The Big Topic in WMMA

UFC preview. 

AccuRadio Song Of The Day-Sister Wynona Carr

Artist:Sister Wynona Carr

Song:The Ball Game

Album:Dragnet for Jesus

Though gospel singer Sister Wynona Carr had little success during her career in the 50s, there was renewed interest when Specialty Records released this 1991 comp and Garrison Keillor played The Ball Game on his Prairie Home Companion radio show. She was born Aug. 23, 1923 in Cleveland. She learned to play piano as a child. As a teen, she studied at the Cleveland Music College. After moving to Detroit she formed her own group and went on tour. J.W. Alexander of The Pilgrim Travelers was so impressed with Wynona's talents, he funded a demo and sent it to Specialty Records owner Art Rupe. He signed Wynona and brought her to Los Angeles to record with session pianist Austin McCoy. Wynona's recordings were similar to Sister Rosetta Tharpe in the sense that they were not typical gospel but a mix of gospel, R&B and jazz. Rupe encouraged the comparison but Wynona didn't like it. Among other things, Wynona recorded a gospel reworking of St. James Infirmary Blues (I'm a Pilgrim Traveler) and Good Rockin' Tonight (I Heard the News). Rupe thought Wynona's music was too daring so he was reluctant to promote her. The Ball Game was recorded in 1952. Of course it uses baseball as a metaphor. It was a gospel hit but Rupe could have done more with Wynona. Another problem was Wynona lived in Detroit and had to go to Los Angeles to record. Wynona became frustrated and decided to record secular music in 1954. Just as she was starting to have success, Wynona was stricken by tuberculosis. She left Specialty in 1959. After recording a 1961 album for Frank Sinatra's Reprise label, Wynona tried to continue touring. But the illness was too much and she died on May 11, 1976 at age 52. After Specialty released this 1991 comp, Garrison Keillor played The Ball Game on his Prairie Home Companion radio show. This led to a rediscovery of Sister Wynona Carr. The Ball Game was used in the film 42. This comp is available as a digital download. Here's a video for The Ball Game by Sister Wynona Carr. 

AccuRadio Song Of The Day-Nicholas Brendan and Emma Caulfield

Artist:Nicholas Brendan and Emma Caulfield

Song:I'll Never Tell

Album:Buffy The Vampire Slayer: Once More With Feeling: Original Cast Album

Though Ally McBeal was probably the first TV series to do a musical episode, Buffy The Vampire Slayer's 2001 musical was successful enough for other shows to try it. Buffy creator Joss Whedon says he always wanted to do a musical episode. Finding the time to write it was the big problem. Once he did that, how do you mount a Broadway scale musical production with actors who don't sing or dance? Not to mention that Whedon is not a musician. Christophe Beck composed the music for Buffy. The songs were produced by Jesse Tobias. He played guitar on Alanis Morissette's 1997 album Jagged Little Pill and toured with her where he met his wife Angie Hart and they recorded and toured as Splendid. Tobias has recorded and toured with Morrissey since 2004. I'll Never Tell is performed by Nicholas Brendan (Xander) and Emma Caulfield (Anya). Neither had sung before or since. Since Buffy, Brendan mostly has had personal problems. Caulfield has a recurring role on the Disney+ series WandaVision. Amber Benson was the only cast member with singing experience. When Rounder Records CEO John Virant saw the show, he asked FOX about a soundtrack album and they allowed him to release it. The success of this episode of Buffy led to musical episodes of Scrubs and Grey's Anatomy. I guess this was a trend for a while but I think that trend has passed. The Buffy soundtrack album is available on CD. Here's Nicholas Brendan and Emma Caulfield performing I'll Never Tell from the Buffy The Vampire Slayer episode Once More With Feeling. 

Big Bad Blog Video Theater-Bianca Belair vs Asuka

Here's the match video of Bianca Belair vs Asuka from last night's episode of RAW. Becky Lynch is on commentary. This match was made after Asuka accidently kicked Bianca last week. We're finally going to get the three way match for the RAW Women's Championship at Sunday's Hell in a Cell. The match is OK but I don't much care for babyface vs babyface. It lacked heat. I don't think it ever got out of second gear. I didn't like either Asuka or Bianca getting distracted by Becky. The WWE likes doing distractions. My eyes roll because it's a crutch that is used far too often. Oh and Asuka "tweaking" her knee was stupid BS and another WWE creative crutch. Plus another roll up finish. Phooey! My guess is Bianca keeps the title on Sunday. And Becky's heel behavior has been so obnoxious, it wouldn't surprise me if she took the fall and had another nervous breakdown. Enjoy the video!

