Welcome to Frank Pozen's Big Bad Blog. A lot of folks have been asking me to update them about my recovery. So I thought I would start a blog primarily to do that but also to talk about other topics of interest including the wrestling business and whatever else I can think of. I plan to update this on a regular basis so check back and leave a comment if you wish.
Fans of African music are going to want to check out Tamikrest. They mix traditional African music with Western influences. They were formed in 2006 in Kidal, Mali. The leader and main songwriter of Tamikrest is Ousmane Ag Mossa. They are similar to another Malian band Tinariwen except Tamikrest has incorporated Western music. Tamikrest was formed out of the civil war in Mali. Tauregs were fighting for equality and Ag Mossa and his friend Cheick Ag Tiglia decided to fight with music. Ag Mossa played guitar as a child. When Tamikrest were invited to perform at the 2008 Festival au Desert in Mali, they met the Australian band Dirtmusic and they agreed to help Tamikrest. Chris Eckman of Dirtmusic produced Tamikrest's 2010 debut album Adagh and got them a record deal with the German label Glitterhouse. Tamikrest toured Europe with Dirtmusic. Tamikrest has recorded six albums. As Sastman Hidjan is from their latest album Tamotait released in 2020. It looks to me like Ag Mossa has moved to France and French musicians Paul Salvagnac on bass and Nicolas Grupp on drums are band members. The album producer is David Odlum from Ireland. They are probably due for a new album but they have been playing shows in Europe. I recommend Tamikrest to African music fans. Here's Tamikrest performing As Sastman Hidjan at Seattle radio station KEXP May 31, 2023.
Album:Highlights from Crescent City Soul: The Sound of New Orleans 1947-1974
I'm sure long time music fans are familiar with General Johnson as lead singer of the soul group Chairmen of the Board and their 1970 smash hit Give Me Just a Little More Time. But before that he was leader of The Showmen and they charted twice with the 1961 single It Will Stand. Today it's considered to be a Beach Music classic. The Showmen were from Norfolk, VA. Johnson was lead singer and songwriter. Other members were Milton Wells, Dorsey Knight, Gene Knight and Leslie Fenton. They all grew up singing in church. Obviously influenced by early 50s R&B, Johnson formed The Humdingers in 1953 when he was 12 years old. In the late 50s, their manager sent a demo to Minit Records owner Joe Banashak and he brought them to New Orleans to record with Minit house producer Allen Toussaint. The group name was changed to The Showmen. They recorded a bunch of songs and the first single I Will Stand reached #61 on the Billboard Hot 100 in 1961. After Banashak sold Minit to Imperial Records in 1963, Imperial re-released It Will Stand in 1964 and it reached #80 on the Billboard Hot 100. Johnson wrote It Will Stand and most of the group's songs. You can get It Will Stand on this highlights CD from the EMI box set Crescent City Soul. So Beach Music is the music of the Carolinas and Virginia. And The Showmen are popular Beach Music icons. The Showmen continued to release singles on various labels until Johnson left in 1968 and started Chairmen of the Board. Of course he had his greatest success with them while a version of The Showmen continue to perform today. Here's a video for It Will Stand by The Showmen.
The 2019 song I Don't Have Much became a big sensation with the P&W crowd when Mission House was able to get Josh Baldwin of the very popular P&W group Bethel Music to appear on the record. Mission House is from Raleigh, NC led by Jess Ray and Taylor Leonhardt. The two met at a worship gathering and they started writing songs together. They claim that the chorus for I Don't Have Much was blurted out spontaneously by Taylor at the end of a show and the rest of the song was written in the recording studio. The P&W label Integrity Music suggested bringing in Bethel Music lead singer Josh Baldwin and the record caused a commotion in P&W circles. The Mission House album is available as a budget CD. Since then Mission House has released a few singles on their own label. But they haven't released anything that has the same effect on the P&W faithful. So I think Baldwin is the star here and if you're into P&W, you probably already listen to Bethel Music. But this song is not available on a Bethel Music album. Here's the video for I Don't Have Much by Mission House featuring Josh Baldwin.
The 2023 single Kill Bill was the first #1 hit for R&B singer songwriter SZA. She has a new album coming soon. She was born Solana Imani Rowe Nov. 8, 1989 in St. Louis and she grew up in Maplewood, NJ. Her father worked at CNN and her mother worked at AT&T. He's Muslim and so is SZA. That name is obviously a tribute to rapper RZA from the hip hop group Wu Tang Clan. SZA's boyfriend was at the 2011 CMJ New Music Report when he gave her demo to New Dawg Entertainment president Terrance "Punch" Henderson. After she released a couple of EPs online, New Dawg signed SZA in 2013. She released another EP and the single Child's Play featuring Chance the Rapper was certified Gold though it didn't chart. So obviously SZA is making progress online. She also wrote songs for Beyonce and Rihanna. RCA agrees to distribute SZA 2017 debut album Ctrl. The album was certified 3XPlatinum again mostly through online sales. Radio finally was catching up when the single The Weekend reached #29 on the Billboard Hot 100. She also appeared on the 2017 Maroon 5 single What Lovers Do reached #9 on the Billboard Hot 100. SZA was nominated for a Best New Artist Grammy and Ctrl was nominated for five Grammys. So they need to get working on a new album. Strike while the iron is hot. The problem is fans on the internet kept bugging SZA about when the new album would be released. And instead of just telling them to be patient, she would say "Ask Punch" blaming Henderson and RCA for the delay. Meanwhile, the single All the Stars featuring Kendrick Lamar from the soundtrack of the 2018 film Black Panther reached #7 on the Billboard Hot 100. When the single Good Days was released in advance of the album SOS, it reached #9 on the Billboard Hot 100. Finally the album was released. There were several hits from the album. But Kill Bill was SZA first #1 single. I'm sure it was worth the wait. The album was certified 3XPlatinum. Obviously Kill Bill was Quentin Tarantino influenced. SZA wrote that and most of the other songs. The main producer on the album was Carter Lang who also worked on the first album. He brought in Rob Bisel and they produced about half the album. Guest producers included Babyface, Benny Blanco and Rodney "Darkchild" Jerkins. So now she has a new album called Lana coming later this year. The single Saturn was released in February and it reached #6 on the Billboard Hot 100. It was produced by Lang and Sisel just like her previous albums. The only problem is SZA still has an adversarial relationship with Henderson. So that could delay the release but I understand his concern. He's just trying to release the best album possible and a little caution can be a good thing. Here's the video for Kill Bill by SZA.
