AccuRadio Song Of The Day-Yes

 

Artist:Yes

Song:Owner of a Lonely Heart

Album:Yesstory

Of course most music fans are familiar with the progressive rock group Yes from albums like Fragile and singles like Roundabout. But a reformed version of Yes topped the charts with the 1983 single Owner of a Lonely Heart. It was their only number one hit. Things weren't going well when Yes was trying to record the followup to the 1978 album Tomato. The result was lead singer Jon Anderson and keyboard player Rick Wakeman left Yes. Bassist Chris Squire brought in lead singer Trevor Horn and keyboard player Geoff Downes. They were known as Buggles and had a hit single with Video Killed the Radio Star. After the 1980 album Drama and subsequent tour, Yes decided to split up. Downes and guitarist Steve Howe formed Asia with King Crimson bassist John Wetton and drummer Carl Palmer of Emerson, Lake and Palmer. Squire and drummer Alan White planned to form a new group first with Jimmy Page and then with Robert Plant. When neither worked out, Phil Carson of Atlantic Records introduced them to singer Trevor Rabin from the South African group Rabbitt. After they brought in original Yes keyboard player Tony Kaye, the band was going to be called Cinema. Horn was brought back initially to sing but he ended up producing the album 90125. They recorded demos. All the songs were written by Rabin. Squire encountered Jon Anderson at a Los Angeles party. He played him the demos and after Anderson decided to join, it was officially a Yes reunion. Rabin objected to this at first but he realized it was good marketing strategy. The big surprise was when Owner of a Lonely Heart topped the Billboard Hot 100. So though the album sounded nothing like classic Yes, it was certified 3XPlatinum so it was very successful. The problem was the album Big Generator wasn't released until 1987 as Rabin and Horn weren't getting along and Rabin took over as producer. The album did OK and they toured. But then Anderson left. This 1993 2CD budget comp covers Yes's history up until that point. Yes released an album in 2014. But Howe, White and Downes still lead a version of Yes. Chris Squire died in 2015. Here's the video of Owner of a Lonely Heart by Yes.

Big Bad Blog Video Theater-Mallory Martin vs Hannah Cifers

 Here's the match video of Mallory Martin vs Hannah Cifers from last night's UFC show on Las Vegas. Mallory is 23 years old. She trains at Elevation in Denver. She is a former Invicta fighter who lost her UFC debut to Virna Jandiroba. I expected this to be easier as Hannah has been inept. When she fought in smaller companies, Hannah seemed to have KO power. We haven't seen that in the UFC and she is inept on the ground. So I think we were all surprised when Hannah knocked Mallory down in round one. She should have finished Mallory. But when she was unable to do that, I knew that Hannah was going to be in big trouble in round two. Mallory took Hannah down, pounded her enough to get her to give up her back and got a rear naked choke for the finish. So it was a big win for Mallory and she got a bonus. Hannah is still inept. Both Schwan Humes and I think the UFC will keep Hannah around as long as she is willing to fight anyone though I would have released her already. We will talk about this on this week's Big Topic in WMMA podcast. Enjoy the video!

Big Bad Blog Video Theater-Polyana Viana vs Emily Whitmire

 Here's the match video of Polyana Viana vs Emily Whitmire from last night's UFC show in Las Vegas. Polyana is on a three fight losing streak. She is a BJJ whiz. But her striking is terrible. and she gets worse as the fight goes on. Enily is from Oregon. She was in TUF 26 for Flyweights. She is 2-2 in the UFC as a Strawweight. She now trains with John Wood at Syndicate MMA in Las Vegas. Emily immediately goes for a takedown. She's in top position but Polyana is very active from the bottom. She is throwing elbows mainly to distract Emily so she can grab her arm. And that's it. Polyana wins with an armbar. It was a big win for her. I guess it's back to the drawing board for Emily. Enjoy the video!

Big Bad Blog Video Theater-Alexa Grasso vs Ji Yeon Kim

 Here's the match video of Alexa Grasso vs Ji Yeon Kim from last night's UFC show in Las Vegas. This is Alexa's first fight at Flyweight. She's 27 years old from Mexico. She trains at her dad's gym. She's a striker but she doesn't throw very hard. Like a lot of Korean fighters, Ji is a kickboxer who got into MMA in Japan. Though she is a hard puncher, she's a counterpuncher so she's not aggressive enough. Neither of them have ground skills so I expected this to be a kickboxing match. Round one was pretty close. But Kim is a counterpuncher to a fault. She needed to throw more. But she didn't. So Alexa won this fight just by throwing more. Ji did not make any adjustments until it was too late. And then in round three, Ji went for clinching on the fence. That's not what she should be doing when she needs a finish. Alexa even got a takedown at the end of round three. So I scored the fight 30-27 for Alexa and so did the judges. And I wasn't all that impressed with Alexa. But Ji fought a very poor fight. It doesn't make me think that Alexa can beat some of the better Flyweight fighters. However Ji needs to make major adjustments to rise above the lower midcard. Enjoy the video!

AccuRadio Song Of The Day-Lonnie Liston Smith

 

Artist:Lonnie Liston Smith f/Donald Smith

Song:Expansions

Album:Introducing

Jazz pianist Lonnie Liston Smith started out as a sideman in the 60s. His 70s albums with his band The Cosmic Echoes have been very influential and frequently sampled by hip hop guys. Expansions has been sampled 16 times according to the website Who Sampled. He is not to be confused with jazz pianist Lonnie Smith who started wearing a turban and changed his name to Dr. Lonnie Smith to avoid the confusion. Lonnie Liston Smith was born Dec. 28, 1940 in Richmond, VA. His father was in the gospel group The Harmonizing Four. Smith earned a Bachelor of Science in music education at Morgan State University in Baltimore. He played local clubs until he moved to New York in 1963. He was in Betty Carter's band for a year. Smith's first recorded appearance was on Roland Kirk's 1965 live recording Here Comes the Whistleman. He joined Art Blakey and the Jazz Messengers in 1965. He was only in the band for a few months. He returned to Kirk's band and also spent a year with Max Roach. He then joined Pharoah Sanders' band and that's where Smith started experimenting with electric keyboards. That led to a two year stint with Gato Barbieri and a brief time with Miles Davis. Smith learned to play organ and he appeared on On the Corner (1973) and Big Fun (1974). Then he started his own band The Cosmic Echoes and signed with former Impulse Records producer Bob Thiele's Flying Dutchman label. They knew each other from the Sanders albums. Smith recorded five albums for Flying Dutchman and two more for RCA after Thiele sold Flying Dutchman. He also recorded four albums for Columbia. Expansions is from the 1974 album Expansions. Smith's brother Donald Smith sings and plays flute. Other musicians are Cecil McBee on bass, Art Gore on drums and Michael Carvin, Leopoldo Fleming and Lawrence Killian on percussion. As I said, Expansions has been sampled many times by hip hop guys, most notably by Stetsasonic in the 1988 single Talkin' All That Jazz. In the 80s, Smith recorded three albums for Thiele's new label Doctor Jazz. Smith last recorded as a leader in the early 90s. He still tours especially in Europe and Japan. And sampling has generated interest in Smith's Flying Dutchman recordings. This RCA budget comp covers those recordings. And he still gets those royalty cheques as Expansions has appeared in several video games. Here's a video for Expansions by Lonnie Liston Smith.