AccuRadio Song Of The Day-Ariana Grande

Artist:Ariana Grande

Song:No Tears Left To Cry

Album:Sweetener

Ariana Grande is one of today's biggest pop stars. She has been very successful since her 2013 debut album. The 2018 album Sweetener was interesting because it was her first album after the bombing at her Manchester Arena concert. No Tears Left To Cry was the lead single. It was a hit but not her biggest hit. She was born June 26, 1993 in Boca Raton, FL. Ariana started performing as a child in local theater. By age 13, she went to Los Angeles to get a record deal. Obviously they were skeptical when she told them she wanted to sing R&B. In 2008, she was cast as the cheerleader Charlotte in the Broadway musical 13. Then she was cast in the Nickleodeon sitcom Victorious. This made her popular with teen girls. Meanwhile, Ariana was working on her music. After posting videos on YouTube, Republic Records CEO Monte Lipman spotted her and signed her. It took three years to produce Ariana's debut album because Republic wanted teen pop and Ariana didn't want to record that. So there were struggles over that. The solution was to hire Kenneth "Babyface" Edmonds to write and produce the album. Yours Truly was released 2013. It was certified Platinum and the single The Way was a top ten hit. Ariana worked with several producers on the 2014 album My Everything. But she really seemed to click with Swedish producers Max Martin and Ilya Salmanzadeh and songwriter Savan Kotecha. Martin is best known for producing Britney Spears. These guys produced all the hit singles from My Everything. The album was certified 2XPlatinum. After Ariane's May 22, 2017 concert at the Manchester Arena was the target of a suicide bombing, she had already produced several songs for the 2018 album Sweetener with Pharrell Williams. Some of those songs were scrapped and then Martin and Salmanzadeh produced about half the songs on the album. No Tears Left To Cry was the lead single. It reached #3 on the Billboard Hot 100. Sweetener was certified Platinum. Ariane's 2019 album Thank You, Next did even better. It was certified 2XPlatinum and 7 Rings was her first #1 hit single. For the 2020 album Positions, Ariane is now working with producer Tommy "TBHits" Brown. They had worked together previously but he produced most of this album. Martin has been working with Lady Gaga so that is keeping him busy. Ariana announced she would not record new music during the COVID-19 crisis. Currently she is working on the two part film adaptation of the Broadway musical Wicked. That should keep her busy for a while. Here's the video for No Tears Left To Cry by Arianna Grande.

AccuRadio Song Of The Day-Roger Waters

Artist:Roger Waters

Song:5:06 AM (Every Strangers Eyes)

Album:Flickering Flame

Of course Roger Waters is one of the founding members of Pink Floyd. Since leaving Pink Floyd in 1985, he has had a very successful solo career as an album and touring act. He doesn't need hit singles. He was born Sept. 6, 1943 in Great Bookham, England. As one of the founders of Pink Floyd, Waters was a major creative force. But there was conflict between Waters and the rest of Pink Floyd during the recording of the 1983 album The Final Cut. David Gilmour had his name removed from the credits. And though the album was critically acclaimed at the time, it is considered today to be a Roger Waters solo album. While Waters was in the process of leaving Pink Floyd, he released the 1984 album The Pros and Cons of Hitchhiking. It's about a man going through a midlife crisis. Waters says the idea came the same time as The Wall. When Pink Floyd decided to record The Wall, he put The Pros and Cons of Hitchhiking aside for later. Waters produced with New York Rock Ensemble pianist and film composer Michael Kamen. Other musicians include Eric Clapton on guitar, Andy Bown on Hammond organ, David Sanborn on sax, Andy Newmark on drums and Ray Cooper on percussion. The album was certified Gold. So it did well and Waters toured to support it. Since then Waters has released four albums. The latest is a 2018 rock opera adaptation of Igor Stravinsky's A Soldier's Tale. This Australian comp is a good intro to Waters' music. So though he has reunited occasionally with Pink Floyd, these days Waters is a solo act. Here's the video for 5:06 AM (Every Strangers Eyes) by Roger Waters.