Blues rocker ZZ Ward had success in the Adult Alternative market with her 2012 debut album Til the Casket Drops. Then she didn't release her second album until 2017. As I always say, that's way too long a gap. Fans will forget about you. Not surprisingly, the album was unsuccessful and ZZ now records for her own label. She was born Zsuzsanna Ward June 2, 1986 in Abingdon, PA but she grew up in Roseberg, OR. She is named after her Hungarian Jewish grandmother. The name is a Hungarian variation of the Hebrew name Shoshanna. She grew up listening to her father's blues record collection and sang in his band as a teen. After moving to Los Angeles, ZZ signed with E. Kidd Bogart's Boardwalk Entertainment Group and he got her a record deal with the Disney owned label Hollywood Records. Bogart is the son of Casablanca Records owner Neil Bogart. The two married in 2017 and ZZ just gave birth to their second child. After releasing the EP Criminal and the free mixtape Eleven Roses, they went to work on her 2012 album Til the Casket Drops. Eleven Roses was covers of hip hop songs. The singles from Criminal charted in Adult Alternative. My guess is Hollywood wanted ZZ to take a more commercial approach and ZZ wanted to stick to blues rock. So they compromised and brought in Theron "Neff-U" Feemster to produce. He has worked with Eminem among others. Feemster produced about half the album including the single Put the Gun Down. Several other songs on the album including 365 Days were produced by JT Keller and Richard Parry AKA the production duo Blended Babies. They had previously worked with Kid Cudi. The album did OK but probably not well enough for Hollywood considering they had ZZ perform on several TV shows and they placed two songs on the TV show Pretty Little Liars. And the album was critically acclaimed. But Hollywood wanted hit singles. I agree that ZZ's music is not commercial and probably more suited for Alligator or Rounder. But Hollywood knew that when they signed her. I guess they thought they could talk ZZ into compromising her music. And remember she had Bogart on her side. So they didn't spend much money promoting the 2017 album The Storm and it did not do as well as the first album. After Hollywood released a couple of singles from a proposed third album, ZZ Ward left Hollywood Records. She released the 2023 album Dirty Shine on her own label. And now that she has given birth to her second child, ZZ Ward is starting a tour on July 19. Check her out if she's coming your way. Here's the video for 365 Days by ZZ Ward.
Album:Bill & Gloria Gaither present Homecoming Picnic with Their Homecoming Friends
Bill Gaither is probably the most successful gospel artist in the world. He started out in Southern Gospel but today he produces plenty of music and TV shows with numerous guest singers known as Homecoming Friends. He doesn't try to market outside his loyal followers. But he doesn't need to as he produces everything himself. He was born Mar. 28, 1936 in Alexandria, IN. He formed his first group The Bill Gaither Trio in 1956 while attending Anderson College. The other two members were his brother Danny and sister Mary Ann. After graduating in 1959 with a major in English and a minor in music, he taught English for a while before marrying Gloria Sickal in 1962. After earning a Master's Degree at Ball State, Gaither founded the Gospel Music Association in 1964 and organized the first Dove Awards ceremony in 1969. Gloria joined the trio after Mary Ann left. Gaither's musical style doesn't stray from the Southern Gospel formula established by acts like The Happy Goodmans. His followers would revolt if he did anything different. The Gaithers have written plenty of songs. Gaither started his own TV show in the 80s. But it it really started to pick up in the 90s when he started his own record company. Since then his Homecoming shows have been very popular with the faithful. He airs everything on TV plus all shows are available on CD and DVD. Gaither first recorded The Eastern Gate on the 1983 album Turn the Radio On. The song is the best known song written by Baptist minister Isaiah G. Martin. The song was first recorded by The Delmore Brothers in 1940. The guest singer Sheri Easter is one half of the husband wife duo of Jeff & Sheri Easter. They have been recording Southern Gospel since the mid 80s. Several other guest singers appear on this 2008 album. That's how all the Homecoming albums work. This one is available as a budget CD and it's also on DVD. Gaither is still producing plenty of music and TV shows. He doesn't seem to be slowing down. And remember Gaither owns everything. Here's Bill & Gloria Gaither and Homecoming Friends featuring Sheri Easter performing The Eastern Gate from the 2008 album Homecoming Picnic.
Singer songwriter Chris Whitley had success mostly as an indie rocker. He probably could have been more successful if he had stayed with the blues rock sound that got him a major label deal in the early 90s. But he kept changing things up and record labels don't like that. So he never had that big commercial breakthrough and then he died prematurely. He was born August 31, 1960 in Houston. His father was an art director so the family moved a lot. His mom was a sculptor. Whitley started playing guitar as a teen and Muddy Waters and Howlin' Wolf was in his parents' record collection. After his parents divorce, Whitley moved to Mexico with his mom and then a log cabin in Vermont. Whitley left high school and moved to New York and started busking. A Belgian tourist offered to make him a star there. Whitley lived in Belgium for six years. When he returned to New York in 1990, Whitley met producer Daniel Lanois who got him a record deal with Columbia. I Forget You Every Day is from Whitley's 1991 debut album Living with the Law. The album was produced at Lanois' studio in New Orleans. The album was produced by Malcolm Burn. Though the album was not a commercial hit, it was reviewed positively. Whitley toured with Tom Petty. So he had potential. But Whitley's next album Din of Ecstasy was released in 1995 on Columbia's Work label. Four years is way too long a break. Even those who liked the first album forgot about him. Plus the music was more mainstream and less rootsy. Sales were disappointing and that was also true of the 1997 album Terra Incognito. Columbia dropped him and Whitley signed with the indie label Messenger and released several albums. He probably never should have been on a major label in the first place. Whitley was forced to cancel a 2005 tour due to illness. He died of lung cancer on Nov. 20, 2005 at age 45. Here's Chris Whitley performing I Forget You Every Day on German TV 1992.
Album:Gigi: Music from the Original Motion Picture
In the old days of Hollywood, It was common practice for the studios to use a ghost singer to dub an actor's singing voice. Probably the most famous ghost singer was Marni Nixon who dubbed Natalie Wood's singing voice in West Side Story and Audrey Hepburn's voice in My Fair Lady. I occasionally feature these singers as though Marni is known to most fans, others are unknown like Betty Wand. She dubbed Leslie Caron's singing voice in the 1958 film Gigi. Oh, you didn't know about that? Well, not only was dubbing common practice but the audience wasn't supposed to know about it. Fans got upset when they found out years later. This is no longer done in Hollywood. It's unnecessary and producers wouldn't get away with it today. Besides, they can always use autotune which is commonly used for Katy Perry among others. You're not supposed to know about that either. Betty Wand was born Aug. 10, 1923 in Venice, CA. In the 40s, she sang in the big bands of Xavier Cugat, Horace Heidt and Ray Conniff. She dubbed Shirley Temple's singing voice in the 1949 film Adventures in Baltimore and Esther Williams' singing voice in the 1953 film Easy to Love. When MGM producer Arthur Freed was looking to produce a film of the Alan Jay Lerner and Frederick Loewe musical Gigi, he wanted Audrey Hepburn to star. Well, she can't sing and dubbing would have been necessary. When Lerner went to Paris to offer the role to her, she said no. Next Lerner went to London to meet with Leslie Caron. He discovered that Leslie had lost her French accent. So they would have had to dub her anyway. Leslie wanted to do her own singing and they let her sing in the studio. Then they brought Betty in. Leslie never knew even when she saw the film at the premiere. Rhino released an expanded 2CD edition of the Gigi soundtrack which includes bonus tracks of Leslie singing songs from the film. It also contains some dialogue and a lot of Andre Previn's score that was not on the original version. Betty also dubbed Rita Moreno's singing voice on A Boy Like That in the 1961 film West Side Story. She also appeared as a singer in the TV series' The Thin Man and Dr. Kildare. Betty had other business interests and she said she never wanted to be an actor anyway. She died Sept 12, 2003 at age 80. Here's a video for The Parisians by Betty Wand from the 1958 film Gigi.
