AccuRadio Song Of The Day-One Sonic Society

Artist:One Sonic Society

Song:Great Are You Lord

Album:WOW Hits 2018

Fans of Praise & Worship (P&W) will want to check out One Sonic Society led by singer songwriter producer Jason Ingram. The 2016 single Great Are You Lord was a top ten Christian hit. Most CCM fans should be familiar with the British band Delerious?. They had success in the late 90s until they split up in 2009. Delerious? guitarist Stuart Garrard (Stu G) was hanging around Nashville looking for Christian artists to work with when he met Jason Ingram. Ingram is a Dove award winning songwriter and producer who has worked with Lauren Daigle and Elevation Worship and Maverick City Music. They decided to form a band. Garrard brought in Delerious? bassist Jonathan Thatcher and Ingram brought in Hillsong UNITED drummer Paul Mabury. They called themselves One Sonic Society and they signed with the label Essential Worship. They started out by releasing EPs in 2010 and 2011 followed by the album Forever Reign in 2012 and the live album Live at the Tracking Room. The singles Forever Reign (2011) and Never Once both charted. Meanwhile, all four guys continued to keep busy. They returned with the 2015 EP Make a Way. The single Great Are You Lord reached #9 on the Christian Singles chart and was certified Gold. The EP is only available as a digital download. But you can get Great Are You Lord on this 2CD various artists budget comp. Since then One Sonic Society has released a couple of singles with guest vocalists like Big Daddy Weave lead singer Mike Weaver and Vertical Worship. The last of these singles was released in 2019. It doesn't look like they are still working together. Garrard released a solo album in 2017. Ingram is a very busy producer and Mabury frequently works with him while still working for Hillsang UNITED. I suppose One Sonic Society could reform at some point. But they were never a full time band and Ingram in particular is very busy as a producer. Here's One Sonic Society performing Great Are You Lord on Essential Worship Song Sessions.

AccuRadio Song Of The Day-Tori Amos

Artist:Tori Amos

Song:Cornflake Girl

Album:Tales of a Librarian

Singer songwriter Tori Amos was successful in the 90s as an album and touring artist. She never had a hit single but Cornflake Girl is one of her best known songs. Tori still records for a major label but her albums haven't sold well since the 90s. I think she owes much of her success to MTV. She was born Myra Ellen Amos Aug. 22, 1963 in Newton, NC while her parents were on a trip from their home in Washington, DC. Her father was a Methodist minister and he soon moved his ministry to Baltimore. Tori's older brother and sister took piano lessons. But Tori taught herself to play. And if you have ever heard her, you will know that she is really good. She wrote songs at age three. At age five, she was the youngest student ever admitted into the Peabody Institute. She studied classical piano there under scholarship from 1968-74. Her scholarship was discontinued when she expressed interest in popular music. Also, Tori didn't like reading from sheet music. After her family moved to Silver Springs in 1972, Tori started playing local clubs chaperoned by her father. She won a teen talent contest in 1977. And a song she wrote for a Baltimore Orioles song contest became her first single which she gave to family and friends. She took the name Tori after a friend said she looked like a Torrey pine tree. When Tori was 17, her dad was sending out demos. The first to respond was producer Narada Michael Walden. Remember he discovered Stacy Lattisaw. They recorded together but none were released. Then Atlantic Records responded and A&R man Jason Flom flew to Baltimore to audition and then sign her. Flom went on to found Lava Records. Tori moved to Los Angeles in 1984. She formed the band Y Kant Tori Read in 1986 and they released an unsuccessful album in 1988. The band name was because Tori couldn't read sheet music. Tori says that record company meddling torpedoed the band and she was unhappy with the album. After they split up, guitarist Steve Caton remained until 1999. Tori turned to session work as a backup vocalist. Tori still had a six album contract with Atlantic and they wanted a new album. The result was the 1992 album Little Earthquakes which was certified 2XPlatinum and sold 3M copies worldwide without the benefit of a hit single. Cornflake Girl is from the 1994 album Under the Pink. As with the first album, it was produced by Eric Rosse, a Los Angeles session musician. By this time, the two were in a personal relationship.. Cornflake Girl reached #7 on the Bubbling Under Hot 100 Singles chart and #4 on the British Singles chart. Like the first album, Under the Pink was certified 2XPlatinum. Tori's biggest hit was Professional Widow from the 1996 album Boys for Pele. It topped the Dance chart. By this time Tori was self producing. Tori's success was mainly because MTV played her videos in heavy rotation. And touring of course. But MTV was a big factor. As Tori got got more into dance and electronica on the albums Choirgirl Hotel (1998) and To Venus and Back (1999), album sales decreased and she left Atlantic after the 2001 album Strange Little Girls. This budget comp covers the Atlantic years. After that, Tori released three albums for Epic but got lost in the shuffle after Epic president Polly Anthony left and then the Sony/BMG merger complicated things. Tori signed with Universal in 2009 and has bounced around their various labels. Her latest album Ocean to Ocean was released on Decca in 2021. Tori lives in Bude, England with sound engineer husband Mark Hawley and she usually records at his studio in Cornwall. When she was on tour last year, Tori was telling people that she should have a new album coming in 2024 and then a 2025 tour. Here's the video for Cornflake Girls by Tori Amos. 

AccuRadio Song Of The Day-Jackson Dean

Artist:Jackson Dean

Song:Don't Come Lookin'

Album:Greenbroke

Singer songwriter Jackson Dean scored a top 20 country hit with the 2022 single Don't Come Lookin'. This was after the song appeared on the hit TV series Yellowstone. It remains to be seen if Dean has staying power. He was born Jackson Dean Nicholson Oct. 6, 2000 in Odenton, MD. He left home at age 18 and moved to Nashville. After releasing a couple of albums independently and opening for Kane Brown, Jake Owen and Brothers Osborne, Dean signed with Big Machine Records. An EP was released in 2021. Don't Come Lookin' was on the EP and it was released as a single in Feb. 2022 before the Mar. 2022 release of the album Greenbroke. The song also appeared on an episode of the Paramount Network hit TV series Yellowstone. Don't Come Lookin' reached #11 on the Hot Country Songs chart and #3 on the Country Airplay chart. And it also reached #50 on the Billboard Hot 100. This is the Grey's Anatomy effect. A song plays on TV and fans find it, download it and request it on radio. Whether that results in long term success for a guy like Dean is questionable but it's better than nothing. Dean wrote Don't Come Lookin' with his producer Luke Dick who had previously produced Kip Moore. They wrote most of the album songs together. Dean was nominated for a 2023 ACM New Male Artist of the Year award. Dean has been on tour and last year Big Machine released the album Live at the Ryman. Dean's new album Big Blue Sky is out this Friday and he goes on tour next week. We'll see how he does. Here's the video for Don't Come Lookin' by Jackson Dean.

