AccuRadio Song Of The Day-Charlie McCoy

Artist:Charlie McCoy

Song:You Gonna Need Me

Album:Complete 1928-1932 Recordings in Chronological Order

Though he was primarily an accompanist on either guitar or mandolin, "Papa" Charlie McCoy recorded some of his own songs starting in the late 20s. He seemed to prefer being in the background. He is not to be confused with country music legend Charlie McCoy. He was born May 26, 1909 in Jackson, MS. His band was called The Mississippi Hot Footers. They recorded as The Mississippi Mud Steppers, McCoy's usual partner in these recordings was violinist Bo Chatman AKA Bo Carter. He recorded as an accompanist in 1928 with Rosie Mae Moore, Tommy Johnson and Ishman Bracey. He finally recorded as a leader in 1930 for Okeh. You Gonna Need Me was recorded on Dec. 16, 1930. McCoy is on mandolin accompanied by Walter Vincson on guitar and Bo Chatman on violin. His recordings from 1928-32 are on this CD from Document Records. McCoy and his older brother Kansas Joe McCoy moved to Chicago. They had two bands. Papa Charlie's Boys recorded for RCA Victor. The Harlem Hamfats recorded for Decca. He also continued to work as an accompanist for Sonny Boy Williamson and others. McCoy was in the US Army during WWII. Sadly he got sick afterwards and was never able to return to music. He died on July 26, 1950 at age 41. Here's a video of You Gonna Need Me by Charlie McCoy. 

AccuRadio Song Of The Day-Jonas Brothers

Artist:Jonas Brothers f/Big Rob

Song:Burnin' Up

Album:A Little Bit Longer

When the Jonas Brothers first surfaced, they were immediately compared to Hanson because it was another group of brothers aimed at teenage girls. But Hanson never had the Disney Channel machine behind them. And that was the difference. The Jonas Brothers had a good initial run with hits like Burnin' Up. After a hiatus, they have returned and they may be even bigger. Joe, Kevin and Nick Jonas are from Wyckoff, NJ. Joe performed on Broadway as a child. They started writing together and signed with Columbia in 2005. When the 2006 album It's About Time didn't meet sales expectations, Columbia dropped them in 2007. Why did they fail? There were management changes at Sony and they just fell through the cracks. The Jonas Brothers signed with Disney owned Hollywood Records and they were an immediate success by appearing on Disney Channel shows like Hannah Montana. They recorded three albums for Hollywood. The most successful album was A Little Bit Longer in 2008. It was produced by John Fields who produced other Disney acts like Miley Cyrus. The Jonas Brothers wrote all the songs. Burnin' Up reached #5 on the Billboard Hot 100. It would turn out to be their biggest hit single. The rapper Big Rob is their bodyguard. Eventually the grind of constant touring wore them out. They left Hollywood Records in 2011. Joe and Nick Jonas released solo albums. There were plans to record and tour. But a planned tour was cancelled in Oct. 2013 and they announced a split. Some of the songs recorded for the proposed album appeared on the 2013 album Live which they self released. They reunited in 2019 and signed with Republic Records. The single Sucker was their very first #1 hit and the album Happiness Begins returned the Jonas Brothers to the top of the Billboard Hot 200. They may be bigger now than when they were with Disney. Here's the video for Burnin' Up by Jonas Brothers featuring Big Rob. Take note of the celebrity cameos. 

AccuRadio Song Of The Day-Pearly Gate Music

Artist:Pearly Gate Music

Song:Big Escape

Album:Pearly Gate Music

Fans of the popular act Father John Misty should check out Pearly Gate Music. Based in Seattle, Josh Tillman is the former drummer of Fleet Foxes. While in that band, he recorded as J. Tillman. And then after he left Fleet Foxes in 2009, Tillman resurfaced as Father John Misty in 2012 and has been very successful. Zach Tillman is his younger brother. He was a member of the band Siberian. After that band split up, Zach played bass in J. Tillman and he played bass for Father John Misty. While Josh was trying to decide his next project after leaving Fleet Foxes, Zach recorded a 2010 solo album as Pearly Gate Music. It's basically Zach and his guitar. Josh plays drums and they bring in some guest musicians. He even went out on a brief tour so there are live video clips posted by Paste Magazine. When Josh started Father John Misty, Zach played bass for a few years.Then he joined the band Lee Gull. He doesn't seem to have the itch to record his own music again. Pearly Gate Music is available as a budget CD. Here's Pearly Gate Music performing Big Escape at Secrest 1880 Octagonal Barn in West Libery, IA Apr. 27, 2010.

AccuRadio Song Of The Day-Haddaway

Artist:Haddaway

Song:What Is Love

Album:The Album: 2nd Edition

The 1993 single What Is Love was a worldwide dance hit and the only big hit for Haddaway. I guess the song is memorable but who is Haddaway. What Is Love had a significant afterlife when it was used on the Saturday Night Live A Night at the Roxbury sketches which were turned into a movie. Nestor Haddaway was born Jan. 9, 1965 in Port of Spain, Trinidad and Tobago. When his parents split up, he lived with his father in Germany and then with his mother in Chicago and then Fort Meade, MD which is a suburb of Washington, DC. He enrolled in medical school but dropped out and moved to Cologne, Germany to get into the entertainment business. He organized fashion shows. He signed with Coconut Records in 1992. They released The Album in 1993. After What Is Love was a hit in Europe, a US deal was signed with Arista. The Album was the German release. Arista reworked the album and released it as Haddaway. 2nd Edition is the German release with two bonus tracks. What Is Love reached #11 on the Billboard Hot 100 and it was number one in several European countries. The album was written and produced by Coconut Records owners Dieter Lunstedt and his wife Karin Hartmann. They use the pseudonyms Dee Dee Halligan and Junior Torello. There isn't much to What Is Love. The chorus is repeated throughout the song. The female singer is studio singer Lisa Noya. Haddaway released several albums but he was never able to repeat the success of What Is Love. And then What Is Love got a new life when it was used in the A Night at the Roxbury SNL sketches and the 1998 film. Here's the video for What Is Love by Haddaway.

 

AccuRadio Song Of The Day-Alvin Cash

Artist:Alvin Cash

Song:Twine Time

Album:Windy City Workout

The instrumental single Twine Time was a top twenty hit in 1964. It was the only big hit for singer Alvin Cash. That's very similar to Cliff Nobles' The Horse. Cash was perceived as a one hit wonder but some of his other songs charted. Twine Time was his only big hit. He was born Alvin Welch Feb. 15, 1939 in St. Louis. He formed a tap dance group with three of his brothers. After graduating high school, they moved to Chicago. They performed as a dance act. But Cash thought he could sing so he was trying to get a record deal. Andre Williams was a Motown producer who had his own label One-der-ful on the side. He saw Alvin Cash and the Crawlers in a club and he released the instrumental Twine Time on his Mar-V-Lus label to take advantage of a popular Chicago dance craze. Surprisingly, the record broke nationally and reached #14 on the Billboard Hot 100. The only thing is Alvin Cash and the Crawlers didn't actually record this. It was recorded by a band from Louisville called The Niteliters. It's not clear if Cash and his brothers appeared on the record. And it also isn't known why Williams chose to release the single under Cash's name if he didn't appear on it. I told you this was similar to The Horse. Cash released an album in 1965. The singles The Barracuda and The Philly Freeze charted but they weren't big hits. Charly Records released all of Cash's recordings on one CD and it's available as a budget CD. Later Cash recorded a Muhammad Ali tribute album. And in the 70s he appeared in a few films. Alvin Cash continued to perform in Chicago clubs until his death on Nov. 21, 1999 at age 60. Here's Alvin Cash performing Twine Time on Hollywood-A-Go-Go 1965.