Ingrid and Christine Jensen are sisters and jazz musicians who sometimes work together as they do on this 2017 album. But they also have individual careers. I chose this album because they are performing together on the video clip. They are from Nanaimo, BC. Ingrid was born in 1966 and Christine was born in 1970. Ingrid plays trumpet and Christine plays saxophone. Ingrid attended Berklee in Boston on a scholarship. After graduating, she moved to Austria and toured with the Vienna Art Orchestra and taught at the Bruckner Conservatory. She returned to the US in 1994 and has been recording and touring ever since. She won a Juno for her 1995 debut album Vernal Fields. Most recently she was in the all female jazz group Artemis when they recorded for Blue Note in 2020. She has also worked with Maria Schneider, Terri Lyne Carrington and many others. Christine earned a Bachelor's Degree in Jazz Studies at McGill University in Montreal. She went on to teach there for many years. She is currently Assistant Professor of Jazz Studies at Eastman School of Music in Rochester. No doubt influenced by Maria Schneider, Christine started the Christine Jensen Jazz Orchestra in 2010. Blue Yonder was on the 2013 album Habitat which won a Juno. That was the second of three Jazz Orchestra albums. Blue Yonder is also on the 2017 album Infinitude on the British label Whirlwind. This is the only album they have recorded together though Ingrid has appeared on Christine Jensen Jazz Orchestra albums. They wrote most of the songs. Musicians are Ben Monder on guitar, Fraser Hollins on bass and Jon Wikan on drums. Christine has a new Christine Jensen Jazz Orchestra album out next week. Ingrid is currently touring with Artemis. Here's Ingrid and Christine Jensen with Gary Versace on piano, Fraser Hollins on bass and Jon Wikan on drums performing Blue Yonder at the 2013 Montreal Jazz Festival.
Guitarist Joe Satriani became famous because of his technique and especially his speed. He never had a hit single. So he's mainly an album and touring act. He has sold over ten million albums and is the best selling instrumental rock guitarist of all time. He's not as popular today as when Surfing with the Alien was released in 1987. But he's still touring. Joe Satriani's popularity is based on fans being dazzled by his technique. Think about that and I'll get back to it later. He was born July 15, 1956 in Westbury, Long Island, NY. He was inspired to play guitar after hearing of Jimi Hendrix' death. He studied with legendary jazz pianist Lennie Tristano and his guitarist Billy Bauer. Satriani began teaching guitar and his one major student was Steve Vai. They now have a band together but if you are familiar with them, now you know why they sound alike. Satriani moved to Berkeley, CA in 1978 and taught guitar to Kirk Hammett of Metallica, David Bryson of Counting Crows and Charlie Hunter. But his whole purpose of moving out west was to get a record deal. Satriani spent his own money to record the 1986 album Not of This Earth. He was in The Greg Kihn Band at the time. Satriani signed with Relativity Records with Epic Records distribution. Epic swallowed Relativity in 2002. Satriani has recorded for Epic for most of his career. The 1987 album Surfing with the Alien was certified Platinum without a hit single. It got radio play mostly on college radio. Satriani wrote and produced the album. The song Surfing with the Alien is a tribute to the Marvel Comics character The Silver Surfer. Because Satriani was working on a low budget, he mostly uses Bongo Bob Smith's drum machines. Jeff Campbell played some live drums and he would go on to work frequently with Satriani. For the next few years, Satriani was very popular with guitar geeks. This 2CD comp covers his entire career. But he faded in the mid 90s. So he founded G3 in 1996. This was a touring band of guitar gods like Steve Vai and Eric Johnson. They released a series of home videos. He was also in the band Chickenfoot featuring Sammy Hagar. I've heard Satriani's music over the years and it all sounds the same to me. I'm impressed by Wes Montgomery's technique because he's doing different things all the time. Satriani does the same thing all the time. Satriani left Epic in 2020. His latest album The Elephants of Mars was released in 2022 on the German label earMUSIC. Recently he has been touring with the reunited G3. So Satriani isn't as popular as he was in the 80s. But he's still a good concert draw. Here's the video for Surfing with the Alien by Joe Satriani.
Singer songwriter Ty Segall is at the forefront of neo psychedelia and the garage rock revival. He records a lot. These days he records with his band The Freedom Band and sometimes solo. He's never had a hit single and doesn't record for a major label. That way he can do what he wants and he sells enough albums and concert tickets. He was born June 8, 1987 in Laguna Beach, CA. He got interested in music when he was in high school. This was when MTV filmed the reality show Laguna Beach: The Real Orange Country. Segall hated the show so much that he and his high school buddy Mikal Cronin parodied the show in a 2007 music video by their band Epsilon. After high school, Segall earned a degree in Media Studies at the University of San Francisco. He started out self releasing music in 2008. Then John Dwyer of the bands Thee Oh Sees and Coachwhips offered to release Segall's album on his label. Then he released a couple of albums on the indie label Goner. Since then he has recorded for the Chicago based indie label Drag City. Segall records all kinds of music. He says he recorded the 2012 album Twins as a Hawkwind or Black Sabbath tribute just to be unpredictable. He also recorded the 2013 acoustic album Sleeper which got him mainstream critical acclaim. And he recorded the 2015 album Emotional Muggers where Segall and his band were playing masked characters on stage. This cover of Hot Chocolate's Every 1's a Winner is from the 2018 album Freedom's Goblin. This was Segall's first album with his new band The Freedom Band. Other members are Segall's long time buddy Mikal Cronin on bass, another long time pal Charles Moothart on drums, Emmett Kelly of The Cairo Gang on piano and Ben Boye on electric keyboards. He has worked with Segall on other projects. Except for Every 1's a Winner, Segall wrote all the songs. Segall's latest album Three Bells was released in January. He has no band on this album. But The Freedom Band is still around. They are currently on a European tour. Here's Ty Segall and The Freedom Band performing Every 1's a Winner on a 2017 episode of Jimmy Kimmel Live.
The 2001 single Stutter was the only number one hit for R&B crooner Joe. The 2000 single I Wanna Know was his other big hit. But he had a good run on the R&B charts from 1997-2003. He was born Joseph Lewis Thomas July 5, 1973 in Columbus, GA and he grew up in Opelika, AL. He's a Preacher's Kid. In fact both parents were preachers. So obviously he grew up singing in church. After graduating from high school, Joe was working at a gospel record store when he met producer Vincent Herbert. He's probably best known for being married to Tamar Braxton. They did the reality show Tamar & Vincent. He produced a demo and that got Joe a record deal with Mercury Records. The 1993 album Everything was mostly produced by Keith Miller. Joe wrote most of the songs. The single I'm in Luv was a top ten hit. It looked like that was going to be his only album. But then Joe's song All the Things (Your Man Won't Do) appeared in the 1996 film Don't Be a Menace to South Central While Drinkin' Your Juice in the Hood. When it reached #11 on the Billboard Hot 100, Jive Records signed Joe and released the 1997 album All That I Am. It was also the first time Joe worked with producer Joshua T. Thompson who worked on several of his albums. The album was certified Platinum. Joe was also writing and producing for others. Mariah Carey asked Joe to appear on the 1999 single Thank God I Found You which topped the charts. The 2000 album My Name Is Joe had Joe's two biggest hits. I Wanna Know reached #4 on the Billboard Hot 100. Then Stutter topped the charts. What drove Stutter to the top was a remix of Stutter featuring rapper Mystikal that appeared in the 2001 film Double Take. It topped the charts for four weeks. The girl in the video is actress Natashia Williams of Vampire Diaries. Stutter was written by Ernest E. Dixon and Roy "Royalty" Hamilton and Hamilton produced with Teddy Riley. Hamilton is the grandson of 50s singer Roy Hamilton, hence the nickname. Dixon and Hamilton wrote the 2000 #1 R&B hit Liar by Profyle. Joe faded after this and left Jive in 2007. You can get all his hits on this budget comp. While still with Jive, Joe met Kedar Massenburg. So when he left Jive, he signed with Kedar Records with Universal distribution. He recorded four unsuccessful albums for Kedar. He last released an album in 2016 on his own label with BMG distribution. He's still around. He's touring with Tamia this fall. But Joe's days at the top of the charts are over. Here's the video for Stutter by Joe featuring Mystikal.
