AccuRadio Song Of The Day-The Vanity Project

Artist:The Vanity Project

Song:Wilted Rose

Album:The Vanity Project

You all know what a vanity project is. There have been plenty of albums and even record labels that have been vanity projects. Barenaked Ladies lead singer Steven Page released this 2005 album while he was still in the band. He recorded it with Tin Tin leader Stephen Duffy. So Page gave the album the ironic name The Vanity Project. Page was born June 22, 1970 in the Toronto suburb of Scarborough, ON. He attended Woburn Collegiate and became friends with Ed Robertson after running into him at a Peter Gabriel concert. That was when Barenaked Ladies was born. Of course they had great success in Canada and internationally. Stephen Duffy was a founding member of Duran Duran. He is probably best known as the leader of the 80s band Tin Tin. He has recorded solo but he seems to prefer being part of a band. Page started writing with Duffy in the early 90s. After a few songs appeared on Barenaked Ladies albums, the band decided to keep songwriting within the group. The 2005 album The Vanity Project was for songs Page wrote with Duffy. Duffy came from England to Toronto to record the album. They mostly played all the instruments and Page sang lead. Ironically, Page even started his own label for The Vanity Project distributed by Barenaked Ladies label Warner Bros. The album is available as budget CD. Page and Duffy never toured though Page has performed The Vanity Project songs solo. Since leaving Barenaked Ladies in 2009, Page has recorded five solo albums, most recently in 2022. So The Vanity Project was a one off project. Here's the video for Wilted Rose by The Vanity Project.

 

AccuRadio Song Of The Day-Grover Washington Jr.

Artist:Grover Washington Jr.

Song:Mister Magic

Album:Ultimate Collection

Of course most music fans are familiar with Grover Washington Jr.'s 1981 top five hit Just the Two of Us featuring Bill Withers. But in the 70s he had success mostly on the jazz charts. The 1975 single Mister Magic was a top 20 R&B hit. Washington's 70s albums on CTI's Kudu label established what became known as Smooth Jazz. Washington's record deal with Kudu came about by accident. He was supposed to play on a Hank Crawford session. When Crawford was unable to make it, producer and CTI owner Creed Taylor asked Washington to fill in. This became Washington's 1972 debut album Inner City Blues. The album reached #4 on the Jazz Albums chart. After that, all of Washington's albums topped the jazz charts. He was CTI's most popular artist. A lot of the credit should go to pianist Bob James who arranged most of Washington's Kudu albums including the 1975 album Mister Magic. When the single Mister Magic reached #16 on the R&B Singles chart and #54 on the Billboard Hot 100, it took Washington to a new level. The Mister Magic album reached #10 on the Billboard 200. Ralph MacDonald wrote Mister Magic and he plays percussion on the album. Other musicians are Bob James on piano, Eric Gale on guitar, Gary King on bass, Harvey Mason on drums, Phil Bodnar and Jerry Dodgion on sax, Tony Studd and Wayne Andre on trombone and Jon Faddis and Marvin Stamm on trumpet. Washington recorded seven albums for Kudu. He left for Motown for the 1978 album Reed Seed because he wanted to record with his own band. When Washington signed with Elektra, he started a new band with guys he worked with at Kudu. That's the band in this video. Of course Washington had his greatest success at Elektra. He moved to Columbia in 1986 and remained there until his 1999 death. This budget comp covers Washington's entire career. Here's Grover Washington Jr. with Eric Gale on guitar, Richard Tee on Fender Rhodes piano, Paul Griffin on synthesizer, Anthony Jackson on bass, Steve Gadd on drums and Ralph MacDonald on percussion performing Mister Magic in Philadelphia June 27, 1981.

 

Big Bad Blog Video Theater-Hikaru Shida vs Abadon

 Here's the match video of Hikaru Shida defending her AEW Women's Championship against Abadon on last night's episode of Collision. Abadon won a #1 contender's match on Rampage because it's Halloween and AEW owner Tony Khan wanted to do a Halloween match. Abadon hadn't been seen much since she was injured in 2022. So a qualifying match was only done to justify giving Abadon a title shot when a non title match would have been sufficient. I guess Khan doesn't like non title matches. It was a standard weapons match but the weapons were lame. Both wrestlers did video game cosplay. The match was not very good. And I don't know what Hikaru was trying to do with that broom. At least the finishing spot with the Jack O Lantern worked but the rest of the match wasn't very good. Then they had Toni Storm come out afterwards with her new gimmick so it's obvious where they are going with this. Except instead of Hikaru just standing there with a stupid look on her face, they need to have her attack Toni. Enjoy the video!

AccuRadio Song Of The Day-Kurt Vile

Artist:Kurt Vile

Song:Baby's Arms

Album:Smoke Ring for my Halo

Singer songwriter Kurt Vile has had success as an album and touring artist. It's unlikely that he will ever have mainstream success. My guess is he doesn't want that anyway. His music might appeal to those who like similar artists like Jeff Buckley. He was born Jan. 3, 1980 in the Philadelphia suburb of Lansdowne, PA. Believe it or not, Kurt Vile is his real name. His father gave him a banjo at age 14. He worked on his music at home. Influences include minimalist acts like Pavement, Beck and Smog. Vile worked on his music while working day jobs until he met Adam Granduciel in 2003 and they formed the band The War on Drugs. They had modest success with a couple of albums. But Vile thought that was Granduciel's band. And he wanted to do his own music. So he started his own band Kurt Vile and the Violators and signed with Matador Records. Granduciel was in that band at first. Vile's debut album for Matador was Childish Prodigy in 2009. They toured with Dinosaur Jr. and Thurston Moore. Vile's main collaborator with The Violators is Jesse Trbovich. He plays guitar, bass, sax and keyboards. Trbovich started out with Vile in 2006 and he's still in the band. Baby's Arms is from Vile's 2011 album Smoke Ring for my Halo. Vile wrote and produced. Vile says the songs on this album are more introspective than previous albums. Because of constant touring, Vile's albums have charted on the Billboard 200. And he gets airplay on Alternative Radio. But I don't think Vile will ever have a hit single. He may not want one. After six albums with Matador, Vile moved to Verve Forecast for the 2022 album Watch my Moves. He says The Velvet Underground being on Verve in the 60s influenced him to sign there. The album did not do as well commercially probably because they weren't touring during the pandemic. I think leaving Matador will turn out to be a big mistake. Here's the video for Baby's Arms by Kurt Vile. 

AccuRadio Song Of The Day-Johnny Wakelin

Artist:Johnny Wakelin

Song:Black Superman (Muhammad Ali)

Album:Super Hits of the '70s: Have a Nice Day Vol. 15

This 1974 tribute to Muhammad Ali was a top ten hit in England and a top 30 hit in the US. It was Johnny Wakelin's only big hit. He did have a second hit in England. You might think this was a fluke hit but I will explain why it wasn't. Wakelin was born in Brighton, England in 1939. He was performing in local clubs when Pye Records producer Robin Blanchflower heard Wakelin perform the song Black Superman and thought it could be a hit. Blanchflower was the producer of the worldwide hit Kung Fu Fighting by Carl Douglas. That shows that Blanchflower had good instincts and why Black Superman was not a fluke. Blanchflower wisely released Black Superman in Oct. 1974 after Ali beat George Foreman in Rumble in the Jungle. So most listeners thought the record was a tribute to Ali's Rumble in the Jungle win. But Wakelin wrote it in 1972. Black Superman reached #7 on the British Singles chart and #21 on the Billboard Hot 100. Wakelin's single In Zaire reached #4 on the British Singles because he performed it on Top of the Pops. Wakelin called his band The Kinshasa Band so he wanted an African vibe. Wakelin released three albums on Pye. They have not been released on CD. You can get Black Superman on this Rhino various artists CD. Wakelin released an album in 2006 but it looks like he's retired. Here's a video for Black Superman (Muhammad Ali) by Johnny Wakelin.

