AccuRadio Song Of The Day-Suzi Quatro and Chris Norman

Artist:Suzi Quatro and Chris Norman

Song:Stumblin' In

Album:The Best of Suzi Quatro: Legend

Suzi Quatro is probably best known for playing Leather Tuscadero in the popular 70s sitcom Happy Days. But she was a very successful rocker especially in England. The 1978 single Stumblin' In was her biggest hit in the US. She was born June 3, 1950 in Detroit. Her father was an Italian immigrant who worked at GM and was an amateur musician. Her mother was Hungarian. The family name was shortened from Quattrocchi to Quatro. Her sister Patti was in the all girl rock band Fanny. Her brother Mike Quatro is a singer songwriter and pianist. I saw him perform live in the early 70s. Watching Elvis Presley perform on TV inspired Suzy to be a musician. At the time there were no female role models in rock. But Suzi admired Billie Holiday and Mary Weiss of The Shangri-Las because "she looked hot". Suzi taught herself to play bass and joined her sister's band The Pleasure Seekers. Her father gave her a 1957 Fender Precision bass which she still uses. In The Pleasure Seekers, Suzi called herself Suzi Soul and Patti called herself Patti Pleasure. They released a couple of singles including one for Mercury Records. The band name was changed to Cradle in 1969. Her brother Mike convinced British producer Mickie Most to see Cradle. He liked Suzi and brought her to England in 1971. Suzi was attracting attention from labels who thought she could be the new Janis Joplin. Most brought in the songwriting and production team of Nicky Chinn and Mike Chapman. They wanted Suzi to be a rocker. She had success when the 1973 single Can the Can topped the British charts. This is her biggest hit overall. But as I said, most of her success was in England and Europe. The US market wasn't interested. For the 1978 album If You Knew Suzi..., Chinn and Chapman got the idea of putting Suzi together with Smokie lead singer Chris Norman. Chapman saw them on stage together. And the next day he wrote Stumblin' In. It has a much softer sound than Suzi's usual music. It reached #4 on the Billboard Hot 100. It only reached #41 in England. At first Stumblin' In was released only as a single. But it was picked up by RSO Records and added to If You Knew Suzi... That was Suzi's final big hit. You can get all her hits on this comp. It all ended when Chapman and Chinn split up and Chapman's new record label was a failure. Suzi continues to tour and record. She released an album last year. So she's still around but probably forgotten by most. Here's the video for Stumblin' In by Suzi Quatro and Chris Norman.

AccuRadio Song Of The Day-Joe Dowell

Artist:Joe Dowell

Song:Wooden Heart

Album:Pop Memories of the '60s: Hello Dolly

The single Wooden Heart topped the charts in 1961. It was the only big hit for Joe Dowell and it could be one of the flukiest hits of all time. A couple of Dowell's other singles charted so he is not technically a one hit wonder. But Elvis Presley recorded Wooden Heart first so I think listeners remember that version and not this one. Dowell was born Jan. 23, 1940 in Bloomington, IN but he grew up in Bloomington, IL. He started performing in grade nine and attended the University of Illinois. Wooden Heart is based on a German folk song. It was adapted by bandleader Bert Kaempfert and Marlene Dietrich recorded it in German in 1958. Then Elvis Presley recorded it for the 1959 film G.I. Blues. Of course this film uses Elvis' real life in the service. In the film, Elvis is a G.I. stationed in Germany which is why there are German lyrics in the song. The English lyrics were written by Fred Wise, Ben Weisman and Kay Twomey. They all worked for Presley's publishing company so they wrote songs for his films. It's likely that Elvis' recording of Wooden Heart would have been a hit except that RCA didn't release it as a single. It's on the soundtrack album. While Dowell was still in school, he got a call to come to Nashville to record for Mercury's new country label Smash Records. Veteran producer Shelby Singleton suggested recording Wooden Heart. It shot to the top of the charts in 1961. A couple of Dowell's other singles charted. But then he wanted to write his own songs and that was not allowed in his contract. He refused to record and Smash terminated his contract. You can get Wooden Heart on this 2CD Time Life budget comp. Dowell recorded occasionally over the years unsuccessfully. He died on Feb. 4, 2016 at age 76. Here's a video of Wooden Heart by Joe Dowell. 

AccuRadio Song Of The Day-Tommy Shane Steiner

Artist:Tommy Shane Steiner

Song:What If She's an Angel

Album:Then Came the Night

The 2001 single What If She's an Angel was a top five country hit and it crossed over to be a top 40 pop hit. It was the only hit single for Tommy Shane Steiner. And Then Came the Night was his only album. He left RCA in 2002 and seemed to disappear. What happened to him? I'll tell you later. And I may even add it to Wikipedia. I have occasionally done that in the past. He was born Oct. 9, 1973 in Austin, TX. His family is in the rodeo business. His parents were rodeo entertainers and so is his brother. But Steiner wanted to sing. His family thought he was a wimp. Steiner played clubs in Texas. He recorded a demo with Jimmy Ritchey and that was enough to get him a record deal with RCA Nashville. The debut single What If She's an Angel reached #2 on the Country Singles chart and crossed over to pop and reached #39 on the Billboard Hot 100. Subsequent singles and the album Then Comes the Night didn't perform as well. Why was the song a hit? Steiner says that it was released right after 9/11 and it struck a chord with listeners. The song is more CCM than country. But of course it has a country arrangement. Jimmy Ritchey produced the album. RCA was going to assign a big name producer like Paul Worley and Frank Riddell to the album. But they convinced RCA to let Ritchey produce the album. Since then Ritchey has gone on to produce Jake Owen and Mark Chesnutt. What If She's an Angel was written by Bryan Wayne. It was his only hit and he died from ALS in 2020. As I suspected, he was a CCM guy. In Dec. 2002, RCA Label Group chairman Joe Galante sent a prepared statement to CMT stating that Steiner had left RCA. We don't know what happened and Steiner probably can't talk about it. But I can tell you that he quit the music business and returned to his family owned cattle ranch in Austin. He sold the ranch to a developer and now owns the Steiner Ranch Steakhouse. He says he performs there occasionally but he has no plans to return to the music business. He also spends a lot of time at the local gym and posts pics on Instagram. Thanks to Emanuel Maiberg of 404 Media for this. But it's like I always say. One hit is better than none. Here's the video for What If She's an Angel by Tommy Shane Steiner. 

Big Bad Blog Video Theater-Shauna Bannon vs Alice Ardelean

Here's the fight video of Shauna Bannon vs Alice Ardelean from last night's UFC show in Manchrster, England. This fight is at Strawweight. Ravena Oliveira was Shauna's original opponent. Shauna is 30 years old from Dublin, Ireland. She trains with former UFC fighter Paddy Holohan. She was in Invicta before she lost her UFC debut. My guess is the UFC signed her as they are planning to do a show in Ireland. She's not very good. Alice is 32 years old. She was born in Romania but she trains at Fearless MMA in Birmingham, England with former UFC fighter Vaughan Lee. Her record is 9-6. That's what you get on short notice. Not surprisingly, the fight wasn't very good. I thought Alice won round one and Shauna won round three. Round two was close enough that it could have gone either way. I scored it 10-9 for Alice. So I scored the fight 29-28 for Alice. Not surprisingly, the judges were all over the place and Shauna won by split decision. The big problem was two of the three judges scored round one for Shauna and one of those judges scored the fight 30-27 for Shauna. I don't blame that on the judges. It was a terrible fight from fighters who shouldn't be in the UFC. Enjoy the video! 