AccuRadio Song Of The Day-Walter Matthau

Artist:Walter Matthau

Song:It Takes a Woman

Album:Hello, Dolly!: Original Motion Picture Soundtrack

Of course most movie fans are familiar with actor Walter Matthau's long career in films. This performance of It Takes a Woman from the 1968 film musical Hello, Dolly! was his only time singing in a film. He was born Walter Matthow Oct. 1, 1920 in New York City. His parents were Russian Jewish immigrants. He first performed in summer camp. After serving in the US Army during WWII, Matthau studied at the Dramatic Workshop of the New School. His joke was the others looked like actors but Matthau looked like Skid Row bum. He won a 1962 Tony award for A Shot in the Dark. Matthau's early film roles included the 1958 Elvis Presley film King Creole and A Face in the Crowd starring Andy Griffith. He also appeared in TV shows like Naked City and Alfred Hitchcock Presents. He usually played villains. Matthau's big break came when Neil Simon cast him as Oscar Madison in the Broadway comedy The Odd Couple. Matthau also started his long association with Jack Lemmon in the film version of The Odd Couple. The success of Billy Wilder's 1966 film The Fortune Cookie led to Hello, Dolly!. When this Jerry Herman musical was on Broadway, Carol Channing was the star. The 1968 film was tailored for Barbra Streisand who was much younger than Channing. That casting was heavily criticized. The film also added Louis Armstrong who was not in the Broadway show but scored a hit single with Hello, Dolly!. Matthau played Horace Vandergelder which was played by David Burns on Broadway. The difference is Burns was an accomplished singer and Matthau can't sing. Obviously he was hired because he's a movie star. Matthau also appeared in the finale with Barbra Streisand and Michael Crawford. This was Matthau's only singing appearance in a film. It was just a blip in his career as Matthau returned to films like Kotch and The Sunshine Boys. Matthau is best remembered for his many films with Jack Lemmon. But he also had great success working with Neil Simon and Billy Wilder. Matthau continued to appear in film until health problems led to his death on July 1, 2000 at age 79. Here's Walter Matthau performing It Takes a Woman from the 1968 film Hello, Dolly!.

AccuRadio Song Of The Day-James Morrison

Artist:James Morrison

Song:You Make It Real

Album:Undiscovered + Songs for You, Truths for Me

Singer songwriter James Morrison has had success mostly in his native England. His blue eyed soul style will remind you of guys like James Blunt. And I guess that's the problem with Morrison. He's not distinctive enough. He was born James Morrison Catchpole Aug. 13, 1984 in Rugby, Warwickshire, England. Morrison almost died from whooping cough when he was a baby. After Morrison's uncle taught him to play guitar, he played local clubs as a teen. His demos got him a record deal with Polydor. He was on Interscope in the US. Morrison's 2006 debut single You Give Me Something reached #5 on the British Singles chart. The second single Wonderful World reached #8. The album Undiscovered topped the British album chart and was certified 5XPlatinum. Morrison wrote the songs with a co-writer. Most of the album was produced by Swedish producer Martin Terefe who has produced Jason Mraz. Morrison also had success in Europe and Australia. But he never had a chart single in the US. He appeared on US TV but he never caught on. For the 2008 album Songs for You, Truths for Me, Terefe again produced along with Mark Taylor and Steve Robson. You Make It Real was the first single. It reached #7 on the British Singles chart. Morrison wrote it with Paul Barry who wrote Believe for Cher. Taylor produced. He also worked on Believe. The second single Broken Strings featured Nelly Furtado. It reached #2 on the British Singles chart. It is his biggest hit to date. Taylor also produced that. The album did not do as well as the first album. It's available in a 2CD Special Edition. The second CD is acoustic versions of Morrison's hits. Undiscovered and Songs for You, Truths for Me have been released as a twofer and is available as a budget CD. For the 2011 album The Awakening, Morrison was moved to Island Records and Universal Republic in the US. When that album and the 2015 album Higher Than Here decreased in sales, Universal dropped Morrison. His latest CD of new music You're Stronger Than You Know was released in 2019 on his own label. Morrison recently released a Greatest Hits album. This is re-recorded versions of his hits. Morrison still tours but his chart success days are probably over. Here's the video for You Make It Real by James Morrison.