Big Bad Blog Video Theater-Charlotte Flair and Asuka vs Sasha Banks and Bianca Belair vs Carmella and Bayley

Here's the match video of Charlotte Flair and Asuka defending the WWE Wonen's Tag Team Championships vs Sasha Banks and Bianca Belair & Carmella and Bayley. This title can be defended on all three brands. This was an elimination match. Everything about this match reflected the WWE's bad habit of 50/50 booking. That's why it was a three way match in the first place. And they even took a moment to show The Riott Squad watching backstage. The opening segment with all of them interrupting each other was also 50/50 booking. I would prefer none of talked because the segment was awful. Typical of the WWE these days, the match didn't pick up until after the commercial break. Bianca pinned Bayley but the ref didn't send Bayley and Carmella to the back so they were able to eliminate Sasha so Charlotte and Asuka double teamed Bianca. Charlotte won with the Natural Selection. That was pretty good teamwork at the end. Enjoy the video! 

AccuRadio Song Of The Day-U.S. Girls

Artist:U.S. Girls

Song:Window Shades

Album:Half Free

Meg Remy started U.S. Girls as an experimental home recording project using electronics and tape loops. By the 2015 album Half Free, it had turned into an electronic band mixed with 60s girl group influences. And she's on a mini major record label. Meg is from Philadelphia. She started U.S. Girls in 2007 as a solo project using a reel to reel tape machine. She released a couple of albums. In 2010 she married musician Max "Slim Twig" Tutnbull and moved to his home town of Toronto. He had released a few albums of his own. He encouraged Meg to turn U.S. Girls into a more traditional pop group. So that's what they have done. This new direction started on the 2012 album Gem on the British label FatCat. And the success of that album led to a deal with 4AD Records which I would describe as a mini major label specializing in independent and alternative rock. Half Free was the first album on 4AD. The album was favorably reviewed, nominated for a Juno and a finalist in the 1996 Polaris Music Prize. Meg writes and sings. Turnbull produced with Louis "Onakabazien" Percival. And that's the core of the group. They bring in outside musicians but it's not clear exactly what they do. I think it's mostly background vocals. U.S. Girls latest album Heavy Light was released Mar. 2020. Here's the video for Window Shades by U.S. Girls. 

The Big Topic in WMMA

This is the special holiday edition of the podcast. 

AccuRadio Song Of The Day-Charlie Haden with Michael Brecker

Artist:Charlie Haden with Michael Brecker

Song:Nightfall

Album:American Dreams

Sometimes when I am looking for video clips, I encounter clips like this one from the late lamented A&E Sunday morning series Breakfast with the Arts. Boy, do I miss that show. I wondered if Charlie Haden had ever recorded with Michael Brecker and Brad Mehldau. Sometimes yes, sometimes the collaboration was just for TV. Of course Haden seemed to record with everyone in the 90s and 00s. It turns out he did record with Brecker and Mehldau in 2002. Haden recorded a lot of duet albums. I have featured a couple of them already. Haden first recorded with Michael Brecker on Brecker's 1987 solo debut. And he also appeared on Brecker's 2000 album Nearness of You: The Ballad Book. It doesn't look like Haden had ever recorded with Mehldau. The drummer is Brian Blade and it looks like this was the only time the two worked together. Nightfall was first recorded on Haden's 2001 album Nocturne featuring pianist Gonzalo Rubalcaba and drummer Ignacio Berroa. That album won a Best Latin Jazz Album Grammy. When I looked Nightfall up on Google Video, the clip with Brecker and Mehldau came up. American Dreams was Haden's next album after Nocturne. Along with this great quartet, there are strings arranged and conducted for Nightfall by Jeremy Bullock. Alan Broadbent did most of the album's string arrangements.Haden recorded a live album in Germany with Mehldau in 2007. This was released as Long Ago and Far Away on Impulse in 2018. Haden was so prolific that there may be recordings sitting in the vault that have yet to be released. Here's Charlie Haden, Michael Brecker and Brad Mehldau performing Nightfall on A&E's Breakfast with the Arts. Don't know the date. I figure 2004. 

AccuRadio Song Of The Day-Jeffree

Artist:Jeffree

Song:Love's Gonna Last

Album:Steppin' Across the U.S.A. Vol. 2

Love's Gonna Last was a minor chart hit when it released in 1979. But it became a classic of step music when it was rediscovered by DJs in the 90s. Of course Jeff "Jeffree" Perry didn't know he was recording a step classic at the time. Perry grew up in Detroit in a musical family. His uncle Robert Bateman co-wrote and produced The Marvelettes classic Please Mr. Postman. All four if Perry's brothers are musicians. They recorded as The Perry Brothers in the late 60s. When Greg Perry worked as a house producer for Holland/Dozier/Holland's Hot Wax label, he brought Jeff in to write songs. They wrote and produced Somebody's Been Sleeping in My Bed for 100 Proof Aged in Soul. And they produced Want Ads for Honey Cone. Jeff Perry then worked for Motown especially with legendary bassist James Jamerson. He also became close friends with Marvin Gaye. Then he went to Chicago to work for Carl Davis at Brunswick Records. Perry wrote several songs for Jackie Wilson's final album Beautiful Day. Perry's 1975 single Love Don't Come No Stronger for Arista was an R&B hit. Perry moved to MCA to work with producer Norman Whitfield. And that's when he released the 1979 album Jeffree. Love's Gonna Last was one of two chart hits from the album. Perry wrote and produced the album. Then in 1990 DJs at WVAZ in Chicago started playing Love's Gonna Last and claimed it was a step classic. Suddenly Jeffree is in demand. MCA was convinced to re-release Jeffree as a Best Of. But it's too expensive. You can get Love's Gonna Last on this various artists comp. Perry released the 1997 album Call It Love and he still writes and produces. Here's a video for Love's Gonna Last by Jeffree. Yes, he does sound like Marvin Gaye. 

Frank Pozen's Big Bad Podcast

 Asuka, UFC review and Charlie joins me to discuss last week's Deep Jewels show.