Big Bad Blog Video Theater-Bruna Brasil vs Molly McCann

Here's the fight video of Bruna Brasil vs Molly McCann from last night's UFC show in Manchester, England. This fight is at Strawweight. Bruna is 30 years old from Parana, Brazil. She is one of the coaches at Insanis MMA 013. She got into the UFC via Contenders Series and was in the LFA before that. Her UFC record is 1-2. Molly is 34 years old from Liverpool, England. She trains at Next Generation MMA. Paddy Pimblett is a teammate. She recently dropped from Flyweight to Strawweight. She's 7-5 in the UFC. She's a terrible fighter but is loved in England. Molly was the prohibitive favorite. It did not go well for her. Bruna really hurt Molly with knees to the body in round one to the point that Bruna won the round 10-8. But all three judges scored it 10-9. There was a lot of online whining about this. But it's well known that judges do not value body damage as much as head damage. But in this case, Bruna's body work won her the fight. Molly never really recovered and I scored the fight 30-26 for Bruna. Two of the three judges scored the fight 30-27 for Bruna and the third gave Molly round two and scored it 29-28 for Bruna. The UFC uses European judges on European shows and they aren't as good as Las Vegas judges. My only quibble is Bruna could have finished the fight and she chose not to do it. Enjoy the video!

AccuRadio Song Of The Day-The Donnas

Artist:The Donnas

Song:Don't Wait Up for Me

Album:Bitchin'

The all girl band The Donnas are a 90s version of the successful 70s band The Runaways. After gaining a cult following in the Los Angeles area, they got a major label deal but they flopped. Bitchin' was their only album after that and then they split up. The Donnas were from Palo Alto, CA. They all went to school together. The members were Brett Anderson on lead vocals, Allison Robertson on guitar, Maya Ford on bass and Torry Castellano on drums. They are all self taught and they practiced in Torry's garage nearly every day while attending Palo Alto High School. At first they called themselves Ragady Anne and then The Electrocutes. Both are terrible names. So this next thing made me laugh. I guess The Electrocutes were a punk band. They decided to create a second band called The Donnas with the same girls. But they played softer rock and wore different clothes. I never heard of a band doing this. Supercharger guitarist Darin Raffaelli liked The Donnas enough to produce an album and release it on his own label. I wonder if they told him about The Electrocutes. They even took a week off their senior year of high school to tour Japan. They all called themselves Donna. They signed with the indie label Lookout Records. They released two albums. For the most part, The Donnas write and produce everything. They signed with Atlantic Records in 2001. The album Spend the Night was released in 2002. Atlantic brought in producer Jason Carmer who had previously produced Run DMC. Atlantic tried to promote The Donnas. They were on Saturday Night Live and other shows, the main stage at Lollapalooza in 2003. You name it, they tried it. Nothing worked. The album only reached #62 on the Billboard 200. For the 2004 album Gold Medal, Scott Lift was brought in. The Donnas liked his work with R.E.M. But when that didn't work out, Butch Walker was brought in. He was working with Avril Lavigne. Atlantic again tried all kinds of things to promote The Donna but they had no success. There were management changes at Atlantic so The Donnas left and started their own label with RED distribution for the 2007 album Bitchin'. The big problem The Donnas were having was Torry Castellano was having shoulder problems and she retired in 2010. Amy Cesari of The Demonics replaced her. There was talk in 2012 of a new album but that fizzled and The Donnas split up. Brett Anderson has done some singing, most notably the theme for the Netflix sitcom The 90s Show. Here's the video for Don't Wait Up for Me by The Donnas. 

AccuRadio Song Of The Day-Prince Royce

Artist:Prince Royce f/Jennifer Lopez and Pitbull

Song:Back It Up

Album:Double Vision

Singer Prince Royce has been successful in the Latin market since 2010. In 2015, Sony Latin had him record in English. Obviously they have successfully done that with other artists like Marc Anthony. They even had Royce perform Back It Up on American Idol. It was a nice try but ultimately unsuccessful and Royce has returned to recording in Spanish. He was born Geoffrey Royce Rojas May 11, 1989 in New York City. His parents are Dominican. Royce started performing as a child and started writing at age 13. Then he started working with Jose "Jino" Chusan. They called themselves Jino and Royce, El Duo Real. That's when he started calling himself Prince Royce. He worked with the production duo of L.Snipe & Vinny (Donzell Rodriguez, Vincent Outerbridge). After an unsuccessful meeting with Atlantic Records, Royce decided to concentrate on bachata as reggaeton was in decline. Andres Hidalgo heard Royce's demos and became his manager. He was familiar with bachata. Hidalgo brought Royce to producer Sergio George who has worked with Marc Anthony among others. He signed Royce to his label Top Stop and produced his 2010 debut album. The album topped the Latin charts and was certified Diamond. The single Corazon sin Cara topped the Latin charts. After two albums on Top Stop, the relationship with George fizzled and Royce signed with Sony Latin. Royce was sued for breach of contract and I assume it was settled out of court. Part of Royce's deal was to record in English on RCA. Royce's 2013 album Soy el Mismo was a big success. It was certified 7XPlatinum and the single Darte un Beso topped the Latin charts. So next it was decided that Royce would record in English. The album was called Double Vision. The first single Stuck on a Feeling featured Snoop Dogg. It reached #43 on the Billboard Hot 100. Back It Up featuring Jennifer Lopez and Pitbull was the second single. It reached #92 on the Billboard Hot 100. The album didn't sell either. I'm sure Sony was disappointed. Since then Royce has released three mostly Spanish albums written and produced mostly by Royce. His latest album Llamada Perdida was released in February. it seems to be mostly traditional bachata. He hasn't had the same success since Double Vision. It looks like it killed his momentum. Here's the video for Back It Up by Prince Royce featuring Jennifer Lopez and Pitbull. 

AccuRadio Song Of The Day-Dayglow

Artist:Dayglow

Song:Close to You

Album:Harmony House

Singer songwriter Sloan Struble records as Dayglow. He does everything in his home studio and hires musicians for touring. This is commonly labeled as Bedroom Rock. He has had success in the indie rock market. But his new album is on a major label so we'll see how that goes. He was born Aug.10, 1999 in Aledo, TX. He taught himself everything by using the music software Garageband. He graduated from high school in Fort Worth in 2018. And he studied advertising at the University of Texas at Austin. Struble self released an album as Kindred in 2016. After releasing three more singles, Struble started calling himself Dayglow. The big difference is he started his own Very Nice label and signed with the British distributor AWAL. Struble released three albums as Dayglow. Close to You is from the 2021 album Harmony House. I would describe his music as Dream Pop. There's a market for this kind of music but not a mainstream market. Struble is very similar to Tame Impala's Kevin Parker. He does everything himself in the studio and hires musicians for touring. Struble insists on calling Dayglow a band. It's not a band...yet. After Sony purchased AWAL in 2021, Struble signed with the newly revived Mercury Records. Republic Records purchased the name recently. A new Dayglow album will be released in September. It remains to be seen if being on a major label changes how Struble does things. Or he remains a one man band. Here's the video for Close to You by Dayglow.

