968 in Busan, South Korea but she grew up in Englewood, NJ. She met Brian Chase while both were students at Oberlin College. The Yeah Yeah Yeahs were formed in 2000. Her first time working with Spike Jonze was on a 2005 Adidas commercial. Then she wrote all the songs for Jonze's 2009 film Where The Wild Things Are. She also worked with Trent Reznor and Atticus Ross on the 2011 film The Girl With The Dragon Tattoo. The score for Her was composed by Owen Pallett and Will Butler of Arcade Fire. Karen wrote and recorded The Moon Song with Ezra Koenig of Vampire Weekend. In the film, the song is performed by Scarlett Johnsson and Joaquin Phoenix. Karen's recording plays over the end credits. There was no soundtrack album released despite the fact that the score was nominated for an Oscar. But when The Moon Song was nominated of a Best Original Song Oscar, Warner Bros. released the song as a single available as a digital download. That's the only way you can get The Moon Song. The song was also nominated for a Grammy. Karen released a solo album in 2014 while the Yeah Yeah Yeahs were on hiatus. And she has a new album coming out with Danger Mouse. But the Yeah Yeah Yeahs are touring again. So I expect we will see new music from them in the future. Here's the video for The Moon Song by Karen O.

AccuRadio Song Of The Day-Gene Merlino

Artist:Gene Merlino
Song:If Ever I Should Leave You
Album:Camelot: Original Motion Picture Soundtrack





Anyone who reads this blog knows that I love to write about the unsung heroes of music. These are people you have heard but are unknown. Gene Merlino's claim to fame is he dubbed Franco Nero's singing in the 1967 film Camelot. Merlino's fifty year singing career was mostly in the recording studio. He was born in 1928 in San Francisco. Merlino admired Harry James so he wanted to play the trumpet. But settled on the clarinet and then the sax. After attending San Francisco State and the Eastman School of Music, Merlino took a job playing sax on Bill Weaver's radio show at KCBS in San Francisco in 1950. He eventually became the main singer. After three years, Merlino moved to Los Angeles. His big break came when he sang on Ray Anthony's 1956 TV show. There's a clip of Merlino performing on Youtube. After the show was canceled, Merlino joined Freddy Martin's band and they had a steady gig at the Coconut Grove in Los Angeles. He stayed until 1963. Merlino got a job on The Red Skelton Show. And that led to working as a background singer on many TV variety shows. He got into studio work when he joined The Mellomen with Thurl Ravenscroft and Bill Lee. The Mellomen worked for Disney and many others. Merlino was also a member of the very successful Anita Kerr Singers. He remained with them until they disbanded in 1973. And that's also when he got to dub Franco Nero's singing voice in Camelot. Merlino was a part of the 1973 musical remake of Lost Horizon produced by Burt Bacharach and Hal David. Unfortunately the film flopped and Bacharach and David split up. Merlino returned to studio work. His vocal group L.A. Voices were nominated for a Grammy for the 1983 album Supersax & L.A. Voices. Merlino was also featured in the 2003 PBS documentary Off The Charts about song poems. Merlino is now retired. His wife for over fifty years died in 2009. They had two kids. And his story makes Gene Merlino an unsung hero of music. Here's Gene Merlino performing If Ever I Should Leave You as it appeared in the 1967 film Camelot. The soundtrack is available as a digital download.

Frank Pozen's Big Bad Podcast Feb. 20, 2019

UFC 234 review.