AccuRadio Song Of The Day-Sleepy Sun

 

Artist:Sleepy Sun

Song:Open Eyes

Album:Fever

Sleepy Sun is an indie band that will be of interest to fans of neo psychedelia. The 2010 album Fever is generally considered to be their best album. The members of Sleepy Sun were all students at UC Santa Cruz when the band was formed in 2005. At first they were called Mania. The lead singer is Bret Constantino along with guitarists Matt Holliman and Evan Reiss, bassist Hubert Guy and drummer Brian Tice. They started out as a garage band and soon became a psychedelic band. They moved to San Francisco. After singer Rachel Fannan joined in 2007, the band name was changed to Sleepy Sun. They saw her performing in a club. After releasing their debut album Embrace in 2008, they signed with ATP Recordings who rereleased it in 2009. Guy was replaced by Jack Allen. Open Eyes is from Sleepy Sun's 2010 album Fever which they recorded in Vancouver with producer Colin Stewart. Then they toured opening for Arctic Monkeys. The album was critically acclaimed but Rachel was unhappy that she wasn't involved in the songwriting. And she also had a drinking problem. So she left. The band claimed that though Rachel was not involved in the songwriting, she was a big part of their live shows. Rachel has been in several bands but she is currently a member of Black Mountain. Sleepy Sun's third album Spine Hits was released in 2012. Then they took a break. Holliman and Reiss formed Fine Points and released an album in 2015. Constantine is a cook when he's not a musician. Tice is a math and physics tutor. Sleepy Sun returned with the 2014 album Maui Tears on the Canadian label Dine Alone. While recording the 2017 album Private Tales, Allen was replaced by Owen Kelley who is a member of Fine Points. They didn't tour and it's not clear if the band is still active. They haven't said anything but they don't seem active to me. Holliman, Reiss and Kelley still have Fine Points and Constantino leads the band Anywhere. On their Facebook page, Sleepy Sun is raising money to do a vinyl pressing of Fever. Here's the video of Open Eyes by Sleepy Sun.

AccuRadio Song Of The Day-Esther Phillips

 Artist:Esther Phillips

Song:Set Me Free

Album:The Country Side of Esther Phillips/Set Me Free

Esther Mae Jones was born Dec. 23, 1935 in Galveston, TX. She was known as Little Esther when she recorded and toured with Johnny Otis in the 50s. She started calling herself Esther Phillips after she left Otis. She got the name from a gas station sign. She recorded for Federal in the late 50s with little success and she was also in and out of rehab for drug addiction. She was spotted by Kenny Rogers who signed her to Lenox Records which was owned by his brother. After Esther's 1962 cover of Release Me was a top ten hit, Lenox closed and Esther signed with the much larger Atlantic label. Of course the happy ending would have Esther as a big star. But it just didn't happen for Esther at Atlantic. They had her record all kinds of songs in different styles and none of it seemed to catch on. Plus Esther was still in and out of rehab with her drug addiction. Set Me Free is from her 1970 album Set Me Free. Atlantic released it as a single but the album wasn't released until 1986. I would describe it as country soul. It was written by veteran country songwriter Curly Putnam. Clarence Carter also recorded the song and Charlie Rich had a hit with it in 1968. Set Me Free was Esther's final album on Atlantic. Collectables has released Set Me Free on a twofer CD with the 1966 album The Country Side of Esther Phillips. It shows how versatile Esther was as she could sing any kind of music in any style. Soon after she signed with CTI's Kudu label and score the biggest hit of her career with the 1975 disco cover of What A Difference A Day Makes. I will look at that song some other time but her Atlantic recordings are worth checking out. Here's a video of Set Me Free by Esther Phillips.

The Big Topic in WMMA

 UFC review and preview and a look at Featherweight and Atomweight.

Big Bad Blog Video Theater-Raquel Gonzalez and Dakota Kai vs Io Shirai and Rhea Ripley

 Here's the match video of Raquel Gonzalez and Dakota Kai vs Io Shirai vs Rhea Ripley from last night's episode of NXT. This was set up after Io's successful title defense on Saturday's Takeover show. Raquel tried to attack Io after the match and Rhea made the save. They usually do a War Games match on November's Takeover show so this is the start of the build for that. Dakota is looking for a title rematch. Rhea also wants a title shot but I expect we will see a Rhea vs Raquel hoss battle at some point. Most of this match is after the commercial break. The end comes when Mercedes Martinez interferes and knocks Rhea into the steps. So it's two on one and Raquel gets a couple of near falls on Io. But Io makes the tag and Rhea is still reeling from the attack. Raquel slams her down and gets the win. So as I said this is just the start of the build to War Games. We are just starting to see who is going to be involved in that. Enjoy the video!

AccuRadio Song Of The Day-Scars on 45

 Artist:Scars on 45

Song:Take You Home

Album:Safety in Numbers

The British band Scars on 45 have had success when songs were placed on TV shows like Grey's Anatomy. Take You Home is one of four songs that charted on Billboard's Adult Alternative chart or as they call it AAA. After two albums on major labels, Scars on 45's latest album is on their own label. Scars on 45 are from Bradford, England. Danny Bemrose is the lead singer and songwriter. When a broken foot ended his plans for a pro football career, Bemrose began to write songs with another aspiring footballer Stuart Nichols. After bringing in pianist David "Nova" Nowakowski, They started playing local clubs and released an EP. They brought in Nowakowski's friend Aimee Driver to share vocals and drummer Chris Durling. They had trouble coming up with a band name. Bemrose heard an Emmylou Harris interview where she talked about scratching her father's records and he yelled at her for getting scars on his 45s. Their big break came when CSI: New York music supervisor Alex Patsavas placed Beauty's Running Wild on the show. They signed with her Chop Shop label distributed by Atlantic. This is where most of Scars on 45's success came from. Heart on Fire appeared on the Grey's Anatomy Vol. 4 soundtrack album. They released their debut album Scars on 45 in 2012 and they toured to support it. Songs continued to appear on TV shows. The problem was Atlantic closed Chop Shop and Scars on 45 was forced to find a new label. The 2016 album Safety in Numbers was released on Nettwerk Records. Though Take You Home charted, the album didn't have the same success without Patsavos putting songs on TV. And Aimee announced that though she would continue to record with Scars on 45, she would no longer tour. They released the 2018 album Satellite Town on their own label. They hire a singer for touring. Scars on 45 will be of interest to folk rock fans. Safety in Numbers is available as a budget CD. Here's the video for Take You Home by Scars on 45.

Frank Pozen's Big Bad Podcast

 UFC review and preview and Asuka at SummerSlam.

Big Bad Blog Video Theater-Asuka vs Sasha Banks (Lumberjack match)

 Here's the match video of Asuka defending her RAW Women's Championship in a lumberjack match from this week's episode of RAW. I don't know why the WWE did a lumberjack match. It didn't work very well. Bayley wanted to use that to interfere and wouldn't let the others get involved. When Asuka went after Bayley, Bayley tried to hide behind the other girls. But Asuka pushed them aside. When Bayley grabbed a chair from under the ring, Shayna Baszler stopped her from using it. Shayna and Nia Jax will challenge Bayley and Sasha for the Women's Tag Team Championships on this Sunday's Payback. Once that happened, Asuka secured the Asuka Lock and she retained the title. Check out the video.

Big Bad Blog Video Theater-Asuka vs Sasha Banks

 Here's the match video of Sasha Banks defending her RAW Women's Championship against Asuka. They sell that Asuka is damaged from the first match especially her left knee. This leads to Sasha acting like an idiot underestimating Asuka. At first Sasha dominates but Asuka returns fire so the match is very competitive. Asuka took another power bomb on the floor. And this time it looked like she hit the back of her head on the floor. When fans expressed concern on Twitter, Asuka said her body is sore. She wanted to make it look like she hit her head. She says she took it on her neck. Clearly Asuka is a master of taking bumps. So she sold the bump on the floor for a while. The finish comes when Bayley tries to interfere and Asuka knocks her to the floor with a spinning back fist. Asuka and Sasha exchanged their finishers. After Asuka secured the Asuka Lock, Bayley was nowhere to be seen. So Asuka wins the RAW Women's Championship which she never should have lost in the first place. She was so happy afterwards. I was asked about Asuka maybe winning both belts. As it relates to the Bayley Sasha story, that probably doesn't matter. My guess is Asuka doesn't want both belts because with the WWE going live, she would have to be on both shows and stay in Orlando. She wants to go home to Las Vegas. I don't think Asuka having two belts is practical. I'm glad she got the RAW belt back. Enjoy the video!