 

AccuRadio Song Of The Day-Cristian Castro

Artist:Cristian Castro

Song:Yo Queria

Album:Grandes Hits

Mexican singer Cristian Castro has been successful in Latin America since the mid-90s. He seems to be slowing down recently but he's still a popular concert draw. The kind of pop music that Castro sings is popular in several countries. He was born Dec. 8, 1974 in Mexico City. His mother is singer and actress Veronica Castro and his father is comedian Manuel "El Loco" Valdes. After his parents divorce, he lived with his mother. He was 18 years old in 1992 when he signed with Fonovisa. And though he had some success there, for the 1997 album Lo mejor de mi, Castro switched to the much larger BMG Latin which later turned into Sony Latin. Obviously Castro wanted to be an international star. And Fonovisa mostly concentrates on Mexico. Probably his most successful albums from that era were the 1999 album Mi Vida Sin Tu Amor and the 2001 album Azul. Yo queria is from Azul. Both the title song and Yo queria were top five Latin hits. Both albums were produced by Colombian producer Kike Santander. He has produced several artists but Castro really established him. He wrote several songs on the album too. Yo querio was written by Italian singer Toto Cutugno. Castro left BMG for Universal in 2004. This comp was released in 2002 and covers the RCA years. Castro was not as successful at Universal. Plus he divorced his wife and was forced to declare bankruptcy. So he went back to Sony in 2013. Among other things, Castro has released live versions of his hits. His latest album was a 2018 tribute to Juan Gabriel. He still tours but it almost seems like he plans to retire. Here's the video for Yo querio by Cristian Castro. 

AccuRadio Song Of The Day-The Peppermint Rainbow

Artist:The Peppermint Rainbow

Song:Will You Be Staying After Sunday

Album:Hard to Find 45s on CD Vol. 11: Sugar Pop Classics

The 1969 single Will You Be Staying After Sunday was the highest charting of two hits by The Peppermint Rainbow. They only recorded one album and then split up. My guess is most listeners thought this song was by Spanky and Our Gang. The two groups sound alike. The group was called New York Times when they formed in Baltimore in 1967. Bonnie Lamdin was the lead singer and her sister Patty Lamdin along with Doug Lewis on guitar, Skip Harris on bass and Anton Corey on drums. Bonnie wrote the arrangements and they all sang harmony. They were playing local clubs when Mama Cass of The Mamas and the Papas saw them and even joined them on stage. She got them a manager. And he did a showcase for record labels in New York City. Decca Records signed them and brought in producer Paul Leka. He produced similar acts like The Lemon Pipers (Green Tambourine) and Steam (Na Na Hey Hey Kiss him Goodbye). Leka changed the group name to The Peppermint Rainbow. They wouldn't have been able to use New York Times anyway for copyright reasons. They recorded the 1969 album Will You Be Staying After Sunday. The title song was the second single and it reached #32 on the Billboard Hot 100. The song was written by the Brill Building songwriting team of Al Kasha and Joel Hirschhorn. They went on to win Oscars for The Morning After from the 1972 film The Poseidon Adventure and We May Never Love Like This Again from the the 1974 film The Towering Inferno. A second single Don't Wake Me Up in the Morning, Michael also charted. But the album didn't sell. And I think they sounded too much like Spanky and Our Gang to be successful. You can get Will You Be Staying After Sunday on this Eric Records various artists comp. I guess there were plans for a second album. But after a couple of unsuccessful singles, The Peppermint Rainbow called it quits in 1970. Apparently their manager was ripping them off. Here's The Peppermint Rainbow performing Will You Be Staying After Sunday on a 1969 episode of the game show The Generation Gap. Apparently this was a trivia show hosted by Jack Barry. I never saw it.

 

AccuRadio Song Of The Day-Peter Palmer

Artist:Peter Palmer f/Stubby Kaye

Song:The Country's In the Very Best of Hands

Album:Li'l Abner: The Original Sound-track Score from the Paramount Picture

Actor Peter Palmer starred in the 1956 Broadway musical adaptation of Al Capp's popular comic strip Li'l Abner and he also starred in the 1959 film version. He's a tall handsome guy so it was assumed at the time that this would launch him to a long successful career. But Li'l Abner was his only significant role. Li'l Abner typecast Palmer as a hillbilly and those are the kind of roles he was offered. He was born Sept. 20, 1931 in Milwaukee. He attended the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign. He won a singing contest while in the US Army. And the prize was an appearance on The Ed Sullivan Show. He sang the song Granada. Producers Melvin Frank and Norman Panama were developing Li'l Abner as a musical and they saw Palmer on Sullivan. The songs for Li'l Abner were written by Johnny Mercer and Gene DePaul. They wrote the songs for Seven Brides for Seven Brothers. Film star Van Johnson wanted to star. He even offered to die his hair black. But Frank and Panama wanted a younger actor. After 400 auditions, Dick Shawn was reported as the likely choice. But they saw Palmer on TV and he was a trained singer and he had a music degree. Plus he was a big handsome guy who played football in college. Edie Adams was cast as Daisy Mae. She was in the 1953 show Wonderful Town. And of course character actor Stubby Kaye appears in the video clip. After the success on Broadway, Paramount wanted to turn it into a film. Frank and Panama produced so with the exception of Leslie Parrish as Daisy Mae, the cast of the film was the same as Broadway. The soundtrack is available on CD. Palmer's problem was Li'l Abner typecast him as a hillbilly. He tried to combat that by performing in nightclubs. He released a 1958 album called Presenting Peter Palmer on RCA. It was mostly showtunes so it didn't sell. He did mostly TV guest shots though he was a regular in the shortlived 1967 series Custer. He also appeared in the 1974 Broadway musical Lorelei starring Carol Channing. Palmer wouldn't appear in another film until the 1988 no budget film Deep Space. He did have a small role in the 1990 film Edward Scissorhands. He made his final TV appearance in 1994 and died on Sept. 21, 2021 at age 90. Over the years he was mainly a drama teacher. Here's Peter Palmer featuring Stubby Kaye performing The Country's in the Very Best of Hands from the 1959 film Li'l Abner.

 

AccuRadio Song Of The Day-Les Respectables

Artist:Les Respectables

Song:On Fait C'qu'on Aime (We Want the Sunshine)

Album:QuadroSonic

The band Les Respectables were successful mostly in Quebec in the late 90s and the early 00s. They are from Quebec City with Sebastien Plante on lead vocals, Pascal Dufour on guitar, Stephane Dussault on bass and Stephane Beaudin on drums. They won a 1992 talent contest run by Montreal radio station CHOM-FM and they also reached the grand final of Yamaha Music's Sunfest held in Gimli, MB. After self releasing three albums, they signed with Les Disques Passeport for the 1999 album $=Bonheur. Their single L'Homme 7 Up got some airplay on Quebec radio and then 7 Up bought the rights to use the song in ads. For the 2002 album QuadroSonic, Les Respectables began a relationship with Big Sugar leader Gordie Johnson. That's a band most Canadian listeners have heard. They must have met him at an awards show. He produced Quadrosonic. Plante and Dufour wrote most of the songs. This album is available as a digital download. You'll notice they sing in English on On Fait C'qu'on Aime. So it made me wonder if Les Respectables ever thought of recording in English. That's exactly what they did on the 2009 album Sweet Mama. Johnson not only produced but co-wrote all the songs. Les Respectables last released an album in 2010. But they still perform live in Quebec. Here's the video for On Fait C'qu'on Aime by Les Respectables.

  

Big Bad Blog Video Theater-Luana Carolina vs Lucie Pudilova

Here's the fight video of Luana Carolina vs Lucie Pudilova from last night's UFC show in Las Vegas. This fight is at Flyweight. Luana is 31 years old from Sao Paulo, Brazil. She is now training at Syndicate MMA in Las Vegas with John Wood. She is 5-3 in the UFC and is on a two fight winning streak. Lucie is 30 years old from Czech Republic. She was in the UFC a few years ago and then was brought back a couple of years ago after she moved to England and started training with John Kavanagh. But her record has been 1-2 since her return. She has fought at Bantamweight and Flyweight. I didn't think Lucie was any good a few years ago. And I don't think she has improved. Luana won fairly easily. I scored it 30-27. One judge scored it the same and the other two scored it 29-28. I think round two was close. But it was what I expected. Lucie doesn't belong in the UFC. Enjoy the video! 