 

AccuRadio Song Of The Day-Patsy Cline

Artist:Patsy Cline

Song:Crazy

Album:Crazy: The Collection

Despite Patsy Cline's career being curtailed due to a 1963 plane crash, she is still considered to be one of the all time greats of country music. The 1961 single Crazy is her signature song. It was a top five country hit and a top ten pop hit. She was born Virginia Patterson Hensley Sept. 8, 1932 in Winchester, VA. Her mother was 16 when Patsy was born. Her father was a blacksmith who couldn't find work. So they were poor. Patsy told Loretta Lynn that her father sexually abused her. Patsy was 13 years old when she was hospitalized with rheumatic fever. Upon her recovery, she suddenly had this big booming voice. So she started performing at local clubs and the local radio station. Patsy auditioned unsuccessfully for the Grand Ole Opry at age 15. She joined Bill Peer's Melody Boys and Girls in 1952. That was when she met her first husband Gerald Cline and changed her stage name to Patsy Cline. Patsy signed with Four Star Records in 1954. Four Star was a small label that leased recordings to Decca. So Decca house producer Owen Bradley was brought in to produce. The problem was Four Star owner Bill McCall chose all the songs. And except for the 1957 single Walkin' After Midnight, Patsy's Four Star recordings were unsuccessful. This has mostly been blamed on mediocre songs. Patsy met her second husband Charlie Dick in 1956. And he seemed to have a better handle on what kind of songs she should be recording. After Patsy sang Walkin' After Midnight on a 1957 episode of Arthur Godfrey's Talent Scouts, it was a big hit. Subsequent singles did not do well. After marrying Charlie Dick and having a daughter, Patsy moved to Nashville in 1960 and signed with manager Randy Hughes. He helped her become a Grand Ole Opry member. Then she left Four Star for Decca. Owen Bradley was still her producer. But he chose better songs. I Fall to Pieces was a top five country hit in 1961. Then on June 14, Patsy almost died in a car accident. After her recovery, Crazy was released and reached #2 on the Country Singles chart and #9 on the Billboard Hot 100. Crazy was written by Willie Nelson. It was his first hit. Nelson recorded a demo. Dick really liked the song and insisted Patsy record it. Patsy recorded three albums for Decca. And then she died in a plane crash on Mar. 5, 1963 at age 30. Randy Hughes was the pilot and the weather was bad. They probably shouldn't have been flying. There are tons of Patsy Cline comps out there. I recommend this 2CD budget comp from the British reissue label Edsel, Here's Patsy Cline performing Crazy on a 1961 episode of Grand Ole Opry.  

Big Bad Blog Video Theater-Hikaru Shida vs Ruby Soho

Here's the match video of Hikaru Shida defending her AEW Women's Championship from last night's episode of AEW Dynamite. The match was OK but nothing special. The biggest and most glaring booking issue was when Ruby did her Eddie Guerrero homage trying to get Hikaru DQd. Somebody forgot to tell Ruby that she can't win the title by DQ. I'm sure in Tony Khan's mind, it seemed like a fun idea but he forgot about that last part. As usual with AEW, there were far too many false finishes along with the ref looking like a moron too frequently. So now they have already taped a four way women's match for Friday''s Rampage with Willow Nightingale, Skye Blue, Anna Jay and Abadon. The winner gets a title shot on Saturday's Collision. I won't tell you who won but think Halloween. Ugh!. Enjoy the video! 

AccuRadio Song Of The Day-Ron Jackson

Artist:Ron Jackson

Song:Technophile

Album:Flubby Dubby

If you're a fan of what was known in jazz circles back in the 70s as "burners", you should like guitarist Ron Jackson. This 2009 album attempts to reproduce "burners". And the album was produced by 70s guitar legend Melvin Sparks. Jackson was born July 27, 1964 in Manila, Philippines. His father served in the US Marines in Vietnam. Jackson started playing guitar at age 11. He attended Berklee on Boston and moved to Paris for a couple of years. Jackson moved to New York in 1987 and started playing live clubs. Jackson first recorded as a leader with the 1992 album A Guitar Thing on Muse Records. Musicians were Benny Green, Lonnie Plaxico and Cecil Brooks III. Since Muse closed, Jackson records for his own label. Technophile is from Jackson's 2009 album Flubby Dubby. This was recorded live at Cecil's in West Orange, NJ. It looks like it was taped too as all the clips are on YouTube. Musicians are Kyle Koehler on organ and Otis Brown III on drums. Saxophonists Don Braden and Bruce Williams appear on two songs. Koehler is usually in Braden's band. Brown is in Joe Lovano's band. The album was produced by 70s guitar legend Melvin Sparks. It's supposed to sound like one of his albums from the 70s. Flubby Dubby is available as a budget CD.  Jackson's latest album was released in 2022. He still plays New York clubs. Here's Ron Jackson with Kyle Koehler and Otis Brown III performing Technophile at Cecil's in West Orange, NJ 2009.

 

AccuRadio Song Of The Day-The Irish Tenors

Artist:The Irish Tenors

Song:Isle of Hope, Isle of Tears

Album:Ellis Island

Anyone who watches PBS knows that fundraising is a big part of their programming. I'm sure you all love their pledge breaks. I usually PVR shows and fast forward through the pledge breaks. Acts like Celtic Woman have been a big part of PBS fundraising for years. In 1998, PBS producers Daniel Harte and Bill Hughes were in Cannes when they got the idea of forming a trio of Irish tenors and use them for PBS fundraising. If PBS owns it then they don't have to pay anyone for the rights. They approached Irish tenor Finbar Wright but his contract with Sony wouldn't allow him to do it. Then they approached Canadian tenor John McDermott and he agreed to do it. He recruited Anthony Kearns and Ronan Tynan and the 1999 show The Irish Tenors: Live in Dublin aired on PBS and the related products raised a lot of money. They also toured. Then McDermott's mother died and Finbar Wright was brought in to replace him. Ellis Island was The Irish Tenors' third TV special in 2001. The album is available as a budget CD with a DVD of the TV show. Isle of Hope, Isle of Tears led off the show. The song is about an immigrant arriving at Ellis Island. Brendan Graham wrote the song. Mary Duff recorded it in 1997 and Celtic Woman has also recorded it. Graham co-wrote You Raise Me Up which was a big hit for Josh Groban. Ellis Island was The Irish Tenors final PBS show. They did one other TV special for RTE in Ireland. The Irish Tenors last recorded in 2010. But according to their Facebook, they are planning their annual Christmas tour. Here's The Irish Tenors performing Isle of Hope, Isle of Tears on the 2001 PBS TV special Ellis Island.