The all girl CCM band Rachel Rachel had brief success with this 1991 cover of the Kansas classic Carry On Wayward Son. They only recorded two albums so they weren't around for very long. They seemed to have a close relationship with the popular CCM band White Heart. The idea for this band came from bassist Jennifer York. She started out playing bass in seventh grade. In the 80s she worked as a talent coordinator for awards show producer Pierre Cossette Productions and as an assistant producer at Good Morning America. Then she worked at CCM radio station WWDJ in Hackensack, NJ. and that gave her the inspiration to get into music. So she moved to Los Angeles and played bass in an all girl band at Disneyland. When that job ended, she decided to form Rachel Rachel with Cheryl Jewell on lead vocals, Heli Sterner on guitar, Brynn Beltran on keyboards and Jennifer "Sparky" Sparks on drums. A demo got the attention of White Heart guitarist Billy Smiley and he got them a record deal with Word's Dayspring label. He also produced Rachel Rachel's 1991 debut album Way to My Heart. The band wrote most of the songs on the album. But they did a video for their cover of the Kansas classic Carry On Wayward Son. And that got them a lot of attention. I know what you're thinking. Kansas is not CCM. Well, actually they were CCM before it was marketable. And Kansas members have gone on to produce CCM bands. The guitar solo is by Dann Huff of White Heart. He appears in the video too. And he has gone on to have a career as a Nashville producer and studio musician. Way to My Heart is available as a digital download. Rachel Rachel toured with White Heart. They recorded a second album. But they were urged to move to Nashville but they wanted to stay in Los Angeles. Jennifer left Rachel Rachel and went on to be a traffic reporter for Los Angeles TV station KTLA. Then she formed an all female jazz band that played Los Angeles clubs. They released an album in 2006. Brynn Beltran married White Heart's Mark Gersmehl and they have released four albums as Soulbreather. Here's the video for Carry On Wayward Son by Rachel Rachel.
Here's a 1997 album by two prominent jazz musicians who were recording for the same label at the time. They had recorded together once previously. Of course most jazz fans should be familiar with alto saxophonist Lee Konitz, a bebop pioneer who played on Miles Davis' Birth of the Cool. Canadian pianist Paul Bley was a prominent figure in the 60s free jazz movement. He was born Hyman Bley Nov. 10, 1932 in Montreal. His parents were Romanian immigrants. He studied violin at age five. But after his parents divorce a couple of years later, he switched to piano. After studying at the McGill Conservatory, Bley formed a band that played summer resorts in Quebec. He also changed his name to Paul, thinking girls would find it more attractive. When Oscar Peterson signed with Verve and moved to New York, he asked Bley to finish his contract at Montreal's Alberta Lounge. Then Bley moved to New York and studied at Juilliard. Bley returned to Montreal to organize the Montreal Jazz Workshop. He invited Charlie Parker to come in 1953 and they recorded an album together. When Bley returned to New York, Bley led a series of trios in local clubs. He went to Los Angeles to work with Chet Baker and then tour with singer Dakota Staton. While playing a 1956 New Year's Eve show at Lucille Ball and Desi Arnaz's house in Palm Springs, Bley collapsed with a bleeding ulcer. Lucy paid his medical expenses. Bley's girlfriend Karen came to Los Angeles. They married and she became Carla Bley. It was in 1958 that Bley started working with free jazz musicians like Ornette Coleman. In the early 60s, Bley was in the Jimmy Giuffre 3 with clarinetist Giuffre and bassist Steve Swallow. They released two albums on Verve. By now Carla was his ex-wife. She helped write free jazz for the band. When audiences expecting bebop from the Jimmy Giuffre 3 heard free jazz, they were shocked. But it was the start of what Bley would do for his entire career and that's expand the boundaries of jazz. He also recorded and toured on Sonny Rollins' early 60s RCA albums. Bley helped start the Jazz Composers Guild in 1964 to advance the free jazz movement. Part of the problem was getting record companies to release their records. For example, Bley recorded four albums for Savoy from 1962-64. But only one was released at the time and the others sat in the vault until the 80s. Jazz labels were notorious for doing this. So that's when labels like ESP-Disk were started. Bley started his own label Improvising Artists or IAI in 1974. He also started experimenting with electronic keyboards usually with Annette Peacock. Bley first recorded with Lee Konitz on the 1977 IAI album Pyramid with guitarist Bill Connors of Return to Forever. It was an album of original compositions by all three guys. In the 70s, Bley recorded for ECM and in the 80s and 90s, he recorded for the Danish label SteepleChase, the Canadian label Justin Time and the Italian label Soul Note. Lover Man is from the 1997 album Out of Nowhere. I assume that SteepleChase owner Nils Winther suggested that Bley and Konitz record together. All the songs on this album are jazz standards. The other musicians are Jay Anderson on bass and Billy Drummond on drums. Both had played with Bley and Konitz previously. Bley continued to tour and record until his death on Jan. 3, 2016 at age 83. Here's Paul Bley and Lee Konitz performing Lover Man on Spanish TV 1990.
Here's the fight video of Josefine Knutsson vs Julia Polastri from last night's UFC in Las Vegas. This fight is at Strawweight. These two were supposed to fight in March but Josefine pulled out due to a back injury. Her replacement got sick. Josefine is 28 years old. She trains at Allstars Training Center in Stockholm, Sweden. She was a kickboxer before she got into the UFC via Road to UFC and Contenders Series. She won her UFC debut. Julia is 26 years old from Rio de Janeiro, Brazil. She trains at CWB. She went 1-1 in the Contenders Series and now she is making her UFC debut. This fight is striker vs grappler. But Julia really needs to improve her striking if she's going to get anywhere in the UFC. She lacks movement. She stood in the pocket and took shots. Once she was able to take the fight to the ground, Julia had a chance to win. But it took her way too long to do that. So I scored the first two rounds 10-9 for Josefine and the third round 10-9 for Julia. So I scored the fight 29-28 for Josefine. And the judges scored it the same. So Josefine won by unanimous decision. As a kickboxer, Josefine's striking is already pretty good. But she admitted after the fight that she needs to improve her takedown defense. If she can do that, she may have potential. Enjoy the video!