Big Bad Blog Video Theater-Miranda Maverick vs Dione Barbosa

Here's the fight video of Miranda Maverick vs Dione Barbosa from last night's UFC show in Las Vegas. This fight is at Flyweight. Miranda was supposed to fight Tracy Cortez. Dione was brought in when Tracy was moved to last week. Miranda is 27 years old from Missouri but she trains at Elevation Fight Team in Denver with former Bellator fighter Eliot Marshall and Justin Houghton. Her UFC record is 6-3 and she is on a two fight winning streak. Dione is 32 years old from Minas Gerais, Brazil. She trains at BH Rhinos. She was in the Contenders Series and won her UFC debut a couple of months ago. I don't think she's at Miranda's level yet so I expected Miranda to win. But I did not expect a finish. I thought Miranda won fairly easily. Round two was close but Miranda won the other two rounds. So I scored it 30-27 for Miranda. Two of the three judges scored it the same and the third scored it 29-28. The opponent change did Miranda no favors as Tracy would have been a better test for her. And that goes back to last week's lousy matchmaking. Enjoy the video! 

Big Bad Blog Video Theater-Virna Jandiroba vs Amanda Lemos

Here's the fight video of Virna Jandiroba vs Amanda Lemos from last night's UFC show in Las Vegas. This fight is at Strawweight and is a five round main event. I'm sure the UFC's preference would have been to have Virna face Tatiana Suarez in a title eliminator. But Tatiana is injured so this will have to do. Virna is 36 years old from Bahia, Brazil. She trains at Academia Fight Hiuse. Her UFC record is 6-3 and she is on a three fight win streak. Virna is a BJJ whiz who has raised her intensity since becoming a title contender. She has admitted that she is too nice. I think training at Xtreme Couture in Las Vegas has helped her. Amanda is 37 years old from Para, Brazil. She trains at Marajo Brothers Team which is the Alcantara brothers who both used to be in the UFC. Her UFC record is 8-3 and one of those losses was for the Strawweight title to Zhang Weili. Amanda is a hard puncher so keeping the fight standing is her route to victory. But instead she decides to grapple with Virna. Of course this was a big mistake and it led to Virna winning with an armbar at the end of round two. I don't know why she did that. It didn't make any sense last night and it still doesn't make sense. Virna now wants a title shot. But that depends on Tatiana Suarez. I doubt she could beat Zhang Weili but she deserves a chance. Enjoy the video.  

AccuRadio Song Of The Day-Djavan

Artist:Djavan

Song:Cigano

Album:Puzzle of Hearts

Brazilian singer songwriter Djavan takes the traditional elements of Brazilian music and mixes them with jazz. This has made him very successful in Brazil and internationally since the 80s. He was born Djavan Caetano Viana Jan. 27, 1949 in Macelo, Alagoas, Brazil. His father was Dutch and his mother was black. He started out in music as a teen in a local cover band. After moving to Rio de Janeiro in 1973, Djavan was hired to sing on soap opera soundtracks. He also sang in clubs to supplement his income. His big break came when he finished second in a TV talent contest. And this was followed by a 1976 album and then a record deal with EMI. After two albums, Djavan signed with Columbia and they brought him to the US to record the 1982 album Luz. The album was produced by jazz organist Ronnie Foster and he played on the album along with guys like Hubert Laws on flute, Ernie Watts on sax, Paul Jackson Jr. on guitar, Jerry Hey on trumpet, Bill Reichenbach on trombone, Abraham Laboriel on bass and Harvey Mason on drums. Stevie Wonder made a guest appearance and he brought Quincy Jones in to help Djavan publish his songs so they could be covered by others. Djavan continued to record with US musicians until he returned to Brazil for the 1989 album Djavan. That and the 1990 album Puzzle of Hearts were produced by veteran Brazilian producer Mazzolla. He has worked with Jorge Ben among others. Djavan kept that jazz feel to his music. He's in demand all over the world. Djavan's latest album D was released in 2022 and he continues to tour worldwide. Fans of Brazilian music should check him out. Here's Djavan performing Cigano at the 1997 Montreux Jazz Festival.

 

AccuRadio Song Of The Day-Audio Adrenaline

Artist:Audio Adrenaline

Song:Ocean Floor

Album:Adios: The Greatest Hits

Audio Adrenaline is a CCM band that had success in the late 90s until they disbanded in 2006. Most of their success was on the Christian charts. They never crossed over to mainstream pop. Audio Adrenaline reformed in 2012. But they were not successful and they split up for good in 2015. The band was called A-180 when they formed in 1986 by Mark Stuart on lead vocals, Barry Blair on guitar, Will McGinniss on bass, David Stuart on keyboards and Phil Vaughan on drums. They were all students at Kentucky Christian University. Ron Gibson soon replaced Vaughan. A-180 toured mostly in the Midwest and recorded two albums on tape that they sold at shows. Then songwriter Bob Herdman brought them the song My God. A-180 liked the song so much that Herdman joined the band. A demo got the attention of Toby McKeehan (Toby Mac of DC Talk) and he brought it to Eddie DeGarmo's (Degarmo & Key) label ForeFront. The band signed but the name was changed to Audio Adrenaline. Apparently this was Herdman's idea too. Apparently there was a period where the band wasn't sure what kind of music they wanted to do or what ForeFront wanted. As a result, they were not happy with the 1992 album Audio Adrenaline. They weren't happy with the 1993 album Don't Censor Me either though the singles Big House and Can't Take God Away were #1 Christian hits. They toured with DC Talk. But Audio Adrenaline wanted their own identity. So the 1997 album Bloom was more of a straight rock album. It was certified Gold and set them up for success for the next few years. Blair was replaced by Tyler Burkum and Ben Cissell replaced Gibson. The success continued with the 2001 album Lift and the single Ocean Floor. As with their other albums, Audio Adrenaline wrote all the songs. But Lift was the only album where they self produced. Sometimes they brought in veteran producers like Charlie Peacock and Jay Joyce. Audio Adrenaline won a Best Rock Gospel Album Grammy for the 2005 album Until My Heart Caves In. Then they announced their retirement mostly because Stuart was having voice problems due to spasmodic dysphonia. That's when this comp was released. Stuart and McGinniss continued to work together on the P&W group Know Hope Collective. They decided to relaunch Audio Adrenaline in 2012 with a new lineup except for McGinniss. Kevin Max of DC Talk was the lead singer. It was kind of a superband. They released two albums on Fair Trade Services. But there was constant personnel changes. And when McGinniss decided to leave, that was the end for Audio Adrenaline. There were no original members and at that point, the band was just a name. Here's the video for Ocean Floor by Audio Adrenaline.