Big Bad Blog Video Theater-Montana De La Rosa vs Nadia Kassem

Here's the match video of Montana De La Rosa vs Nadia Kassem from last night's UFC show in Australia. This fight was at Flyweight. This was on last night's main card but it should have been on the prelims. The UFC's insistence on keeping this show as a PPV instead of moving it to ESPN+ or UFC Fight Pass is pigheaded. And that was my opinion long before Robert Whitaker was forced to withdraw. They shouldn't expect fans to pay for prelim fights. Montana is 23 years old from Fort Worth, TX. She is married to UFC fighter Mark De La Rosa. She's 2-0 in the UFC but I didn't think much of her opponents. And I don't think much of Nadia either. She's an Aussie which is why she was on this show. And she won her UFC debut over Alex Chambers. She seems very green to me. Nadia is a striker. Montana is a wrestler. So at the start of round one, Montana uses strikes to close the distance and get a takedown. She's in top position for the whole round. But she didn't advance her position and Nadia couldn't get out from under. So I scored the round 10-9 for Montana. She was more aggressive in round two, Again Montana got an immediate takedown. But this time she went for a finish and eventually an armbar forced Nadia to tap out. So is Montana good or is Nadia that bad? Probably the latter. I need to see Montana against a better opponent. And Nadia is only in the UFC for Aussie shows. And if she shows no improvement in her next fight, she should be gone. It's funny. Both fighters expressed interest in fighting Paige VanZant. Obviously Paige attracts plenty of eyeballs. But I'm not sure she's good enough to tell me if Montana is any good. I wouldn't be surprised if the UFC did that fight. Enjoy the video!

AccuRadio Song Of The Day-Erykah Badu

Artist:Erykah Badu
Song:Bag Lady (Cheeba Sac Radio Edit)
Album:Best Of Erykah Badu





Bag Lady was the first of two top ten pop hits for R&B singer songwriter Erykah Badu. Her success was mostly with her first two albums released in 1997 and 2000. She was probably better known for her eccentric look than her music. She was born Erica Wright Feb. 26, 1971 in Dallas. She started performing as a child. As a teen, changed her name to Erykah Badu because it sounded African. After studying theater at Grambling State, she decided to concentrate on music full time in 1993. A demo got the attention of Motown Records head Kedar Massenburg. He also managed D'Angelo. And after they recorded a duet, Erykah signed with Motown. Her debut CD Baduizm was released in 1997. The single On & On topped the R&B charts and reached #12 on the Billboard Hot 100. The album was certified 3XPlatinum. On & On also won a Grammy. After releasing a live album and taking some time off to have a child, Erykah released the album Mama's Gun in 2000. Bag Lady was the first single. It topped the R&B charts and reached #6 on the Billboard Hot 100. Erykah wrote and produced the song with Dr. Dre. The samples include a song from the soundtrack of the 1971 film Shaft jazz organist Johnny Hammond's 1974 recording Gambler's Life. The album was certified Platinum. I don't think it did as well internationally. Erykah's other top ten hit was Love Of My Life from the 2003 album Worldwide Underground. You can get all her hits on this comp which is available as a digital download. Since then Erykah hasn't been all that successful. Her last album was released in 2010 though she did release a mixtape in 2015. In 2013, she went to Africa to record but nothing has been released. She's been in the news lately for supporting R. Kelly in the wake of sexual assault charges. She is also in the new film What Men Want. So Erykah is still around and still on Motown. But her days of chart success are long gone. Here's the video for Bag Lady by Erykah Badu.

AccuRadio Song Of The Day-D-Influence

Artist:D-Influence
Song:Good Lover
Album:Good 4 We





Ed Baden-Powell and Kwame Kwaten were a big part of England's Acid Jazz movement of the 90s as producers and also as leaders of the group D-Influence. They had success in England with singles like Good Lover. The band was lead singer Sarah Anne Webb, Ed Baden-Powell on piano and guitar, Kwame Kwaten on bass and synthesizer and Steve Marston on alto sax, flute and percussion. Marston was a session musician before joining D-Influence. After releasing a 1990 single on Acid Jazz Records, D-Influence signed with Atlantic's EastWest label. Good 4 We was the debut album and Good Lover was the first single. They did well enough especially in England to release three albums in the 90s. Like a lot of Acid Jazz groups, most of D-Influence's success was in clubs. And their music is still good today because Acid Jazz was just another name for R&B. They went on to produce artists like Adeva, Ultra Nate, Eric Benet and Heather Headley. Kwaten also manages artists. And Baden-Powell is an entertainment lawyer. They reformed D-Influence in 2017 to play a few gigs. They have no plans to record. I guess they are doing that for recreation. Here's D-Influence performing Good Lover at the 1995 Montreux Jazz Festival.

Frank Pozen's Big Bad Podcast Feb. 8, 2019

Io Shirai, Kairi Sane and UFC 234 preview.