 

AccuRadio Song Of The Day-Honeymoon Suite

Artist:Honeymoon Suite

Song:New Girl Now

Album:Essentials

The hard rock band Honeymoon Suite were successful mostly in their native Canada in the 80s. New Girl Now was their first single in 1984. They charted in the US but not consistently. Honeymoon Suite lead singer Johnnie Dee is from Montreal. But by the early 80s, he was living in Niagara Falls. He named the band Honeymoon Suite because Niagara Falls is the unofficial honeymoon capital of the world. When the original band split up, Dee formed a new Honeymoon Suite in 1983 with guitarist Derry Grehan and drummer Dave Betts of the band Steve Blimkie and the Reason. Grehan also writes songs and is a St. Catharines native. I'm sure he liked the idea of staying close to home rather than living in Toronto. Grehan wrote the song New Girl Now and a demo won Honeymoon Suite an unsigned band contest held by Toronto radio station Q107. And that led to Honeymoon Suite signing with Warner Bros. in Canada and the US. Tom Treumuth was brought in to produce. He produced another Canadian hard rock band Helix. Keyboardist Ray Coburn was brought in as a permanent member. The band still didn't have a bassist so Dee brought in his friend Brian Blackstone to play on the album and Gary Lalonde of the band Toronto joined Honeymoon Suite soon after. New Girl Now was the first single and it reached #23 on the Canadian Singles chart and #57 on the Billboard Hot 100. The album was certified 3XPlatinum in Canada. Honeymoon Suite released four albums for Warner Bros. They continued to do well in Canada. But Warners really wanted to break them in the US. So they brought in big name producers like Bruce Fairbairn and Ted Templeman to try and get Honeymoon Suite a big hit. Honeymoon Suite even recorded the theme for the 1987 film Lethal Weapon. They were ultimately unsuccessful and Honeymoon Suite left Warner Bros. in 1991. You can get all their hits on this comp. Dee and Grehan continue to lead Honeymoon Suite. The album Alive was just released in February on the Italian label Frontiers. And they tour mostly in Canada but they mix in a few US dates too. I would describe them as an 80s nostalgia act. Here's the video for New Girl Now by Honeymoon Suite.

  

AccuRadio Song Of The Day-John Stewart

Artist:John Stewart f/Stevie Nicks

Song:Gold

Album:Sounds of the Seventies: The Late 70s

Gold was a top five hit in 1979. It was the only big hit for singer songwriter John Stewart. Though this song is perceived as a one hit wonder, a couple of other singles from his 1979 album Bombs Away Dream Babies charted so technically he is not a one hit wonder. Besides, Stewart had a long career as a folk music pioneer and a songwriter. He was born Sept. 5, 1939 in San Diego but he grew up in the Los Angeles area. He wrote his first song at age ten. Stewart said in a 1971 interview that he bought a ukulele after listening to Tex Ritter and The Sons of the Pioneers. While in high school, he led the Rock 'n' Roll band Johnny Stewart and the Furies. They released one 1957 single before splitting up. He then got into folk music first with The Woodsmen and then with The Cumberland Three with Gil Robbins and John Montgomery. They released a couple of albums. But when Dave Guard left the popular Kingston Trio in 1961, Stewart replaced him. When folk music started to fade in the mid 60s after The British Invasion, The Kingston Trio split up in 1967. Stewart signed with Capitol Records. He recorded three albums there. But he had his greatest career success when Stewart's song Daydream Believer topped the charts for The Monkees. That one song probably made Stewart more money than anything he ever did. Stewart also recorded for Warner Bros. and RCA with little success. But then he signed with RSO Records owned by Robert Stigwood. He started out as The Bee Gees' manager, produced the musical Jesus Christ Superstar and then got into the record business and had success with The Bee Gees and Eric Clapton. It could be that Clapton asked Stigwood to sign Stewart. Stewart's 1977 album Fire in the Wind was produced in Nashville by Mentor Williams (Dobie Gray's Drift Away). For the 1979 album Bombs Away Dream Babies, Lindsay Buckingham and Stevie Nicks of Fleetwood Mac wanted to help Stewart. So Buckingham produced and Stevie contributed backup vocals on Gold. It reached #5 on the Billboard Hot 100. You have to remember how popular Fleetwood Mac and especially Stevie Nicks was in those days. She doesn't even appear in the video. But Gold does appear on one of her comps. You can get Gold on this various artists comp. Stewart left RSO in 1982 and recorded for his own label for the rest of his career. He continued to have success as a songwriter especially Rosanne Cash's 1988 #1 Country hit Runaway Train. Stewart teamed up with former Kingston Trio member Nick Reynolds to offer a Trio Fantasy Camp. Stewart continued to record and tour until he died on Jan. 19, 2008 at age 68. Here's the video for Gold by John Stewart featuring Stevie Nicks. 

AccuRadio Song Of The Day-Scott Bakula and Alison Fraser

Artist:Scott Bakula and Alison Fraser

Song:I'll Always Remember the Song

Album:Front Row Center: The Broadway Gold Box 1935-1988

Most folks should be familiar with actor Scott Bakula as a four time Emmy winner for the popular TV series Quantum Leap. But he started out on Broadway and was Tony nominated for the 1988 musical Romance/Romance. It was after he appeared on this show that he landed the role on Quantum Leap. He was born Oct. 9, 1954 in St. Louis. While Bakula was attending the University of Kansas, he was offered a national tour of Godspell. His parents told him to go and get acting out of his system and return to school. But the tour never happened. Bakula was tired of waiting and moved to New York City in 1976. He appeared as Joe DiMaggio in the 1983 flop Marilyn followed by the 1985 off Broadway show Three Guys Naked from the Waist Down. When he appeared in the Pasadena Playhouse production of this show, that got him a Los Angeles agent. So he moved there. After Bakula appeared on the first season of the popular sitcom Designing Women, He was cast in a couple of short lived series. Then during the 1988 Hollywood writers strike, Bakula moved back to New York to appear in the Broadway musical Romance/Romance. This ran from May 1988 to Jan. 1989. This show was written for off off Broadway by Barry Harman and Keith Herrmann and did well enough that it graduated to a larger theater on Broadway. Bakula and his co-star Alison Fraser were both nominated for Tonys. Alison is mainly a stage actress. The original cast album for Romance/Romance is available as a digital download. But you can get I'll Always Remember This Song on this 4CD budget box set that is a Broadway history of Decca Records. It was while he was doing this show that Bakula was offered Quantum Leap. And that show made him famous. Afterwards, he played Murphy Brown's boyfriend on that sitcom. He played Jonathan Archer on Star Trek: Enterprise from 2001-2005. More recently he appeared on the series NCIS and the spinoff series NCIS: New Orleans. Bakula has appeared in films but most of his success has been on TV. Bakula recently returned to Broadway in the musical The Connector from Jan. to Mar. 2024. Here's Scott Bakula and Alison Fraser performing I'll Always Remember This Song and It's Not To Late on the 1988 Tony Awards broadcast June 5, 1988. 

AccuRadio Song Of The Day-Joe Public

Artist:Joe Public

Song:Live and Learn

Album:Joe Public

Live and Learn was a top five hit in 1992. It was the only big hit for Joe Public. A couple of their other songs charted so technically they are not a one hit wonder. They only recorded two albums. They were part of the early 90s wave of New Jack Swing. But unlike other acts from the era, Joe Public was a self contained band and they wrote and produced themselves. They are from Buffalo with Kevin Scott on lead vocals and bass, Joe "J.R." Sayles on guitar, Jake Carter on keyboards and Dwight "Mr. Dew" Wyatt on drums. At first they were called Atension and they released the 1989 album Def On Arrival on Island Records. The band had two additional members in those days. Kevin Scott's brother Isaac Scott was lead vocalist and Joe Sayles' brother Nathan Sayles was in the band. The producer was Nathan Job. He was the leader of Southroad Connection and they recorded two albums for United Artists in the late 70s. Then he got into production and worked with groups like Starpoint. It looks like Atension split up and then reformed as Joe Public and signed with Columbia. The 1992 single Live and Learn reached #4 on the Billboard Hot 100 and #3 on the R&B Singles chart. Joe Public wrote all the songs and produced with Job. Live and Learn has plenty of samples. But the one everyone asks about is the squealing trumpet. That is from The Grunt by The J.B.'s. When Joe Public's 1994 album Easy Come, Easy Go was unsuccessful, they split up. Kevin Scott went on to work with Dalvin DeGrate. Jake Carter and Trevor Job formed the production duo Jake & Trev and they worked with Tyrese and Calvin Richardson. Here's the video for Live and Learn by Joe Public. 