Big Bad Blog Video Theater-Charlotte Flair and Asuka vs Nia Jax and Shayna Baszler

Here's the match video of Charlotte Flair and Asuka vs Nia Jax and Shayna Baszler from Sunday's TLC show for the WWE Women's Tag Team Championship. After all the nonsense the WWE did with Lana, they did a phony injury angle to get her off this match. The whole thing was a waste of time and it didn't get Lana over as a babyface like they wanted. It was reported last week that Charlotte was the likely replacement. She's been out since June getting her boob implants fixed. The new ones seem to be smaller. I think she was supposed to return at the Royal Rumble. She says she doesn't play well with others. But if she is going to be in a tag team, she is very happy to have a partner she respects as much as Asuka. And Asuka has done so much for Charlotte's career. The match is OK. It picks up towards the end. Charlotte pins Shayna with the Natural Selection. Afterwards Asuka was so happy. She said in an interview she was very sad after Kairi Sane went home. Now she's happy again. After a pointless match on RAW, Charlotte and Asuka will defend the titles on this week's Smackdown. This was taped last night. I know the results but I never give away spoilers. I guess the only question is how long will it take for Charlotte to go after Asuka's RAW Women's Championship. Enjoy the video!

AccuRadio Song Of The Day-Hillsong Worship

Artist:Hillsong Worship

Song:What A Beautiful Name

Album:WOW Hits 2018

Hillsong Worship is another spinoff of the Australian Hillsong Church. They were called Hillsong Live when they started out in the 80s. What A Beautiful Name was the biggest selling Christian single in 2016. The main guy behind anything Hillsong is Joel Houston. He's the main pastor. As I said, when this group first started in 1988, they were called Hillsong Live. The name was changed to Hillsong Worship in 2014. Their albums are very popular in the Christian community worldwide. But What A Beautiful Name has been their most successful single to date. At first it was released only as a single and then added to the album Let There Be Light. It topped the Christian Singles chart for 37 weeks and it was the most downloaded Christian song for 2017. The lead singer is Brooke Ligertwood and she wrote the song with Ben Fielding. Brooke has released four albums as a solo artist under her maiden name Brooke Fraser. Those albums were successful in her native New Zealand. She was first a mamber of Hillsong from 2005-10 She returned to Hillsong Worship in 2016. The album Let There Be Light is available but too expensive. You can get What A Beautiful Name on WOW Hits 2018. Brooke and her husband Scott Ligertwood are currently major contributors to Hillsong Worship. They wrote several songs on the 2019 album Awake. Here's the video for What A Beautiful Name by Hillsong Worship. 

AccuRadio Song Of The Day-Russell Dickerson

Artist:Russell Dickerson

Song:Blue Tacoma

Album:Yours

Russell Dickerson got off to a good start with three country music hit singles from his 2017 debut CD Yours. He has a new album out. He was born May 7, 1987 in Union City, TN. After earning a degree in Music from Nashville's Belmont University, Dickerson signed with CAA for representation. He released an EP in 2011 and toured with David Nail, Thomas Rhett and Billy Currington. He released the 2015 EP Yours on Dent Records. After the single Yours reached #3 on the Country Singles chart, Dickerson signed with the larger Triple Tigers label and Yours was expended to an album and released in 2017. Blue Tacoma and Every Little thing both reached #5 on the Country Singles chart. The album was certified Gold. That's pretty good for a debut. Dickerson wrote all the songs with producer Casey Brown and Parker Welling. Brown has produced CCM artists like Chris Tomlin and country acts like Rascal Flatts. He plays banjo on Blue Tacoma. Dickerson's new album Southern Symphony was released a couple of weeks ago. The single Love You Like I Used To reached #5 on the Country Singles chart. So as I said, he's off to a good start. Here's the video for Blue Tacoma by Russell Dickerson.

AccuRadio Song Of The Day-Young T & Bugsey

Artist:Young T & Bugsey f/Headie One 

Song:Don't Rush

Album:Plead the 5th

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Rappers Ra'chard "Young T" Tucker and Doyin "Bugsey" Julius had modest success in their native England when their Don't Rush Challenge on TikTok went viral. It remains to be seen how they follow that up. Young and Julius are from Nottingham, England. They started creating music with the help of the non profit Community Recording Studios. After releasing a couple of singles, they scored a top ten hit in England with the 2019 single Strike A Pose. After releasing their debut mixtape Plead the 5th, They decided to do the Don't Rush Challenge on TikTok. When YouTube became a home for more longform videos, TikTok filled a void by creating a home for viral videos of a minute or less. It's not something that old folks like me are interested in but young people seem to enjoy it. The Don't Rush Challenge is a glammed up before and after. You'll see what I am talking about in the video which is a collection of TikTok videos with a funny appearance by Martin Lawrence at the end. The result is that Don't Rush became an international hit mostly through streaming. It's been certified Gold. The obvious question is how do they follow it up. This got them a record deal with Sony but now they have to do something with it. Time will tell. Here's the video for Don't Rush by Young T & Bugsey featuring Headie One. 

Big Bad Blog Video Theater-Taila Santos vs Gillian Robertson

Here's the match video of Taila Santos vs Gillian Robertson from last night's UFC show in Las Vegas. This fight is at Flyweight. Taila was supposed to fight Montana De La Rosa a couple of weeks ago. One of Montana's cornermen tested positive for COVID-19. Gillian was supposed to fight Andrea Lee last week. Andrea broke her nose during training. Gillian is from Niagara Falls, ON but she trains with Din Thomas in Florida. She's a wrestler but her striking is terrible. Taila trains at Astra Fight Club in Santa Catarina, Brazil. She's mainly a striker. We hadn't seen her on the ground yet. Gillian immediately goes for a flying armbar. But she winds up in bottom position. And though she attempts submissions, Taila has good defense and is able to avoid trouble. Taila doesn't advance her position much. But she does enough that ref Mark Smith warns her but never breaks them up. So I scored the fight 30-27 for Taila. Two of the judges scored it 30-26 for Taila and the third judge scored it 29-28. So a big win for Taila. I guess Gillian got beaten at her own game. Enjoy the video! 

 

Big Bad Blog Video Theater-Pannie Kianzad vs Sijara Eubanks

Here's the match video of Pannie Kianzad vs Sijara Eubanks from last night's UFC show in Las Vegas. This fight is at Bantamweight. Pannie trains in Sweden. She was in TUF 28 for Featherweights but she is really a Bantamweight. She has a clear size advantage over Sijara who was in TUF 26 for Flyweights. But when she couldn't make weight, she was forced to move to Bantamweight. Though she has shown some improvement since moving to Mark Henry's camp, she probably wouldn't be in the UFC if she hadn't tried to fight at Flyweight. Sijara wins round one when she gets a takedown and is able to maintain top position. But in the other two rounds, Pannie was able to avoid takedowns and controlled the fight especially in the clinch. I scored the fight 29-28 for Pannie and so did all three judges. Having followed her entire career, I don't see Pannie having the same success with higher ranked fighters. Enjoy the video! 