Big Bad Blog Video Theater-Bayley vs Asuka

 Here's the match video of Bayley defending her Smackdown Women's Championship against Asuka. Later on Asuka challenged Sasha Banks for the RAW Women's Championship. This is more about the endless tease of a Bayley Sasha split. The plan is for Bayley to soften up Asuka so she is easy pickings for Sasha. Of course things don't work out especially for Sasha. But the key to both matches is Asuka's selling of offense and overcoming the beating. This match is very competitive. But Bayley injures Asuka's knee and that gives her an edge. But she can't put Asuka away. When Sasha distracts Asuka, Bayley takes advantage and wins with an inside cradle. And afterwards they gang up on Asuka so obviously the second match is an uphill battle for Asuka. All is well with Bayley and Sasha...for now. This match is pretty good so be sure to watch it especially since it wasn't posted online and I had to manipulate video footage to get it.

AccuRadio Song Of The Day-Doc Cheatham & Nicholas Payton

 Artist:Doc Cheatham & Nicholas Payton

Song:I Gotta Right To Sing The Blues

Album:Doc Cheatham & Nicholas Payton

Trumpeter Adolphus "Doc" Cheatham began his music career in the 20s. He was mainly a sideman until he started recording more as a leader in the 80s. He was nominated for a Grammy for this 1997 album with 23 year old trumpeter Nicholas Payton. He was born June 13, 1905 in Nashville. The Doc nickname was because his family wanted him to be a pharmacist. But Cheatham had other ideas. He began his career touring the vaudeville circuit accompanying blues singers. He moved to Chicago in 1924 and that's when Cheatham heard King Oliver and then Louis Armstrong. So those were his two big influences. Cheatham moved to Europe and when he returned to the US he was Cab Calloway's lead trumpeter from 1932-39. In the 40s he performed with Teddy Wilson, Benny Carter and Claude Hopkins. Post WWII he worked with Latin bands in New York like Perez Prado, Ricardo Ray and especially Machito. He finally led his own band in the early 60s and he released his debut album as a leader in 1961. He moved back to Europe in the 70s. Cheatham became a singer by accident. In 1977 he was doing a mic check in a Paris recording studio and he started singing. The producer liked it so much that it was on Cheatham's 1977 album Good For What Ails Ya. When he returned to New York in the 80s, Cheatham performed every Sunday at Sweet Basil's. He also toured and recorded more frequently. It was on one of his many trips to New Orleans that Cheatham met trumpeter Nicholas Payton. Payton was on Verve Records at the time and he and pianist Butch Thompson decided to record an album with Cheatham. They recorded standards like I Gotta Right To Sing The Blues. The album was very successful and it was nominated for a Grammy. Cheatham died on June 2, 1997 at age 91. He won a posthumous Grammy for his solo on Stardust from Doc Cheatham & Nicholas Payton. A fitting cap for a long career in music. Here's a video for I Gotta Right To Sing The Blues by Doc Cheatham & Nicholas Payton.

AccuRadio Song Of The Day-Calypso King & The Soul Investigators

 

Artist:Calypso King & The Soul Investigators

Song:Struggling My Way

Album:Soul Strike!

Fans of 70s instrumental funk will want to check out Calypso King & The Soul Investigators. The only thing is this music is not from the 70s and this band is from Finland. When the neo soul and funk label Desco Records closed in 2000, Gabriel Roth started Daptone Records which of course has been very successful. His partner Philippe Lehman started Soul Fire. Lehman was looking for a more raw funk sound. And he found it with Calypso King & The Soul Investigators. They are from Helsinki, Finland. But they sure sound like a 70s funk band like The Meters. After releasing a few singles, the album Soul Strike! was released in 2001. All the musicians are guys who have played in other bands and on sessions. Calypso King & The Soul Investigators released two albums and the musicians have gone on to other things. They still record as The Soul Investigators backing up singers like Nicole Willis, Myron & E and most recently Ernie Hawks. The main guy behind this band is Timmion Records owner Didier Selin. Soul Fire closed in 2003. Soul Strike! is available as a budget CD. Fans of 70s funk should check it out. Here's a video for Struggling My Way by Calypso King & The Soul Investigators.

AccuRadio Song Of The Day-Steve Archer

 Artist:Steve Archer

Song:Through His Eyes of Love

Album:The Very Best of Steve Archer

Steve Archer was a member of the pioneering CCM group The Archers. He branched off as a solo artist in the 80s at a time when religious labels were trying to cross CCM artists over to pop. Through His Eyes of Love topped the CCM charts in 1983. He was born Jan. 4, 1953 in Mojave, CA. His father was a pastor and Archer and his brother Tim Archer sang in church. Along with older brother Gary Archer, they toured Bay Area churches as The Archer Brothers. When Gary left the group in 1970. Steve and Tim formed The Archers with Nancye Short and Billy Rush Masters. The Archers were very successful in what was called Jesus Music at the time. This would eventually be called Contemporary Christian Music (CCM). While still with The Archers, Steve Archer decided to record solo with veteran producer Chris Christian and his Home Sweet Home label. Through His Eyes was Archer's second solo album in 1983. Christian licensed the album to Word's Myrrh label in an attempt to cross Archer over to pop. Though that didn't work out, the single Through His Eyes of Love topped the CCM charts. They even produced what was supposedly the first CCM music video. When The Archers went on hiatus, Archer expanded his solo career to include touring. Archer recorded five albums from 1982-87. This comp CD covers those albums. The Archers returned in 1991 and after two albums, they retired in 1994. Archer moved to Texas and continued to tour. He released a couple of albums. The most recent was in 2005. I think he retired as his website is kaput. Here's the video for Through His Eyes of Love by Steve Archer.

Big Bad Blog Video Theater-Amanda Lemos vs MIZUKI

 Here's the match video of Amanda Lemos vs MIZUKI from last night's UFC show in Las Vegas. Amanda is 33 years old from Belem, Brazil. After a two year drug suspension, she easily beat Amanda Granger in Korea. MIZUKI is 26 years old from Japan. She now trains at Serra Longo in Long Island, NY. She won her UFC debut last year in China. A lot of this fight was in the clinch on the fence. And though MIZUKI seemed to be controlling the clinch, it's not usually a way to win fights. Aljamain Sterling kept yelling at MIZUKI to go for a takedown. I think if she had success with that early in the fight, she could have won this fight. But by the time she tried that in the third round, it was too late and she was unsuccessful. Meanwhile Amanda knocked MIZUKI down in round one and controlled the striking exchanges at a distance. She didn't dominate MIZUKI but she did enough to win the fight 30-27. Japanese fighters don't lift weights. I think that is something MIZUKI needs to do if she is going to compete in the UFC. Amanda isn't even a top fighter. But MIZUKI needs to beat these kind of fighters to get ranked. Enjoy the video!

Big Bad Blog Video Theater-Shana Dobson vs Mariya Agapova

 Here's the match video of Shana Dobson vs Mariya Agapova from last night's UFC show in Las Vegas. Shana is on the three fight losing streak. But she has moved from her home in Washington, DC to Elevation Fight Team in Denver led by head coach Eliot Marshall. It's her second fight there so we'll see if they can make some progress with her. Mariya is 23 years old from Kazakhstan but she now trains at American Top Team in Florida. A couple of years ago she lost to Tracy Cortez in the Contender Series. After winning a couple of fights in Invicta, Mariya returned to the UFC in June and won a lopsided win over Hannah Ciphers. This led to Mariya being a prohibitive betting favorite. I don't gamble so I don't pay attention to that stuff. But UFC broadcaster Jon Anik is an expert and he thought the odds were out of whack. Mariya came out like a house on fire. The problem was when she wasn't able to get a finish, she ran out of gas and Shana won by TKO in round two. It was a big win for Shana and it means Marshall has made progress with her. What ATT needs to do is teach Mariya to pace herself so she can last three rounds. These improvements take time so be patient with her. I think Conan Silveira was in her corner and he trains Amanda Nunes. He knows what he's doing. Enjoy the video!