AccuRadio Song Of The Day-Tim Bowman Jr.

Artist:Tim Bowman Jr.

Song:I'm Good

Album:Listen

Tim Bowman Jr. topped the Gospel charts with the 2015 single I'm Good. Not surprisingly, Bowman is from a musical family. He was born May 26, 1987 in Detroit. His father is smooth jazz guitarist Tim Bowman. His aunt is gospel singer Vickie Winans. As a teen, Bowman appeared on the Vickie Winans 2003 single How I Got Over. He also appeared on his dad's 2007 album Tim Bowman. After attending Wayne State University, Bowman released his 2012 debut album Beautiful on Trippin' 'n' Rhythm. His dad produced the album with his producer Josh Davis. For his 2016 album Listen, Bowman signed with Lifestyle Music Group with Motown distribution. Lifestyle is owned by Bowman's cousin Marvin Winans Jr. Winans was in Winans Phase 2 but in recent years he has been behind the scenes. He brought in veteran producer Rodney "Darkchild" Jerkins to produce the album. Jerkins produced about half the songs. Other producers were Matt Champlin, Josh Davis, Paul Dawson, Aaron Lindsey, Davy Nathan and Teddy Riley. I'm Good topped the Gospel charts. Jerkins wrote and produced I'm Good with Bowman, Winans and Johnta Austin. A YouTube video was posted about the writing of I'm Good. Jerkins based the record on I Wanna Be Where You Are written by Arthur "T-Boy" Ross (Diana Ross' brother) and Leon Ware in 1972 for Michael Jackson. But the sample is from a 1975 cover by former Faith, Hope and Charity member Zulema. That's a very obscure sample. This is Bowman's latest album. He has been working a lot with Kim Burrell and Faith City Ministries. They have posted plenty of YouTube videos but they haven't recorded. And I don't know when Bowman plans to record again. Here's the video for I'm Good by Tim Bowman Jr. 

The Big Topic in WMMA

UFC review and a look at Rin Nakai. 

AccuRadio Song Of The Day-Larry Groce

Artist:Larry Groce

Song:Junk Food Junkie

Album:Dr. Demento 20th Anniversary Collection: The Greatest Novelty Records of All Time

The novelty song Junk Food Junkie was a top ten hit in 1976. It was the only chart single for singer songwriter Larry Groce. So it is a one hit wonder. You may have heard it on Barry "Dr. Demento" Hansen's radio show. For the most part, Groce has recorded children's music and was the host and artistic director of the live radio show Mountain Stage. Groce was born Apr. 22, 1948 in Dallas. He became interested in music as a child. His high school classmates included Michael Martin Murphey, Ray Wylie Hubbard and B.W. Stevenson. Groce is a member of The First Church of Christ, Scientist. He recorded music for them while attending Principia College in Elsah, IL. After graduating in 1970, Groce moved to New York and performed regularly at the organic restaurant and coffeehouse Focus owned by future film producer Larry Brezner. His wife at the time Melissa Manchester also performed there. Groce signed with RCA's religious label Daybreak and he recorded two albums. He was an NEA sponsored musician in residence touring schools. This led to a move to West Virginia in 1972. He recorded a 1975 album with bluegrass group The Currance Brothers. Loren and Jimmie Currance also appeared on Junk Food Junkie. The album was produced by Randy Nauert of the 60s group The Challengers for Curb Records with Warner Bros. distribution. I think it's a bluegrass album recorded live. Barry Hansen wrote the album liner notes. So I'm sure he was responsible for getting the album on a major label. Junk Food Junkie reached #9 on the Billboard Hot 100. The album has never been released on CD. But you can get Junk Food Junkie on this 2CD Dr. Demento comp. Groce recorded children's music for Disney for two decades. And he started the live radio show Mountain Stage in 1983. He hosted the show until 2021. So though Groce is mainly a bluegrass musician, Junk Food Junkie is his claim to fame. Here's Larry Groce performing Junk Food Junkie on The Rich Little Show 1976. 