AccuRadio Song Of The Day-Jamey Johnson

Artist:Jamey Johnson

Song:In Color

Album:That Lonesome Song

The 2008 single In Color was a top ten country hit for singer songwriter Jamey Johnson. It is to date his only big hit. Johnson has also had success as a songwriter for hire. He was born July 14, 1975 in Enterprise, AL and he grew up in Montgomery. His big influences are Alabama and Alan Jackson. After attending Jacksonville State University for two years, Johnson served in the US Marine Corps Reserves for four years. He started playing Montgomery clubs and moved to Nashville in 2000. He started out recording demos. Then veteran producer Buddy Cannon got Johnson a publishing deal. His biggest hit as a songwriter was co-writing the 2005 Trace Adkins hit Honky Tonk Badonkadonk. This led to a record deal with Sony's BNA label. Johnson's 2006 debut album The Dollar was produced by Cannon. The single The Dollar reached #14 on the Country Singles chart. But when the second single didn't chart, BNA dropped Johnson. Johnson divorced his wife and went into seclusion to work on his songwriting. After co-writing number one country hits for George Strait and Trace Adkins, Johnson released That Lonesome Song on MySpace and iTunes while shopping for a record deal. He signed with Mercury and That Lonesome Song was released in 2008. The single In Color reached #9 on the Country Singles chart. The album was certified Platinum. Johnson wrote In Color with singer songwriter James Otto and veteran songwriter Lee Thomas Miller. Johnson co-wrote most of the songs. The album was produced by Dave Cobb. The 2010 album The Guitar Song didn't do as well. There were no hit singles. And after the 2012 album Living for a Song: A Tribute to Hank Cochran, Johnson left Mercury. It was an all star album and Grammy nominated. So what was the problem? You know how record companies are. They want hits. And Johnson is a traditionalist in a modern world. I think Mercury wanted Johnson to be more contemporary and he wouldn't do it. Since then Johnson released a 2014 Christmas EP on his own label. And today he released the single 21 Guns which he will perform on this Sunday's National Memorial Day Concert on PBS. Johnson will begin a tour next week. It looks like he has a new album coming. Here's the video for In Color by Jamey Johnson. 

AccuRadio Song Of The Day-Curtis Salgado

Artist:Curtis Salgado

Song:The Longer That I Live

Album:Damage Control

Veteran blues rocker Curtis Salgado started out singing and playing harmonica with Robert Cray and Roomful of Blues. He started recording his own music in the 90s first with Shanachie and then with Alligator Records. The 2021 album Damage Control was his final  album on Alligator. He was born Feb. 4, 1954 in Everett, WA. Salgado has lived in Eugene, OR for years. He listened to classic jazz and blues as a child. After seeing Count Basie live and hearing Little Walter, Salgado learned to play harmonica and started playing clubs with his band The Nighthawks. No, not the Washington, DC based band The Nighthawks. He started backing up visiting blues musicians. Supposedly John Belushi saw Salgado while shooting Animal House in Eugene and based his Blues Brothers character on him. Salgado was in Robert Cray's band for six years. Then he was lead singer of Roomful of Blues from 1984-86. Salgado returned to Eugene and formed Curtis Salgado and the Stilettos. They released an album in 1991 and toured with Steve Miller. After releasing two more albums, Salgado again toured with Miller and appeared with him on an episode with Conan O'Brien. This led to Salgado signing with Shanachie Records in 1999. This gave Salgado national distribution but Shanachie has no promotion budget. Salgado released four albums for Shanachie produced by veteran guitarist Marlon McClain who lives in Oregon. Salgado was diagnosed with liver cancer in 2005 and underwent a successful transplant in 2006. Salgado signed with Alligator Records in 2012. He released four albums on Alligator usually working with his Oregon buddies Marlon McClain, Terry Robb and Alan Hager. After Hager died, Salgado recorded the 2021 album Damage Control with veteran session pianist Mike Finnigan producing. They were buddies from the Steve Miller days. This album is available on CD. Salgado has released a new album Fine By Me on his own label and he continues to tour. Here's the video for The Longer That I Live by Curtis Salgado. 

AccuRadio Song Of The Day-Megadeth

Artist:Megadeth

Song:Dystopia

Album:Warheads on Foreheads

The thrash metal band Megadeth have been successful since the 80s as an album and touring band. They have never had a hit single and they don't need one. The 2016 album Dystopia was considered to be a return to form after a significant dry period. They are part of a thrash metal subsect led by Metallica. After lead singer and guitarist Dave Mustaine was fired from Metallica in 1983 partly for drug abuse but he also wasn't getting along with James Hetfield and Lars Ulrich. Mustaine vowed revenge by forming a band that would be faster and heavier than Metallica. He saw the word "megadeath" in a political pamphlet. And it stuck with him and he slightly changed the spelling to Megadeth. Mustaine formed the band Fallen Angels which was soon changed to Megadeth. The only band member from the early days who stayed with Megadeth was bassist David Ellefson. They recorded a demo but most of the songs were written by Mustaine when he was in Metallica. So he couldn't use them. Mustaine and Ellefson auditioned plenty of musicians. But they had difficulty findings guys they liked to the point where Mustaine took over as lead singer. He's a terrible singer. They finally settled on drummer Gar Samuelsson and guitarist Chris Poland who were in a jazz band together. Megadeth signed with the indie label Combat and their 1985 debut album Killing Is My Business...and Business Is Good! was successful in underground metal circles. Megadeth called itself State of the Art Speed Metal. For the 1986 album Peace Sells...But Who's Buying?, Megadeth left Combat for Capitol. This change alone got them a larger fanbase. And Mustaine's socially conscious songs struck a chord with listeners. And their videos were played on MTV. Despite the success, Megadeth continued to have problems mostly due to drug abuse. But most of their 90s albums were certified Platinum. Their biggest seller was the 1992 album Countdown to Extinction which was certified 2XPlatinum. Megadeth started to fade in the late 90s. Megadeth left Capitol in 2000. 2002 health problem that left Mustaine unable to play guitar forced him to announce that Megadeth was disbanding. He reformed them in 2004 after his health improved. They were still touring and recording. But record sales were disappointing. For the 2016 album Dystopia, Mustaine signed with Uniiversal. The album did much better than recent album. Critics considered it Megadeth's return to form. This 3CD comp covers Megadeth's entire career and it's available at a reasonable price. Megadeth released their latest album in 2022. And Mustaine says their will be three more Megadeth albums beginning in 2025. Here's the video for Dystopia by Megadeth. 

Big Bad Blog Video Theater-Lyra Valkyria vs IYO SKY

Here's the match video of Lyra Valkyria vs IYO SKY from last night's episode of RAW. This was the semi final in the Queen of the Ring tournament. So why did they have Lyra win this match? For one thing IYO may not want to go to Saudi Arabia. No one has to go. Lyra won with a rollup. So it's not like IYO can't get that back. But I don't like how they telegraph upset finishes. I knew when IYO took way too long to get to the top for the moonsault, she was losing. The other thing is they really want to push Lyra because it's possible that Becky Lynch is leaving the WWE. I have been saying for several months that Becky wants to try her hand at acting. All her recent promos have had retirement vibes. Plus her contract is ending soon. Lyra is a decent wrestler. She's better than Becky. But I don't care for her wide eyed naive demeanor. And I don't think fans will like it either. She hasn't been around long enough for fans to get cynical about her. These days fans like characters with an edge like Liv Morgan. But it's like I said. Becky's shtick has gotten stale. She's saying the same thing with the same inflection. She's probably tired of it too. Remember when they tried to turn her heel? That didn't go so well. So Becky's in a rut and maybe she doesn't see a way out. This Saturday Lyra will face either Bianca Belair or Nia Jax for the Queen of the Ring in Saudi Arabia. I hope it's Bianca only because Nia vs Lyra has train wreck potential. But remember both Bianca and Lyra are babyfaces. The WWE may not want to do that. The match is pretty good so enjoy the video! 