Big Bad Blog Video Theater-Io Shirai vs Dakota Kai

 Here's the match video of Io Shirai defending her NXT Women's Championship against Dakota Kai from last night's Takeover show. First they ran this video where Dakota says she doesn't need anyone and then Raquel Gonzales comes to the ring with her. I think there may have been some indecision about Raquel's role in this angle. But once they decided to bring her back, Dakota's promo should have been redone. Early in the match Io seems to land on her head while doing a handspring flip. Looking at it again, if she did hit her head, the blow was softened by her hands. She continued like nothing happened. Raquel gets involved early on and Io is driven into the post and hurts her arm. Dakota spends a lot of time working on the arm and Io sells it great. But typical of any match with Io, Dakota can't put her away. The finish comes when Dakota kicks the ref by accident and knocks him out. Raquel chokeslams Io and places Dakota on top of her. Io kicks out. Io does a moonsault to the floor on both of them and that leads to Io winning the match with another moonsault. Raquel attacks Io but Rhea Ripley makes the save and stares down Raquel. Obviously this will lead to various combinations of these four wrestlers. The next Takeover show is in November. It's a very good match so be sure to check out the video.

AccuRadio Song Of The Day-Brownsville Station

 

Artist:Brownsville Station

Song:Smokin' in the Boys Room

Album:Legends: Get It On

Smokin' in the Boys Room was a top five hit in 1973. It was the only big hit for Brownsville Station. I think it's a song music fans know but they may not be familiar with the band. Brownsville Station were formed in Ann Arbor, MI in 1969 by Michael "Cub" Koda and Mike Lutz. Both guys played guitar and sang. Other members were Tony Driggins on bass and Henry "H-Bomb" Weck on drums. Koda was interesting because he was an authority on 50s music and he frequently wrote about it for Allmusic among other places. Brownsville Station signed with Palladium Records with Warner Bros. distribution. Palladium released early Bob Seger albums. Brownsville Station released their 1970 debut album No BS. It looks like Palladium closed. Veteran music exec Doug Morris moved his label Big Tree Records to Atlantic Records. He had previously been with Ampex and Bell. His main acts at Big Tree were Lobo and Brownsville Station. After he had success with Lobo, Morris and his house producer Eric Stevens wanted a big hit for Brownsville Station. They got it with Smokin' in the Boys Room from the 1973 album Yeah!. It reached #3 on the Billboard Hot 100. It turned out to be the only big hit for Brownsville Station. Some fans may be familiar with Motley Crue's 1985 cover of Smokin' in the Boys Room. The song also appeared in the popular 1978 film Rock 'N' Roll High School. Though Brownsville Station recorded mostly covers on Yeah!, Smokin' in the Boys Room was written by Koda and Lutz. They recorded four albums for Big Tree and one for Private Stock. They were never able to repeat the success of Smokin' in the Boys Room which you can get on this various artists budget comp. Koda recorded several solo albums and he formed The Points. And like I said, he wrote a lot for Allmusic. I used to see his writing in the record collector magazine Goldmine. He died in 2000. Lutz teaches guitar at an Ann Arbor music store and he has produced several Ted Nugent albums. Weck lives in Memphis and produced the band Blackfoot. Lutz and Weck formed a new version of Brownsville Station in 2012 and they released an album. They tour the nostalgia circuit. Here's Brownsville Station performing Smokin' in the Boys Room and Barefootin' on Don Kirshner's Rock Concert 1974.

AccuRadio Song Of The Day-Boone Creek

 

Artist:Boone Creek

Song:One Way Track

Album:One Way Track

Boone Creek was formed in 1977 by bluegrass legends Ricky Skaggs and Jerry Douglas after they left J.D. Crowe & The New South. Boone Creek only recorded two albums before they split up but bluegrass fans will want to check them out. Skaggs was 23 and Douglas was 20 when they formed Boone Creek. Other members were Wes Golding on guitar and vocals, Terry Baucom on banjo and Steve Bryant on bass. One Way Track is the title track of their second album. Though they cover a lot of bluegrass standards, One Way Track was written and sung by Skaggs and Golding. Boone Creek split up when Skaggs was offered a job with Emmylou Harris and the Hot Band. Of course Skaggs has gone on to great success and today is considered to be a country music and bluegrass legend. Douglas has gone on to similar success. He has recorded solo since 1979 and he has been an in demand Nashville session musician for many years. He has played on hundreds of recordings. Baucom was a founding member of Doyle Lawson & Quicksilver and is also an in demand session musician. After Boone Creek split up, Bryant joined J.D. Crowe & The New South for ten years. He also plays sessions and he worked for QVC for a few years. Unfortunately Wes Golding never had the same success. In the mid 80s, he did front a band with his wife called Sure Fire. But they only recorded one 1986 album. It looks like he quit the music business after that. Here's Boone Creek performing One Way Track on a 1977 episode of the Kentucky Educational Television TV show Bluegrass Bluegrass.

AccuRadio Song Of The Day-Ben Wendel

 

Artist:Ben Wendel

Song:Doubt

Album:What We Bring

Sax player Ben Wendel is best known as a member of the popular jazz group Kneebody. He has recorded four albums as a leader and is a very busy sideman. He was born Feb. 20, 1976 in Vancouver, BC and he grew up in Santa Monica, CA. His mother is opera singer Dale Franzen. He took piano lessons as a child and started playing sax at age ten. He played sax and bassoon in high school. Wendel studied at the Eastman School of Music in Rochester, NY and Kneebody was formed there. After graduating, they moved to Los Angeles. Kneebody has been very successful with critical acclaim and a Grammy nomination. Wendel has worked as a sideman with Tigran Hamasyan and Todd Sickafoose and sessions with Good Charlotte and Jason Mraz. One guy he has worked with a lot is producer Alfred "Daedelus" Darlington. They were friends in high school. Wendel has recorded four albums as a leader since 2009. Doubt is from the 2016 album What We Bring on Motema Music. Though Wendel wrote most of the songs on the album, Doubt is from the folk rock duo Wye Oak (Andy Stack and Jenn Wasner). Musicians are Gerald Clayton on piano, Joe Sanders on bass, Henry Cole on drums and Nate Wood on percussion. Wendel's latest album Seasons was released in 2018. Kneebody released the album Chapters in 2019. They continue to be Wendel's main band. And he will continue to record occasionally as a leader when Kneebody isn't recording or touring. Here's the video for Doubt by Ben Wendel with Gerald Clayton, Joe Sanders, Henry Cole and Nate Wood.

The Big Topic in WMMA podcast

This week's WMMA in the UFC.

AccuRadio Song Of The Day-Christina Aguilera

 

Artist:Christina Aguilera

Song:Genie in a Bottle

Album:Keeps Gettin' Better: A Decade of Hits

Genie in a Bottle was the first single from the 1999 debut album by teen pop singer Christina Aguilera and her first #1 hit. She was in a battle for teen pop supremacy with fellow Disney alum Britney Spears. Christina scored four #1 pop hits. She was born Dec. 14, 1980 in Staten Island, NY. Her father was in the military so the family moved a lot. Her grandmother encouraged her to sing and Christina won a talent contest at age eight. At age ten she appeared on Star Search but she was eliminated in the semi final round. The family was living in Pittsburgh at the time and Christina sang The Star-Spangled Banner at Penguins, Steelers and Pirates games. She auditioned for The Mickey Mouse Club in 1991. She was too young at the time but she joined the show in 1993 and she was on the show until it was cancelled in 1994. Of course Britney Spears was also on that show. Christina's big break came when she sang Reflections in the 1998 Disney film Mulan. That led to a deal with RCA Records and veteran A&R director Ron Fair. The teen pop craze was big at the time so the 1999 album Christina Aguilera was recorded very quickly and rush released. Genie in a Bottle was the first single. It topped the Billboard Hot 100 and so did the second single What A Girl Wants. The album was certified 8XPlatinum. Fair was executive producer of the album. The first producer he brought in was Guy Roche who had worked with Cher and Brandy among others. He wrote and produced What A Girl Wants. Genie in a Bottle was written and produced by David Frank of The System and Steve Kipner who wrote Olivia Newton-John's Physical. Pamela Sheyne wrote the lyrics. Frank says he was sleeping and the song came to him when he woke up. Come on Over Baby was the third #1 hit from the album. Christina won the 2000 Best New Artist Grammy. After releasing a Spanish album and a Christmas album, Christina again topped the charts with a cover of Lady Marmalade from the 2001 film Moulin Rouge. She was fighting with RCA. Of course they wanted her to be a teen pop singer and she wanted to take a more mature approach. Christina won that battle and released the 2002 album Stripped. There were no #1 hits. Beautiful reached #2. And the album was certified 4XPlatinum. Christina produced most of the album with Scott Storch. I understand her desire to mature but most music fans just want a repeat of her successful album. Christina continues to record and tour. Her latest album was released in 2018. You can get all her hits on this budget comp. Here's the video for Genie in a Bottle by Christina Aguilera.