 

AccuRadio Song Of The Day-Coldcut

Artist:Coldcut f/Hexstatic

Song:Timber

Album:Let Us Play!

The British duo Coldcut have been around since the 80s and are considered to be pioneers in sampling technology. They do a lot of producing and remixes and occasionally release their own music on their own label Ninja Tune. Computer programmer Matt Black and ex-art teacher Jonathan More were part time DJs in London. More worked at a local record shop where Black was a customer. Their 1987 single Say Kids What Time Is It? was the first record to consist only of samples. So as I have said before about this kind of music, it's more of a construction project because these guys are not musicians. Coldcut's first success was when Island Records asked them to remix Eric B. & Rakim's 1987 single Paid In Full and it was a big international hit. Early success included the 1988 single Doctorin' the House featuring singer Yazz and the 1989 Lisa Stansfield single People Hold On. Coldcut released their debut album What's That Noise? in 1989. After their success with Lisa Stansfield, Coldcut signed with Arista Records. They left after one album. The music wasn't commercial enough for a major label. That's when Coldcut started Ninja Tune. They release occasional albums and continue to produce artists and do remixes. Timber is from the 1997 album Let Us Play!. The song protests logging and the sampling is from a Greenpeace film. Stuart Warren Hill of Hexstatic co-wrote the song and produced the video. Let Us Play! is available as a budget CD. There are several guests on the album including legendary drummer Bernard "Pretty" Purdie. Coldcut has produced and designed video games and they even released a music app called Ninja Jamm. Remember Matt Black is a computer programmer. Their latest album was released in 2017. I think much of their activity these days is outside music. Here's the video for Timber by Coldcut featuring Hexstatic. 

Big Bad Blog VideoTheater-Becky Lynch vs Asuka

Here's the match video of Becky Lynch vs Asuka from last night's episode of RAW. It was predictable that there would be a rematch from last week. If Becky wins, she is added to the title match at HIAC. And it was also predictable that Becky would win this match. Would did you think they would do? It is Asuka's fourth straight RAW main event. Obviously the WWE trusts her do deliver great matches routinely. And this was different from last week. Asuka took some crazy bumps. And she executed a superplex, a move she doesn't normally perform. She probably gave Becky a choice of a superplex or a Spanish fly. The only problem was the finish was mistimed. They waited too long to do the stuff on the floor with Bianca. That's the ref's fault. He's supposed to tell them how much time is left. So Becky didn't execute the finish very well. Next week Bianca will face Asuka in a non title match. Please give them more then ten minutes. Enjoy the video! 

AccuRadio Song Of The Day-Darryl Worley

Artist:Darryl Worley

Song:Have You Forgotten?

Album:Have You Forgotten?

Singer songwriter Darryl Worley scored three number one country hits including the 2003 patriotic anthem Have You Forgotten?. The closing of DreamWorks Records killed his career and he has never recovered. He was born Oct. 31, 1964 in Memphis and he grew up in Pyburn, TN. His father was a Methodist preacher. He was planning to attend college on a basketball scholarship before he suffered a back injury. Worley earned a degree in biology at the University of North Alabama and worked in the chemical industry before pursuing a career in country music. He started out as a staff songwriter for FAME Studios in Muscle Shoals and moved to EMI Publishing in 1994. George Jones charted with one of Worley's songs. Worley signed with DreamWorks Records in 1999. James Stroud was head of DreamWorks Nashville. He used to be president of Giant Records. Stroud produced Worley's albums with veteran producer Frank Rogers. The 2002 single I Miss My Friend was Worley's first #1 country hit. This was followed by Have You Forgotten? in 2003. This topped the Country Singles chart for seven weeks. Of course this song is about 9/11. Worley wrote it with frequent songwriting partner Wynn Varble. Worley appeared on talk shows to explain the song. Typically these kind of songs have done well in the country market. But they don't age well. Fortunately DreamWorks released Have You Forgotten? on an album with Worley's other hits. There were four new songs. The guitar solo is by session musician J.T. Correnflos. After one more album and another #1 hit, DreamWorks Records closed. Worley released an album on Neal McCoy's 903 label and they closed. Then he released an album on James Stroud's Stroudavarious label in 2009 and they closed. Worley is still around. His 2019 album Second Wind: Latest and Greatest is a rerecording of his hits. It's on his own label distributed by Audium. Well, at least they won't go out of business. Here's the video by Have You Forgotten? by Darryl Worley.