 

AccuRadio Song Of The Day-Julia McKenzie

Artist:Julia McKenzie

Song:Losing My Mind

Album:Side By Side By Sondheim: Original London Cast Recording

Julia McKenzie is best known for playing the Agatha Christie character Miss Marple on British TV. But she started out on the London stage mostly in Stephen Sondheim shows. She got a Tony nomination for the 1976 Broadway production of Side By Side By Sondheim. She was born Feb. 17, 1941 in Enfield, Middlesex, England. She trained at the Guildhall School of Music and Drama in London. She appeared in the 1969 London production of Mame and then the 1971 Sondheim show Company. And that led to the 1976 show Side By Side By Sondheim or as I call it Sondheim's Greatest Hits. So it's sort of a jukebox musical. The show was a surprise success to the point where producer Hal Prince brought the London cast to Broadway. The show was very successful and all four cast members including Julia McKenzie were nominated for Tonys. Losing My Mind is the big song from Follies. Julia also appeared in the 1987 London production of Follies and the 1990 London production of Into the Woods. You can see why she is known for performing Sondheim. Side By Side By Sondheim is available in a 2 CD package. While still performing on stage, Julia appeared in the very successful BBC 80s sitcom Fresh Fields and also the sequel French Fields. In 2008 she took the role of Miss Marple in ITV's long running series until 2013. Though she last performed on stage in 2005, Julia continues to appear on TV, most recently in the 2019 mini series Gold Digger. Here's Julia McKenzie performing Losing My Mind on the 1987 TV production of Side By Side By Sondheim. 

AccuRadio Song Of The Day-Charlie Hunter Trio

Artist:Charlie Hunter Trio

Song:Come As You Are

Album:Bing, Bing, Bing!

Guitarist Charlie Hunter plays custom made seven and eight string guitars so he can play a bassline simultaneously with his lead guitar. That generates a lot of interest from guitar geeks. Hunter is probably best known for his 90s albums for Blue Note. He still records for his own label. He was born May 23, 1967 in Rhode Island. But he and his sister grew up in a commune in Mendocino County, CA. Their mother repaired guitars. They eventually settled in Monterey. Hunter's influences were Joe Pass and especially Tuck Andress of Tuck & Patti who was adept at blending basslines into his technique. He took lessons from Joe Satriani. After living in Paris for a few years, Hunter returned to San Francisco  He was in Michael Franti's group The Disposable Heroes of Hiphoprisy. After releasing a 1993 album independently, Hunter signed with Blue Note. Bing, Bing, Bing! was his 1995 Blue Note debut. The band is Dave Ellis on tenor sax an Jay Lane on drums. Hunter plays a brand new custom made eight string guitar. Hunter recorded seven albums for Blue Note. Among his other bands is T.J. Kirk which covers Thelonious Monk and Rahsaan Roland Kirk, the jazz fusion band Garage a Trois with Stanton Moore and Groundtruther with drummer Bobby Previte. They just released a new album called Avant Blues. He has also recorded several albums with drummer Scott Amendola. Jazz guitar fans should check him out. Here's the Charlie Hunter Trio with Dave Ellis and Jay Lane performing Come As You Are on BET's Jazz Central 1995.

AccuRadio Song Of The Day-Mary J. Blige

Artist:Mary J. Blige f/Jessie J

Song:Do You Hear What I Hear

Album:A Mary Christmas

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\Mary J. Blige fans will be interested in this 2013 Christmas album. But it will also appeal to those who enjoy Christmas music. Do You Hear What I Hear was released as a single. There were reports in early 2013 that Mary was recording a Christmas album. The album was produced by David Foster who is Chairman of Verve Records. It was Mary's first album on Verve and also her first time working with Foster who has produced Christmas albums for Michael Buble, Rod Stewart and others. It was also her final album for Universal. She moved to Capitol in 2014. She had been with Universal for her entire career. I would describe A Mary Christmas as a traditional Christmas album. Mary doesn't try to do her usual hip hop flavor on this album. I'm sure she grew up listening to traditional Christmas music so that's what she wanted to do. As a result, critics were disappointed with the album. But it sold 500K copies which is great for a Christmas album. The album is all Christmas standards. Do You Hear What I Hear was the lead single featuring the popular British singer Jessie J. They performed it on X Factor. Mary also performed the song with Jennifer Nettles on a CMA holiday special. Other guests on the album are Barbra Streisand, Chris Botti, The Clark Sisters and Marc Anthony. As I said, this was Mary's final album for Universal. She has released two albums on Capitol but they haven't sold as well as her previous albums. Since her success in the 2017 film Mudbound, she has been concentrating on her film career. She is playing Dinah Washington in the upcoming Aretha Franklin biopic Respect. Here's Mary J. Blige featuring Jessie J performing Do You Hear What I Hear on X-Factor 2013. This video is not on YouTube. 

Mary J. Blige & Jessie J - Do You Hear What I Hear? - X Factor 2013 from Male Heartbeat on Vimeo.

The Big Topic in WMMA

UFC review and preview. 

AccuRadio Song Of The Day-St. Louis Jimmy Oden

Artist:St. Louis Jimmy Oden

Song:Goin' Down Slow

Album:Blues Legend: The Best Of

Though he is forgotten today, St. Louis Jimmy Oden is a pretty good blues singer and his career started in the 30s and went into the 60s. Goin' Down Slow is his best known song. It's in the Blues Foundation Hall of Fame. He was born James Burke Oden June 26, 1903 in Nashville. He sang and taught himself to play piano as a child. As a teen, he moved to St. Louis because piano based blues was popular there. He played St. Louis clubs with pianist Roosevelt Sykes. They moved to Chicago in 1933 and that's where Oden got the nickname St. Louis. He first recorded for Champion in 1932 followed by recordings for Bluebird, as Old Man Oden for Decca and as Big Bloke for Varsity. Sykes was on piano for most of these recordings. Oden had his greatest success when he recorded for Bluebird in the 40s. He was known as St. Louis Jimmy. Goin' Down Slow was the B side of Monkey Face Blues. Sykes' piano is outstanding. Alfred Elkins plays bass. Today Goin' Down Slow is considered to be a blues standard. It's in the Blues Foundation Hall of Fame. Oden recorded it several times but this mp3 album contains the original version. The most notable covers of Goin' Down Slow are by Howlin' Wolf in 1961 and Bobby "Blue" Bland in 1974. Oden and Sykes recorded for Bluebird until 1945. After that Oden bounced around different labels. He recorded with Muddy Waters in 1948 and Sunnyland Slim in 1949. This continued until he released the 1961 album Goin' Down Slow on Bluesville. That turned out to be Oden's only album and final recording. It looks like he retired at that point. Oden was in a car crash in 1957 and it looks like he had difficulty getting around. St. Louis Jimmy Oden died on Dec. 30, 1977 at age 74. He may be the best blues singer you haven't heard. Here' a video for Goin' Down Slow by St. Louis Jimmy Oden. Thanks to Wirz' American Music for the discography. 

AccuRadio Song Of The Day-Headless Heroes

Artist:Headless Heroes

Song:Just Like Honey

Album:The Silence of Love

\Fans of singer songwriter Alela Diane will want to check out this one off side project recorded in 2008 with veteran session musicians. Headless Heroes was assembled by producers Eddie Bezalel and Hugo Nicolson. Bezalel has worked with Pete Rock. Nicolson is more recording engineer than producer. He has worked with Primal Scream among others. The idea was to assemble an all star cover band of Los Angeles session musicians. They did a video for this cover of the Jesus & Mary Chain song Just Like Honey. Musicians are guitarist Josh Klinghoffer of Red Hot Chili Peppers, session guitarist Woody Jackson who works with film composer David Holmes, bassist Gus Seyffert who was trained by Charlie Haden and is an in demand session musician and drummer Joey Waronker who is the son of producer Lenny Waronker and has worked with R.E.M. among others. Of course Alela Diane has a successful solo career. The strings are by sisters Amy, Gita and Rosie Langley known as Dirty Pretty Strings. British composer Leo Abrahams wrote the arrangements. The Silence of Love was released in 2008 on Names Records. It was always intended as a one off deal. Alela Diane returned to her solo career. Her fans should check out this album which is available as a budget CD. Here's the video of Just Like Honey by Headless Heroes. 