Frank Pozen's Big Bad Podcast Aug. 19, 2020

 UFC review and preview, Asuka and WWE NXT Takeover and SunnerSlam Previews.

Big Bad Blog Video Theater-Cheyanne Buys vs Hilarie Rose

 Here's the match video of Cheyanne Buys vs Hilarie Rose from last night's episode of Dana White's Tuesday Night Contender Series (DWTNCS). This fight is at Strawweight. Cheyanne is 25 years old from South Aftrica. She and fighter husband JP Buys moved to Dallas to train at Fortis MMA with Sayif Saud. Hilarie is 27 years old from Newton, MA. She trains with UFC fighter Joe Lauzon. I saw Cheyanne's most recent fight in LFA on UFC Fight Pass. She won by unanimous decision but I didn't think she was aggressive enough. In this fight she seems to have corrected that. Her striking was a lot better. Hilarie had nothing for her. Cheyanne almost got a finish in round three with her striking. But when Hilarie goes down, Cheyanne tries to take her back instead of pounding her which probably would have got her a finish. Paul Felder points this out on commentary. I'm sure Saud noticed it as well and he will make appropriate corrections. Cheyanne wins by unanimous decision. She got her UFC contract. Obviously a finish would have clinched it. But I thought her performance along with her looks and charisma was enough to earn the contract. She seemed overexcited but I'll give her a pass on that until we see her in her first official UFC fight. Enjoy the video!

AccuRadio Song Of The Day-Snow Patrol

 

Artist:Snow Patrol

Song:Chasing Cars

Album:Greatest Hits

The Scottish group Snow Patrol have been very successful in England with five top ten hits. The 2005 single Chasing Cars was their only big hit in the US. Snow Patrol was formed in 1994 at the University of Dundee in Scotland. They called themselves Shrug with Gary Lightbody on lead vocals and guitar, Mark McClelland on bass and keyboards and Michael Morrison on drums. Lightbody writes all the songs and he is the only original member still in the group. Shrug played local clubs and released an EP. There was a band in the US called Shrug so the band name was changed to Polarbear. After releasing an EP, the band name was changed again as there was already a band called Polarbear. The name was changed to Snow Patrol. Morrison was replaced by Jonny Quinn. Snow Patrol signed with Jeepster Records, home of Belle and Sebastian. Snow Patrol moved to Glasgow and released the 1998 album Songs for Polarbears. Though Snow Patrol was critically acclaimed, their two Jeepster albums did not sell and they were dropped in 2001. While they were trying to get a new record deal, guitarist Nathan Connolly joined the band. Finally through an old college friend, they got a deal with Polydor Records and producer Jacknife Lee. Lee was a guitarist for the punk band Compulsion. He went solo and became known for his remixes for U2 and Eminem. He produced the 2003 album Final Straw. The single Run reached #5 on the British Singles chart. McClelland was replaced by Paul Wilson in 2005 and keyboard player Tom Simpson was officially added to the band after touring with them. The album Eyes Open was released in 2005. Chasing Cars was successful after it appeared on a 2006 episode of Gray's Anatomy. It reached #5 on the Billboard Hot 100. Eyes Open was certified Platinum. This turned out to be Snow Patrol's only big hit in the US. They continued to have success in England with singles like Signal Fire and Take Back The City. You can get all their hits on this comp. Snow Patrol is still around. Their latest album Wildness was released in 2018. They are still on Polydor but they have started their own label Polar Music and I expect they will eventually record there. Here's the video for Chasing Cars by Snow Patrol.

Big Bad Blog Video Theater-Shayna Baszler and Asuka vs Sasha Banks and Bayley

 Here's the match video of Shayna Baszler and Asuka vs Sasha Banks and Bayley from last night's episode of RAW. This is supposed to lead to Asuka getting two title shots at SummerSlam. So of course Sasha and Bayley come out and brag about how this will be so easy it will be like a night off. Shayna comes out and says she doesn't care who wins as long as she gets the next title shot. Asuka tells her to fight with her now before we fight later. But the match is interrupted when Nia Jax breaks through the plexiglass and attacks Shayna. Nia is supposed to be on suspension. The two fight to the back. Asuka is left alone and Sasha and Bayley think she's easy pickings. They beat her up but they can't finish her off. Shayna returns and gets the hot tag and that leads to the finish with Shayna winning with the kirifuda clutch. Later on, Shayna and her pals Marina Shafir and Jessamyn Duke appear on RAW Underground. Marina wins a match. Nia appears but decides not to fight. Last night's RAW was one of the screwiest shows I have ever seen. They did a lot of stuff that didn't work. So this was the final show taped at the WWE PC. Beginning with Friday's Smackdown, all shows will be live at the Amway Center in Orlando. They are claiming they will have enhanced crowd effects they are calling Thunderdome. It's hard to know how the presentation will change. What will they do with RAW Underground and Retribution? I'll see what it's like. I may hate it. I don't know. As for SummerSIlam, I'll say what I said last week. It makes no sense to have Asuka win that battle royal and come out of SummerSlam empty handed. I would feel differently if Asuka wasn't in the battle royal. And then Payback is one week after SummerSlam. I don't know why they are doing that. Enjoy the video!

AccuRadio Song Of The Day-Ixtahuele

 

Artist:Ixtahuele

Song:Curitiba Train

Album:Call of the Islands

When I first heard this song, I thought it had been recorded in the 60s. The music and even the album cover seems like a knockoff of exotica legend Martin Denny. It turns out that Ixtahuele is a tribute to Denny. This album was released in 2016. They are from Sweden led by Mattias Uneback. In the video, he's playing the vibraphone. But he also writes and arranges the music and plays keyboards, xylaphone, marimba, glockenspiel and even the theremin which is an obsolete musical instrument that was featured in The Beach Boys' Good Vibrations. Johan Hjalmarsson is a band member and recording engineer. Other members are Carl Turesson Bernhed, Wictor Lind and and Henrik Nilsson. They have released two albums on the Swedish label Subliminal Sounds. There is a market for this kind of lounge or exotica music. It's not a big market and I think it's mostly a nostalgia market for guys like Denny. Capitol has released a series of Exotica albums that have sold well. This is the first time I have heard a contemporary version of exotica. There may be others doing this but I haven't heard it...yet. Last year Uneback released a solo album called Voyage Beneath the Sea. The album is supposed to simulate underwater sounds. So if you like this sort of music, this might be for you. Here's the video for Curitiba Train by Ixtahuele.

AccuRadio Song Of The Day-Sergio Pereira

 

Artist:Sergio Pereira

Song:Down South

Album:Nu Brasil

Sergio Pereira is a contemporary acoustic guitarist steeped in the Bossa Nova tradition. Nu Brasil is his latest album. Pereira was born in Rio de Janeiro influenced by Gilberto and Jobim among others. He moved to New York in the 80s. He toured with the United Nations Jazz Band for 15 years. They were strictly a touring band. They never recorded. And he also played with guys like Helio Alves, Lonnie Plaxico and Duduka de Fonseca. Pereira moved to Europe in 2003. He lived in The Netherlands from 2003-09. He now lives in Valencia, Spain and he also spends time in New York. Down South is from his 2018 album Nu Brasil on the ZOHO label. It's his latest album. Musicians are Alexey Leon on soprano sax, Baptiste Bailly on piano, Ales Cesarini on bass and Mauricio Zottarelli on drums. Devin Malloy is the rapper. The album was recorded in Spain. Fans of Brazilian guitar should check out Sergio Pereira. Here's Sergio Pereira with Alexey Leon on soprano sax, Alberto Palau on piano, Ariel Ramirez on bass and Mauricio Zottarelli on drums performing Down South at Veles e Vents in Valencia, Spain Dec. 2018. Apparently this was Pereira's CD release party. He apologized for the audio quality as the club messed up.