Here's the fight video of Gabriella Fernandes vs Carli Judice from last night's UFC show in Las Vegas. This fight is at Flyweight. Gabriella is 30 years old from Brazil. She trains at MMA Masters in Miami. She went 3-0 in LFA before losing her first two UFC fights. She's a striker who lacks endurance. Carli is 25 years old from Lafayette, LA. Her coach is former UFC fighter Aaron Phillips. She lost to Ernesta Kareckite by split decision in Contender Series. The UFC decided to hire both of them. This is Carli's UFC debut. She is 3-1. Though I think both fighters are flawed, they put on a good show and won the $50,000 Fight of the Night bonus. The first two rounds were similar. Gabriella started out like she was going to knock Carli's head off. But Carli hung in there and by the end of both rounds, Gabriella ran out of gas. I thought Gabriella won both rounds 10-9. Gabriella was completely out of gas in round three. So Carli won the round 10-9. So I scored the fight 29-28 for Gabrielle. Two of the three judges scored it the same but Adelaide Byrd was the third judge. She is notoriously bad and she gave Carli round one and scored the fight 29-28 for Carli. So Gabriella won the fight by split decision. Gabriella needs to do something about her endurance or she won't get far in the UFC. Carli is durable. She can take a beating. But that won't get her anywhere in the UFC. So I don't think either fighter is very good. But at least this is a pretty good fight. Enjoy the video!
CCM singer songwriter Al Denson had success in the 90s with songs like Be the One in 1990. He was born May 13, 1960 in Starkville, MS. He started out touring with Billy Graham in the 80s and signed with Benson Records. At that time Benson was the main competition for Word. They were sold to Zomba in 1997 and Benson recordings are now owned by Sony. Be the One was the title track on Denson's 1990 album Be the One. It was his second album. Benson wrote the song with keyboardist Don Koch who would go on to produce Denson. The album was produced by Brian Tankersley. It's available as a budget CD. Denson had a lot of success on the Christian charts and he has been nominated for Dove awards. As I said, he was featured performer on Billy Graham's crusades and then for his son Franklin Graham. It all came to a screeching halt in December 1994 when Denson was in a plane crash outside San Antonio, TX. He needed 500 stitches in his face and several surgeries but he returned with the 1995 album Take Me to the Cross. He also got into hosting shows on Christian TV networks. After Benson was sold, Denson started his own label but eventually signed with Word's Spring Hill label. He last recorded in 2004. So I think it's fair to say he is retired from performing and recording. But he currently works for Liberty University as a music industry liaison and on Walt Disney World's Night of Joy. Here's the video for Be the One.
The alternative metal band Helmet had success in the early 90s. They were mostly an album and touring band. They never had a hit single but MTV played their videos a lot. I would describe their music as noise rock. Helmet is led by Page Hamilton. He is lead singer, lead guitarist and main songwriter. Hamilton was born in Portland. But he moved to New York to study jazz. After recording two albums with Band of Susans, he formed Helmet in 1989. The other members were Peter Mengede on guitar, Henry Bogdan on bass and John Stanier on drums. Mengede's wife suggested the name Helmuth but Hamilton misheard it as Helmet. They were spotted by Halo of Flies guitarist Tom Hazelmeyer and Helmet released the 1990 album Strap It On on his label. Though the album was successful for an indie release, major labels didn't start looking at Helmet until Nitvana went mainstream in 1991. They were offered record deals by Warner Bros., Relativity and Interscope. Interscope won by throwing a million dollar advance and creative control at Hamilton. There was a lot of hype surrounding Helmet's 1992 debut album Meantime. And that's the main reason the album sold two million copies. Plus their videos were heavily played on MTV. They were hyped as "the next Nirvana" though Helmet was nothing like Nirvana. Hamilton knew that it was nonsense. But the album sold so who cares. Once the hype wore out, most people calmed down and figured out that Helmet was a run of the mill heavy metal band. The 1994 album Betty only sold 250,000 copies. Mengede was replaced by Rob Echevarria. The lead single Milquetoast appeared in the 1994 film The Crow. Most of the album was produced by Todd "T-Ray" Ray who had previously produced Cypress Hill. Butch Vig of Garbage produced Milquetoast. Helmet also appeared in the 1995 film The Jerky Boys: The Movie with Ozzy Osbourne playing their manager. Obviously Interscope was disappointed with the sales and this didn't improve with the 1997 album Aftertaste. Plus the band wasn't getting along. So they split up in 1998. Interscope released this comp which is available as a digital download. Hamilton moved to Los Angeles and worked with film composer Eliot Goldenthal on the films In Dreams and Titus. Hamilton was working on a new band. After the comp was released, Interscope head Jimmy Iovine convinced Hamilton to release his upcoming album as Helmet. He agreed to it and the album Size Matters was released in 2004. Interscope dropped Helmet when the album didn't sell. Since then Helmet released an album on the indie label Warcon which fell apart due to financial disputes. They are currently recording for earMUSIC owned by the German record company Edel. The album Left was released in 2023. It looks like they just finished a tour. Here's the video for Milquetoast by Helmet.
311 (pronounced "three eleven") was successful as an album and touring band in the 90s. Most of their chart success has been in the Alternative Rock market. The 2004 single Love Song was their only Billboard Hot 100 song. And it didn't chart high enough for 311 to be a one hit wonder. But it is a discography orphan as it appeared on the soundtrack of the film 50 First Dates. 311 was formed in Omaha in 1988 by lead singer and guitarist Nick Hexum. Other original members were Jim Watson on lead guitar, Aaron "P-Nut" Wills on bass and Chad Sexton on drums. Tim Mahoney replaced Watson in 1990. Singer and turntablist Doug "SA" Martinez joined in 1992. 311 is police code for indecent exposure in Omaha. A friend of the band was arrested after skinny dipping in a public pool. They started releasing music independently in 1989. In 1992, 311 moved to Los Angeles and recorded the demo Hydroponic. They soon signed with Phil Walden's Capricorn label. You may recall that Capricorn was successful in the 70s with The Allman Brothers Band. They went bankrupt in the 80s. Walden revived Capricorn in 1990 and 311, Cake and Widespread Panic were on the label. At first they were distributed by Warner Bros. followed by Columbia and then Mercury. Walden sold Capricorn to Volcano Records in 2000. They became Zomba and were swallowed by Sony. 311's first two albums didn't sell and they financed their own tour. But the 1995 album 311 was certified 3XPlatinum. The single Down topped the Alternative Rock chart. The video was played in heavy rotation on MTV. They appeared on Late Night with Conan O'Brien and Late Show with David Letterman. The album was produced by veteran recording engineer Ron St. Germain and it was considered to be more cohesive that the first. After that they went into a gradual decline in record sales. Their last album to be certified Gold was 2001's From Chaos. So they got a boost when Hexum was asked to produce the soundtrack for the 2004 film 50 First Dates starring Adam Sandler and Drew Barrymore. It was on Madonna and Guy Oseary's Maverick label. It was an album of 80s covers. 311's cover of The Cure's Love Song was the first single. It played over the film's end credits. Love Song topped the Alternative Rock chart and reached #59 on the Billboard Hot 100. The album was certified Gold. This is to date 311's only Billboard Hot 100 appearance. This did not appear on a 311 album so it is a discography orphan. But Volcano released the comp Greatest Hits '93-03 at the same time. I recommend the 2016 2CD comp The Essential 311 as it covers their entire career. 311 left Volcano in 2009. They have since recorded for Dave Matthews' ATO label and they currently have their own label with BMG distribution. They last released an album in 2019. But the video You're Gonna Get It was released last week. So it looks like 311 has a new album on the way. Here's the video for Love Song by 311.