Frank Pozen's Big Bad Podcast

 WWE TLC preview and UFC review and preview.

AccuRadio Song Of The Day-William Shatner

Artist:William Shatner f/Henry Rollins

Song:Jingle Bells

Album:Shatner Claus: The Christmas Album

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Think you have heard everything? Of course everyone knows William Shatner as a Canadian born ham actor and star of Star Trek. But did you know he has been singing since the 60s? I featured his 1968 album The Transformed Man on the blog a few years ago. That album is notorious for his campy versions of current pop songs. In recent years he's been hanging around Nashville and he became good friends with Brad Paisley. He released the country music album Why Not Me produced by Jeff Cook of Alabama in 2018. Shatner appeared at The Grand Ole Opry Feb. 15, 2019. While he was at it, Shatner decided to record a Christmas album. He is recording for Cleopatra Records. The album was produced by keyboard player Jurgen Engler who started out in punk bands in Germany and bassist Adam Hamilton who has worked with Shatner before. This punk version of Jingle Bells features legendary punk musician Henry Rollins. Other special guests include Brad Paisley, Joe Louis Walker, Todd Rundgren, Elliott Easton of The Cars, Rick Wakeman, Billy Gibbons of ZZ Top, Iggy Pop and Judy Collins. So if you're looking for something different in your Christmas music, this might be for you. On his latest album The Blues, Shatner covers classic blues with guests like Steve Cropper, Albert Lee, Jeff "Skunk" Baxter and Arthur Adams. I'm not joking. Here's a video for Jingle Bells by William Shatner featuring Henry Rollins. 

AccuRadio Song Of The Day-Band of Horses

Artist:Band of Horses

Song:Detlef Schrempf

Album:Cease to Begin

Band of Horses have had success with their mix of indie rock and folk. Ben Bridwell is the leader of the band. He is from South Carolina but he was living in Seattle when Band of Horses was formed out of the ashes of Carissa's Wierd in 2004 with Mat Brooke on guitar, Chris Early on bass and Tim Meinig on drums. They signed with Sub Pop after opening for Iron & Wine in Seattle. Their debut album Everything All the Time was released in 2005. Early and Meinig left after the album was recorded and Brooke left while they were on tour. He said he wasn't committed to the band. He only intended to play a couple of gigs and then it blew up. Brooke went on to form Grand Archive. Before recording the 2007 album Cease to Begin, Bridwell moved to his native South Carolina so he could be close to his family. The band was Ryan Monroe on keyboards, Rob Hampton on bass and Creighton Barrett on drums. Detlef Schrempf was a German born NBA player with the Seattle Supersonics. He isn't mentioned in the song so it is not known why Briddwell named the song after him. You can see in the video that David Letterman jokes about it. Since then Band of Horses has recorded two albums for Columbia. Their latest album Why Are You OK was released in 2016 on Interscope. They are supposed to be on tour but the pandemic stopped that. Bridwell has done a couple of live performances on his Facebook page. Here's Band of Horses performing Detlef Svhrempf on The Late Show with David Letterman Feb. 26, 2014.

 

Big Bad Blog Video Theater-Tecia Torres vs Sam Hughes

Here's the match video of Tecia Torres vs Sam Hughes from last night's UFC show in Las Vegas. This fight is at Strawweight. Tecia's opponent was supposed to be Angela Hill but she tested positive for COVID-19. Sam is 28 years old. She trains at Catalyst Fight House in Everett, WA. Her coach is Eddie Grant. Her record is 5-1. I watched a couple of her LFA fights on UFC Fight Pass. I don't think she belongs in the UFC. But that's what you get sometimes with short notice fighters. The story is that Tecia is much quicker than Sam. So she was beating her up pretty good. So I expected Tecia to win an easy unanimous decision. But after round one, Sam told her corner that she couldn't see out of her left eye. So the doctor stopped the fight and Tecia wins by TKO. They didn't show a replay of how Sam was injured. But I rewatched the fight and I think a head kick with about a minute left in the round. caused the injury. It's probably a broken orbital bone. I guess it was a good win for Tecia. But it doesn't make me think she can beat any of the better fighters in the division. Enjoy the video! 

Big Bad Blog Video Theater-Mackenzie Dern vs Virna Jandiroba

Here's the match video of Mackenzie Dern vs Virna Jandiroba from last night's UFC show in Las Vegas. This fight is at Strawweight. Both fighters are Brazilian Ju Jitsu black belts. This is Mackenzie's first full camp with new coach Jason Parillo of Kings MMA in Huntington Beach, CA. He coaches Cris Cyborg. Virna is from Bahia, Brazil. She trains at Academia. She is a former Invicta champ. On last week's Big Topic in WMMA podcast, Schwan Humes and I joked about how with two BJJ black belts, this sill probably be a kickboxing match. This was discussed on the broadcast too. And that's what happened. Mackenzie punches harder and she rocked Virna a few times. She's just not a good enough striker to know how to finish a fight. I scored round one 10-9 for Mackenzie. Virna was better in round two. She broke Mackenzie's nose with a knee. So I scored round two 10-9 for Virna. Round three was close but I thought Mackenzie did enough to win the round 10-9 and then the fight 29-28. All three judges scored it 29-28 too. We will probably see Mackenzie move into the top ten and face a higher ranked opponent. Her striking has improved since she started working with Parillo. But she's a work in progress. Though she has power, I think her striking is too wild and Parillo will work on getting that under control. He's already helped her and she could be an elite fighter now. Enjoy the video!

AccuRadio Song Of The Day-Lord Huron

Artist:Lord Huron

Song:The Night We Met

Album:Strange Trails

Ben Schneider started Lord Huron as a solo project. After he turned it into a band, they had success when The Night We Met appeared on the Netflix series 13 Reasons Why. The song has been streamed over 500M times. Schneider is from Lansing, MI. As a child, he spent summers with his family near Lake Huron. That's where the band name comes from. He moved to Los Angeles in 2005 and after releasing a couple of EPs, Lord Huron signed with the indie label Iamsound. And that's when he turned it into a band The Night We Met is from the 2015 album Strange Trails. Several Lord Huron songs were placed on TV shows. But nothing clicked until The Night We Met appeared on season 2 episode 5 of the Netflix series 13 Reasons Why. The song was certified 3XPlatinum. I can't say why the song caught on but it got Lord Huron a deal with Republic Records for the 2018 album Vide Noir. A version of The Night We Met featuring Phoebe Bridgers appears on the season 2 soundtrack CD of 13 Reasons Why. Lord Huron has probably been more successful than Ben Schneider could have anticipated. This is why record companies place songs on TV. Who knows when a song will catch on and blow up. Here's the video of The Night We Met by Lord Huron. The video footage is from 13 Reasons Why. 