Big Bad Blog Video Theater-Livinha Souza vs Ashley Yoder

 Here's the video of Livinha Souza vs Ashley Yoder from last night's UFC show in Las Vegas. Livinha is 29 years old from Sao Paulo, Brazil. She trains at her hometown gym Team Maximo owned by Vinicius Maximo and his brother Kleber Maximo. Livinha is a former Invicta Strawweight Champion. Ashley is 32 years old from Murrieta, CA. She trains at Dan Henderson's Team Quest but her coach for this fight was Kieran Fitzgibbon of Combat Sports Academy. It was announced on the broadcast that Ashley signed a new four fight UFC contract. Ashley has a 2-4 UFC record. Her main characteristic is she doesn't do enough to win fights. All her fights are close. She is 1-2 in split decisions. Ashley has a significant height and reach advantage in this fight. But you wouldn't know by the way she fought. The first thing she does is climb on Livinha's back. But she's too high and she falls off and Livinha controls her on the ground for a while. Livinha doesn't do enough to win fights either. One would think Ashley would have a striking advantage because of her reach advantage. But she doesn't throw enough. And Livinha is tearing up her leg with kicks. I scored the first two rounds 10-9 for Livinha. Round two was closer and some scored it for Ashley. All three judges scored the first two rounds 10-9 for Livinha. After round two, Fitzgibbon yelled at Ashley. But it was too late. She's already down two rounds. And she's not a finisher. So Ashley was better in round three but it wasn't enough. I scored the fight 29-28 for Livinha. Two of the judges scored it the same and the third scored it 30-27 for Livinha. It was a close fight because neither fighter did enough and Ashley was marginally worse. Livinha continues to call out Mackenzie Dern who is a big deal in Brazil. And other than her looks, I didn't see anything to justify a four fight contract for Ashley Yoder. Enjoy the video!

Big Bad Blog Video Theater-Virna Jandiroba vs Felice Herrig

 Here's the match video of Virna Jandiroba vs Felice Herrig from last night's UFC show in Las Vegas. Virna is 32 years old from Bahia, Brazil. She trains at her home town gym Academia Fight House owned by veteran fighter Renato Velame. She is a former Invicta Strawweight Champion. Virna's main skill is judo. Her striking is sub par. Felice is 35 years old from Chicago. She is returning from reconstructive knee surgery. Felice is mainly a kickboxer. Felice was forced to move to a new gym when her coach Jeff Curran was forced to close his gym due to COVID-19. I didn't like the sounds of that. And sure enough, Virna took Felice down and Felice was unable to escape and Virna won with a first round armbar. She got a performance bonus for that. Obviously that was a dominant win but I need to see her try that against better competition. I don't know where Felice goes from here. That was not good. Enjoy the video!

AccuRadio Song Of The Day-Foy Willing and the Riders of the Purple Sage

 

Artist:Foy Willing and the Riders of the Purple Sage

Song:Ragtime Cowboy Joe

Album:Tumbling Tumbleweeds

Foy Willing led the cowboy music band Riders of the Purple Sage. They are best known for appearing in several B westerns in the 40s and then they became Roy Rogers' backup band. I think that most fans assume that Sons of the Pioneers were that band. Riders of the Purple Sage replaced them in the mid 40s. Willing was born May 14, 1914 in Iredell, TX. He started out a the lead singer of a gospel group on local radio. He moved to New York in 1933 and then he moved to Los Angeles in 1940. This is where it gets a little confusing. The band Riders of the Purple Sage was founded by Buck Page in 1936. Willing called his new band Riders of the Purple Sage. The original band was Patti Page on vocals, Johnny Paul on fiddle and Ken Coopern on accordion. The band lineup changed a lot due to WWII callups. Riders of the Purple Sage recorded for Decca and Capitol. But the big thing is they replaced Sons of the Pioneers at Republic Pictures. They appeared in several westerns starring Charles Starrett, Monte Hale and Roy Rogers. This recording of the cowboy standard Lonesome Cowboy Joe is from one of those movies but I don't know which one. It doesn't look like the group ever recorded the song or released it as a single. The Varese label took it from the film soundtrack and put it on this CD. Riders of the Purple Sage continued to appear in Rogers films until they disbanded in 1952. Willing retired but he would perform occasionally and he was a regular at cowboy music festivals in the 70s. Foy Willing died of a heart attack on July 14, 1978 at age 64. Here's a video for Lonesome Cowboy Joe by Foy Willing and the Riders of the Purple Sage.

Big Bad Blog Video Theater-Asuka wins three brand battle royal

 Here's the match video of the three brand battle royal from last night's episode of Smackdown. The winner gets a shot at Bayley's Smackdown Women's Championship. On Monday's RAW, Asuka was in the promo for this match. I was surprised she was in this match. It had already been taped. Wouldn't the WWE have wanted Asuka's appearance to be a surprise? Lately we have been hearing about miscommunication between WWE creative and production. I think that's what happened. The left hand doesn't know what the right hand is doing. I think Asuka's appearance in the promo was a mistake. The WWE did not post that promo on Youtube and when they announced the battle royal participants yesterday, Asuka was not mentioned though they said there may be surprise entrants. Asuka was the only surprise entrant. Until the finish, the battle royal was nothing special which is normal for WWE battle royals. High spots included Bianca Belair tossing Tamina over the top rope. Tamina must be at least fifty pounds heavier than Bianca. Asuka did very little for the first half of the match. The final four are Asuka, Shayna Baszler, Tegan Nox and Dana Brooke. After Tegan gets some shine, Dana emerges from under the ring where she had been hiding. After she and Tegan are eliminated, that leaves Asuka vs Shayna. This is a tease to an upcoming program. If you recall when Asuka won the Royal Rumble, they had her do the finish on the ring apron. If she makes one mistake, she's on the floor and she loses. They had her do that in this match. Asuka executed this perfectly. Bayley and Sasha get involved. But Asuka knocks them down. Bayley grabs her leg. Asuka seems to drop to the floor. But she's standing on Bayley and Sasha. She gets back on the apron. Shayna attempts her kirafuda clutch. But Asuka pulls her over the top rope and wins. So now Asuka has two title matches at SummerSlam. Considering the BS the WWE pulled on Asuka at Extreme Rules, I have no problem with her winning both titles. There are fans who will whine about this. But these are the same morons who whined after the WWE did Asuka dirty at Extreme Rules and at other times. Maybe they want some cheese with that whine. Starting with SummerSlam, WWE will air live from the Amway Center in Orlando with a virtual crowd. I don't know if Asuka will win both titles. But it makes no sense to give her two title shots unless she wins both. It was the WWE's idea to put her in the battle royal in the first place. I didn't think that was necessary. But they did it. Asuka will now have two matches and she will steal the show twice. For that alone, she deserves both titles. Enjoy the video!

AccuRadio Song Of The Day-Ron Carter and the Golden Striker Trio

 

Artist:Ron Carter and the Golden Striker Trio

Song:Candle Light

Album:San Sebastian

Bassist Ron Carter is one of the all time jazz greats. He is probably best known as a member of Miles Davis' 60s band with Wayne Shorter, Herbie Hancock and Tony Williams. But he has appeared on over two thousand recordings so he is the most recorded bassist in history. He was born May 4, 1937 in the Detroit suburb of Ferndale, MI. He started out playing cello at age ten but he switched to bass when he attended the Eastman School of Music in Rochester, NY. After graduating he moved to New York and was in Chico Hamilton's band. He also played with Eric Dolphy. Carter's debut as a leader was the 1961 album Where? with Dolphy, Mal Waldron, George Duvivier and Charlie Persip. Carter played bass and cello on this album. After Hamilton returned to Los Angeles, Carter stayed in New York in Dolphy's band. He also played with Jaki Byard, Bobby Timmons and Art Farmer until he joined the Miles Davis band in 1963. Davis was in a transitional phase at the time. He was waiting for Shorter to leave the Art Blakey band so he could snap him up. This band was very successful until Carter left in 1968. At this point Carter got into session work and he also continued as a sideman. He got his first big record deal with CTI. He recorded several albums for them in the 70s. He has also recorded for Milestone, Concord, Muse and Blue Note. This 2017 album was released by the German label In + Out. It was recorded at the 2012 San Sebastian Jazz Festival. The band is Mulgrew Miller on piano and Russell Malone on guitar. Miller died in 2013 so this may have been his final recorded appearance. Malone has been in Carter's band since 2003. He is also in Diana Krall's band. This album is a CD/DVD package. Carter wrote Candle Light for 1980 Joe Henderson album Mirror, Mirror and he also recorded it with guitarist Jim Hall in 1984. In + Out is Carter's current label. He is still recording and touring. He's already in the Down Beat Jazz Hall of Fame and he will be in plenty more HOFs. Here's Ron Carter with Jacky Terrasson on piano and Russell Malone on guitar performing Candle Light at the 2006 Jazzwoche Berghausen festival in Germany. This entire concert can be streamed on Youtube.