 

AccuRadio Song Of The Day-Lauren Wood

Artist:Lauren Wood

Song:Fallen

Album:Pretty Woman: Original Soundtrack

Singer songwriter Lauren Wood had her greatest success when her 1981 song Fallen was used in the 1990 hit film Pretty Woman. It was never released as a single but Fallen got airplay on Adult Contemporary radio. She has had one chart single but I would think most listeners know nothing about her. She was born Ilene Rapaport in Pittsburgh. Her childhood nickname is Chunky. She was in the 60s band Rebecca and the Sunnybrook Farmers and they released a 1969 album on Musicor. She formed the trio Chunky, Novi & Ernie with cousin Ilene "Novi" Novog and Ernie Eremita. Lauren wrote the songs and sang lead, Ilene Played viola and keyboards and Eremita played drums. Doobie Brothers producer Ted Templeman got them a record deal with Warner Bros. Templeman and John Cale produced the 1974 album Chunky, Novi & Ernie. After two unsuccessful albums, Warners signed Ilene Rapaport to a solo contract and renamed her Lauren Wood. The 1979 album Lauren Wood featured Lauren's only chart single when Please Don't Leave reached #24 on the Billboard Hot 100. That was a duet with Michael McDonald. Fallen is from Lauren's 1981 album Cat Trick. As with the first album, Lauren wrote all the songs. The album was produced by Peter Bunetta and Rick Chudacoff of the band Crackin'. The sax solo on Fallen was by David Woodford. Lauren continued to write songs but she wouldn't record again until 1997. When the 1990 film Pretty Woman was coming, Disney asked Ron Fair of EMI to put together a hit soundtrack album. The big hit single from that album was the #1 hit It Must Have Been Love by Roxette. The album was certified 3XPlatinum. Most listeners would not have known that Fallen was recorded in 1981. It got Adult Contemporary radio airplay. Lauren still records occasionally on her own label. She does a lot of studio work like background vocal and voiceovers for animated films. But I'm sure having one of her songs on a big hit soundtrack was a welcome windfall. And those royalty cheques are still coming. The Pretty Woman soundtrack is available as a budget CD. Here's the video for Fallen by Lauren Wood.

AccuRadio Song Of The Day-Armik

Artist:Armik

Song:Midnight Bolero

Album:Desires: The Romantic Collection

Armik Dashchi is a classical guitarist who has created a cottage industry for himself playing music known as New Flamenco. So my experience is that Flamenco performed by guys like Astor Piazzolla is very energetic. New Flamenco turns it into New Age music. And that market is where Dashchi has been successful. I guess he's comparable to a guy like Jesse Cook. Oh, you never heard of him either. Dashchi was born in Iran and at age seven he traded his watch for a guitar and hid it in his basement. Then he took guitar lessons and was performing as a teen. At first he played jazz. But then he got interested in Flamenco and moved to Spain in the 70s. In the 80s he played on Iranian recordings. Then he moved to California and signed with TSR Records. His debut album Rain Dancer was released in 1994. On his early albums he worked with keyboardist Jeff Sudakin who composes music for TV. But eventually Dashchi started producing his own albums. Then he started his own label Bolero in 2002. Midnight Bolero is from his 2003 album Amor De Guitarra. Dashchi mostly records solo and he writes and produces solo. He rarely brings other musicians in. Because he has softened the traditional Flamenco style, it's perfect for the New Age market. Jesse Cook is more versatile but Dashchi's music is in that ballpark. So it's a nice cottage industry he has set up. Dashchi has recently released several EPs. This comp is a good intro to his music. Here's the video for Midnight Bolero by Armik.

  

Big Bad Blog Video Theater-Viktoriia Dudakova vs Jinh Yu Frey

Here's the fight video of Viktoriia Dudakova vs Jinh Yu Frey from yesterday's UFC show in Abu Dhabi. This fight is at Strawweight. Viktoriia is 24 years old from Volgograd, Russia. She trains at Alex Fitness. She got into the UFC through the Contender's Series and won her UFC debut when her opponent got injured. She missed weight by half a pound. Jinh is 38 years old from Arlington, TX. She trains with her husband Doug Frey and former UFC fighter Chas Skelly was in her corner. She's gone 2-5 in the UFC and is on a three fight losing streak. She lacks aggression and just doesn't do enough to win fights. And that's what we saw in round one. Viktoriia landed more strikes and knocked Jinh down at the end of the round. I scored the round 10-9 for Viktoriia. Between rounds, Jinh's husband told her to take Viktoriia down. Jinh did and was in top position for most of the round. So I scored the round 10-9 for Jinh though she didn't do much to advance her position. Viktoriia avoided being taken down in round three and landed enough strikes to win the round 10-9. So I scored the fight 29-28 for Viktoriia. The judges scored it the same way. Viktoriia admitted in her post fight press conference that she had a staph infection which is why she missed weight. She didn't reveal this during pre fight medicals. She probably should have kept that to herself which is what Dana White said after the show. I want to see Viktoriia against better opposition. And I expect Jinh to be released. Enjoy the video!

AccuRadio Song Of The Day-Long John Baldry

Artist:Long John Baldry

Song:Let the Heartaches Begin

Album:Let the Heartaches Begin/Wait for Me

There was a time when long time blues rocker Long John Baldry thought he could have success as a pop singer. The result was that the 1967 single Let the Heartaches Begin topped the British charts. But then his pals like Elton John and Rod Stewart talked him back into blues rock in the early 70s. He was born Jan. 12, 1941 in East Hampton, Northampshire, England. His father was a police constable and Baldry grew up in the London suburb of Edgware. After graduating from high school, Baldry started hanging around London coffeehouses and he started performing in them. The Long John nickname was because Baldry was 6'7". He joined Alexis Korner's Blues Incorporated and that led to a friendship with The Rolling Stones and Baldry frequently opened for them. He also became friends with Paul McCartney and Baldry appeared on one of The Beatles TV specials. Baldry's band Bluesology began when Baldry took over the Cyril Davies R&B All Stars after Davies' 1964 death. The band was called The Hoochie Coochie Men and then Steampacket. Rod Stewart was in those bands. Brian Auger and Julie Driscoll were also in Steampacket. After that band split up, Baldry formed Bluesology with Reg Dwight on piano and Elton Dean on sax along with Caleb Quaye on guitar. Of course Dwight took the name Elton John from Baldry and Dean and Quaye toured with Elton John. Elton Dean was a member of the jazz rock band Soft Machine. Baldry went solo to work the cabaret circuit. He signed with Pye Records and the 1967 single Let the Heartaches Begin topped the British Singles chart. This was followed by the 1968 top 20 hit Mexico which was the theme for the 1968 British Olympic team. Baldry recorded two albums for Pye written and produced by Tony Macauley and John Macleod. They wrote and produced The Foundations chart topper Baby Now That I've Found You. The reissue label Beat Goes On has released Baldry's Pye albums as a twofer. When Baldry tried to perform Let the Heartaches Begin with Bluesology, they walked off the stage and he had to use a backing tape. Eventually, Elton John and Rod Stewart convinced Baldry to return to blues. Stewart got Baldry a record deal with Warner Bros. and they produced his 1971 album It Ain't Easy. I plan to look at the rest of Baldry's career in the future. Here's Long John Baldry performing Let the Heartaches Begin on a 1967 episode of Top of the Pops.

 

Big Bad Blog Video Theater-IYO SKY vs Charlotte Flair

Here's the match video of IYO SKY defending her WWE Women's Championship against Charlotte Flair from last night's episode of Smackdown. The match was pretty good. As expected, Bayley got involved and IYO was able to hold on to the title. The finish went like this. After IYO missed a moonsault, Charlotte would have got the win except Bayley put IYO's foot on the ropes. Charlotte's mistake was going after Bayley and tossing her over the announce table. The distraction allowed Dakota Kai to hand the title belt to IYO. So when Charlotte speared her, her head hit the belt and IYO won. Then of course we got the return of Bianca Belair. We'll see what this leads to but I'm sure it will be easy to predict. Even the swerves are predictable. Enjoy the video!  