AccuRadio Song Of The Day-Bleachers

Artist:Bleachers

Song:Don't Take the Money

Album:Gone Now

Songwriter and producer Jack Antonoff started Bleachers as a side project while he was on tour with Fun.. He has recorded two albums as Bleachers and he is working on a third album for a 2021 release. He has had some success mostly on the Alt Rock chart. He was born Mar. 31, 1984 in Bergenfield, NJ. He was in bands during high school. He is probably best known as drummer for the very successful band Fun.. While on tour he worked on a secret solo project that became Bleachers. The album Strange Desire was released by RCA in 2014. The single I Wanna Get Better reached #10 on the Billboard Alt Rock chart. Antonoff is a solo act in the studio but he has formed a touring band. After Fun. went on hiatus in 2015, Bleachers released the 2017 album Gone Now. Don't Take the Money was the lead single. It reached #12 on the Billboard Alt Rock chart. Antonoff wrote the song with Lorde. That's her on background vocals. Antonoff produced with Adele producer Greg Kurstin and Vince Clarke of Erasure. Antonoff says the song is about not selling out which is ironic as some have suggested he sold out years ago. Antonoff contributed five songs to the 2018 film Love, Simon. And he is releasing a new album in 2021. He is also a very successful producer especially with Taylor Swift. But he has also worked with Lorde, Lana Del Rey and plenty of others. Here's the video for Don't Take the Money by Bleachers.

AccuRadio Song Of The Day-Fuel

Artist:Fuel

Song:Shimmer

Album:The Best of Fuel

Fuel had success in the late 90s with songs like Shimmer. They charted but they didn't score a big radio hit. Their videos were in heavy rotation on MTV and vh1 and they did well on Billboard's Rock chart. Carl Bell is the lead guitarist and songwriter of Fuel. He and bassist Jeff Abercrombie were childhood friends in Kenton, TN. They played together in high school. Bell went off to college where he had a band with drummer Jody Abbott. After graduating, Bell, Abercrombie and Abbott formed the cover band Reel Too Real and eventually they toured nationally. Lead singer Brett Scallions and keyboard player Erik Avakian joined in 1993 and the band moved to Harrisburg, PA. Eventually they changed the band name to Fuel. After releasing a couple of EPs, Fuel signed with Epic Records and released the 1998 album Sunburn. Shimmer was the song that got them the record deal as it was on one of the EPs and it was getting radio play. Shimmer reached #42 on the Billboard Hot 100 and #2 on the Billboard Alt Rock chart. The album was certified Gold. Shimmer is probably Fuel's best known song. During the recording of Sunburn, Fuel was having problems with Abbott. So Jonathan Mover played drums on the album and toured. He eventually was replaced by Kevin Miller. The 2000 album Something Like Human was also certified Gold and the single Hemorrhage (In My Hands) topped the Billboard Alt Rock chart and it reached #30 on the Billboard Hot 100. The 2003 album Natural Selection didn't do as well as the first two albums. Epic released this comp in 2004. Scallions and Miller left Fuel. Tommy Stewart of Godsmack replaced Miller. After he performed Hemhorrage on American Idol, Chris Daughtry was offered the lead singer job on the TV show Extra. He declined which must have been embarrassing. Toryn Green was named lead singer for the 2007 album Angels & Devils. But the album didn't do well and Bell disbanded Fuel. Scallions led a version of Fuel from 2010-16. That's when Bell returned. They released an album in 2014 and were working on a new album when Scallions left in Oct. 2020. Bell says Fuel will continue with a new lineup. Here's the video of Shimmer by Fuel.

The Big Topic in WMMA

UFC preview and a look at UFC releases. 

AccuRadio Song Of The Day-Shelly West

Artist:Shelly West

Song:Jose Cuervo

Album:Country Shots: Barroom Biggies

Though she is mainly known for her duets with David Frizzell, Shelly West topped the country charts as a solo artist in 1983 with Jose Cuervo. She was born May 23, 1958 in Cleveland the daughter of country music legend Dottie West. Shelly was 17 when she started touring with her mom. After she married her mom's guitarist Allen Frizzell, they moved to California and she started performing with Frizzell's brother David Frizzell. Veteran producer Snuff Garrett got them a record deal with Casablanca. But the company was sold to PolyGram and he took them to Clint Eastwood who was starting his Viva label. You're the Reason God Made Oklahoma topped the country charts in 1981. Frizzell and West recorded three albums and scored four top ten country hits. The duo ended because Shelly divorced her husband. Garrett took Shelly into the studio and recorded the 1983 album West by West. Jose Cuervo topped the Country Singles chart. Cindy Jordan wrote and recorded the song in 1981. Obviously it's a drinking song and the Jose Cuervo tequila got a big sales bump when the song was a hit. Shelly's other top ten country hit was Flight 309 from Tennessee. After three albums, Shelly remarried and had twin sons. She returned to touring with her mom until Dottie West died in a 1991 car accident. Shelly retired after that. You can get Jose Cuervo on this Rhino various artists budget CD of drinking songs. Shelly returned briefly to appear with Frizzell on the RFD-TV series Country Family Reunion. But she hasn't recorded since the 80s. Here's Shelly West performing Jose Cuervo on Nashville Now Oct. 31, 1986. You'll notice everyone is dressed up for Halloween. 

AccuRadio Song Of The Day-Greensky Bluegrass

Artist:Greensky Bluegrass

Song:Demons

Album:If Sorrows Swim

Greensky Bluegrass is a contemporary bluegrass band. They mix traditional bluegrass with contemporary music elements. They are from Kalamazoo, MI. Guitarist Michael Bruzza, mandolinist Paul Hoffman and banjo player Michael Arlen Bont formed Greensky Bluegrass in 2000 and for the first few years they played local clubs. They started their own Big Blue Zoo label and released the 2004 album Less Than Supper. After adding Mike Devol on bass and Anders Beck on dobro, Greensky Bluegrass built a following opening for Bela Fleck & The Flecktones, Sam Bush and The Avett Brothers. This paid off when their 2011 album Handguns reached #3 on the Billboard Bluegrass album chart. Demons is from the 2014 album If Sorrows Swim. Hoffman wrote that song and several others on the album. And Bruzza wrote songs too. If they were around in the 70s Greensky Bluegrass would have been called Newgrass. Their music is not traditional bluegrass. They cover rock songs live and they have an open recording policy like Phish and The Grateful Dead. So there are all kinds of live recordings out there. Greensky Bluegrass' latest CD All For Money was released last year. Here's Greensky Bluegrass performing Demons at Paradise Rock Club in Boston Jan. 24, 2014 produced by Boston's PBS station WGBH. 

Frank Pozen's Big Bad Podcast

Io Shirai, Asuka and UFC preview. 