AccuRadio Song Of The Day-American Authors

 

Artist:American Authors

Song:Best Day of My Life

Album:Oh, What a Life

The 2013 single Best Day of My Life is to date the only big hit for American Authors. This song appeared on TV so much at the time that I think most music fans heard the song but don't know anything about the band. The members of American Authors met while attending Berklee College of Music in Boston in 2006. Members are Zac Barnett on lead vocals, James Adam Shelley on guitar, Dave Rublin on bass and Matt Sanchez on drums. At first they were called The Blue Pages. They played clubs in Boston and released a few EPs. They moved to Brooklyn, NY in 2010 and the band name was changed to American Authors in 2012. They signed with the management company Dirty Canvas. The company owners Aaron Accetta and Shep Goodman produced all three American Authors albums. They have produced Jordan Knight and Brooke Hogan among others. They signed with Universal's Mercury label but were moved to Island when Mercury was turned into a country label. After releasing an EP, American Authors released their debut album Oh, What a Life in Mar. 2014. Best Day of My Life was the second single. It reached #11 on the Billboard Hot 100. The song appeared in a lot of commercials and movie trailers. The most notable of these was a Lowe's commercial that aired during the 2014 Super Bowl. It was also the theme for the Boston Red Sox 2013 World Series victory. And NHL on NBC used it as the theme for the 2014 Stanley Cup Playoff broadcasts. I guess the song appeared on TV so much that it became an earworm. The most notable thing about Best Day of My Life was the prominent use of the banjo. Obviously that isn't an instrument that is normally used in pop music. Barnett said in an interview that the band was experimenting at the time with banjo, mandolin and various percussion instruments. Shelley plays the banjo and tambourine is also featured. The stuttering chorus goes back to Buddy Holly. The album was certified Gold. To date Best Day of My Life is American Authors only chart single. They have released two albums since then and neither performed as well as the first. Their latest album was released last year. I think they need another hit to stay with Island. American Authors could be a one hit wonder. But it's too soon to declare that. Give them a couple more years. Here's the video for Best Day of My Life by American Authors.

The Big Topic in WMMA

 UFC review and preview and a look at the futures of Paige VanZant and Bethe Correia.

AccuRadio Song Of The Day-Daniel Amos

 

Artist:Daniel Amos

Song:Alarma

Album:Our Personal Favorite World Famous Hits

The pioneering CCM band Daniel Amos have been around since the 70s because they are adept at changing their sound to reflect musical trends. This 1981 song Alarma sounds like New Wave music from that era. So they are very durable. Daniel Amos are from Los Angeles. Terry Taylor is the lead singer and main songwriter. Taylor was in several Jesus Music bands in the early 70s. One of them Jubal's Last Band auditioned for Marantha! Music. There was a band with a similar name at the audition. Both bands agreed to change the name to avoid confusion. Daniel Amos got that record deal. Other members were Jerry Chamberlain on lead guitar, Steve Baxter on keyboards, Marty Dieckmeyer on bass and Ed McTaggart on drums. Daniel Amos released their debut album in 1975. The band's early albums were a mix of country and rock. Baxter was replaced by Mark Cook. Marantha dropped Daniel Amos after two albums. They decided they didn't want to be in the Jesus Music business and stick to easy listening music. They signed with Larry Norman's Solid Rock label in 1978 but the album Horrendous Disc wasn't released until 1981. Meanwhile Daniel Amos toured with singer songwriter Randy Stonehill. Taylor produced several Stonehill albums. The 1981 album Alarma was on Gary Paxton's NewPax label. It was the first of a series of albums known as The Alarma Chronicles. By 1984 Daniel Amos was a trio with Taylor, McTaggart and Greg Flesch. That's the band today. They released several albums on Frontline in the 80s. And when things slowed down in the late 80s, Taylor formed the spinoff band The Swirling Eddies. Taylor also recorded solo. Daniel Amos returned in 1991 and since then they have released albums on their own label. Frontline released this comp in 1998. The band is still around. They last recorded in 2013 but Taylor has been releasing their back catalog as special edition CDs. Here's Daniel Amos performing Alarma at Cornerstone C2K in 2000. The video quality is OK but it's poorly directed.

Frank Pozen's Big Bad Podcast Aug. 12, 2020

 Asuka and UFC review and preview.

AccuRadio Song Of The Day-The Killers

 

Artist:The Killers

Song:Mr. Brightside

Album:Direct Hits

The Killers are a very successful indie rock band. The 2004 single Mr. Brightside is their biggest hit to date. They have been very successful since then and they have a new album coming out in a couple of weeks. The Killers are from Las Vegas. Lead singer Brandon Flowers was fired from his previous band Blush Response in 2001. He responded to a newspaper ad placed by guitarist Dave Keuning who had just moved to Las Vegas from Iowa. They started writing songs at Keuning's apartment and the two have been together ever since. The Killers was the name of the fictional band in the New Order video for the song Crystal. Apparently Mr. Brightside was the first song Flowers and Keuning wrote together and it was on a demo they recorded. They hired a bassist and drummer for local gigs. They finally found who they were looking for in drummer Ronnie Vannucci Jr. and bassist Mark Stoermer. Both were veteran musicians from other bands. The band lineup has been the same since then. The Killers were getting a lot of buzz locally. But they were having trouble getting a record deal. They signed with the small British label Lizard King and then Island in the US. The 2004 album Hot Fuss was produced by recording engineer Jeff Saltzman and The Killers. Saltzman produced their first few albums. Mr. Brightside reached #10 on the Billboard Hot 100. Hot Fuss was certified 3XPlatinum and it sold 7 million copies worldwide. So it was a big success. Though The Killers have not scored another top ten hit, their albums have done well and they are a big live draw. Flowers has also had success as a solo artist. Stoermer and Keuning went on hiatus from The Killers in 2017. Both are supposed to appear on albums but will replaced on tour. Both guys have released solo albums. The Killers' new album Imploding the Mirage will be released on Aug. 21. It was produced by Shawn Everett and Jonathan Rado. Flowers and Vannucci wrote most of the songs. I don't think Stoermer amd Keuning contributed much. Flowers confirmed that Keuning was not on the album and Stoermer appeared on one song. I expect them to be permanently replaced. Here's the video for Mr. Brightside by The Killers.

Big Bad Blog Video Theater-Asuka vs Bayley

 Here's the match video of Asuka vs Bayley from last night's episode of RAW. Last week Asuka demanded a rematch with Sasha Banks for the RAW Women's Championship. Sasha told her if she could beat Bayley, Asuka would get her rematch at SummerSlam. Bayley was not happy about this and she still wasn't happy when she came out last night. Bayley has done the same thing to Sasha. The WWE has been teasing a split for months. The match starts out slow probably because Asuka and Bayley knew a commercial break was coming. But it really picked up after the break. Asuka took a beating and she sold it as always. Bayley got her in an ankle lock and Asuka sold that too. But Bayley couldn't put her away and Asuka came back with her own offense. So Bayley was in control. And then she mocked Kairi Sane. Asuka turned a flying armbar into the Asuka Lock. And that was it. Asuka gets her title shot. The lesson to be learned by Bayley and Sasha is don't mock Kairi as it will piss off Asuka. BTW, I don't expect them to learn that lesson. On this Friday's Smackdown, a three brand battle royal will determine a challenger for Bayley's Smackdown Women's Championship. The promo for this showed that Asuka is in this match. What if she wins? Could Asuka work two matches at SummerSlam? Of course she could. She's a workhorse. And she could win both matches. And she'll steal the show. We could also see a three way for both titles. You might think that would give the edge to Bayley and Sasha as they could gang up on Asuka. But would Bayley allow Sasha to win both titles and vice versa? That could lead to conflict between them and Asuka could take advantage of that. I'm surprised Asuka is in that match. It has already been taped. I don't know what will happen. Until then, enjoy the video as the match is really good.