AccuRadio Song Of The Day-H-Town

Artist:H-Town

Song:Knockin' Da Boots

Album:MTV Party to Go Vol. 5

Knockin' Da Boots was a top five hit in 1993. It also topped the R&B charts. It was the only big hit for the R&B vocal group H-Town. Some of their other songs charted so they are not technically a one hit wonder. Knockin' the Boots was one of the hottest slow jams of 1993. H-Town is from Houston. Keven "Dino" Connor, his brother Solomon "Shazam" Connor and Darryl "G.I." Jackson went to high school together and called themselves The Gents when they formed in 1991. They released an album on a local label that went nowhere. A demo was sent to rapper Luther "Luke" Campbell of 2 Live Crew. He signed them to his label Luke Records and the group name was changed to H-Town. Campbell hired Bishop "Stick" Burrell to produce. He's a local Houston producer. Campbell wanted H-Town to reflect Houston. The album Fever for the Flavor was released in 1993 and the single Knockin' the Boots reached #3 on the Billboard Hot 100 and it topped the R&B Singles chart. The songs were all written by H-Town and Burrell. Keven Connor was usually lead singer. The album was certified Platinum. Their second album Beggin' After Dark was released in 1994. It did well enough on the R&B charts to go Platinum. But they weren't able to cross over to pop. A cover of A Thin Line Between Love and Hate with Shirley Murdock for the 1996 film of the same name was a top 40 pop hit. H-Town left Luke for Relativity for the 1997 album Ladies Edition, Woman's World. Keven Connor produced the album. It just didn't do as well as the first two albums. Fever for the Flavor is available as a digital download. But you can get Knockin' the Boots on this various artists CD. Dino Connor and his girlfriend died in a Jan. 2003 car accident. H-Town had already recorded the 2004 album Imitations of Life on their own label. They have since released two albums on their own label, most recently in 2021. Like I always say, one big hit is better than none. Here's the video for Knockin' the Boots by H-Town. 

AccuRadio Song Of The Day-Randy Stonehill

Artist:Randy Stonehill

Song:Turning Thirty

Album:The Definitive Collection

Singer songwriter Randy Stonehill is a pioneer of Contemporary Christian Music (CCM). When he first recorded in the early 70s it was called Jesus Music. He had commercial success after he signed with Myrrh Records in 1981. He was born Mar. 23, 1952 in Stockton, CA. After graduating from high school, Stonehill moved to Los Angeles and lived with another CCM pioneer Larry Norman. They worked together in the 70s. Stonehill recorded for Norman's Solid Rock label. Then he started working with the band Daniel Amos and that got Stonehill a record deal with Word's CCM label Myrrh. He recorded for Myrrh from 1981-94. Turning Thirty is from Stonehill's 1983 album Equator. The album was produced by Daniel Amos lead singer and guitarist Terry Scott Taylor. Stonehill wrote all the songs. Turning Thirty is clearly autobiographical. This album has not been released on CD but it is available as a digital download. This comp is available on CD and is a good intro to Stonehill's music. Since leaving Myrrh, Stonehill has mostly recorded for his own label. His latest album Lost Art of Listening was released in 2020. In recent years Stonehill has worked with producers Phil Keaggy and Mike Pachelli and they produced this album. Here's Randy Stonehill performing Turning Thirty on the 1990 VHS video One Night in 20 Years. This is not available on DVD and it's not streaming.

 

Big Bad Blog Video Theater-Hikaru Shida vs Emi Sakura

Here's the match video of Hikaru Shida vs Emi Sakura from last night's episode of AEW Dynamite. There were two problems with this match. They didn't announce it until a couple of hours before the show. So it's an afterthought. Second is it was clearly a Championship qualifier match. It's a fancy name for a non title match. Except commentary kept saying it was a title match. They aren't to blame. I blame Tony Khan for treating Hikaru like an afterthought. She deserves better. The match was OK considering Hikaru and Emi put it together quickly. And they deserved more time. We could have done without some of the talking segments and squash matches. They tried to sell the teacher vs student angle. Maybe Khan forgot that he has done that before. In other words, this is a good example of poor booking. Shouldn't he be setting up Hikaru's first title defense? Enjoy the video! 

AccuRadio Song Of The Day-MAGIC!

Artist:MAGIC!

Song:Rude

Album:Don't Kill the Magic

Nasri Atweh was one half of the successful songwriting and production team of The Messengers when he decided to start his own band. That band MAGIC! topped the charts with the 2013 single Rude. That has been their only chart hit to date though Atweh is still a successful producer. He was born Jan. 10, 1981 in Toronto. His parents are Palestinian immigrants. He signed a record deal with Universal Canada in 2000 and he won the 2002 John Lennon Songwriting Contest. After releasing a couple of singles, Fateh decided to concentrate on songwriting and production with partner Adam Messinger. They call themselves The Messengers and they have produced hits for Justin Bieber, Shakira, Pitbull and plenty more. A successful production career would be enough for most people. But Fateh met guitarist Mark Pellizzer in the recording studio and decided to start a band with him. Pellizzer had been in Justin Nozuka's band. They brought in drummer Alex Tanas who also was in the Nozuka band and bassist Ben Spivak of the Julian Taylor Band. They decided to call themselves MAGIC! and they signed with RCA. After the 2013 single Rude was a top five hit in Canada, RCA released it in the US and it topped the Billboard Hot 100 and charted worldwide. Rude has been described as "reggae fusion". Why was it a hit? It started in Canada and then spread out from there. I doubt listeners knew who the band was. The problem was subsequent singles didn't chart. And then the album Don't Kill the Magic wasn't released until June 30, 2014. So most fans probably forgot about MAGIC! by then. Messinger produced the album and the band wrote the songs. The album is available as a budget CD. MAGIC! released two more albums on RCA. After they didn't sell, they lost their record deal. MAGIC! now live in Los Angeles. They have self released a few singles. Tanas left the band last year. And The Messengers continue to produce other artists. MAGIC! looks like a pretty good candidate as a one hit wonder. Here's the video for Rude by MAGIC!. 

AccuRadio Song Of The Day-Corea, Clarke & White

Artist:Corea, Clarke & White

Song:After the Cosmic Rain

Album:Forever

Most jazz fusion fans should be familiar with pianist Chick Corea and his various bands. But the one that stands out is Return to Forever (RTF). Light as a Feather was the first Return to Forever album in 1972. But it's the 1973 album Hymn of the Seventh Galaxy that really established them. Musicians were Bill Connors on guitar, Stanley Clarke on bass and Lenny White on drums. Corea wrote all the songs except Clarke wrote After the Cosmic Rain. RTF recorded seven albums on Polydor and Columbia in the 70s. Al DiMeola replaced Connors and the band expanded on the 1976 album Romantic Warrior after DiMeola left. But since then Corea has reunited RTF a few times. The first time was a brief tour of the US and Japan in 1983. Then they toured the US and Europe in 2008. Return to Forever minus DiMeola toured in 2009. So this 2011 album is billed as Corea, Clarke & White released on Concord. The first CD is live mostly recorded at Yoshi's in Oakland. The second CD was mostly recorded in the studio with special guests Jean-Luc Ponty, Chaka Khan and Bill Connors. Connors appears on After the Cosmic Rain. This album won the 2012 Grammy for Best Jazz Instrumental Album. Corea, Clarke & White toured to support this album with Ponty and guitarist Frank Gambale of the Chick Corea Elektrik Band. RTF fans should check it out. Here's Corea, Clarke & White with Jean-Luc Ponty and Frank Gambale performing After the Cosmic Rain in Austin, TX 2012.