  

AccuRadio Song Of The Day-The Cliks

Artist:The Cliks

Song:Oh Yeah

Album:Snakehouse

Supposedly The Cliks leader Lucas Silveira is the first openly transgender man to sign with a major record label. Well, it's one thing to sign with a major label. Promoting a transgender man is a different matter. The Cliks are from Toronto led by lead singer and songwriter Lucas Silveira. He is of Portuguese descent. He has been aware of his gender identity issues since he was a child. He started performing at age 18 and self released a couple of solo albums. Then he formed The Cliks in 2004 and self released an album. The album got enough attention locally that Warner Bros. Records Canada came calling and offered Silveira a record deal. They also told him they could get him a US record deal. But the problem was The Cliks split up in 2005. So for the 2007 album Snakehouse, Silveira brought in bassist Jordan B. Wright and drummer Morgan Doctor. Plus as promised he got a US record deal with Tommy Boy. Of course in the 80s Tommy Boy was a successful rap label. They weren't the same label in 2007. They brought in The Pursuit of Happiness leader Moe Berg to produce. Of course Silveira wrote all the songs and sang lead. Oh Yeah was the lead single. It's a great pop song. But as I said, signing and promoting a transgender man are different things. And it doesn't surprise me that a major label would be reluctant to promote a transgender man and radio stations would be reluctant to play him. Plus this version of The Cliks split up in 2009. Silveira has released a couple of solo albums under The Cliks name, most recently in 2013. Silveira releases occasional videos on YouTube. And he's a prominent LGBT activist. So he still has a following in Toronto. But with proper promotion, The Cliks could have been much more than they were. Here's the video for Oh Yeah by The Cliks.

AccuRadio Song Of The Day-Brandon Victor Dixon

Artist:Brandon Victor Dixon

Song:Go Back Home

Album:The Scottsboro Boys

Brandon Victor Dixon is a musical theater performer who has had success since appearing in the 2005 musical The Color Purple. He was nominated for a Drama Desk Award for playing the lead role of Haywood Patterson in the 2010 musical The Scottsboro Boys. He has appeared in films and on TV. But he is concentrating on Broadway and is getting into producing shows. He was born Sept. 23, 1981 in Gaithersberg, MD which is a suburb of Washington, DC. Dixon attended the British American Drama Academy in Oxford, England. He graduated from Columbia University in 2003. After appearing in a touring company of The Lion King, Dixon landed the role of Harpo in the 2005 Broadway musical The Color Purple. He was nominated for a Tony Award for Best Featured Actor in a Musical. He also appeared in a 2009 touring company of that show. Then he played Haywood Patterson in the 2010 off-Broadway production of The Scottsboro Boys written by the veteran songwriting team of John Kander and Fred Ebb. Dixon was nominated for a Drama Desk Award for Outstanding Actor in a Musical. When the show moved to Broadway, Dixon did not appear in it. He did appear in a 2014 London production of The Scottsboro Boys. Because the show didn't last that long on Broadway, the cast album is for the off-Broadway cast. He then won a Tony Award as a producer of the 2014 musical Hedwig and the Angry Itch. Among his other shows, Dixon played Berry Gordy Jr. in the 2013 musical Motown: The Musical, he played Eubie Blake in the 2016 revival of Shuffle Along and he replaced Leslie Odom Jr. as Aaron Burr in Hamilton. On TV, Dixon had a recurring role in the STARZ TV series Power. He played Judas Iscariot in the 2018 live TV production of Jesus Christ Superstar and was nominated for a Grammy and an Emmy. He also appeared in the 2019 live TV broadcast of Rent. Dixon is back on Broadway and Tony nominated for the 2024 musical Hell's Kitchen. This is an Alicia Keys jukebox musical. He has a supporting role in the 2024 film Your Monster. He is developing shows as a producer but nothing is ready yet. I'm sure we will see more of Dixon in the future. Here's Brandon Victor Dixon performing Go Back Home on an episode of Theatre Talk. 

AccuRadio Song Of The Day-Capital Cities

Artist:Capital Cities

Song:Safe and Sound

Album:In a Tidal Wave of Mystery

The 2011 single Safe and Sound was a top ten hit in 2011. It is to date the only chart single for the duo Capital Cities. You probably know the song. And I'm sure you have seen the video as it won an MTV Video Music Award for Best Visual Effects. But you know nothing about Capital Cities. Aren't they the parent company of ABC TV? Ha ha ha. Capital Cities is from Los Angeles. Songwriters Ryan Merchant and Sebu Simonian met in 2008 while searching through Craigslist. And before you laugh, musicians have a long history of finding each other through want ads in newspapers like The Penny Saver. It's just now everything is online. After three years of successfully writing jingles, they decided to take the next step and released the song Safe and Sound on a 2011 self released EP. When the song started getting airplay on Los Angeles radio stations, they signed with Capitol Records and released the 2013 album In a Tidal Wave of Mystery. Safe and Sound reached #8 on the Billboard Hot 100. MTV played the video in heavy rotation. It's a great video. The album was certified Platinum. Merchant and Simonian write and produce everything. They bring in musicians to record and they also hire musicians for touring. In a Tidal Wave of Mystery is available as a budget CD. This is to date their only chart single. Subsequent singles from the album did not chart. Then they released the album Solarize in 2018. And I don't care who you are. After a big hit like that, you can't wait five years to release a second album. Capital Cities is now forgotten. They're still around. A single was released last year. And Simonian produced a track on Brian Wilson's 2015 album No Pier Pressure. Maybe these two are a couple of jingle writers who got lucky. That's how one hit wonders are born. Here's the video for Safe and Sound by Capital Cities. The award winning visual effects are by Grady Hall.

 

AccuRadio Song Of The Day-Musiq Soulchild

Artist:Musiq Soulchild

Song:Silky Soul

Album:Silky Soul Music: An All Star Tribute to Maze Featuring Frankie Beverly

I like to feature tribute albums because I think the album will interest fans of the artist. The problem is most of the time there is no video for tribute albums. This album is a tribute to the popular R&B group Maze Featuring Frankie Beverly produced by his son. A music video of Musiq Soulchild's cover of Silky Soul was produced. And I guess it's also a Musiq Soulchild discography orphan. Of course Frankie Beverly started Maze in the mid 70s after meeting Marvin Gaye and though Maze never crossed over to pop, they were very popular on the R&B charts for most of the 80s. Silky Soul is the title song of Maze's 1989 album Silky Soul. The song is a tribute to Gaye and so is Musiq Soulchild's video. Maze recorded for first Capitol and then Warner Bros. from 1977-93. It looks like Beverly retired at that point. He certainly didn't record. In those later days of Maze, Beverly's son Anthony Beverly played drums in Maze. And in 2009, he decided to produce a tribute album to his dad. As I said, Silky Soul was the lead single and there is a video. Others appearing on the album include Kem, Raheem DeVaughan, Mary J. Blige, Joe, Ledisi, Mint Condition, Kevon Edmonds, Avant and The Clark Sisters with Kierra Sheard and J Moss. This album is available as a digital download. It looks like a pretty good tribute album. Maze fans should check it out. Here's the video for Silky Soul by Musiq Soulchild. 

 

AccuRadio Song Of The Day-Janis Ian

Artist:Janis Ian

Song:At Seventeen

Album:Best of Janis Ian: The Autobiography Collection

So we all know what a one hit wonder is. I write about enough of them. But it is possible to be a one hit wonder multiple times if they are in different decades. In this case, singer songwriter Janis Ian was 16 years old when Society's Child was a top 20 hit in 1967. Then she scored a top five hit with the 1975 single At Seventeen. These were her only two big hits. One of her other songs charted so technically she isn't a one hit wonder anyway. But by most listener standards, Janis Ian is a two time one hit wonder. So what happened after Society's Child? She recorded four albums for Verve Forecast. But after Society's Child, Janis didn't have much success. She retired and moved to Philadelphia. Janis recorded the 1971 album Present Company for Capitol. It didn't sell but when Roberta Flack recorded her song Jesse, that encouraged Janis and she signed a new record deal with Columbia Records and producer Brooks Arthur. He liked to use jazz musicians on his records. The 1974 album Stars and the single The Man You Are in Me did well enough that Columbia thought they might have something. At Seventeen was the first single from the 1975 album Between the Lines. The self confessional nature of the song struck a chord with listeners and it reached #3 on the Billboard Hot 100. The album topped the Billboard 200. Subsequent albums did OK. But Janis was never able to score another hit single. She left Columbia in 1981. She started her own Rude Girl label in 1992 and this 2CD comp is on Rude Girl. It includes Society's Child and At Seventeen. Janis released a new album in 2022. Here's Janis Ian performing At Seventeen on a 1976 episode of BBC's The Old Grey Whistle Test.