AccuRadio Song Of The Day-Lina Santiago

Artist:Lina Santiago

Song:Feels So Good (Show Me Your Love)

Album:Feels So Good

Freestyle singer Lina Santiago scored a top ten dance hit with the 1996 single Feels So Good (Show Me Your Love). Not only was it her only big hit but the 1996 album Feels So Good is her only album to date. She was born Sept. 5, 1978 in Los Angeles. It says here that she performed in her father's band in the early 90s. But it doesn't say who her father is. Then Lina formed a group with childhood friends and they performed in Los Angeles clubs. Then she won a karaoke contest at the Acapulco Mexican Restaurant in Downey, CA. And that convinced her to pursue a career in music. She met Juan Lopez AKA DJ Juanito and he owns Groove Nation Records. From what I could tell, Lopez does mostly remixes. He wrote and produced Feels So Good (Show Me Your Love) and when it reached #6 on the Dance chart, Lopez sold Lina's contract to Universal to get better distribution. It reached #35 on the Billboard Hot 100. Lina was 18 years old. Lopez produced the album Feels So Good. And I think Lina would have done OK if the album was all Freestyle dance music. But Universal wanted Lina to be more of a pop singer. They even had her sing a couple of songs in Spanish. The album Feels So Good is available on CD. I tried to find the single on a various artists CD but I couldn't find one at a decent price. There were plans to record a second album. But the album was scrapped and Universal dropped Lina. Other than a couple of minor things where Lina appeared as a guest vocalist, Lina never recorded again. She doesn't even appear on Freestyle nostalgia shows. Most of those shows are based in New York or Miami and Lina lives in Los Angeles. It would cost too much to bring her in. Here's the video for Feels So Good (Show Me Your Love) by Lina Santiago. 

AccuRadio Song Of The Day-The Spotnicks

Artist:The Spotnicks

Song:Amapola

Album:Surfin' in Outer Space

Fans of instrumental guitar acts like The Ventures and The Shadows may want to check out The Spotnicks. They were very popular in their native Sweden in the early 60s. Like The Ventures, they have a big following in Japan. The Spotnicks are from Gothenburg, Sweden. They were called The Rebels when they were formed in 1956 by guitarist Bo Starander AKA Bob Lander and bassist Bjorn Thelin. When lead guitarist Bo Winberg joined in 1957, the band name was changed to Rock-Teddy and the Blue Caps. When drummer Ove Johansson joined in 1958, the band name was changed to The Frazers. After playing local clubs for a couple of years. they signed with the British label Oriole Records in 1961. The band's manager suggested the name change to The Spotnicks and that they wear space suits on stage. What a great gimmick. The Spotnicks were the first Swedish band to have international success. And I'm sure Oriole saw them as their version of The Ventures. The Spotnicks version of Orange Blossom Special was a top 30 hit in England and topped the Australian charts. Most of their success was in Europe. They released their debut album The Spotnicks in London, Out-A Space in 1962. Other hits include Rocket Man and Have Nagila which reached #13 on the British Singles  chart. The 1963 single Amapola reached #2 in Sweden. It was their biggest hit at home. Amapola was written by Spanish songwriter Joseph Lacalle. After his 1937 death, Albert Gamse (Hail to the Chief) wrote English lyrics for the song. The 1941 recording by Tommy Dorsey and his Orchestra featuring Helen O'Connell and Bob Eberly topped the charts for 14 weeks. It was popular with American soldiers during WWII. You can get Amapola on this comp from the British reissue label Jasmine. These are original recordings. Similar to The Ventures, The Spotnicks are very popular in Japan. They split up in 1970. But Winberg soon reformed them at the request of a Japanese record company. He continued to lead a version of The Spotnicks until a final 2014 tour. Winder died in 2020. Here's The Spotnicks performing Amapola in The Netherlands 1963.

Big Bad Blog Video Theater-Vanessa Demopoulos vs Emily Ducote

Here's the fight video of Vanessa Demopoulos vs Emily Ducote from last night's UFC show in Las Vegas. This fight is at Strawweight. Vanessa is 35 years old from Columbus, OH and she trains at Xtreme Couture in Las Vegas. She was fighting in LFA when she was brought into the UFC as a short notice replacement in 2001. Her UFC record is 4-2. Emily is 30 years old. She trains at American Top Team in Oklahoma City with coach Giulliano Gallupi. She went 4-4 as a Flyweight in Bellator. And the UFC brought her in after she went 2-0 as a Strawweight in Invicta. She's 2-2 in the UFC. I thought this would be a competitive fight because neither of them does enough to win fights. I expected a close fight and it was. I scored it 30-27 for Emily. I thought she was slightly ahead in all three rounds. So it did not surprise me when the judges gave Vanessa the win by split decision. And the scores were all over the place. There was no judge's consensus for any of the rounds. Vanessa has become known for lucky wins. That luck should run out when she fights better competition. Enjoy the video! 

Big Bad Blog Video Theater-Ariane Carnelossi vs Piera Rodriguez

Here's the fight video of Ariane Carnelossi vs Piera Rodriguez from last night's UFC show in Las Vegas. This fight is at Strawweight. Ariane is 31 years old from Sao Paulo, Brazil. She trains at Inside Muay Thai. She's 2-2 in the UFC. This was her first fight since 2022 so I couldn't remember what she was like. Then commentary talked about her great physique. Oh, yeah! She's the one that looks good but can't fight. Piera is 31 years old from Maracaibo, Venezuela and she trains at Lilius Barnatt Martial Arts in Panama. She got into the UFC through Contender Series and is 2-1 in the UFC. We haven't seen her since Gillian Robertson submitted her with an armbar last year. I don't think she's very good but Ariane is really bad. And Piera is cruising towards an easy win when in round two she knocks Ariane down. All she has to do is pound her and that should finish the fight. But instead Piera headbutts Ariane in the face. Ref Mark Smith warns her about it and she does it again. The fight is stopped and Ariane wins by DQ. She was taken to the hospital and she suffered a broken nose. Piera accused her of being a coward. Piera was winning the fight so it made no sense to headbutt her in the first place. She should be released. Enjoy the video! 

Big Bad Blog Video Theater-Melissa Gatto vs Tamires Vidal

Here's the fight video of Melissa Gatto vs Tamires Vidal from last night's UFC show in Las Vegas. This fight is at Bantamweight. Melissa is 28 years old from Parana, Brazil. She trains at KO Squad with former Strikeforce fighter Rafael Cavalcante. Melissa is 2-2 in the UFC. She normally fights at Flyweight. But when a recent fight was cancelled when her opponent got sick, the UFC asked Melissa to fill in at Bantamweight. Tamires is 25 years old from Niterol, Brazil. She trains at Team Brothers with coach Marcio Panda. She was in the LFA before going 1-1 in the UFC. Melissa came close to finishing Tamires with ground and pound in round one. The round was pretty close to a 10-8. Then in round two, Melissa almost finished Tamires with an armbar but she was saved by the bell. Also 10-8. Then at 37 seconds of round three. Melissa landed a punch to the chest. Tamires wanted a time out. Well, there are no time outs in MMA. And despite what some might think, that was a legal blow. So Melissa won by TKO and she can go back to Flyweight. Tamires looked awful and I wouldn't be surprised if she was released. Enjoy the video!