AccuRadio Song Of The Day-Great Big Sea

 

Artist:Great Big Sea

Song:When I'm Up (I Can't Get Down)

Album:XX

If you live outside of Canada, you may have never heard of Great Big Sea. They are from Newfoundland and their energetic mix of rock and folk could be right up your alley. They were known for their live shows. When I'm Up was their biggest hit in Canada in 1997. Darrell Power, Sean McCann and Bob Hallett called themselves Newfoundland Republican Army when they won a 1989 talent contest. The band split up after two gigs. The three reformed as Rankin Street which was where they rehearsed. Alan Doyle joined and that's when they became Great Big Sea. They went on tour and got a record deal with Warner Music Canada. Their debut album Great Big Sea was released in 1993. When I'm Up is from the 1997 album Play. It reached #6 on the Canadian Singles chart. The album was certified 3XPlatinum in Canada. It was produced by recording engineer Danny Greenspoon. He produced several Great Big Sea albums and he also produced similar bands like Spirit of the West. Though Great Big Sea write songs, they liked to do rock covers of traditional folk songs and covers of folk groups. When I'm Up was written by Ian Telfer, Alan Prosser and John Jones of the British folk group Oysterband. It appears on their 1993 album Holy Bandits. Great Big Sea continued to have success in Canada mostly as a live attraction. Power retired in 2003. They didn't replace him. They hired musicians for tours. Great Big Sea last recorded in 2010 and Warner released this 2CD comp in 2012. McCann left in 2013 and Doyle announced Great Big Sea's retirement in 2015. Doyle and McCann have released solo albums. Doyle has worked with Russell Crowe's band 30 Odd Foot of Grunts and he has done some acting. Hallett was music consultant for the Tony winning Broadway musical Come From Away. And he has been music director of the Stratford Shakespeare Festival since 2015. And he owns a music management company. So if you aren't familiar with Great Big Sea, you should check them out. Here's the video of When I'm Up (I Can't Get Down) by Great Big Sea.

AccuRadio Song Of The Day-Carol Douglas

 

Artist:Carol Douglas

Song:Doctor's Orders

Album:Disco Queen: Greatest Hits

The 1974 single Doctor's Orders was the only big hit for Carol Douglas. But I also think it was a big part of establishing disco. Carol was born Apr. 7, 1948 in Brooklyn, NY. Her mother Minnie Newsome was the inspiration for the Cab Calloway classic Minnie the Moocher. At age 10, Carol was a winner on the game show Name That Tune. She says Ebony Magazine followed her around for the next three years. She recorded a single for RCA in 1965 and then she got pregnant. Carol settled into doing voiceover work and she also appeared on Broadway. In the early 70s she toured the oldies circuit with Arlene Smith's new version of The Chantels. Doctor's Orders was written by veteran British songwriters Roger Greenaway, Roger Cook and Geoff Stephens. At the time they were working with producer Tony Hiller and The Brotherhood of Man. The sister duo of Sue and Sunny were an offshoot of that group. When Sue decided to start a family, Sunny recorded Doctor's Orders. It reached #7 on the British Singles chart. Instead of releasing this record in the US, Midland International Records owner Ed O'Loughlin decided to record a knockoff. Carol was told that she sounded too black. They wanted her to imitate Sunny because they played that record for her. But she sang it in her own style and it reached #11 on the Billboard Hot 100. It was a worldwide hit especially on the dance charts. Though O'Loughlin was credited as producer for contractual reasons, Meco Monardo produced and arranged the record. Later on, he was the guy behind the disco version of the Star Wars theme. Some of Carol's other singles were successful on the dance charts. But Doctor's Orders was her only big hit. You can get all of her hits on this comp CD. Carol last recorded in 1983 but she still tours the nostalgia circuit. Here's Carol Douglas performing Doctor's Orders on Don Kirshner's Rock Concert Sept. 23, 1976.

Big Bad Blog Video Theater-Yana Kunitskaya vs Julija Stoliarenko

 Here's the fight video of Yana Kunitskaya vs Julija Stoliarenko from last night's UFC show in Las Vegas. This fight was at Bantamweight though both fighters have fought at Featherweight. Yana is from Russia but she now trains at American Top Team in Florida. Her boyfriend is UFC Light Heavyweight Thiago Santos and he is Yana's coach for this fight. Yana is a limited fighter. She's a striker but she doesn't punch very hard. And she has no ground skills. Julija is from Lithuania. She was in TUF 28 but the UFC passed on her. In March she got a big win over Lisa Versoza on an Invicta show. I have doubts about her because she didn't make the UFC before. I guess the UFC thinks she has improved. Yana's strategy is to clinch with Julija on the fence and wear her out. That can be a very effective strategy if Yana can do enough to keep the ref from separating them. Also, Julija had no answer for this. Meanwhile, the UFC is having Brendan Fitzgerald talk about Julija's armbar finishes. Those were against low level fighters in Lithuania. And Paul Felder is puzzled that Yana isn't going for a takedown. That's because she's terrible on the ground. The whole fight was like this so I scored it 30-27 for Yana. Two of the judges scored it that way and the third scored it 30-26. Of course fans complained that the fight was boring. I agree with that but it was supposed to be boring. Yana did exactly what Santos told her to do. I say this to fighters all the time. Listen to your damn coach. Of course it doesn't make me think that Yana can beat anyone decent. I'm sure we'll find out in the near future. Enjoy the video!

AccuRadio Song Of The Day-Jerry Jeff Walker

 

Artist:Jerry Jeff Walker

Song:Mr. Bojangles

Album:Ultimate Collection

Though Jerry Jeff Walker has recorded since the 60s, his main claim to fame is writing Mr. Bojangles which was a top ten hit for Nitty Gritty Dirt Band in 1970. He first recorded it himself in the late 60s. He was born Ronald Clyde Crosby Mar. 16, 1942 in Oneonta, NY. His grandparents played local square dances. That's who taught him music. As a teen, Crosby was a member of the band The Tones. They went to Philadelphia to audition for American Bandstand. When they were rejected, the band was sent to Baton Records in New York. The label signed the singers but not the band so Crosby was out. Crosby was busking for a while until he went to the New Yotk City folk music scene with his friend Harry Stoneback in 1963. Later Stoneback would become professor H.R. Stoneback. Crosby started playing Greenwich Village clubs as Jerry Jeff Walker. He recorded two albums with the band Circus Maximus. After they split up, guitarist David Bromberg got Walker a record deal with Atco. His first recording of Mr. Bojangles was released as a single. His second attempt is the version that appears on the 1968 album Mr. Bojangles. Walker wrote the song in a New Orleans jail where he was arrested for public intoxication. He met a homeless man who called himself Mr. Bojangles. After this guy danced to lighten the mood, the song wrote itself. Though Walker's version charted, the Nitty Gritty Dirt Band's version reached #9 on the Billboard Hot 100. Mr. Bojangles has been covered frequently, most notably by Sammy Davis Jr. in his live show. Walker recorded three albums for Atco and then recorded for MCA in the 70s followed by a couple of albums for Elektra. Some of his songs made the country charts. But Walker was never able to score that big hit. This Hip-O comp covers Walker's entire 60s and 70s run. Walker has lived in Austin, TX since 1970 and has been a big part of that music scene. Walker has recorded for his own label since the 80s. His latest album It's About Time was released in 2018. I guess he's a music legend in Austin. There's no question that Mr. Bojangles is a legendary song. Here's Jerry Jeff Walker performing Mr. Bojangles on the TNN TV series The Texas Connection May 6, 1992.