 

Big Bad Blog Video Theater-Luana Santos vs Mariya Agapova

 Here's the fight video of Luana Santos vs Mariya Agapova from last night's UFC show in Denver. This fight is at Flyweight. Luana is 24 years old from Sao Paulo, Brazil. She trains at 011 Fight Team and Team Lucas Mineiro. She's 2-0 in the UFC. Luana is a BJJ whiz. Mariya is 27 years old from Kazakhstan. She's 2-3 in the UFC. This is her first fight since 2022. I don't think she's any good. So I expected Luana to win easily. And sure enough, Luana took Mariya down. And after trying a triangle arm choke, Luana took Mariya's back and won with a rear naked choke at 3:27 of round one. Obviously I would like to see Luana face a higher competition level. It's time to move her up. Enjoy the video!

Big Bad Blog video Theater-Jasmine Jasudavicius vs Fatima Kline

Here's the fight video of Jasmine Jasudavicius vs Fatima Kline from last night's UFC show in Denver. This fight is at Flyweight. Jasmine's original opponent was Viviane Araujo who pulled out due to injury. So again the UFC had to scramble to find a short notice replacement. Fatima is 24 years old from Hyde Park, NY. She trains with Erin Blanchfield. I have seen her a few times in Invicta and she's pretty good. The problem is she's a Strawweight. She shouldn't be fighting at Flyweight. She accepted this fight because she was already booked to fight on Contenders Series in Sept. Of course this gets her on the UFC roster. This is how the UFC finds a lot of short notice replacements. So Obviously Fatima was at a size disadvantage and Jasmine won easily be unanimous decision. Jasmine is now 5-2 in the UFC. But if you look at who she has beaten, she should be thankful that Viviane pulled out as she was a step up in competition level. Jasmine's losses are to Tracy Cortez and Natalia Silva. That's level of opponent that she needs to beat. I think Jasmine dodged a bullet. That's the nature of most late notice replacement fights. Enjoy the video! 

Big Bad Blog Video Theater-Rose Namajunas vs Tracy Cortez

Here's the fight video of Rose Namajunas vs Tracy Cortez from last night's UFC show in Denver. This fight is at Flyweight. It's a five round main event. Rose's original opponent was Maycee Barber. The idea was Rose lives in Colorado and Maycee is from Colorado. But Maycee is having serious health problems and should have never accepted the fight. Because she pulled out a couple of weeks ago.. Tracy was supposed to fight Miranda Maverick next week. The UFC got her to take this fight. And I hope they gave her a substantial bonus. Because she should have said no. For starters, it's a five round fight and she was training for a three round fight. Second, the altitude is a big problem especially for a five round fight. Plus though Tracy is 5-0 in the UFC, Rose is a big step up in competition. Of course by the time the UFC was forced to make the change, it was too late to cancel the fight as tickets were already sold with Rose promised to appear. What's the solution? The UFC should have been more careful regarding Maycee's health issues. Be sure she should accept the fight. They could have found someone else back when it was announced. They wouldn't have had to panic like they did here. As expected, the fight was a waste of time. Rose won easily by unanimous decision. The point is the makeshift nature of the match was because the matchmaker in question didn't do his job. And the win doesn't help Rose as she's not getting a title shot. She did say she would like to fight in Lithuania. That's not happening either. Enjoy the fight! 

AccuRadio Song Of The Day-The San Remo Golden Strings

Artist:The San Remo Golden Strings

Song:Hungry for Love

Album:Anthology

The 1965 single Hungry for Love was a top 30 hit. That's pretty good for an instrumental. The San Remo Golden Strings was an easy listening instrumental band with a twist. They were from Detroit and included members of The Detroit Symphony and the Motown studio group The Funk Brothers. It looks like the group was the brainchild of Golden World Records owner Ed Wingate mostly to irritate Motown owner Berry Gordy. The San Remo Golden Strings were on Golden World's Ric-Tic label. He even gave the group a European sounding name so Gordy wouldn't think they were from Detroit. Wingate and partner Joanne Bratton started Golden World to compete with Motown. They usually signed acts that Motown rejected like The Reflections who scored a top ten hit in 1964 with the single (Just Like) Romeo and Juliet. The most notable Golden World artists were Edwin Starr and The Fantastic Four. Wingate asked some local musicians if they would be interested in recording an album for the easy listening market with a Detroit twist. A lot of the band were members of the Detroit Symphony Orchestra. But there were also musicians from Motown's studio group The Funk Brothers. Obviously they would be in trouble if Gordy ever found out. But Wingate wanted that Motown vibe. And The Funk Brothers provided that. Plus they got paid. Wingate brought in Funk Brothers trumpeter Gil Askey to produce the music and recruit The Funk Brothers. The album Hungry for Love was released and the single Hungry for Love reached #27 on the Billboard Hot 100. There were no Motown songs on the album. They were mostly faux Motown. Hungry for Love was originally recorded by The Reflections. After The San Remo Golden Strings appeared on the 1965 Edwin Starr hit Agent Double-O-Soul, Gordy found out what was happening and put a stop to it. Supposedly he fined each Funk Brother that was in the band a million bucks. Golden World and Ric-Tic continued to be a Motown irritant until Gordy bought the company for a million bucks. This paid off when Edwin Starr became a big star. This San Remo Golden Strings budget comp was released by the Belgian reissue label Marginal Records in 1998. I recommend this to instrumental music fans. Here's a video for Hungry for Love by The San Remo Golden Strings.

 

AccuRadio Song Of The Day-La Arrolladora Banda El Limon De Rene Camacho

Artist:La Arrolladora Banda El Limon De Rene Camacho

Song:Cabecita Dura

Album:Las Bandas Romanticas

The Mexican regional band La Arrolladora has been around since the 60s. They are from Mazatlan, Sinaloa, Mexico. They split into two bands in 1997. La Arrolladora Banda El Limon De Rene Camacho is the more successful of the two bands. Of course they are unknown outside of Mexico. And there are different bands in different regions. And La Arrolladora is very popular in Sinaloa. That's the abbreviated name as the full name of the band is quite a mouthful. When they started out in the 60s, they were called Banda El Limon and were led by Salvador Lizarraga. When Lizarraga suffered a stroke in 1997, Rene Camacho and his brother Fernando took over Banda El Limon. This was only supposed to be temporary until Lizarraga returned. But I guess they couldn't get along as Camacho started a new band that is now called La Arrolladora. Lizarraga continued as La Original Banda El Limon. La Arrolladora signed with Sony Latin and had success on the Mexican charts. In 2003, they switched to Disa Records with Universal distribution. They won a Latin Grammy for the 2011 album Todo Depende De Ti. Cabecita Dura is from the 2012 album Irreversible...2012. As with everything they release, the album topped the Mexican Regional charts. This budget comp is a good intro to La Arrolladora's music. The Camacho brothers continue to lead La Arolladora and they continue to have success in Mexico. Their latest album En Contra De Mi Voluntad was released in 2021. Here's the video for Cabecita Dura by La Arrolladora El Limon De Rene Camacho. 