Big Bad Blog Video Theater-Angela Hill vs Luana Pinheiro

Here's the fight video of Angela Hill vs Luana Pinheiro from last night's UFC show in Las Vegas. This fight is at Strawweight. Angela is 39 years old. She trains at Alliance in San Diego with Eric Del Fierro. She's 11-13 in the UFC. Angela is mainly a kickboxer. And she's at an age where she might be better off in the broadcast booth. But it looks like Del Fierro may be getting through to her that there is more to MMA than kickboxing. Luana is 30 years old from Belo Horizonte, Brazil. She trains at BH Rhinos and coach Christiano Lazzarini. She got into the UFC through Contenders Series and is 3-1 in the UFC. She lost her last fight to Amanda Ribas and that indicates that she's not an elite fighter. But she is ranked #9 so that makes her a good stepping stone for Angela who is ranked #12. Round one is uneventful but I thought Angela got the better of the striking exchanges so I scored it 10-9 for Angela. In round two, Angela did something that she has never done before. She went for a guillotine and got a finish after mounting Luana. Not only did Angela get the win but she got a $50,000 bonus. Of course this means going up in the rankings meaning tougher opponents. And of course there is also the element of surprise. Who expects Angela to go for a guillotine? You can be sure that future opponents will prepare for that. I think Luana was ranked too high anyway. So Angela Hill's future should be very interesting. Enjoy the video!  

AccuRadio Song Of The Day-Koryn Hawthorne

Artist:Koryn Hawthorne f/Lecrae

Song:Unstoppable

Album:Unstoppable

After finishing fourth in season eight of The Voice, Koryn Hawthorne signed with RCA Inspiration and so far has been very successful as a gospel singer. She was born Dec. 26, 1997 in Abbeville, LA. Her father is a minister so of course she grew up singing in church. She was 15 years old when she auditioned for The Voice. Ultimately she finished fourth and then she signed with RCA Inspiration. Then she appeared on the WE tv reality series Mary Mary which is of course about gospel singers Erica and Tina Campbell. Erica is married to record producer Warryn "Babydubb" Campbell and he produced Koryn's 2017 EP and her 2018 album Unstoppable. His co-producer was Anthony "Kid Class" Wyley who has worked with Raheem DeVaughn. The singles Won't He Do It and Unstoppable did very well on the Gospel chart. She was nominated for Grammys, Stellars, GMA Doves and Billboard awards. The album did well enough that for the 2020 album I Am, RCA Inspiration allowed Koryn to write and produce. She has a writing credit on most of the songs. Her co-producer Darhyl "DJ" Camper has worked with John Legend and Mary J. Blige among others. And on her new album Oh God, Koryn's co-producer is Jeremiah "Sickpen" Bethea who has worked with K. Michelle and Alicia Keys. So Koryn Hawthorne has a bright future in gospel music. Here's the video for Unstoppable by Koryn Hawthorne featuring Lecrae..

  

AccuRadio Song Of The Day-Albertina Walker

Artist:Albertina Walker

Song:I Can Go to God in Prayer

Album:The Best of Albertina Walker

Albertina Walker was known as The Queen of Gospel Music. She was a founder of the legendary gospel group The Caravans. And after they split up in 1977, Albertina recorded usually with a choir as on this recording. What she and a lot of gospel artists did was guest appearances with church choirs. She was born Aug. 29, 1929 in Chicago. Her parents were from Georgia. Albertina was one of nine children. She grew up singing in the youth choir at West Point Baptist Church and she was in the gospel groups The Pete Williams Singers, The Willie Webb Singers and The Robert Anderson Singers. Albertina was close friends with gospel music legend Mahalia Jackson. Albertina toured with Mahalia as a teen. Mahalia told her "Girl, you need to go sing by yourself." So she formed The Caravans in 1951. The Caravans were an offshoot of The Robert Andrews Singers. Albertina is the only one who remained from that period. She brought in other singers, most notably Shirley Caesar and Dorothy Norwood. When The Caravans disbanded in 1977, Albertina signed with Savoy Records. Though she recorded some studio albums, Albertina frequently recorded live with a choir. I Can Go to God in Prayer is from the 1981 album I Can Go to God in Prayer with The Evangelical Choir of the Lighthouse Baptist Church. This choir only recorded a couple of albums in the early 80s. This budget comp is a good intro to Albertina's music. Albertina reunited The Caravans for a 2006 album. Albertina appeared in the 1992 film Leap of Faith. She continued to tour and occasionally record until her death on Oct. 8, 2010 at age 81. Here's Albertina Walker performing I Can Go to God in Prayer in the 1990 TV Special Going Home to Gospel. Patti LaBelle hosted this show and Ricky Dillard was the choir director.

 

AccuRadio Song Of The Day-The-Dream

Artist:The-Dream f/Fabolous

Song:Shawty Is Da S*it!

Album:Love/Hate

Terius "The-Dream" Nash is mainly a top shelf R&B and hip hop songwriter and producer. But in 2007 he scored a top 20 pop hit with the single Shawty Is Da S*it!. It was retitled Shawty Is A Ten so radio stations and MTV would play it. In recent years he has concentrated on production. Nash was born Sept. 20, 1977 in Rockingham, NC but he grew up in Atlanta. He learned music in elementary school. He started writing songs after his mother died in 1992. After Nash wrote the song Everything for B2K's 2002 album Pandemonium, producer Laney Stewart got him a publishing deal. That's when he started calling himself The-Dream. After he co-wrote the 2003 Britney Spears hit Me Against the Music, Nash wrote and produced Nivea's 2005 album Complicated with Laney Stewart's producer brother Christopher "Tricky" Stewart. And that led to them writing and producing Rihanna's 2007 monster hit Umbrella. And then Nash got a record deal with DefJam. Nash wrote and produced the 2007 Love/Hate with Stewart and Carlos "L.O.S." McKinney. The album was certified Gold. The single Love Is Da S*it! reached #17 on the Billboard Hot 100 and #6 on the R&B Singles chart. This album is available as a digital download. Nash's 2009 album Love vs Money did reasonably well. But there were no hit singles. Meanwhile Nash wrote and produced Beyonce's 2008 monster hit Single Ladies along with Touch My Body by Mariah Carey. When Nash released the 2010 album Love King, he announced it would be his final solo album. Why do these guys say stuff like that? The album didn't do as well as the first two. It was also Nash's final production with Christopher "Tricky" Stewart. Apparently after Nash recorded the 2011 album 1977, DefJam was unhappy with it and made changes to it. And that led to Nash leaving DefJam. Nash currently records for his own label with distribution by LA Reid's label Hitco. Nash still writes and produces for others. But other than Beyonce, he isn't very successful. Maybe he's not as talented without Christopher "Tricky" Stewart. Here's the video for Shawty Is A Ten by The-Dream featuring Fabolous. 

AccuRadio Song Of The Day-Shooglenifty

Artist:Shooglenifty

Song:The Tammienorrie

Album:Venus in Tweeds

The Scottish band Shooglenifty plays a mix of traditional Celtic music and contemporary music called Celtic Fusion. A good reference point for Celtic Fusion is Afro Celt Sound System, a band Shooglenifty has worked with. The 1990 formation of Shooglenifty came out of the ashes of the band Swamptrash. Swamptrash released one 1987 album and split up in 1990. Most of Swamptrash including fiddler Angus R. Grant formed a new band. They couldn't use the name Swamptrash so the band was called Shooglenifty. I don't know what that means. Grant was the band leader along with former House Band mandolinist Iain MacLeod. Those two wrote all the songs. Shooglenifty does not record traditional music. The other members of Shooglenifty were all members of Swamptrash including Garry Finlayson on banjo, Malcolm Crosbie on guitar, Conrad Ivitsky on bass and James Mackintosh on drums. The Tammienorrie is from their 1994 debut album Venus in Tweeds on the Scottish label Greentrax. The album was produced by Greentrax house producer Jim Sutherland. MacLeod wrote The Tammienorrie. Shooglenifty got international attention when they appeared on the 1996 Afro Celt Sound System album Volume 1: Sound Magic. Shooglenifty was picked up in the US by the roots music label Compass. And they have been touring internationally ever since. As you will see in the video, they are very energetic and you don't have to be a Celtic music fan to enjoy them. Shooglenifty has recorded for their own label since 2005. Sadly, Angus R. Grant died in 2016. Instead of ending the band, the remainder of Shooglenifty minus MacLeod decided to continue and former Poozies fiddler Eilidh Shaw replaced Grant and Ewan MacPherson replaced MacLeod. So obviously it's a different band now. Buyer beware. Here's Shooglenifty performing The Tammienorrie at the 2007 Cambridge Folk Festival.