AccuRadio Song Of The Day-Boo Hewerdine

Artist:Boo Hewerdine

Song:Muddy Water

Album:God Bless the Pretty Things

Mark "Boo" Hewerdine is probably best known as lead singer of the 80s band The Bible. But since the 90s he's mainly been a folksinger. He has been described as one of Britain's most accomplished songwriters. He was born Feb. 14, 1961 in London but his family moved to Cambridge. He was in a band during high school. He joined The Great Divide in 1983 and they released a single on the local label Wimp Records. Mike Scott of The Waterboys heard it and got them a deal with Ensign Records. They split up after three unsuccessful singles. Then he formed The Bible and they signed with Chrysalis Records. They had modest success on the British charts. Hewerdine left to go solo in 1990. He released an album with Darden Smith and then recorded a solo album in 1992. His songs started getting attention and Hewerdine has also produced former Fairground Attraction lead singer Eddi Reader. The Bible reformed in 1993 to tour and release a new EP. They split up for good after the tour and Hewerdine released the 1996 album Baptist Hospital. Muddy Water is from the 2011 album God Bless the Pretty Things for Proper's folk label Navigator. Hewerdine wrote all the songs. He usually self produces. But for this album, he brought in veteran producer Mark Freegard. Since then Hewerdine has recorded for Reveal Records which is Eddi Reader's label. His latest album was released in 2022. Hewerdine continues to write and produce for others. Here's Boo Hewerdine performing Muddy Water on a 2010 episode of BBC Songwriters Circle.

 

AccuRadio Song Of The Day-Brett Dennen

Artist:Brett Dennen f/Femi Kuti

Song:Make You Crazy

Album:Hope for the Hopeless

Singer songwriter Brett Dennen is similar to Jason Mraz but he hasn't had the same success. Most of his success has been in the Adult Alternative market. He hasn't been able to cross over to pop. Even switching to a major label hasn't helped. He was born Oct. 28, 1979 in Oakdale, CA which is in the San Joaquin valley. He learned to play guitar as a child. His parents listened to Joni Mitchell and Neil Young. After high school, Dennen majored in sociology and philosophy at Kresge College. He planned to be a teacher. But he also had a band in college. And after graduating, Dennen moved to Los Angeles to make it in the music business. After self releasing a 2004 album, Dennen signed with Dualtone Records. Dennen recorded three albums for Dualtone. The Lumineers are their most successful artist. After Dennen's 2006 album So Much More, Rolling Stone named Dennen an Artist To Watch and Entertainment Weekly named him one of their Guys on the Rise. For the 2009 album Hope for the Hopeless, Dualtone brought in producer John Alagia who has worked with John Mayer and Jason Mraz. The first single Make You Crazy featuring Femi Kuti reached #5 on the Adult Alternative chart. Mandy Moore appeared in the video. The album reached #41 on the Billboard 200 and it was reviewed favorably by critics. Dennen even appeared on The Late Show with David Letterman. But it wasn't enough to cross him over to pop. Dennen must have thought that switching labels would help. So for the 2013 album Smoke and Mirrors, Dennen signed with Atlantic Records label F-Stop Music. Atlantic brought in CCM artist Charlie Peacock to produce. At the time he was working with American Idol winner Kris Allen. They placed Dennen songs in films and TV shows. But it didn't help and the album sold about the same as his Dualtone albums. Then F-Stop was closed and Dennen was moved to Elektra for the 2016 album Por Favor. Dennen returned to Dualtone for the 2021 album See the World. Of course Dennen has always been dogged by comparisons to Jason Mraz. But that's his biggest problem. He simply isn't distinctive enough to break out from the pack. Here's the video for Make You Crazy by Brett Dennen featuring Femi Kuti.

 

Big Bad Blog Video Theater-Emily Ducote vs Ashley Yoder

Here's the fight video of Emily Ducote vs Ashley Yoder from last night's UFC show in Las Vegas. This fight is at Strawweight. Emily is 29 years old from Oklahoma City. She trains at American Top Team OKC. She's 1-2 in the UFC. She's on a two fight losing streak. Ashley is 35 years old from Murietta, CA. She trains at Team Quest but for this camp she trained at Elevation in Denver with Trevor Wittman. Ashley has been out since 2001 with two shoulder surgeries. She is 3-7 in the UFC and she is on a two fight losing streak. I don't like either fighter but Ashley is worse. She doesn't do enough to win fights. One would think that with Ashley in a new camp, we would see some improvement. But nope, she hasn't changed. She has a five inch height advantage but she doesn't use it. She lacks aggression. Emily isn't  much better but she did enough in this fight to win. I scored the fight 30-27 for Emily. One judge scored it the same. The other two scored it 29-28 for Emily. I just don't think Emily can beat anyone who is any good. Ashley should get released this week. Enjoy the video!

Big Bad Blog Video Theater-Melissa Dixon vs Irina Alekseeva

Here's the fight video of Melissa Dixon vs Irina Alekseeva from last night's UFC show in Las Vegas. This fight is at Bantamweight. Melissa is 32 years old from Coventry, England. Her husband James Dixon is er coach. She has a 5-0 record. Irina is 33 years old from Russia. She is known as The Russian Ronda. She won her UFC debut with a first round kneebar. Round one was close. Irina knocked Melissa down. But I thought Melissa landed harder punches early in the round. I scored the round 10-9 for Melissa. Two of the judges scored it 10-9 for Irina. But Melissa dominated the other two rounds mostly on the ground. Both rounds were borderline 10-8 but I scored both rounds 10-9 for Melissa. So I scored the fight 30-27 for Melissa. One judge scored it the same and the other two scored it 29-28 for Melissa. She wins by unanimous decision. I think we will see her again when the UFC returns to London. Enjoy the video!

Big Bad Blog Video Theater-Tainara Lisboa vs Ravena Oliveira

Here's the fight video of Tainara Lisboa vs Ravena Oliveira from last night's UFC show in Las Vegas. This fight is at Bantamweight. Tainara is 32 years old from Sao Paulo, Brazil. She won her UFC debut in May. She was supposed to fight Darya Zheleznyakova but she pulled out and Ravena was brought in on short notice. She is 26 years old from Bahia, Brazil. She has a 7-2-1 record and has finished all her fights by KO. So round one was very close but I thought Tainara landed better strikes early in the round and later she got a takedown. Ravena initiated the clinching on the fence which I didn't think was the best strategy. Round one was 10-9 for Tainara. In round two, Tainara got a takedown early in the round. She was in top position for most of the round. Ravena defended takedowns well so I scored it 10-9 for Tainara. So now Ravena needs a finish. She does win round three but Tainara won the fight 29-28 and all three judges scored it the same. Enjoy the video!

Big Bad Blog Video Theater-Viviane Araujo vs Jennifer Maia

Here's the fight video of Viviane Araujo vs Jennifer Maia from last night's UFC show in Las Vegas. This fight is at Flyweight. Viviane is 36 years old from Brasilia, Brazil. She trains at Cerrado MMA. She is a former Pancrase champion. She is 5-4 in the UFC but she lost by unanimous decision to top fighters. She's on a two fight losing streak. Jennifer is 35 years old from Curitiba, Brazil. She trains at Chute Boxe. She's 6-5 in the UFC. She's a former title contender on a two fight winning streak. Her big flaw is she's not aggressive enough. Though Jennifer was the betting favorite, I thought Viviane would win by unanimous decision. Neither of them are finishers. I thought Viviane won the first two rounds. So Jennifer needed a finish in the third round. She won the round but didn't get a finish. I scored it 29-28 for Viviane and so did all three judges. Enjoy the video!