AccuRadio Song Of The Day-Roger Williams

Artist:Roger Williams

Song:Born Free

Album:The Roger Williams Collection

For most of his career, pianist Roger Williams recorded instrumental albums for the Easy Listening market. But he would have occasional chart success as he did with this 1966 recording of the theme from the film Born Free. He was born Louis Weertz Oct. 1, 1924 in Omaha but he grew up in Des Moines. His father was a Lutheran minister and his mother was a violinist and music teacher. Williams learned to play piano as a child. He played organ in his father's church. But he got into boxing as a teen and was a US Navy boxing champ. Williams majored in music at Drake University in Des Moines. But he was expelled for playing Smoke Gets in Your Eyes in a practice room. They had a classical music only policy. That's when he joined the US Navy. Not only was he a boxing champ but he earned a bachelor's degree in engineering at Idaho State. After his discharge from the Navy, Williams returned to Drake and earned a master's degree in music. Then he moved to New York to attend Juilliard and study jazz piano with Lennie Tristano and Teddy Wilson. So Williams could have been a jazz musician. But after winning on the TV talent shows Arthur Godfrey's Talent Scouts and Chance of a Lifetime, Kapp Records owner David Kapp signed him and renamed him Roger Williams after the founder of Rhode Island. Autumn Leaves was Williams' first single in 1955 and it is the only piano instrumental to top the charts. It sold over two million copies. So Williams' fate is sealed. He recorded easy listening albums for Kapp for the next two decades. In those days, that kind of music sold very well. Billboard ranks Williams as the top selling piano recording artist in history. So his albums sold very well. Williams' other big hit was when his 1966 recording of the theme from the film Born Free reached #7 on the Billboard Hot 100. That film was very popular at the time. John Barry wrote the score for Born Free and he brought in Don Black to write lyrics for the theme. Black also wrote the lyrics for Barry's theme from Thunderball. Black was also a manager and singer Matt Monro was a client. The problem was the Born Free producers didn't like Monro's recording. So they weren't going to use it until Monro pointed out that unless it was in the film, the song wouldn't be eligible for an Oscar. Monro's recording didn't chart. But Kapp A&R head Hy Grill and arranger Ralph Carmichael had Williams record Born Free and made that the title of the album too. It was a big success and Williams performed Born Free on the Oscar Awards broadcast. Williams continued to record for Kapp and then MCA until 1979. By that time, his brand of easy listening wasn't popular anymore. You can get Born Free and Autumn Leaves on this comp from the film music label Varese. Williams continued to perform and record occasionally until he was diagnosed with pancreatic cancer and died on Oct. 8, 2011 at age 87. Here's Roger Williams with The Young Americans performing Born Free on the 1967 Oscar Awards broadcast Apr. 10, 1967. 

AccuRadio Song Of The Day-112

Artist:112

Song:Cupid

Album:112

The R&B vocal group 112 (pronounced one twelve) had success mostly on the R&B charts in the late 90s on Sean "Puffy" Combs' label Bad Boy. They will certainly remind you of Boyz II Men but they weren't as successful. They met while attending high school in Atlanta. It started with Daron Jones, Michael Keith and Reginald Finley. Then they added Aldon Lagon and Marvin Scandrick. They called themselves Forte. The production team of Tim & Bob (Tim Kelley, Bob Robinson) spotted them and tried to get them a deal with Dallas Austin's new label Rowdy Records. Producer Kevin Wales got them to audition for Combs and they signed with Bad Boy. The name 112 is Club 112 in Atlanta where they auditioned. They moved to New York to record the 1996 album 112. Most of the album was produced either by Tim & Bob or Combs. Cupid reached #13 on the Billboard Hot 100 and #2 on the R&B Singles chart. The producer was Arnold Hennings who had previously worked with Jermaine Stewart and Hi-Five. 112 co-wrote and co-produced Cupid and other songs on the album. Garcelle Beauvais from NYPD Blue appeared in the video. The 1998 album Room 112 was also successful. The singles Love Me and Anywhere were top five R&B hits. The big thing is 112 got to write and produce several songs including Anywhere. They scored their two biggest hits from the 2001 album Part III. It's Over Now reached #6 on the Billboard Hot 100 and Peaches & Cream reached #4 on the Billboard Hot 100. Combs and Mario Winans produced Peaches & Cream and Jones and 112 produced It's Over Now. They produced a lot of the album. But it didn't sell as well as previous albums and 112 wanted to leave Bad Boy for DefJam's DefSoul label. The 2003 album Hot & Wet was released by both labels and the 2005 album Pleasure & Pain was on DefSoul. Pleasure & Pain was certified Gold and the single U Already Know was a top five R&B hit. But it wasn't enough and Def Soul dropped 112. There is no 112 comp but all albums are available as digital downloads. 112 is still around. They released an album on their own label in 2017. Scandrick and Keith lead a touring version of 112 and the others have released solo  albums. But considering the high powered folks behind 112, they should have been more successful. Here's the video for Cupid by 112.

 

AccuRadio Song Of The Day-Jesse McCartney

Artist:Jesse McCartney

Song:Beautiful Soul

Album:Beautiful Soul

Jesse McCartney was in the daytime soap All My Children. Then he joined the boy band Dream Street. After they split up in 2002, McCartney signed with Disney's Hollywood label and had success with his 2004 debut album Beautiful Soul and the title song. His music was clearly aimed at the teen market. McCartney was born Apr. 9, 1987 in Ardsley, NY in Westchester County. He started performing in musicals as a child and at age ten, he went on a national tour of The King and I. From 1998-2001, McCartney played Adam Chandler Jr. on the ABC daytime soap All My Children. He was nominated for Daytime Emmys. Meanwhile, he was in the group Sugar Beats. And after they split up, he was in Dream Street. They released a 2001 album on the German Edel label. But parents of the band members sued the producers for exposing underage band members to debauchery. McCartney left Dream Street before the case went to court and signed with Disney owned Hollywood Records. So he was 17 years old when the 2004 album Beautiful Soul was released. The single Beautiful Soul reached #16 on the Billboard Hot 100. The album was certified Platinum. About half the album was produced by Canadian Matthew Gerrard. He played bass for Kim Mitchell. After moving to Los Angeles, he produced Nick Carter, Hilary Duff and High School Musical. Beautiful Soul was written and produced by Andy Dodd and Adam Watts. They work with Miley Cyrus and Demi Lovato. Both Gerrard and Dodd & Watts have close working relationships with Disney. This is the kind of music that Disney wants to sell on The Disney Channel. McCartney won Teen Choice and Nickolodeon Kids' Choice awards. While McCartney toured, he appeared as himself on Hannah Montana. McCartney's 2006 album Right Where You Want Me didn't do nearly as well as the first album. He again worked mostly with Dodd & Watts. Leavin' from the 2008 album Departure reached #10 on the Billboard Hot 100. But the album didn't sell. On this album, he worked with hip hop oriented producers like rapper Sean Garrett. Leavin' was was produced by Christopher "Tricky" Stewart and Terius "The-Dream" Nash. I guess McCartney wanted a more mature sound. McCartney recorded a fourth album Have It All. But there was a new president at Hollywood Records and he shelved the album. That was the end for McCartney at Hollywood. He has since self released albums and EPs, most recently in 2024. As an actor, though McCartney appears quite a bit on TV, he does lots of voice over work. And before you pooh pooh that, voice work can be very lucrative and the money McCartney makes doing voice work probably keeps him in music. Here's the video for Beautiful Soul by Jesse McCartney. He was probably 15 years old when this video was made. 