Big Bad Blog Video Theater-Io Shirai, Kairi Sane and Bianca Belair vs Jessamyn Duke, Marina Shafir and Shayna Baszler

Here's the match video of Io Shirai, Kairi Sane and Bianca Belair vs Jessamyn Duke, Marina Shafir and Shayna Baszler from this week's episode of NXT. Obviously this is the beginning of the build to the Wrestlemania weekend Takeover show. As you will see, the babyface team is an uneasy alliance that I think will lead to a Io vs Bianca feud. First, thumbs up to Bianca's Black History Month tights. Bianca starts the match with Shayna. When Shayna doesn't like how things are going, she tags Marina in. Kairi tags in and Bianca lifts her to a press position and drops her on Marina. But a distraction gives the heels the advantage and they beat on Kairi until she gets the hot tag to Io. Io runs wild and then tags Kairi. Then Kairi reaches for Io but Bianca tags in. Bianca hits her KOD finisher on Shayna but the other two break it up. While Kairi does a cross body to the outside to get rid of Jessamyn and Marina, Io tags herself in and hits her moonsault on Shayna for the win. Of course commentary makes a big deal out of Io pinning Shayna. Bianca did not look pleased especially when Kairi started playing with her hair. So I expect this to lead to a three way championship match at Takeover with Shayna vs Io vs Bianca. And after that we should see a Bianca vs Io feud. I prefer Bianca as a heel. It really depends on if Shayna is finally moved up to the main roster. And I also think Kairi is ready for that. She filled in on last weekend's Smackdown house shows when Becky Lynch was pulled due to her storyline knee injury. Kairi's surprise appearance made up for no Becky. Clearly Kairi is ready for the main roster. In the meantime, enjoy the video!

AccuRadio Song Of The Day-Larry Norman

Artist:Larry Norman
Song:Why Should The Devil Have All The Good Music
Album:Only Visiting This Planet





Larry Norman was the founding father of what is now called Contemporary Christian Music (CCM). The 1972 album Only Visiting This Planet may have been the first Christian Rock album. Today it's considered to be a classic though it wasn't received well at the time. He was born April 8, 1947 in Corpus Christi, TX but he grew up in San Francisco. Norman became a Christian at age five. He performed on Ted Mack's Original Amateur Hour in 1959. During high school, he led The Back Country Seven which included his sister and friend Gene Mason. After opening for the group People! in 1966, Norman became their lead singer and songwriter. Mason also joined the group. People! were on Capitol and they scored a top twenty hit with I Love You in 1968. Norman and Mason left when the other members got into Scientology. Capitol hired Norman to write musicals. He moved to Los Angeles and spent all his money on a street ministry. A couple of his musicals were performed in Los Angeles. And Norman turned down a role in the Los Angeles production of Hair. Capitol released the 1969 album Upon This Rock which is considered to be the first Christian Rock album. TV evangelists denounced Norman and the album didn't sell so Capitol dropped him. But it did well in Christian bookstores. Norman toured and released a couple of albums. Then he signed with MGM's Verve label for the 1972 album Only Visiting This Planet. It was recorded at George Martin's AIR Studios in London and produced by Rod Edwards and Roger Hand of the group Edwards Hand. They became producers after the band split up. John Wetton of Family played bass. The album almost crossed over to pop. Of course it is now considered to be important in the development of CCM. In 2013, it was inducted into the Library of Congress National Recording Registry. It is available as a digital download. After one more album for MGM, Norman started his own Solid Rock label with distribution from ABC's religious label Word. Solid Rock closed in 1980 and Norman moved to England and started a new label. Then he returned to the US in 1985 and signed with Benson Records. Norman continued to record and tour but health problems plagued him until his death on Feb. 24, 2008 at age 60. Today Norman is revered as a CCM pioneer. Back in the 70s, not so much. Here's Larry Norman performing Why Should The Devil Have All The Good Music at Cliff Richard's house in London 1972.