AccuRadio Song Of The Day-Jazzanova

Artist:Jazzanova f/Paul Randolph

Song:Let Me Show Ya

Album:Of All the Things

Neo soul fans are going to want to check out the German group Jazzanova. Though they normally record for their own label, the 2008 album Of All the Things was released on Verve. They have also released albums on Blue Note. German DJs Alex Barck, Claus Brieler, Stefan Leisering, Axel Reinemer and Jurgen von Knoblauch formed Jazzanova in 1995 with intent of using the music as filler in their DJ sets of classic soul and funk. Meanwhile Leisering and Reinemer released a rap EP called Real Dope Thing. Of course they sampled classic soul. This gave them the idea of rather than doing rap, they could produce a hybrid of funk, soul and jazz using samples, programming and live instruments. They released a 1997 EP. The song Fedime's Flight got the attention of BBC DJ and Acid Jazz inventor Gilles Peterson. This got them into doing remixes until they released their first album In Between in 2002 on Ropeadope Records. They also started their own label. After releasing a couple of remix albums on Blue Note, the 2008 album Of All the Things on Verve. There are several guest singers on the album. Paul Randolph is the singer on Let Me Show Ya and two other songs. Randolph normally tours with Detroit music legend Amp Fiddler and is a session bassist. Since working with Jazzanova, Randolph has released his own albums. He wrote Let Me Show Ya with Stefan Leisering and the song features live instruments. Other guests include rapper Phonte, Jose James, Leon Ware, Dwele and the Brazilian group Azymuth. Jazzanova recorded a live version of Let Me Show Ya on the 2012 album Funkhaus Studio Sessions. This was filmed for DVD. Both albums are available as digital downloads. Jazzanova still releases occasional albums and they do a lot of remixes. Here's Jazzanova featuring Paul Randolph performing Let Me Show Ya from the Funkhaus Studio Sessions 2012. 

 

AccuRadio Song Of The Day-Tove Lo

Artist:Tove Lo

Song:Habits (Stay High) Hippie Sabotage remix

Album:Queen of the Clouds: Blueprint Edition

Swedish singer songwriter Tove Lo scored a top five hit with the 2013 single Stay High. She continues to have success as a songwriter but not as a singer. She was born Ebba Tove Elsa Nilsson Oct. 29, 1987 in Helsingborg, Sweden. Tove Lo is a childhood nickname. She started writing songs as a preteen and had a band with her friends as a teen. Tove attended the Stockholm music school Rytmus Musikergyymnasiet and became friends with Caroline Hjelt who would go on to form the duo Icona Pop. After graduating in 2006, Tove formed the group Tremblebee with Christian Bjerring who she knew from school. The band played in bars across Sweden and released music independently. But they split up in 2009. Then she was introduced to Ludvig Soderberg and Jakob Jerlstrom. They work for Max Martin's production company and produce as The Struts. Tove started writing with them. She worked on a demo while doing session work. She lived with Icona Pop. At a party to celebrate Icona Pop's record deal, Tove gave her demo to their A&R guy. And that led to a publishing deal and a trip to Los Angeles to write Girls Aloud's 2012 hit single Something New. While having success as a songwriter, Tove released her own music independently. After the 2013 single Habits got an online following, Tove signed a record deal with Universal's Island label. After releasing a 2014 EP, Tove's remix of Habits reached #3 on the Billboard Hot 100. It was also a hit in Europe. A second single from the album Queen of the Clouds called Talking Body also charted. The album was certified Platinum. Tove wrote all the songs on the album. Habits and Talking Body was written and produced with The Struts. The Habits remix is by the EDM duo Hippie Sabotage. They are Kevin and Jeff Saurer from Sacramento. This Blueprint Edition of Queen of the Clouds has seven bonus tracks. Though Tove continued to have success as a songwriter especially for British singer Ellie Goulding, her own albums haven't done well. After four albums for Island, Tove's latest album is on her own label. She continues to work with Soderberg. I would not be surprised to see her concentrate on songwriting and production in the future. Here's the video for Habits: Hippie Sabotage remix by Tove Lo.

 

AccuRadio Song Of The Day-Jana Kramer

Artist:Jana Kramer

Song:I Got the Boy

Album:Now That's What I Call Country Volume 9

Jana Kramer is an actress who had some success on the country charts with singles like I Got the Boy in 2015. She is best known as a regular on the TV series One Tree Hill. She was born Dec. 2, 1983 in Rochester Hills, MI. After graduating from high school, Jana moved to Nashville. She was a country music fan since she was a child. While trying to break into the music business, Jana started appearing in low budget films. Her big break came when she appeared in a 2006 episode of CSI: NY. This led to recurring roles on Friday Night Lights, 90210 and Entourage. Then she got the role of Alex Dupre on seasons 7-9 of the series One Tree Hill. This is her best known role to date. She announced before season nine that she was leaving the show to concentrate on her music career. She signed with Warner Music Nashville and was assigned to Elektra. At the time Scott Hendricks was Senior VP of A&R at Warner Music Nashville. He's a veteran producer who has worked with Brooks & Dunn among others. He produced Jana's 2012 debut album Jana Kramer. The single Why Ya Wanna reached #3 on the Country Singles chart. Hendricks also produced Jana's 2015 album Thirty One. The single I Got the Boy reached #5 on the Country Singles chart. Jana wrote most of the songs on the album. But I Got the Boy was written by veteran Nashville songwriters Connie Harrington and Tim Nichols with actress and singer Jamie Lynn Spears. Jamie never recorded it. Veteran session musician Paul Franklin played pedal steel guitar. Thirty One is available as a digital download. I Got the Boy is on this NOW CD which you can get at a budget price. Jana also appeared in a series of commercials for Nationwide Insurance. Then she got married to Washington Redskins tight end Mike Caussin in 2015. They have two kids and were divorced last year. Then Jana appeared on Dancing with the Stars in 2016. It looks like she lost her record deal when Elektra Nashville was closed in 2017. Since then Jana has released a few singles on her own label. In recent years she has appeared in several made for Lifetime Christmas films. So I guess she is spending most of her time with her kids these days. Here's the video for I Got the Boy by Jana Kramer.

 

AccuRadio Song Of The Day-Paolo Conte

Artist:Paolo Conte

Song:Via con me

Album:Blue Swing: Greatest Hits

Italian singer songwriter Paolo Conte is very popular at home. Here in North America, he is known for the song Via con me because of the English chorus "It's wonderful" and it's been used in numerous film soundtracks. I'm sure most of you have heard this song but you don't know anything about it. He was born Jan. 6, 1937 in Asti, Piedmont, Italy. Conte listened to jazz growing up. After earning a law degree at the University of Parma, Conte worked as an assistant solicitor with his father. Meanwhile, he learned to play piano and he formed a jazz band with his brother on guitar. Then Conti started writing songs. After some of them were recorded, Conte signed with RCA and released his debut album in 1974. When Conti started to have commercial success in Italy, he concentrated on his solo career. Via con me is from Conti's 1981 album Paris Milonga. Conti wrote and arranged all the songs and played piano and vibraphone. The album was produced by Italo "Lilli" Greco who discovered Conti and got him a record deal. Via con me became popular when comedian Roberto Benigni started using it in his routines. Of course he would become famous as an actor and director. As I said, Via con me has appeared in several films including French Kiss (1995), Welcome to Collinwood (2002) and No Reservations (2007). Conte left RCA for CGD in 1984. He currently records for his own label with Universal distribution. You can get all his hits on this 2CD budget comp. Here's Paolo Conti performing Via con me on the French TV network INA Apr. 19, 1987.