 

AccuRadio Song Of The Day-Eleanor Friedberger

Artist:Eleanor Friedberger

Song:When I Knew

Album:Personal Record

Singer songwriter Eleanor Friedberger is best known as one half of the duo The Fiery Furnaces with brother Matthew Friedberger. When The Fiery Furnaces went on hiatus in 2011, both recorded solo albums. They have reformed in recent years but have not released an album. Eleanor was born Sept. 2, 1976 in the Chicago suburb of Oak Park, IL. The Fiery Furnaces signed with the British label Rough Trade in 2002 and released a total of eight albums. Eleanor did all the singing and Matthew wrote the songs and produced the music. As siblings, The Fiery Furnaces were frequently compared to another sibling duo The White Stripes. They went on hiatus after a 2011 tour. Both have recorded solo albums. Eleanor signed with Merge Records. When I Knew is from her 2013 album Personal Record. The album was produced by Eric Broucek who also produced Eleanor's first album and plays keyboards. Eleanor wrote all the songs with British singer songwriter Wesley Stace who records as John Wesley Harding. This album is available as a digital download. For the 2016 album New View, Eleanor switched to Frenchkiss Records and she self produced that album and the 2018 album Rebound. That album was more commercial than previous albums as she was influenced by a trip to Greece and a nightclub she visited called Rebound. In 2020, The Fiery Furnaces announced that they were reuniting and would play at the Pitchfork Music Festival in Chicago. That was cancelled due to COVIID but they did play the festival in 2021. The Fiery Furnaces signed with Jack Black's Third Man label. They have released a single but there is no album yet. They have been playing live and Eleanor has been performing live as well. But until we get new music from them, who knows what's happening. But it's like I said. They are playing live. Here's the video for When I Knew by Eleanor Friedberger.

 

AccuRadio Song Of The Day-Sister Janet Mead

Artist:Sister Janet Mead

Song:The Lord's Prayer

Album:Super Hits of the '70s: Have a Nice Day Vol. 12

This musical adaptation of The Lord's Prayer was a top five hit in 1974. It was the only chart single for Australian Catholic nun Sister Janet Mead. And she wasn't the first nun to score a hit single. I have already written about the other one. She was born Aug. 17, 1937 in Adelaide, South Australia. In the church, she was known as Sister Marietta. At age 17, she formed a band to provide music for her local church. Sister Janet studied piano at the Adelaide Conservatory and became a music teacher at two local schools. She wanted to make Mass more accessible and she held a series of Rock Masses at St. Francis Xavier's Cathedral in Adelaide. Sister Janet started recording for schools and churches. Festival Records producer Martin Erdman thought Sister Janet had commercial potential. He asked her to record Donovan's Brother Sun, Sister Moon. The Lord's Prayer was on the B side. So you know what happens sometimes. DJs preferred the B side. After The Lord's Prayer was a hit in Australia, A&M Records picked it up for the US and it reached #4 on the Billboard Hot 100. Sister Janet donated her share of royalties to charity. The first nun to score a hit was Belgian nun Jeanine Deckers AKA The Singing Nun. She topped the charts with Dominique in 1963. I wrote about this song in 2012. You can find it by searching the blog. You can find The Lord's Prayer on this Rhino various artists comp. Sister Janet recorded an album. But the success made her question her faith. So she quit the music business. She returned later on and received recognition in Australia. But most will only remember her recording of The Lord's Prayer. Sister Janet Mead died on Jan.26, 2022 at age 84. Here's the video for The Lord's Prayer by Sister Janet Mead.

 

AccuRadio Song Of The Day-Christian Bale

Artist:Christian Bale

Song:The World Will Know

Album:Newsies: Original Motion Picture Soundtrack

British actor Christian Bale became famous as a teen when he appeared in the 1987 Steven Spielberg film Empire of the Sun. Subsequently he struggled until he reached adulthood. One of his early films was the 1992 film Newsies. This was Disney's attempt to revive the all singing all dancing musical that we loved from MGM in the 50s. The film was a box office failure. But it has developed a following through home video. As far as I can tell, Newsies was Bale's only appearance in a musical. I think he sings in one other film. Bale was born Jan. 30, 1974 in Haverfordwest, Wales but he grew up mostly in the resort town of Bournemouth, England. He appeared in TV commercials as a child. After appearing in the 1986 TV movie Anastasia: The Mystery of Anna, the film's star Amy Irving told her director husband Steven Spielberg about Bale. He was casting the lead in the 1987 film Empire of the Sun. It made Bale famous. He also appeared in Kenneth Branagh's 1989 film Henry V. Then Bale appeared in Newsies. This musical about the 1899 newsboys strike in New York City was written by the husband wife team of Bob Tzudiker and Noni White and directed by choreographer Kenny Ortega. The script was not a musical. Disney head Jeffrey Katzenberg made that decision and he brought in the songwriting team of Alan Menken and Howard Ashman. They wrote the songs for The Little Mermaid and Beauty and the Beast. When Ashman got sick and died of AIDS, lyricist Jack Feldman was brought in to help Menken. J.A.C. Redford composed the score. Bale did his own singing in the film including on the call to strike song The World Will Know. Of course Newsies was supposed to be a Disney tentpole. But the film bombed at the box office and was a critical failure. It would gain a following on home video. And Disney revived Newsies as a Broadway musical in 2012. It did well and got eight Tony nominations. So I think Newsies is better thought of today than when it was first released. Bale's first commercial success was the 2000 film American Psycho. And of course his biggest role was as Bruce Wayne/Batman in the 2005 film Batman Begins. He continues to appear in films today. Has he ever sung in another film? Well, the films Swing Kids (1993) and Velvet Goldmine (1998) are about music. But Bale doesn't sing in them. But it looks like he does sing in the 2022 film Amsterdam. He appears on the soundtrack album. Here's Christian Bale performing The World Will Know in the 1992 film Newsies.

  

AccuRadio Song Of The Day-Gabriela Anders

Artist:Gabriela Anders

Song:Fire of Love

Album:Wanting

Gabriela Anders is an Argentine jazz singer who has lived in New York since she was a teen. She had success when her 1999 debut album Wanting was released by Warner Bros. Since then she has settled into the New York club scene and currently records for her own label. She was born Mar. 17, 1972 in Buenos Aires, Argentina. Her father is a jazz saxophonist. His father was a classical violinist. She started out studying classical guitar before studying piano at a conservatory in Buenos Aires. After graduating from high school, Gabriela moved to New York and studied at Hunter College with former CTI Records arranger and conductor Don Sebesky. After releasing a couple of albums on the Japanese label Samson under the name Beleza and appearing with Jill Andrews as part of the duo Salsa Peanuts, Gabriela sent a demo to Warner Bros. It got her a record deal and she recorded the 1998 album Wanting working with producers like Alain Mallet of Club D'Elf, George Duke and guitarist Paul Brown. Gabriela wrote most of the songs including Fire of Love. Brown produced that song which features a trumpet solo by Rick Braun and keyboards by Tim Heintz. R&B singer Eric Benet makes a guest appearance on the album. Gabriela toured with Duke. The 2002 album Gabriela was only released in Europe. Since leaving Warner Bros., Gabriela has recorded for Narada and JVC in Japan. But mostly she has recorded for her own label. She produces with her guitarist husband Wayne Krantz. Her latest album The Ring was released in 2020. She's popular with the Smooth Jazz crowd. Here's Gabriela Anders with George Duke's band featuring Rick Braun on flugelhorn performing Fire of Love at Montreux 1999. She was on tour with Duke at the time.