AccuRadio Song Of The Day-Bunky Green

Artist:Bunky Green
Song:Little Girl, I'll Miss You
Album:Places We've Never Been





Sax player Vernice "Bunky" Green recorded regularly in the 60s and 70s. But he is mainly known as an educator. Before his 2011 retirement, Green was president of the International Association for Jazz Education and he is in the Jazz Education Hall of Fame. He was born Apr. 23, 1935 in Milwaukee. After playing local clubs, Green replaced Jackie McLean in the 1960 Charles Mingus band. He also made his recording debut as a leader on VeeJay's Exodus label. He moved to Chicago and recorded several albums for Cadet in the 60s with among others Wynton Kelly and Sonny Stitt. In 1972 Green joined the faculty of Chicago State University and he was there until 1989. In the 90s he was the director of jazz studies at the University of North Florida. He continued to record and tour. Little Girl, I'll Miss You is from the 1979 album Places We've Never Been, one of three albums he recorded for Vanguard. Musicians are Randy Brecker on trumpet, Albert Dailey on piano, Eddie Gomez on bass and Freddie Waits on drums. This album is available as a digital download. After many years of concentrating on his teaching career, Green was more active in the 00s. He recorded an album in 2008 with the Salzau Quartet. That's who is on this video. Musicians are Carsten Daerr on piano, Eva Kruse on bass and Nasheet Waits (Freddie's son) on drums. This album is available on CD. This was Green's final album before his 2011 retirement. He may not be that well known but his music is worth checking out. Here's Bunky Green with the Salzau Quartet performing Little Girl, I'll Miss You at Jazz Baltica in Germany 2008.

AccuRadio Song Of The Day-Good Charlotte

Artist:Good Charlotte
Song:The Anthem
Album:Greatest Hits





Good Charlotte was a big part of the late 90s pop punk movement. The 2002 album The Young and the Hopeless was their biggest seller. Four singles from the album charted including The Anthem. Good Charlotte are from Waldorf, MD. All five original members attended La Plata High School. They are led by twin brothers Joel (lead singer) and Benji (guitarist) Madden. They write all the songs. Other members are Paul Thomas on bass, Billy Martin on keyboards and Aaron Escolopio on drums. They gained a following playing Washington, DC clubs. They released a couple of EPs. When one of their songs Little Things got played on a local radio station, Epic Records came calling and Good Charlotte signed with Epic's Daylight label. Their 2000 debut CD Good Charlotte was certified Gold. Escolopio left to join his brother's band Wakefield. They hired Nate Foutz of Vroom for an upcoming tour. Chris Wilson would be hired full time later. The 2002 album The Young and the Hopeless was Good Charlotte's commercial breakthrough. The album was certified 3XPlatinum and sold five million copies worldwide. The singles Lifestyles of the Rich & Famous, The Anthem and Girls & Boys all charted. The Anthem reached #43 on the Billboard Hot 100. Like most of Good Charlotte's songs, it was written by the Madden twins along with John Feldmann of the band Goldfinger. The Anthem was written for a film but it wasn't used. But it's probably one of Good Charlotte's most popular songs as it has been used in several movies and video games. They haven't matched the success of that album. But they continued to do OK. Dean Butterworth replaced Wilson in 2005. The decline in sales forced a short hiatus. Epic wanted then to reinvent themselves for the 2008 album Good Morning Revival. It was the final album in their contract. So when it wasn't successful, Good Charlotte signed with Capitol for the 2010 album Cardiology. After touring to support that album, they decided to go on hiatus. They returned in 2015 and they have released two albums on BMG. Good Charlotte is currently touring Europe. I guess they would be a nostalgia act at this point. Here's the video for The Anthem by Good Charlotte.