Big Bad Blog Video Theater-Asuka vs Shayna Baszler

Here's the match video of Asuka vs Shayna Baszler from last night's episode of RAW. Of course Asuka vs Shayna is the match everyone wants to see but this is part of the larger storyline featuring Lana. So we get a bit of a taste of what this match could be. But then Nia Jax attacks Lana on the floor. And that's enough to distract Shayna and Asuka wins with a rollup. The WWE is trying to show that Shayna and Nia are so obsessed with destroying Lana that they allow themselves to get distracted and give Asuka the opening she needs. If they allow the same distraction at TLC, Asuka and Lana could win the WWE Women's Tag Team Championships. On next week's RAW, Nia Jax will face Lana. Enjoy the video! 

AccuRadio Song Of The Day-Bri Babineaux

Artist:Bri Babineaux f/Todd Dulaney

Song:Baptize Us Again

Album:The Encounter

Gospel singer Bri Babineaux was discovered on YouTube. Now she is having success on the gospel and CCM charts. So she's built a following on social media. The Encounter is her latest album. She was born Aug. 26, 1994 in Honolulu. Her father was in the Marines and he moved the family back to his home town of Lafayette, LA. After her parents divorced, her mother married Pastor Louis Miller of Life Change Ministries in Lafayette. And that's where Bri learned to sing. She was on the volleyball and track teams in high school which earned her a scholarship at McNeese State in Lake Charles. She then studied criminal justice at the University of Louisiana at Lafayette. Bri's singing career started when she posted a video on YouTube in 2014. This led to a record deal with Tyscot Records. Her 2016 album Keys to My Heart topped the gospel chart. The album did so well that Tyscot owner Dr. Leonard Scott asked Integrity Music owner Don Moen to help with distribution. Integrity is a larger label and Moen can make inroads to the CCM market. Baptize Us Again is from Bri's new album The Encounter featuring gospel music star Todd Dulaney. The album was recorded live at Living the Word International Church in New Orleans. Bri's music is a mix of gospel, Praise & Worship and CCM. It seems to appeal to a wider audience than if it was just gospel. Bri is currently assistant worship pastor at Spirit of Faith Christian Center in Maryland. So it looks like Bri is becoming The Pricess of Praise & Woeship. And it all started on YouTube. Here's the video of Baptize Us Again by Bri Babineaux featuring Todd Dulaney. 

Big Bad Blog Video Theater-Team Candice vs Team Shotzi

Here's the match video of Team Candice vs Team Shotzi from last night's NXT Takeover War Games show. The teams are Candice Lerae, Toni Storm, Raquel Gonzalez and Dakota Kai vs Shotzi Blackheart, Ember Moon, Rhea Ripley and Io Shirai. Shotzi comes out with a new tank that even has a missile launcher. Dakota and Ember start the match. The rules are that the match doesn't begin until all the wrestlers are in the rings. So that makes the first half hour a waste of time. When Io comes out, they try to lock her out of the cage. Logically that makes no sense as no one can win until she is in there. But it does allow Io to make a spectacular entrance that should get a zillion YouTube views. She climbed the cage with a garbage can. They didn't show how she got the garbage can up there. Suddenly Io appears at the top of the cage, puts the garbage can over herself and leaps on everyone. This is when the match starts to pick up as Io is willing to do things that the others won't or more likely can't do safely. For example, Shotzi leaps from a ladder onto Candice and a couple of chairs and breaks Candice's arm. The end comes when Io is battling with Raquel on the top turnbuckle. She tries a Hurricanrana but Raquel blocks it and powerbombs Io through a ladder for the win. After the match, Io posted a picture of herself on Twitter and says "I'm alive." I guess Raquel is the next challenger for Io's title. Enjoy the video! 

AccuRadio Song Of The Day-Freddie Spruell

Artist:Freddie Spruell

Song:Low Down Mississippi Bottom Man

Album:The Paramount Masters

Freddie Spruell is frequently credited as the first Mississippi Delta blues artist to record. Though that is inaccurate, he did record ten songs from 1926-35. He was born Dec. 28, 1893 in Lake Providence, LA. At age ten he moved with his family to Chicago. Blind Lemon Jefferson recorded in 1925 so that was Spruell's likely influence. In 1926 he recorded two songs as Papa Freddie for Okeh Records. Then as Mr. Freddie he recorded Low Down Mississippi Bottom Man for Paramount Records. And then in 1935 he recorded six songs as Mr. Freddie for Bluebird. I wish all of Spruell's songs were on one CD. But they aren't. The one CD I saw is out of print. But you can get the two Paramount recordings on this 5CD box set from JSP. Paramount was a Milwaukee furniture company that manufactured phonograph players. That's how they briefly got into the record business. Fans of acoustic blues will be interested in these recordings. Spruell's mother insisted that he give up secular music. So he became a Baptist minister in the mid-40s. Freddie Spruell died on June 1956 at age 62. Here's a video for Low Down Mississippi Bottom Man by Freddie Spruell.

  

AccuRadio Song Of The Day-Foster the People

Artist:Foster the People

Song:Pumped Up Kicks

Album:Torches

Pumped Up Kicks was a top five hit in 2011. It is to date the only hit single for Foster the People. Of course it only takes one big hit to keep a band going for decades. Mark Foster played in bands while attending high school in the Cleveland suburb of Macedonia, OH. After graduating high school he moved to Los Angeles to get into the music business. After several years as a starving artist, Foster got a jingle writing job in 2008. He also wrote songs for comedian Andy Dick. After recording a solo album, Foster decided to turn it into a band with bassist Cubbie Fink and drummer Mark Pontius in 2009. Pumped Up Kicks was posted on Foster's website in 2010. This turned into a bidding war won by Startime International with Columbia distribution. Pumped Up Kicks appeared on an EP while Foster the People were recording the 2011 album Torches. They also did some live gigs as Foster knew the band would have to tour. After the album was released, Pumped Up Kicks appeared on the TV shows Gossip Girl and Entourage. That led to Sirius XM playing it on Alt Nation. Then it was picked up by radio stations nationwide. It reached #3 on the Billboard Hot 100. They did the late night talk shows, Saturday Night Live and got Grammy nominations. The album was certified 2XPlatinum. Remember this was a debut album from an indie band. So it was much bigger than anyone could have expected. So it's not surprising that subsequent albums haven't done as well. After the 2014 album Supermodel, Fink left Foster the People. Foster didn't replace Fink. Sean Cimino and Isom Innis were already touring with the band. The album Sacred Hearts Club was released in 2017. The single Sit Next To Me was streamed 150M times on Spotify. Since then Foster the People have released a few EPs. They left Columbia in May 2020. It remains to be seen if they sign with a new label. A new EP is being released next week. Here's the video for Pumped Up Kicks by Foster the People.