The jazz vocal group New York Voices has been around since the 90s when they recorded for GRP Records. Since GRP closed, they recorded for RCA, Concord and more recently for small labels like MCG Jazz. It doesn't look like they tour with a band. They do appearances with regional jazz orchestras like what you will see in the video. The New York Voices started out as an alumni group from Ithaca College in New York that toured Europe. They started performing on their own in 1988 and signed with GRP Records in 1989. The leader is Darmon Meader. He writes, produces and arranges and also plays sax. When they started, the other members were Peter Eldridge, Caprice Fox, Kim Nazarian and Sara Krieger. Eldridge plays piano and they all write songs. Sara Krieger was replaced by Lauren Kinhan in 1992. Caprice Fox left in 1993. They are now a four piece group. They recorded three albums for GRP and they recorded with veteran jazz musicians. After GRP closed, they recorded one album each for RCA and Concord. More recently they have recorded for Palmetto and the German label in-akustik. Meader is usually the producer. Their recording of Stevie Wonder's Don't You Worry 'Bout a Thing is from the 2007 album A Day Like This on MCG Jazz. This is from Pittsburgh's Manchester Craftsman's Guild. This is a non profit organization dedicated to promoting jazz. They have their own orchestra and many jazz musicians record with them. Meader produced the album with trombonist Jay Ashby and his guitarist brother Marty Ashby. Both are members of the Bob Mintzer Big Band. And saxophonist Mintzer is one of several special guests including guitarist Chuck Loeb, vibraphonist Dave Samuels, pianist Gil Goldstein and saxophonist Paquito D'Rivera. New York Voices latest album Reminiscing in Tempo was released on the German label in-akustik and Origin Records. It looks like half of the album was recorded in Germany and half in New York. New York Voices recently announced their retirement. They are planning a retirement tour which will conclude in Germany in December. Lauren Kinhan is currently working on a new album and plans to tour. Here's New York Voices performing Don't You Worry 'Bout a Thing. The band and date is not identified.
Morgan Heritage is a reggae group made up of several children of legendary singer Denroy Morgan. Morgan moved to the US in 1965 so all 29 of his children grew up in Brooklyn, NY. The leader of Morgan Heritage is Peter "Peetah" Morgan. He seems to be lead singer and writes and produces most of the songs. Other members are Una Morgan, Roy "Gramps" Morgan, Nakhamyah "Lukes" Morgan and Mammalatel "Mr. Mojo" Morgan. After performing at the 1994 Reggae Sunsplash in Jamaica, Morgan Heritage signed with MCA Records and released the album Miracles. After Morgan Heritage told MCA that the album was too pop oriented, they moved to Jamaica to work with Jamaican producers. They signed with the US based reggae label VP Records. They recorded for VP until 2013. Down By the River is one of their more popular songs and it's from the 2001 album More Teachings... Morgan Heritage wrote the song with legendary Jamaican producer Coxsone Dodd and Dodd produced. You can get it on this various artists budget comp. Morgan Heritage continued to have success mostly through constant touring. They were regulars on the summer festival circuit. They went on hiatus in 2008 and returned with the 2013 album Here Come the Kings. They left VP and have since recorded for their own label, most recently in 2019. Peter Morgan died in Feb. 2024. It is not yet known if Morgan Heritage will continue. Roy Morgan lives in Nashville and has recorded solo. So he could take over the band. But their Facebook page has been taken private. That's not a good sign. But I don't think a decision has been made. Here's Morgan Heritage performing Down By the River on BBC Radio 1 Xtra 2013.
Here's the match video of IYO SKY vs Lyra Valkyria from last night's episode of RAW. Since IYO lost to Lyra last month, she's been on the rampage. Last week she attacked Lyra backstage and that set up this match. Again, it was a very good match except this time IYO won with help from Dakota Kai. I'm sure these two aren't finished working together. Afterwards, Damage CNTRL continued to attack Lyra and Kayden Carter and Katana Chance made the save. Though nothing was said, don't be surprised if that match happens on the Kickoff Show for this Saturday's Clash at the Castle. Meanwhile, IYO is still raging backstage. Today it was announced that IYO will face Utami Hayashishita on Marigold's July 13 Sumo Hall show. They have never faced each other. So that should be a banger. And it also wouldn't surprise me if the seed was planted to have Giulia come to the WWE early and join Damage CNTRL. I know the original plan was for Giulia to go to NXT first. But Asuka will be recovering from knee surgery until early next year. That leaves an opening for Giulia. She really doesn't need to go to NXT. Stay tuned for more developments. Enjoy the video!
This is another in my series of Jazz for Beginners. The only requirement is a performance video clip and a CD appropriate for beginners. Bassist Charles Mingus is one of the all time jazz greats as a composer and a bandleader. His music is steeped in tradition but also embraces other musical styles including bebop, R&B and free jazz. Goodbye Pork Pie Hat is one of his best known compositions and today is considered to be a jazz standard. Charles Mingus Jr. was born Apr. 22, 1922 in Nogales, AZ and he grew up in the Watts area of Los Angeles. His father was a sergeant in the US Army. Mingus' parents were of mixed heritage but both were half black. His mother only listened to church music. Mingus developed an early interest in Duke Ellington. He enjoyed playing cello but switched to bass because cello is a classical instrument and in those days, blacks could not make a living in classical music. When Mingus studied with bassist Red Callender in the late 30s, cello was still his main instrument. Mingus studied bass with Herman Reinshagen of the New York Philharmonic. Bass finally became his main instrument when Buddy Collette hired him for his late 30s band. In the 40s Mingus played with clarinetist Barney Bigard, Louis Armstrong, trumpeter Russell Jacquet, tenor saxophonist Teddy Edwards and trumpeter Howard McGhee. While in Lionel Hampton's band, Hampton recorded several Mingus compositions. Mingus formed a trio with vibraphonist Red Norvo and guitarist Tal Farlow but had trouble getting gigs because they were mixed race. Mingus was briefly in Duke Ellington's band. He was fired for getting into a backstage fight with trombonist Juan Tizol. Mingus had a very bad temper. He also played with alto saxophonist Charlie Parker. He hated Parker's heroin addiction and all the Parker copycats. In 1952, Mingus founded Debut Records with drummer Max Roach so they could have control over their recordings and mentor young musicians. The most famous recording on Debut was the 1953 Jazz at Massey Hall from Toronto with Mingus, Roach, Parker, Dizzy Gillespie and Bud Powell. But for the most part, Debut was a failure. It was around this time that Mingus started the Jazz Workshop to encourage live improvisation. In the 50s Mingus recorded for Savoy, Atlantic, Jubilee and Bethlehem. Goodbye Pork Pie Hat is from the 1959 album Mingus Ah Um. It was the first of two albums for Columbia. The song is a tribute to Lester Young who was known for wearing that style of hat. Mingus frequently wrote tributes to musicians. It is one of his best known songs and today is considered to be a jazz standard. Musicians are John Handy, Shafi Hadi and Booker Ervin on tenor sax, Horace Parlan on piano and Dannie Richmond on drums. Richmond first recorded with Mingus in 1957 and remained with him for most of his career. In the 60s Mingus recorded for Candid, Atlantic and Impulse. Candid was owned by Cadence Records owner Archie Bleyer and he sold everything to Andy Williams in the mid 60s. One famous album was Money Jungle on Blue Note in 1961 with Duke Ellington on piano and Max Roach on drums. Highly recommended. In the late 60s Mingus concentrated on Jazz Workshop and he issued several live recordings. He recorded for Columbia and Atlantic in the 70s. His most notable albums were Let My Children Hear Music (1972) and Changes One (1975). This budget comp that was released as part of the PBS documentary series Ken Burns Jazz is the only comp that covers multiple labels. I also recommend you watch Ken Burns Jazz which can be streamed at Kanopy or Hoopla free with a library card. By the late 70s, Mingus was feeling the effects of motor neuron disease. So he couldn't play like he used to. But he did write songs for Joni Mitchell's 1979 album Mingus. Mingus moved to Mexico to convalesce and he died on Jan. 5, 1979 at age 56. He hadn't officially retired but he seemed headed in that direction. Here's Charles Mingus with Gerry Mulligan on baritone sax, George Adams on tenor sax, Benny Bailey and Jack Walrath on trumpet, Don Pullen on piano and Dannie Richmond on drums performing Goodbye Pork Pie Hat at the 1975 Montreux Jazz Festival.