 

AccuRadio Song Of The Day-Baaba Maal

Artist:Baaba Maal

Song:Jamma Jengii

Album:Palm World Voices

Senegalese singer songwriter Baaba Maal has recording since the 90s. You may be familiar with his contributions to the 2018 film Black Panther. He sings in the Senegalese language Pulaar. He was born June 13, 1953 in Podor, Senegal. In the Senegalese tradition, Maal was supposed to be a fisherman like his father. But he learned music from his mother and studied at the Conservatoire de Paris in France. Maal's big influence was blind singer Mansour Seck. And they started touring and recording together in the 80s. For his entire career, Maal has recorded for Island Records founder Chris Blackwell. He first recorded in 1991 for Island's Mango label. Then when Blackwell sold Island to Universal, Maal signed with Blackwell's new label Palm Pictures. Jamma Jengii is from Maal's 2001 album Missing You (Mi Yeewni). Maal writes and produces all his music. This album was produced by veteran Abbey Road Studios recording engineer John Leckie. You can get it on this CD/DVD comp. This has a CD plus a DVD with live performances and a documentary. Maal is best known for working on Ludwig Goransson's score for the 2018 film Black Panther. Maal brought African musicians in to work on the score. Obviously he added a lot to the film. He also worked on the 2022 sequel Black Panther: Wakanda Forever. Maal's latest album Being was released in 2023. And he's making his first London appearance in 20 years on May 30. Here's Baaba Maal performing Jamma Jengii on Later with Jools Holland.

 

Big Bad Blog Video Theater-IYO SKY vs Shayna Baszler

Here's the match video of IYO SKY vs Shayna Baszler from last night's WWE RAW. This is a quarter final match in the Queen of the Ring tournament. These two know each other very well going back to STARDOM so they have great chemistry. But anyone who thought Shayna had any hope of winning this match is delusional. And that's because most of the chemistry I am talking about is generated by IYO. She can have a great match with anyone. Technically, Shayna is a fine wrestler but she lacks charisma and she lacks the ability to have a great match with anyone. So the quality of her matches depends a lot on the opponent. The match was very competitive. Shayna did some of her usual offense and IYO sold it like she was getting killed. IYO came back with some very creative moves including a missed moonsault that she turned into a majistral cradle. That was a new move. Of course IYO won with her trademark moonsault. Later on, Lyra Valkyria won her match with Zoey Stark. So next week IYO will face Lyra. Afterwards, Shayna and Zoey did interviews saying that they need to make changes. Not sure what that means. But both are charisma vacuums. So I don't know what can be done about that. Enjoy the video! 

AccuRadio Song Of The Day-The Perrys

Artist:The Perrys

Song:It Carried Him

Album:Testament

The Southern Gospel group The Perrys have been around since the 70s. It Carried Him is from the 2017 album Testament. As is common with this kind of music, the personnel has turned over several times since they were formed in Dawsonville, GA in the early 70s by siblings Randy, Debbi and Libbi Perry. By the time they first recorded in the 80s, Libbi's husband Tracy Stuffle was added to sing bass. After David Perry left in 1994, the changes became more frequent. They went through several guys until Joseph Habedank joined in 2004. By this time The Perrys were on Daywind Records. A lot of Southern Gospel acts record for Daywind. By the time they switched to Stowtown Records in 2014, Libbi Perry Stuffle was the only original member of The Perrys. The other members are her husband Tracy Stuffle, their son Jared Stuffle, Troy Peach who joined in 2009 and new lead singer Andrew Goldman. Shouldn't the name be changed to The Stuffles? Never mind. Stowtown is owned by Wayne Haun so he writes and produces everything on Stowtown. He's not looking for huge sales figures. He's just looking for consistency so the faithful continue to buy the music. At least there is a music video for It Carried Him. You don't see many music videos in Southern Gospel. Tracy Stuffle died in 2018. Jared Stuffle has taken over as bass singer. Dayton Gay and Jason Gordon are new members. Libbi Perry Stuffle is still the remaining original member of The Perrys. They are on tour and they released their latest album in 2022. I'm not a fan of current Southern Gospel. Most of the groups look and sound the same. Even the album covers look similar. But that's what Southern Gospel fans want. Here's the video for It Carried Him by The Perrys.

 

AccuRadio Song Of The Day-Jason Derulo

Artist:Jason Derulo

Song:Want to Want Me

Album:Platinum Hits

R&B singer songwriter Jason Derulo scored a string of hits starting in 2009 until Want to Want Me was a top five hit in 2015. He continued to release singles. An album he was working on was cancelled due to his departure from Warner Bros. He was born Jason Desrouleaux Sept. 21, 1989 in Miramar, FL. His parents are Haitian immigrants. Derulo started singing as a child and started writing songs at age eight. He wrote the song Bossy for New Orleans rapper Birdman and appeared on the record. Derulo was writing songs and performing when he won the grand prize on the finale of the 2006 season of Showtime at the Apollo. He signed with Beluga Heights Records with Warner Bros. distribution. Derulo's 2009 debut single Whatcha Say topped the charts and it took off from there. His 2010 album Jason Derulo was certified Platinum. Derulo continued to have success, Want to Want Me was the first single from the 2015 album Everything Is 4. It reached #5 with the Billboard Hot 100. As with all his songs, Derulo wrote and produced with a producer. In this case it was Ian Kirkpatrick who has had success working with Dua Lipa. Warner Bros. released this comp in 2016. Derulo continued to release singles like the 2019 #1 hit Savage Love. He was planning a new album 2Sides but negotiations with Warner Bros. broke down and he left in 2020. He signed with Atlantic and released the album Nu King Feb. 2024. So it looks like he is back on track. Here's the video for Want to Want Me by Jason Derulo. 

Big Bad Blog Video Theater-Veronica Hardy vs J.J. Aldrich

Here's the fight video of Veronica Hardy vs J.J. Aldrich from last night's UFC show in St. Louis. This fight is at Flyweight. Veronica is 28 years old from Venezuela. She trains in England with husband Dan Hardy. Her UFC record is 3-4 but she won her last two fights. J.J. is 31 years old. She trains at 303 Training Center in Denver. Her UFC record is 9-5. She also won her last two fights. Like the other woman's fight on this show, this fight was evenly matched with two ineffective fighters. I scored the first two rounds 10-9 for Veronica and the third round 10-9 for J.J. J.J. scored a knockdown in round three and she got top position. And she still didn't go for a finish. It's like she is preconditioned to lack aggression. The judges scored it the same and Veronica won 29-28. Enjoy the video! 