 

AccuRadio Song Of The Day-The Korgis

Artist:The Korgis

Song:Everybody's Got To Learn Sometime

Album:Best

Everybody's Got To Learn Sometime was a top twenty hit in 1980. It was the only hit single in America for the British group The Korgis. They were a much bigger deal at home. The Korgis were from Bristol, England. Lead singer and bassist James Warren and guitarist Andy Davis were members of the 70s band Stackridge. After they split up in 1977, Warren and Davis formed The Korgis with violinist Stuart Gordon and Phil Harrison on keyboards. They recorded for Rialto Records owned by their manager Nick Heath. Their 1979 debut album The Korgis did well enough to get them a US record deal with Asylum Records for the 1980 album Dumb Waiters. The band self produced. Warren and Davis split the songwriting duties. Everybody's Got To Learn Sometime reached #18 on the Billboard Hot 100 and #5 on the British Singles chart. Warren wrote the song. Warren and Davis split up soon after. Warren attempted to keep The Korgis going with the 1982 album Sticky George but it didn't sell and that was the end of The Korgis. This 2CD comp has all their hits. Warren released a solo album in 1986. Warren and Davis reformed The Korgis in 1990 and released the 1992 album This World's For Everyone. Then they split up again. They also returned to Stackridge and both guys have gone back and forth between the bands. Stackridge has been more active in recent years but they retired in 2015. Warren reformed The Korgis in 2017 mostly to tour. But there is supposed to be a new album coming out in 2021. Here's the video for Everybody's Got To Learn Sometime by The Korgis.

AccuRadio Song Of The Day-Port O'Brien

Artist:Port O'Brien

Song:Stuck on a Boat

Album:All We Could Do Was Sing

Port O'Brien was a folk group who recorded three albums who seemed to be going places until they split up in 2011. Group leader Van Pierszalowski is from Cambria, CA. Port O'Brien is a place in Alaska where his parents met. He spent his summers there. He formed a folk duo with Cambria Goodwin and they moved down to Oakland and added a couple of musicians to become Port O'Brien. They released three critically acclaimed albums. They toured nationally with Nada Surf and Bright Eyes and they toured Europe with Modest Mouse. Stuck on a Boat is from their 2008 album All We Could Do Is Sing on the German label City Slang. Pierszalowski writes all the songs. For their 2009 album Threadbare, Port O'Brien signed with TBD Records which is a subsidiary of Dave Matthews' ATO label. That's a bigger label so that's why I say they looked to be headed places. But Port O'Brien split up in 2011. Pierszalowski formed the band WATERS and they released three albums. Then he signed with Concord's Fantasy label and released the 2018 album Countries as Van William. All We Could Do Was Sing is available as a budget CD. Folk music fans should check it out. Here's the video for Stuck on a Boat by Port O'Brien.

 

The Big Topic in WMMA

UFC review and preview. 

AccuRadio Song Of The Day-Fountains of Wayne

Artist:Fountains of Wayne

Song:Stacy's Mom

Album:Ultimate Sk8er Rock

Stacy's Mom was a top 30 pop hit in 2003. It turned out to be the only big hit for the power pop group Fountains of Wayne. Lead singer Chris Collingwood and bassist Adam Schlesinger met when they attended Williams College in Williamstown, MA. Collingwood is from Sellersville, PA and Schlesinger is from Montclair, NJ. They joined forces in 1995 to form Fountains of Wayne named after a lawn ornament store in Wayne, NJ. I assume Schlesinger was familiar with the store. A demo got them a deal with Atlantic Records. Then they brought in lead guitarist Jody Porter and drummer Brian Young was recommended by Atlantic. Though they wrote songs individually, Schlesinger and Collingwood shared all songwriting credits because they didn't want to argue about that. They released two albums on Atlantic. They were highly acclaimed but they didn't sell so Atlantic dropped them. They almost split up as Collingwood was depressed. But they returned with the 2003 album Welcome Interstste Managers and the single Stacy's Mom. It reached #21 on the Billboard Hot 100. It turned out to be Fountains of Wayne's only big hit. It was Grammy nominated. The video featured famous model Rachel Hunter. Schlesinger said the song is based on a childhood friend who thought Schlesinger's grandmother was hot. Fountains of Wayne released two albums for S-Curve and one for Yep Roc. But they were unable to score another hit single. Their final album was released in 2011. Collingwood released a 2016 album as Look Park. Meanwhile Schlesinger built a career as a for hire songwriter especially for films. His theme for the 1997 film That Thing You Do was nominated for an Oscar. He also wrote songs for Josie and the Pussycats, Ice Age: Continental Drift and plenty of others. He got a Tony nomination for the Broadway musical Cry-Baby. And he has Emmy nominations for Sesame Street, songs for Emmy and Tony Awards broadcast and his most recent show Crazy Ex-Girlfriend. Sadly Adam Schlesinger died of COVID-19 on Apr. 1, 2020 at age 52. Stacy's Mom is on several various artists comps including this 2CD budget comp from BMG Europe. Here's the video for Stacy's Mom by Fountains of Wayne. 

Frank Pozen's Big Bad Podcast

Hikaru Shida, Asuka and UFC review and preview. 

AccuRadio Song Of The Day-Michael Cavanaugh

Artist:Michael Cavanaugh

Song:Just the Way You Are

Album:Movin' Out: Original Broadway Cast Recording

Though Michael Cavanaugh is best known for starring as Billy Joel in the Broadway musical Movin' On, as a performer he's more Las Vegas than Broadway. So that's kind of what he's been doing since the show closed in 2005. He was born in 1972 in Cleveland the youngest of four brothers. His aunt bought him a piano when he was age seven. Cavanaugh has played ever since. After playing local clubs while in high school, Cavanaugh took a job in an Orlando piano bar. In 1999 he moved to the New York New York Hotel and Casino in Las Vegas. Billy Joel caught his act in 2001. At the time Joel was developing the jukebox musical Movin' On with famed choreographer Twyla Tharp for Broadway. Cavanaugh moved to New York and the rest is history. The show ran for three years and won two Tonys. Cavanaugh was nominated for a Grammy. The original cast album is available as a budget CD. After the show closed Cavanaugh created his own show The Songs of Billy Joel and More. He has performed with the Boston Pops Orchestra among others. This performance of Just the Way You Are is from the 2010 CD and DVD An Evening at the Symphony released on his own label. The DVD is available. Normally Cavanaugh would be on tour. But the pandemic put a stop to that. But he did a live concert from his home on Facebook in May. Here's Michael Cavanaugh performing Just the Way You Are from his 2010 DVD An Evening at the Symphony.

Big Bad Blog Video Theater-Lana and Asuka vs Nia Jax and Shayna Baszler

Here's the match video of Lana and Asuka vs WWE Women's Tag Team Champions Nia Jax and Shayna Baszler. This started last week when Lana saved Asuka from getting put through a table and they won an impromptu tag team match. Asuka gives Lana a pep talk in Japanese which is pretty funny. Then Nia and Shayna blame each other for last week's loss and Nia guarantees a win and she will put Lana through a table. Well/ now we know that won't happen. Most of the match is the heels beating up Lana. She has been told to overreact to each bump so she looks as pathetic as possible. The turning point comes when Nia runs into the ring post. Shayna and Asuka tag in. Asuka cleans house and then Lana tags herself in. An ill advised leap from the top rope turns into Shayna's kirufuda clutch finisher. Asuka gets rid of Nia and hits Shayna with a Shining Wizard and Lana pins her for the win. This is obviously leading to a TLC match for the Women's Tag Team Championships. I fully expect Asuka and Lana to win or why do it at all. We may get to see if Asuka can perform miracles and get Lana over. I wouldn't bet against it. Enjoy the video.