Here's the fight video of Puja Tomar vs Rayanne Dos Santos from Saturday's UFC show in Louisville. This fight is at Strawweight. Puja is 30 years old from India. She trains at Soma Fight Club in Bali. Her record is 9-4. The UFC is making a big deal about her as the first fighter from India. Rayanne is 29 years old from Para, Brazil. She trains at Marajo Brothers which is the Alcantara brothers who were both in the UFC at one time. Rayanne lost in Contender Series and was brought in to the UFC as a late replacement and lost her UFC debut. The fight was pretty bad. I didn't think either of them were any good. I thought Puja won the first round and Rayanne wone the other two. So I scored it 29-28 for Rayanne. One judge scored it 30-27 for Rayanne. The second judge scored it 29-28 for Puja. And the local judge scored it 30-27 for Puja. So Puja won by split decision. Round two was close so it could go either way. But Puja didn't win round three. The fight was lousy anyway. Enjoy the video!
Here's the fight video of Denise Gomes vs Eduarda Moura from Saturday's UFC show in Louisville. This fight is at Strawweight. Denise is 24 years old from Brazil. She was training at PRVT but I understand she has left. She got to UFC via Contender Series and her record is 2-2. She lost her last two fights. Like a lot of the PRVT fighters, she is mainly a striker. Eduarda is 30 years old from Bahia, Brazil. She trains with her brother Yuri Moura. She got to the UFC via Contender Series and she won her UFC debut. She looked pretty good but she missed weight for both fights. So that means she will probably move up to Flyweight where she won't have a size advantage. The fight was nothing special and I scored it 30-27 for Denise. One of the judges who I think is a local guy scored it 29-28 for Eduarda. Denise won the fight by split decision but it should have been unanimous. Enjoy the video!
The 1961 single Let There Be Drums was one of two top ten hits for drummer Sandy Nelson. He started out playing sessions and lucked into a recording career in the 60s. He was born Dec. 1, 1938 in Santa Monica, CA. He attended high school with Jan & Dean and record producer Kim Fowley. And it's Fowley who got Nelson into the music business. Nelson was in the band The Renegades with guitarist and future record producer Richard Podolor, future Beach Boy Bruce Johnston and future record producer Nick Venet. Fowley produced their 1959 single Geronimo which appeared in the film The Ghost of Dragstrip Hollow. Meanwhile, Nelson's Buddy Rich influenced style got the attention of producers and he played on The Teddy Bears' 1958 #1 hit To Know Him Is To Love Him among other things. Los Angeles DJ Art Laboe was starting his Original Sound label. Nelson wrote Teen Beat and all the labels turned it down until Laboe agreed to record it. Teen Beat reached #4 on the Billboard Hot 100. Podolor and Johnston played on the record. Nelson did not have a contract with Laboe. So he signed with Imperial Records. After his first few singles flopped, Imperial was going to drop Nelson. But Let There Be Drums was his last chance in 1961. And it reached #7 on the Billboard Hot 100. Again, Richard Podolor was a big factor as he wrote and produced Let There Be Drums with Nelson and played guitar. That was Nelson's final big hit. But he recorded for Imperial even after it was folded into United Artists. His final album for UA was the 1975 disco album Bang Bang Rhythm. Nelson even continued after his foot was amputated after a a 1963 motorcycle accident. You can get Teen Beat and Let There Be Drums on this budget comp from the British reissue label See For Miles. Other than a couple of of recordings, it looks like Nelson retired after he left UA. He suffered a stroke in 2017 and died on Feb. 14, 2022 at age 83. Here's a video for Let There Be Drums by Sandy Nelson.
Here's the fight video of Montana De La Rosa vs Andrea Lee from last night's UFC show in Louisville, KY. This fight is at Flyweight. Montana is 29 years old from Arlington, TX. She trains at Genesis BJJ with her husband Mark De La Rosa. He was in the UFC but he retired in 2020 after a four fight losing streak. Her UFC record is 5-5-1 and she's on a three fight losing streak. She's supposed to be a decent wrestler. But like many lower midcard fighters, she is mostly ineffective. Andrea is 35 years old from Bossier, LA. She trains with her UFC fighter boyfriend Tony Kelley. Her UFC record is 5-7 and she's on a four fight losing streak. Andrea seemed to make improvements in 2021 when Sayif Saud coached her to two wins. But she hasn't won since switching to Kelley. We've seen this from her early in her career when her abusing ex-husband coached her. To me, this is a loser gets cut from the UFC match. But as I expected, neither fighter is good enough to take control and win fights. That's why both are on losing streaks. I thought Andrea won round one and Montana won the other two rounds. So I scored it 29-28 for Montana. Two of the judges scored it the same and the third judge scored round two for Andrea. So Montana won by split decision. The fight was close so I am OK with the result. But I don't think either fighter belongs in the UFC. Enjoy the video!
The Innocence Mission is the husband wife team of Don and Karen Peris. They are basically a folk band. They had their greatest success with the 1995 album Glow when several songs appeared on TV shows. Bright As Yellow was their biggest hit after it appeared in the 1995 film Empire Records and the video was played a lot on MTV. Don and Linda Peris met at Lancaster Catholic High School in Lancaster, PA during a 1980 production of Godspell. They started out performing covers in local clubs as Masquerade. They added bassist Steve Brown and changed their name to The Innocence Mission. That's when they started performing original songs. Karen sings and writes most of the songs. Don plays guitar. A 1986 self released EP got the attention of Joni Mitchell. At the time, she was married to producer Larry Klein and he got them a record deal with A&M Records. It just shows you never know who's listening. Klein produced their first two albums. For the 1995 album Glow, they switched to Camper Van Beethoven producer Dennis Herring. And he gave The Innocence Mission a more mainstream pop sound. Songs were placed in the TV series Party of Five and the film Dream for an Insomniac. But the big one was when Bright as Yellow appeared on the soundtrack of the 1995 film Empire Records and reached #33 on the Alternative Rock chart. And the video was played a lot on MTV. Of course, Empire Records was not a hit at the time. But the film has become a major cult film. So I think many listeners discovered The Innocence Mission while watching Empire Records on home video. The Innocence Mission should have had momentum after that. But when they found out that Universal was buying A&M, they asked to get out of their contract. Glow is available as a budget CD. After Steve Brown was replaced by Mike Bitts, The Innocence Mission returned to a more folk oriented sound. They have recorded for various indie labels, most notably the Portland, OR based label Badman Records. They currently record for their own label and Don and Karen Peris have both released solo albums. Their music is spiritual enough that I am surprised that CCM labels haven't come sniffing around. Their latest album See You Tomorrow was released in 2020. Here's the video for Bright As Yellow by The Innocence Mission.