AccuRadio Song Of The Day-Logan Richardson

Artist:Logan Richardson
Song:Slow
Album:Shift





Sax player Logan Richardson is mainly a sideman. But his 2015 major label debut Shift did well on the jazz charts. He was born July 29, 1980 in Kansas City, MO. His parents listened to jazz and Richardson started playing the flute at age 12. He started playing alto sax while attending the Paseo Academy of Fine and Performing Arts. He left school at age 16 and played local clubs until he left Kansas City at age 19. He studied at Berklee in Boston and New School University in New York. Among his teachers were Greg Tardy and Joe Chambers and he appeared on albums by both. He first recorded as a leader in 2007 and then 2008. He was also a member of the group Equality led by drummer Nasheet Waits who is the son of drummer Freddie Waits. Richardson started splitting his time between New York and Paris. He now lives in Paris full time. I first heard of him when he was in the band NEXT Collective with bassist Ben Williams and pianist Gerald Clayton. The 2013 album Cover Art on Concord was jazz covers of rock songs. He also appeared on Clayton's 2013 album Life Forum. Shift was released on Blue Note in 2015. It features Pat Metheny on guitar and Jason Moran on piano along with Harish Raghavan of the group Act on bass and Nasheet Waits on drums. It did well on the jazz charts. If I had to guess, Metheny fans bought the record. Richardson's latest CD Blues People was released on his own label through Ropeadope Records. On this he works with musicians from his home town of Kansas City. Richardson isn't touring right now so he may be working on a new album. His next album will be released by Chick Corea's Stretch label through Universal. Here's the video for Slow by Logan Richardson.

AccuRadio Song Of The Day-Smokey Joe's Cafe

Artist:BJ Crosby, Brenda Braxton, DeLee Lively, Pattie Darcy Jones
Song:I'm A Woman
Album:Smokey Joe's Cafe: The Songs of Lieber and Stoller: Original Broadway Cast



Jukebox musicals have become very popular on Broadway in recent years. We first saw them in the 70s for The Beatles, Elvis Presley and Fats Waller. But they became more popular in the 90s with shows like Mamma Mia and Smokey Joe's Cafe. Now they are everywhere. Smokey Joe's Cafe is a tribute to the songs of Jerry Lieber and Mike Stoller. Most of the songs in the show are from the 50s. Smokey Joe's Cafe was conceived in 1995 by Stephen Helper, Jack Viertel and Otis Sallid. What makes it a jukebox musical is there is no story. This show features 39 songs sung by various cast members. Smokey Joe's Cafe ran for five years on Broadway so it was very successful. It was directed by Broadway veteran Jerry Zaks. Joey McKneely was the choreographer. He started as a performer but this was his first show as choreographer. He also worked on The Boy From Oz among other things. There were nine in the cast. they all took turns singing, sometimes individually, sometimes in a group. I'm A Woman is a Lieber and Stoller song first recorded in 1962. The best known recordings of the song are by Peggy Lee and Maria Muldaur. The performers are Brenda Braxton, BJ Crosby, DeLee Lively and Pattie Darcy Jones. Pattie mostly worked as a touring backup singer. She toured with Cher for many years. She died in 2007. This looks like the only credit for DeLee Lively. BJ Crosby did a couple of other shows. She died in 2015. Brenda Braxton also appeared in Chicago for a few years. There are no stars in a jukebox musical. The performers are easily replaced. But these four appear on the original cast CD. The video is from the DVD and I think Pattie had been replaced by the time it was shot. The original producers brought Smokey Joe's Cafe back to Broadway last year. It opened in July and closed in November. It was only supposed to be a short run. I think it's fair to say that Smokey Joe's Cafe and Mamma Mia led to the glut of jukebox musicals currently on Broadway. Here's the cast of Smokey Joe's Cafe performing I'm A Woman from the DVD.

Frank Pozen's Big Bad Podcast Feb. 3, 2019

UFC on ESPN+ 2 review and Amanda Nunes to retire?

Big Bad Blog Video Theater-Mara Romero Borella vs Taila Santos

Here's the match video of Mara Romero Borella vs Taila Santos from last night's UFC show in Brazil. Mara is from Italy but she trains at American Top Team in Florida. ATT co-owner Conan Silveira was in her corner. Mara is 1-1 in the UFC. She looked bad in her last fight. Taila was on the Brazil Dana White Contender Series. She is 15-0 on the Brazilian regional circuit. This was a big step up in competition for her. Taila is mainly a striker so Mara's goal was to tie her up, clinch on the fence and maybe take her down. She was successful for the first two rounds. There was a lot of clinching on the fence but they were active enough that the ref only broke it up once. Taila was a lot better in round three. If she had fought that way for the whole fight, she probably would have won. I scored it 29-28 for Mara. She won by split decision. I didn't think it was that close. Mara bounced back from a bad loss. But I still don't think she is a top fighter. Enjoy the video!