 

Big Bad Blog Video Theater-Hikaru Shida vs Saraya

Here's the match video of Saraya defending her AEW Women's Championship against Hikaru Shida from last night's episode of AEW Dynamite. The show was moved to Tuesday as NHL will air on TBS tonight. So they tried to stack the show to compete with NXT. Once Saraya won the title and had her moment in England, I thought they would get the belt off her as she hasn't looked good in the ring. The match is OK. Saraya got a lot of offense especially during the commercial break. But she wastes too much time preening around when she might have gone for a pin a couple of times. She must have been told to do that. Then a masked Ruby Soho came to spray Hikaru. But it backfired and Toni Storm ran her off. Then Saraya successfully sprayed Hikaru and hit her finisher. Once Hikaru kicked out, I knew she would win. AEW does way too many false finishes. Hikaru hit the Falcon Arrow and she's the new champ. I toldja. Enjoy the video! 

Big Bad Blog Video Theater-Asuka vs Roxanne Perez

Here's the match video of Asuka vs Roxanne Perez from last night's episode of NXT. The WWE has been bringing in main roster stars to help the NXT rating. And with AEW Dynamite being moved to Tuesday this week to make room for the NHL on TBS, they decided to go overboard. So Asuka came in to wrestle Roxanne Perez. This match kicked off the show. If you are not familiar with Roxanne, she was known as Rok-C in the indies. Booker T trained her. She's very young but she's a decent wrestler. She's very small. She may be smaller than Kairi. She had a big smile on her face while Asuka came to the ring. She can learn a lot just being in the ring with Asuka for a few minutes. The match was OK. Asuka could have squashed her. But she doesn't enjoy doing that and she let Roxanne have some offense. Asuka won with a kick to the head and then broke character and blew kisses to the crowd. She flew in from Las Vegas so I hope she had fun. Enjoy the video! 

AccuRadio Song Of The Day-Steve Lacy

Artist:Steve Lacy

Song:Bad Habit

Album:Gemini Heart

Steve Lacy started out as the guitarist for the R&B band The Internet. Then he started working on solo projects. Now he has topped the charts with the 2022 single Bad Habit. The song spread through TikTok. My guess is his future is as a songwriter and producer. He was born May 23, 1998 in Compton, CA. He was raised by his mother. His father wasn't around and then he died when Lacy was ten. He first became interested in guitar through the video game Guitar Hero. Then he got a real guitar. He met Jameel Bruner in his high school jazz band. They would go on to form The Internet. After releasing a couple of albums, the members decided to record solo projects. Lacy was recording music on his iPhone. He also produced some artists, most notably Kendrick Lamar. Lacy released a 2017 EP and produced Solange, Mac Miller and Dev Hynes. After releasing a couple of albums, Lacy signed with RCA for the 2022 album Gemini Rights. The single Bad Habit topped the Billboard Hot 100. Lacy wrote and produced the album. For the most part, Bad Habit spread through TikTok. For that reason, the success seems like a fluke. Lacy's next album could have another big hit. But history says it's unlikely and he'll spend more of his time writing and producing for others. That should be his long term strategy anyway. Gemini Heart is available as a digital download. Here's the video for Bad Habit by Steve Lacy.

 

AccuRadio Song Of The Day-Robert Weede

Artist:Robert Weede

Song:Mamma, Mamma

Album:The Most Happy Fella: Original Broadway Cast

Robert Weede was an opera singer who starred in the 1956 Broadway musical The Most Happy Fella. The show was a big hit at the time. He was born Robert Wiedefeld Feb. 22, 1903 in Baltimore. He studied voice at the Eastman School of Music in Rochester and in Milan, Italy. Weede made his Metropolitan Opera debut in 1937 as Tonio in Pagliacci. Weede recorded for Columbia and Capitol. Then in 1956 he had great success as Tony Esposito in the 1956 Broadway show The Most Happy Fella. Frank Loesser based the show on the play They Knew What They Wanted. The story is a romance between an older man and younger woman. It is considered to be one of the most operatic of Broadway musicals. So when Loesser was casting, he was looking for opera singers like Weede, Jo Sullivan and Art Lund. The Most Happy Fella opened on May 3, 1956 and ran until Dec. 14, 1957. Columbia Masterworks released a 2LP set of the show and an LP of excerpts. Both are available on CD. The Most Happy Fella has been revived on Broadway several times. Warner Bros. tried to produce a film version in 1962 starring Fred Astaire but they couldn't figure out the casting of the female lead so Astaire pulled out. Weede appeared in the Broadway show Milk and Honey in 1961 and that did well too. But other than that he stuck to opera until his death on July 9, 1972 at age 69. Here's Robert Weede performing Mamma, Mamma on the TV show American Musical Theater. This must have been a local show in New York as I didn't see an imdb listing.

AccuRadio Song Of The Day-Peter Tosh

 

Artist:Peter Tosh f/Mick Jagger

Song:(You Better Walk) Don't Look Back

Album:Honorary Citizen

Peter Tosh is one of the all time greats of Jamaican music, first as a member of The Wailers and then as a solo artist. This 1978 single was an attempt to cross him over to pop. And for Mick Jagger fans, it's a discography orphan. But I have that covered too. He was born Winston McIntosh Oct. 19, 1944 in Grange Hill, Jamaica. After his parents abandoned him, Tosh was raised by his aunt. After she died, Tosh moved to Trenchtown and learned to play guitar. Then he met Bob Marley and Bunny Wailer in 1962 and they started singing together as The Wailers. Of course later on Marley broke out as a solo act especially after The Wailers signed with Island Records in 1972. After Tosh suffered a fractured skull in a 1973 car accident, he left The Wailers after Island president Chris Blackwell refused to release Tosh's solo album. Tosh signed with Columbia Records and released the 1977 album Equal Rights. The Rolling Stones liked it so much they made a deal with Columbia to release Tosh's albums on Rolling Stones Records. Tosh remained on the label for the rest of his career. Tosh also opened for them on tour. The idea behind the 1978 album Bush Doctor was to cross Tosh over to mainstream. Bassist Robbie Shakespeare and drummer Sly Dunbar produced along with Tosh and Jagger & Richards (The Glimmer Twins). Sly & Robbie were in Tosh's band. Tosh wrote all the songs except for this cover of The Temptations classic Don't Look Back. Jagger thought if he appeared on it, the record would be a big hit. It charted but the record was not a hit. They even did a video. Luther Francois of the Martinique based group Taxi Kreol played the sax solo. The Wailers recorded Don't Look Back in 1966. You can get this on this 3CD Tosh box set available at a reasonable price. Jagger fans can get it on The Best of Mick Jagger CD. Of course Tosh would have continued to delight us for many years. But on Sept. 11, 1987, three thugs invaded Tosh's home and attempted to rob him. And when Tosh didn't have any money, they opened fire and Tosh was dead at age 42. The main thug is still in jail. Here's the video for (You Gotta Walk) Don't Look Back by Peter Tosh featuring Mick Jagger.

Big Bad Blog Video Theater-JJ Aldrich vs Montana De La Rosa

Here's the fight video of JJ Aldrich vs Montana De La Rosa from last night's UFC show in Las Vegas. This fight is at Flyweight. Stephanie Egger was Montana's original opponent. JJ was brought in on short notice. She is 31 years old. She trains at Elevation in Denver. She's 8-5 in the UFC. Her approach is to keep her distance. She has trouble with high level fighters because she can't handle aggression. Montana is 28 years old from Arlington, TX. Her husband is a fighter. She's 5-4 in the UFC. She's a wrestler but she lacks aggression and has trouble with high level fighters. These two have trained together so Montana knows what JJ will try to do. So I don't know why she wasn't more aggressive. JJ did what she wanted and won by unanimous decision. I don't think either of them are any good. Enjoy the video! 