Fans of Celtic music should enjoy the Czech Republic based band Poitin. Of course Celtic music comes from Ireland and Scotland but music is global. So I'm not surprised that there is a Celtic band from the Czech Republic or anyplace else. Poitin was formed in Pilsen, Czech Republic in 1996. The lead singer Jeremy King is from Brighton, England. He also plays bodhran and is a member of the folk band Lignit. The other members are Jaroslav Machacek on fiddle, Jakub Siegl on guitar, Jan Brabec on bouzouki and banjo, Sasha Maresova on whistles and flutes and Tomas Pergler on concertina. They record for their own label with CD Baby distribution. They record a mix of original and traditional songs. Step It Out seems to be an original song from the 2006 album Hot Days. The album is available as a digital download. So that's the thing about a band like Poitin. Regardless of where they are from, their music is available worldwide. Their latest album One for the Road was released in 2022. They like to perform in local clubs but they also work the European music festival circuit. I don't think they have ever been to North America. Celtic music fans should check them out because they are pretty good. Here's Poitin performing Step It Out at The Vagon Club in Prague, Czech Republic 2013.
The 1974 top ten hit Get Dancin' was one of two hit singles by Disco-Tex and the Sex-O-Lettes. This was one of the screwier remnants of the disco era. The whole thing was a studio concoction by veteran producer Bob Crewe. The frontman called himself Monti Rock III. He didn't sing so I won't call him a lead singer. The backup singers were led by professional backup singer Cindy Bullens. Monti Rock III was born Joseph Montanez Jr. May 29, 1942 in The Bronx, NY. He is of Puerto Rican descent. He started doing the Monti Rock character on 60s talk shows like The Tonight Show. Crewe may have seen Rock perform in Las Vegas and thought he could build an act around him. Rock's shtick was androgynous so that fit very well into the emerging disco market. The 1975 album that produced Get Dancin' was not just Disco-Tex and the Sex-O-Lettes. It's supposed to be a revue similar to The Johnny Otis Show from the 50s. It is misspelled "review" on the album cover. So along with Get Dancin, There are songs by Jerry Corbetta of Sugarloaf, 50s singer LuAnn Simms, 60s singer Freddie Cannon and variations on the Sex-O-Lettes that look like filler. Of course the big surprise was when Get Dancin' reached #10 on the Billboard Hot 100 and I Wanna Dance Wit' Choo reached #23. Then they had to turn Monti Rock III into a live act so he could appear on TV. Cindy Bullens worked on the album so she wrangled the backup singers. Crewe wrote and produced the album with longtime partner Denny Randell. Get Dancin' was co-written by Chelsea Records house producer Kenny Nolan. Get Dancin' is on this BMG various artists budget comp. Crewe did not produce the other two Disco-Tex and the Sex-O-Lettes albums. Kenny Nolan produced the second one and Chelsea owner Wes Farrell produced the third. And then Chelsea was swallowed up by RCA in 1977 and that was the end of Disco-Tex and his Sex-O-Lettes. According to his Facebook, Monti Rock III is now an ordained minister. I guess he's atoning for his sins. Just kidding. Here's Disco-Tex and the Sex-O-Lettes performing Get Dancin' on Top Of The Pops Dec. 12, 1974.
Little Bitty Pretty One was a top ten hit in 1957. It was the only big hit for Thurston Harris though a couple of his other songs charted so he is not technically a one hit wonder. Today it's one of the best loved oldies of the era though I'm sure most folks know nothing about Harris or the song. Harris was born July 11, 1931 in Indianapolis. He grew up singing in church and in groups like the Canaan Crusaders. Later he was in the Indiana Wonders with his brother William. It was while he was in the US Army in the late 40s that Harris got into R&B groups like The Dominoes and The Five Royales. After his discharge, Harris moved to Los Angeles and thought he could bluff his way into the music business by claiming that he was lead singer of The Five Royales. This led to Harris becoming lead singer of The Lamplighters. They recorded several unsuccessful singles for Federal Records. The problem with The Lamplighters is they were always arguing with each other. When Harris signed with Aladdin Records in 1957, he brought The Lamplighters with him but the name was changed to The Sharps. They probably couldn't use the old name. The Sharps sang backup on Little Bitty Pretty One. Bobby Day wrote the song and had just released his version. Aladdin owner Eddie Mesner thought Thurston could sing the song better. Along with The Sharps and Los Angeles studio musicians like Plas Johnson on sax, Pete Lewis on guitar and Earl Palmer on drums, Harris' recording of Little Bitty Pretty One reached #6 on the Billboard Hot 100 while Day's original recording stalled at #57. Of course Day would go on to have his own big hit with Rockin' Robin in 1958. Harris' second single Do What You Did reached #57 on the Billboard Hot 100. Harris had little success after that. The Sharps would go on to be The Rivingtons and they recorded the 1962 hit Papa-Oom-Mow-Mow. Meanwhile, when Imperial Records bought Aladdin in 1962, they dropped Thurston Harris. After recording for Cub, Dot, Imperial and Reprise, Harris sunk into homelessness and alcoholism. Capitol owns all the Aladdin recordings and they license them to reissue labels like Jasmine. So I know these are original recordings. And it's available at a reasonable price. After making a brief comeback as a blues singer in the 80s, Thurston Harris died from a heart attack on Apr. 14, 1990 at age 58. Here's a video for Little Bitty Pretty One by Thurston Harris. Thanks to the website TIMS for the bio.
Fans of 70s disco music probably fondly remember the two hit singles from this 1978 album by the girl group Musique. In the Bush and Keep on Jumpin' both topped the Dance chart but many radio stations refused to play In the Bush because of suggestive lyrics. The guy behind Musique and plenty of other disco hits was Patrick Adams. But I think Musique was one of his more memorable projects. Adams and his cohorts were sitting around a New York recording studio brainstorming new projects. Someone said they hadn't done a girl group yet. Fortunately singers Jocelyn Brown and Christine Wilshire were there. They had worked on some of Adams' other projects. They brought in singers Angela Howell and Gina Tharpe. Adams got to work on the songs. The album Keep on Jumpin' was written and recorded in four hours. Adams released In the Bush and Keep on Jumpin' as a double sided single. The problem with In the Bush was the repeated chorus "push push, in the bush" was interpreted as suggestive and many radio stations refused to play it. Fortunately, Keep on Jumpin' had no issues of that sort. Both songs did very well in dance clubs. Adams has said he didn't realize In the Bush was offensive and he regrets it in retrospect. The original album Keep on Jumpin' was less than a half hour long. Fortunately, the Montreal based reissue label Unidisc has released Keep on Jumpin' on CD with several bonus tracks. In 1996, DJ Todd Terry released a cover of Keep on Jumpin' featuring Jocelyn Brown and Martha Wash and it was a big hit in clubs. There was a second Musique album in 1979 called Musique II. But there were different singers on the album so it went nowhere. Of course Jocelyn Brown has appeared on all kinds of records in New York like Inner City and Change. She now lives in England and is best known for her work with Incognito. Christine Wiltshire is similar in that she mostly appears on recording sessions. Here's Musique performing Keep on Jumpin' 1978.