Big Bad Blog Video Theater-Tabatha Ricci vs Tecia Pennington

Here's the fight video of Tabatha Ricci vs Tecia Pennington from last night's UFC show in St. Louis. This fight is at Strawweight. Tabatha is 29 years old from Sao Paulo, Brazil. She owns her own private gym in Los Angeles with boxer boyfriend Callum Keith Walsh. Her UFC record is 4-2. Tecia is 34 years old. Of course she is married to UFC Bantamweight Champion Raquel Pennington and they train together in Colorado Springs, CO. Tecia is 9-6 in the UFC. She has been off since 2022 on pregnancy leave. I thought this fight was very evenly matched as both fighters are equally ineffective. Tecia throws plenty of punches but most of them miss. She's always been like that. Tabatha is very similar. She's supposed to have a decent ground game but doesn't. They both move quickly but neither does enough to win fights. I scored round one 10-9 for Tabatha mostly for a last second takedown. Round two was funny because Tabatha kept trying to take Tecia down on the fence but Tecia defended well. But you don't get scoring credit for defense. So I scored it 10-9 for Tabatha for cage control. Ecch!. I wanted to score it 9-9 for both being ineffective. Tecia won round three 10-9. But I thought she lost the first two rounds so she needed a finish. So I scored the fight 29-28 for Tabatha though I thought the fight was a draw. The result of this fright was going to depend on how the judges score round two. Two of the judges scored it for Tabatha and the third scored it for Tecia. So Tabatha won by split decision. It could have just as easily gone the other way and that would have been fine. Neither fighter is very good. Enjoy the video! 

AccuRadio Song Of The Day-Donnie Brooks

Artist:Donnie Brooks

Song:Mission Bell

Album:70 Ounces of Gold: Classic Gold

The 1960 top ten hit Mission Bell was the only big hit for Donnie Brooks. A couple of his other singles charted so he is not technically a one hit wonder. But it's his only memorable song. It's a popular wedding song. Brooks has a long history in the music business in Los Angeles. He was born John Dee Abohosh Feb. 6, 1936 in Dallas. When he moved with his family to Ventura, CA, he took his stepfather's surname and was named John Faircloth. After graduating high school, Brooks started performing at local clubs. He was very good friends with rockabilly legend Dorsey Burnette. Burnette gave him the song Bertha Lou which he recorded as Johnny Faire on Surf Records in 1958. Though it was not a hit at the time, it is now considered a lost rockabilly classic and Brooks is in the Rockabilly Hall of Fame. After recording as Johnny Jordan for Jolt Records, he recorded a couple of singles for Era Records as Dick Bush. Era owners Herb Newman and Lew Bidell liked him enough to keep him around and change his name to Donnie Brooks. Mission Bell was the fourth single in 1960. It reached #7 on the Billboard Hot 100. This was another song that Dorsey Burnette gave to Brooks. It was written by Burnette's friends William Michael and Jesse Hodges. Danny Gould arranged and conducted. You can get Mission Bell on this various artists budget comp. The Brooks album The Happiest was released in 1961. After leaving Era in 1962, Brooks recorded for Reprise and Challenge. Brooks appeared in the 1964 film Get Yourself a College Girl. And he sang the theme of the TV series George of the Jungle. He played the oldies circuit for years until he died on Feb. 23, 2007 at age 71. Here's Donnie Brooks performing Mission Bell on a 1965 episode of Hollywood-A-Go-Go.

 

AccuRadio Song Of The Day-Payola$

Artist:Payola$

Song:Eyes of a Stranger

Album:Between a Rock & a Hyde Place: The Best of Payola$

The 1982 single Eyes of a Stranger was the biggest hit for the Canadian band Payola$. They were mostly successful at home. Of course the band name is a reference to the payola scandal in the music business. At first they were called The Payolas. But when a record executive objected to the name, it was changed to Payola$. Maybe they just should have called themselves something else. Payola$ lead singer Paul Hyde was born in Yorkshire, England but his family moved to Victoria, B.C. when he was a teen. Bob Rock was born in Winnipeg but his family moved to Victoria and the two became friends in high school. Hyde was a big music fan and they played local clubs as Paul Kane Blues Band. When Rock landed a job as an apprentice recording engineer at Little Mountain Sound in Vancouver, he became familiar with the local punk music scene. And that's when Payola$ was formed. Hyde and Rock wrote all the songs. So other band members were disposable. They released a 1979 single and that got them a record deal with A&M Records in Canada. When Payola$' 1981 debut album In a Place Like This didn't do well, A&M brought in David Bowie's guitarist Mick Ronson to produce. The single Eyes of a Stranger reached #4 on the RPM chart. So now they are getting somewhere. But when Payola$ were presented to the US parent company, they wanted a name change. That's when Rock added the $. They should have changed the name as US radio stations were never going to play a band with the name Payola$. Ronson also produced the 1983 album Hammer on a Drum which produced the single Never Said I Love You featuring Rough Trade lead singer Carole Pope. It reached #8 on the RPM chart. When the 1985 David Foster produced album Here's the World for Ya didn't produce any hits, A&M dropped Payola$. For the 1988 album Under the Volcano, the band name was changed to Rock and Hyde. It was released on Capitol. It did well enough that A&M released this comp of Payola$ recordings which is available as a digital download. After that, Rock decided to concentrate on becoming a record producer. He has had a very successful career. Hyde has recorded solo and Payola$ has reunited occasionally. They even released an EP in 2007. That was the end of Payola$. If only they had changed their name when asked by A&M. Here's the video for Eyes of a Stranger by Payola$.

 

AccuRadio Song Of The Day-Liza Minnelli

Artist:Liza Minnelli

Song:Mein Herr

Album:Cabaret: Music from the Original Soundtrack Recording

Of course Liza Minnelli grew up in the entertainment business. She's been acting since she was a child. She's done all kinds of things. But I think most would agree that winning an Oscar for her performance in the 1972 film Cabaret is her greatest accomplishment. She was born Mar. 12, 1946 in Los Angeles. Judy Garland and director Vincente Minnelli are her parents. She was named after the Gershwin song Liza (All the Clouds'll Roll Away). Liza made her film debut with her mom in the 1949 film In the Good Old Summertime. Liza attended the High School of the Performing Arts in New York City and then Chadwick School in Los Angeles. Liza started out in regional theater. She appeared in the 1963 revival of Best Foot Forward. She performed with her mom at the London Palladium and that was released as an album. Then she won her first Tony for the 1965 musical Fiona the Red Menace. Liza toured as a nightclub singer and recorded three albums for Capitol Records. These were mostly showtunes. When Liza moved to A&M in 1968, an attempt was made to give Liza a more contemporary sound by sending her to Muscle Shoals to record the 1970 album New Feelin'. But it didn't work. Liza made her first big splash when she was nominated for a Best Actress Oscar for the 1969 film The Sterile Cuckoo. And that's when she got the role of Sally Bowles in the Bob Fosse's 1972 film of the Broadway musical Cabaret. Liza won an Oscar for her performance. I think most would agree that was the pinnacle of her career. You can get the soundtrack as a budget CD. Liza's film career stalled when she appeared in three straight flops in the late 70s including the 1978 film New York, New York. Liza still appears in films, TV and stage. But I get the impression that she really wanted to be a successful pop singer and it never worked out. Of course she's not really a pop singer. She's a musical theater performer. She seems to be semi retired at this point. Here's Liza Minnelli performing Mein Herr in the 1972 film Cabaret.