Big Bad Blog Video Theater-Vanessa Demopoulos vs Kanako Murata

Here's the fight video of Vanessa Demopoulos vs Kanako Murata from last night's UFC show in Las Vegas. This fight is at Strawweight. Vanessa is 35 years old from Columbus, OH. She trains at Xtreme Couture in Las Vegas. She's gone 3-2 in the UFC. She lost in Contender Series and got into the UFC as a short notice replacement. She doesn't do enough to win fights. Kanako is 30 years old from Japan. She's a wrestler. She used to fight for RIZIN. She broke her arm during her last fight so we haven't seen her since 2021. I thought Vanessa won round one 10-9 with more effective striking. Kanako had ground control in round two. Vanessa landed some strikes from the bottom but I didn't think it was enough so I scored it 10-9 for Kanako. Kanako won round three easily so I scored it 10-9 for Kanako so I scored it 29-28 for Kanako. The problem was all three judges scored round two 10-9 for Vanessa so she won the fight 29-28. The fight stats do not support that decision. So I don't know what they were watching but it sure seems like poor scoring. Enjoy the video! 

Big Bad Blog Video Theater-Karolina Kowalkiewicz vs Diana Belbita

Here's the fight video of Karolina Kowalkiewicz vs Diana Belbita from last night's UFC show in Las Vegas. This fight is at Strawweight. Karolina is 37 years old from Lodz, Poland. She is training at American Top Team. She's a former Strawweight title challenger. She was on a four fight losing streak. But since switching to ATT, she has won three in a row. Karolina is a striker with no power or ground skills. Diana is 27 years old. She was born in Romania. She trains at House of Champions in Stoney Creek, ON which is near Hamilton. She's 2-3 in the UFC. Neither fighter is a finisher. I think Karolina is a better fighter so I expected her to win by unanimous decision which she did. Can she be a contender again? She has to beat a ranked fighter and she hasn't done that in her current run. So that's her next step. Enjoy the video! 

Big Bad Blog Video Theater-IYO SKY vs Asuka vs Charlotte Flair

Here's the match video of IYO SKY defending her WWE Women's Championship in a three way match against Asuka and Charlotte. As I have said in the past, I don't like three way matches. And they aren't even unique anymore. Promotions do them way too frequently. And in this match IYO and Asuka work so well together that Charlotte is like a third wheel. She's supposed to be a babyface and half the fans are booing her. So I told you guys yesterday that IYO would retain the title with Bayley's help. And that's exactly what happened. It was predictable. They tried to throw a curve ball by having Asuka mist Charlotte right at the beginning of the match. Corey Graves tried to sell it like Asuka wanted a quick win. But the match wasn't going to end that quickly. It would have been great if they had used the mist to get rid of Charlotte. But no such luck as Charlotte recovered quickly. So the mist was a waste of time. So what else happened? Well, IYO and Charlotte both missed moonsaults. The finish had Bayley interfere while Asuka was tapping out to Charlotte's figure eight. The ref didn't see it. Then IYO hit Charlotte with the moonsault to get the win. The problem was the cameras didn't pick it up properly. The end result is IYO and Bayley are pals again...until Bayley does something else to piss IYO off. Enjoy the video!  

AccuRadio Song Of The Day-Winger

Artist:Winger

Song:Seventeen

Album:The Very Best of Winger

The hair metal band Winger had success in the late 80s mostly as an album and touring band. Singles like Seventeen charted but they never had a top ten hit. And their first two albums were certified Platinum. I think MTV playing their videos helped a lot. They faded in the early 90s due to changing musical tastes. But Winger is still around. The lead singer, songwriter and bassist of Winger is Kip Winger. He was born June 21, 1961 in Denver. He had a band with his brothers as a teen and first used the Winger name in 1980. He moved to New York to play sessions with producer Beau Hill. At the time Hill was producing Alice Cooper and Winger recorded and toured with Cooper for a couple of years. He left in 1987 to start his own band with guitarist Reb Beach, keyboardist Paul Taylor and drummer Rod Morganstein formerly of The Dixie Dregs. They were going to call themselves Sahara but Cooper suggested the name Winger. They signed with Atlantic Records and the 1988 album Winger was certified Platinum. The single Seventeen reached #26 on the Billboard Hot 100. It's like I said. MTV playing their videos helped them a lot. Beau Hill produced Winger's first two albums. Winger wrote most of the songs with Beach though he wrote Seventeen with Hill. By the time Winger recorded their 1993 album Pull, musical tastes had changed and hair metal wasn't popular anymore. The album didn't sell and Atlantic dropped them. This budget comp covers Winger's Atlantic recordings. After Winger split up, Kip Winger moved to New Mexico and released a few solo albums. The others got into session work and Beach later became a member of Whitesnake. Winger reformed in 2001 and continue to tour. They have recorded several albums for the Italian label Frontiers. They released their latest album in May. Here's the video for Seventeen by Winger.

 

Big Bad Blog Video Theater-Hikaru Shida and Kris Statlander vs Nyla Rose and Marina Shafir

Here's the match video of Hikaru Shida and Kris Statlander vs Nyla Rose and Marina Shafir from last night's episode of AEW Rampage. Hikaru will challenge Saraya for her AEW Women's Championship on this Tuesday's episode of Dynamite. So this match is a timewaster. And the match itself is nothing special. The only interesting thing is Hikaru used Saraya's finisher to win the match. I don't know if that's an indication of anything or just a tease. But the rest of the match was kind of blah and I wasn't even going to post it but I liked the finish. Enjoy the video! 

Big Bad Blog Video Theater-Charlotte Flair and Asuka vs IYO SKY and Bayley

Here's the match video of Charlotte Flair and Asuka vs IYO SKY and Bayley from last night's episode of Smackdown. This was booked to set up tonight's three way match with IYO defending her WWE Women's Championship against Charlotte and Asuka. I expect IYO to retain with Bayley's help as there is no DQ. Bayley volunteered IYO for this match. IYO was not happy with her. So you know Bayley will want to get back in IYO's good graces. So this match was your standard timewaster. Charlotte did very little in this match and still got the win over Bayley in a very sloppy way after she "accidently" kicked Asuka. The whole storyline is standard WWE paint by numbers. There have been zero surprises so that's what I expect tonight. And I hate three way matches. Enjoy the video! 

AccuRadio Song Of The Day-Nate Najar

Artist:Nate Najar f/Daniela Soledade

Song:O Pato

Album:Jazz Samba Pra Sempre

Charlie Byrd fans will be interested in Nate Najar because he plays Brazilian jazz on classical guitar just like Byrd. This 2022 album is a 60th anniversary tribute to Byrd's 1962 album Jazz Samba. Najar was born Aug. 28, 1981 in St. Petersburg, FL. He studied classical guitar as a teen. His teacher Frank Mullen taught him about Charlie Byrd. Mullen ran the Florida branch of Charlie Byrd Music Stores. Najar started out working with drummer Chuck Redd in Washington. Redd played with Byrd so Najar learned a lot from him. As a leader, Najar has recorded mostly for Blue Line Music which specializes in Brazilian music. He made his debut as a leader in 2002. Jazz Samba Pra Sempre is Najar's latest album. As I said, it's a 60th anniversary tribute to Byrd's 1962 album Jazz Samba. This album was important in popularizing Brazilian music in the US. Of course Stan Getz played sax on that record. Jeff Rupert plays tenor sax on this record. Rupert has played in big bands like Sam Rivers Rivbea All Star Orchestra. Herman Burney is on bass. He has played with Freddy Cole and others. Chuck Redd is on drums. O Pato is one of two songs with singer Daniela Soledade. She also records for Blue Line. She's Brazilian and her father and grandfather were musicians. Daniela moved to the US in 2003. Charlie Byrd fans should check this out. Here's the video for O Pato by Nate Najar featuring Daniela Soledade.