  

AccuRadio Song Of The Day-Lorraine Ellison

Artist:Lorraine Ellison

Song:Stay with Me

Album:Stay with Me: The Best of Lorraine Ellison

The 1966 single Stay with Me was Lorraine Ellison's only big hit. When folks hear it today, they can't believe it wasn't a bigger hit and that Lorraine wasn't a superstar. I will attempt to explain the reasons for that. Lorraine was born Mar. 17, 1931 in Philadelphia. She started out in her family gospel group The Ellison Singers followed by The Golden Chords. After The Golden Chords made a high profile music festival appearance in Spain, Lorraine released a couple of singles for Mercury Records. The 1965 single I Dig You Baby reached #22 on the R&B Singles chart. Lorraine wrote that song with producer Dennis Lambert who would go on to great success in the 70s with partner Brian Potter. Mercury chose not to keep Lorraine and she signed with Warner Bros. The success of I Dig You Baby should have given Warners a clue about how to handle Lorraine. Just pair her with a top producer and they can write songs together. Well, they did the first part by bringing in Jerry Ragavoy to produce. He wrote Time Is On My Side for Irma Thomas and The Rolling Stones scored a big hit with it. Then he wrote A Piece of My Heart for Erma Franklin and Janis Joplin scored a hit with it. Instead they stupidly had her record standards with Oliver Nelson conducting the orchestra. I guess they were aiming at an older audience. The Ragavoy song Stay with Me was only recorded because Frank Sinatra didn't show up for a recording session. With Nelson and the orchestra in the studio, Warners asked Ragavoy and Lorraine to fill in. Then Stay with Me reached #11 on the R&B Singles chart and #64 on the Billboard Hot 100. Other singles from the 1966 album Heart & Soul went nowhere. Warners corrected this mistake with the 1969 album Stay with Me by giving Ragavoy more control. But it was too late. The album was not successful. She also released a third unsuccessful album in 1974. Stay with Me was rediscovered when Bette Midler performed it in the 1979 film The Rose. And since then Lorraine's recording has gained a cult following asking what happened. I think I explained it. Warners messed up. This comp from Ichiban has Lorraine's first two Warners albums plus odds and ends like a song Lorraine recorded for the 1970 film The Landlord. I Dig You Baby is not on this album. Lorraine never recorded again though she had some success as a songwriter. She retired from the music business and died from ovarian cancer on Jan. 31, 1983 at age 51. Here's a video for Stay with Me by Lorraine Ellison.

  

AccuRadio Song Of The Day-LeAnn Rimes

Artist:LeAnn Rimes

Song:Can't Fight the Moonlight

Album:Greatest Hits

The big question about LeAnn Rimes is she country or pop. When she crossed over to pop with the 1997 single How Do I Live, that answered the question. The 2000 single Can't Fight the Moonlight was her second biggest hit and even more pop than How Do I Live. It's from the 2000 film Coyote Ugly so that means it's also a discography orphan. How Do I Live was written by Diane Warren for the 1997 film Con Air. After LeAnn recorded the song, Disney decided she was too young to sing it and brought in Trisha Yearwood to record it. BTW, neither version appeared on the soundtrack album. Diane asked Curb Records owner Mike Curb to release LeAnn's version. Both versions were successful. At the time, LeAnn was getting into acting and she signed to appear in the 2000 film Coyote Ugly. She had moved to Los Angeles with her mother and split with her father. The film was about sexy girls hanging out in a bar. Piper Perabo played the lead character Violet, an aspiring songwriter. LeAnn played herself. Though Piper could sing, it was decided that LeAnn would sing all the original songs. That turned out to be a great decision as the Coyote Ugly soundtrack was certified 4XPlatinum. The single Can't Fight the Moonlight reached #11 on the Billboard Hot 100. The problem with the soundtrack album is other than the four original songs by LeAnn, it's all previously released filler. That's when it became a discography orphan. Curb released Can't Fight the Moonlight as a single. Then they decided not to include it in the 2001 comp I Need You. They finally got it straight when the song was included on this 2003 Greatest Hits comp which is available as a budget comp. Can't Fight the Moonlight has turned out to be LeAnn's final big hit. She's still around but her recent albums have been religious. She was more successful as a teenager. Here's the video for Can't Fight the moonlight by LeAnn Rimes.

 

Big Bad Blog Video Theater-Iyo Sky vs Natalya

Here's the match video of Iyo Sky vs Natalya from last night's episode of RAW. This was a first round match in The Queen of the Ring tournament. Asuka was supposed to be in a match on this show. But she hurt her knee before WrestleMania. And now that the Kabuki Warriors have lost the tag titles, she was pulled from the show and I assume she will get an MRI. Hopefully it's not serious. This match went about as expected. It was competitive but there's no way Nattie should beat Iyo. I think Nattie was very happy to have a match with Iyo. Iyo wanted it to look like Nattie could win though no one expected it. The tournament matches on last night's show were a mixed bag. And they had to move two matches to weekend house shows. I was wondering how they were going to handle the number of matches. Most fans thought they would do really short matches. Enjoy the video! 

AccuRadio Song Of The Day-The Skyliners

Artist:The Skyliners

Song:Since I Don't Have You

Album:Capital Gold: Rock 'n' Roll Legends

The 1959 single Since I Don't Have You was a top 20 hit for The Skyliners. Some of their other songs charted but this was their only memorable song. It's still very popular on oldies radio. The Skyliners were from Pittsburgh led by Jimmy Beaumont along with Janet Vogel, Wally Lester, Jackie Taylor and Joe Verscharen. They were a merger of the groups The Crescents and The El Rios. They signed with the local label Calico owned by Lou Guarino and Lenny Martin. The Skyliners wrote Since I Don't Have You with their manager Joe Rock. Martin produced and led the orchestra. The record reached #12 on the Billboard Hot 100 and #3 on the R&B Singles chart. After a couple of their other singles charted, Calico sold The Skyliners contract to the Columbia Pictures owned Colpix label. The Skyliners didn't have the same success over there probably because they worked with different producers. But it doesn't change that Since I Don't Have You is a classic oldie and you can get it on this 2CD various artists budget comp that is part of Virgin Records' Capital series. The most notable covers of Since I Don't Have You were by Chuck Jackson in 1964 and Don McLean in 1981. After things didn't work out for The Skyliners at Colpix, Jimmy Beaumont recorded several singles that went nowhere. And like many groups of this era, Beaumont led a version of The Skyliners on the oldies circuit until his 2017 death. Here's The Skyliners performing Since I Don't Have You on The Dick Clark Show 1959. I don't know why they are wearing cowboy costumes.

 

AccuRadio Song Of The Day-Ralph Fiennes

Artist:Ralph Fiennes f/Amick Byram

Song:The Plagues

Album:The Prince of Egypt: Music from the Original Motion Picture

Of course Ralph Fiennes is a British actor best known for his roles in Schindler's List and The English Patient. His appearance in the 1998 animated film The Prince of Egypt is to date his only singing appearance in anything. And he only sings a couple of lines. Amick Byram does most of the singing. Anyone familiar with this blog knows I love doing oddball stuff like this. Fiennes was born Dec. 22, 1962 in Ipswich, Suffolk, England. His brother is actor Joseph Fiennes. His family moved to Ireland in 1973. He studied at the Royal Academy of Dramatic Art. He started out on stage with the Royal Shakespeare Company, made his TV debut in 1990 and then his film debut in the 1992 film Emily Bronte's Wuthering Heights. Fiennes became an international star in Steven Spielberg's 1993 film Schindler's List. He was nominated for an Oscar and won a BAFTA award. He was nominated for another Oscar for his performance in the 1996 film The English Patient. And that's when he was cast as Rameses in the 1998 animated film The Prince of Egypt. The thing to keep in mind about this film is that DreamWorks Pictures co-founder Jeffrey Katzenberg had wanted to do a biblical animated film for a long time. So he had lofty aspirations for The Prince of Egypt. And that included hiring celebrities like Ralph Fiennes to do the voices. Most of them couldn't sing. So Val Kilmer was the voice of Moses and Amick Byram provided the singing voice. So why wasn't this done for Fiennes? Probably because he was singing one line in one song and Byram sang the rest of the song. It turns out that this is Fiennes' only time singing in anything. I checked everything and he has done spoken word recordings and appeared in other animated films. But no singing. The Prince of Egypt soundtrack is available as a budget CD. Fiennes still appears in films and on stage. He recently starred in a British touring production of Macbeth. Here's Ralph Fiennes featuring Amick Byram performing The Plague from the 1998 film The Prince of Egypt.