Big Bad Blog Video Theater-Rin Nakai vs Shizuka Sugiyama

Here's the match video of Rin Nakai vs Shizuka Sugiyama from the recent Deep Jewels show. This is the final of the Deep Jewels Flyweight tournament. Deep finally posted the video on YouTube today. I expected Rin to win easily. She got a bye in her semi final as her opponent missed weight. Rin is from Shikoku Island in Northern Japan. She lives so far away she has to fly in for fights. Her judo is stellar. Shizuka would be a star if she was even a halfway decent fighter as she is pretty. But she's not very good. Rin is only 5'1" but she is built like a tank. She tends to get off to slow starts and in this fight she spends some time in the clinch. But once Rin takes Shizuka down, she wastes no time getting an armbar and that's it. And then afterwards she does a couple of flips. Rin was a competitive gymnast as a child. When Rin was in the UFC it was before the Flyweight division began. I think she would be competitive as a Flyweight. She also fired her management and I'd like to see her hire Shu Hirata. He represents several Japanese fighters in the UFC. That's him in Mizuki's corner translating for Aljamain Sterling. Deep Jewels GM Shigeru Saeki says he won't stand in the way if Rin gets the call from the UFC. Enjoy the video! 

AccuRadio Song Of The Day-Wax Poetic

Artist:Wax Poetic f/Norah Jones and Val

Song:Angels

Album:Wax Poetic

Norah Jones fans will be interested in this song she recorded before she was famous. Wax Poetic is led by Turkish born Ilhan Ersahin. He plays sax and keyboards and owns the New York nightclub Nublu. He was born in Turkey, grew up in Stockholm, Sweden and moved to New York in 1990. He has recorded under various names. Wax Poetic began in 1997 at an underground club called Save the Robots. Though Ersahin is a jazz musician, the 2000 album Wax Poetic was commercial enough that it was picked up for distribution by Atlantic Records. Today the album is of interest because Norah Jones appears on Angels. The guest rapper is Val Jeanety who appears on other Wax Poetic recordings. Ersahin played the sax solo. Ersahin brings in guest musicians. Angels is produced by Daniel Wyatt of the group Repercussions. Other musicians are Guyora Kats of Skinnerbox on keyboards, Marlin Browden on drums and Arto Tuncboyaciyan of The Paul Winter Consort on percussion. Other guest musicians include David Berkman on piano, Eddie Henderson on trumpet and Kurt Rosenwinkel on guitar. This album is available as a budget CD. After Norah became famous, Ersahin included Angels on the 2003 Wax Poetic album Nublu Sessions on the dance label Ultra. That's also when he produced the video. Norah does not appear in the video. That album is too expensive. Though he last recorded a Wax Poetic album in 2012, Ersahin still records on his own label under his own name and the Nublu Orchestra. It's mostly jazz but he experiments with different kinds of music. Here's the video for Angels by Wax Poetic featuring Norah Jones and Val. 

Big Bad Blog Video Theater-Sam Hughes vs Elise Reed

Here's the match video of Sam Hughes vs Elise Reed from last night's UFC show in Las Vegas. This fight is at Strawweight. Sam won her last fight after moving to Fortis MMA in Houston and coach Saif Saud. Elise is 1-1 after upsetting Cory McKenna in London. She trains at Kickside Martial Arts in Princeton, NJ with coach John Kanabay. Considering how clueless Elise looked and the bad advice she got between rounds, she might want consider a move too. Not much happened in round one. But after a chat with Saud, Sam picked things up and round two was a borderline 10-8. Saud told Sam to finish the fight and she did exactly that in round three. It just shows the difference proper coaching can make. We'll see if Sam gan beat anyone who is any good. Enjoy the video! 

Big Bad Blog Video Theater-Tabatha Ricci vs Polyana Viana

Here's the match video of Tabatha Ricci vs Polyana Viana from last night's UFC show in Las Vegas. This fight is at Strawweight. Polyana is 3-3 in the UFC. In an interview with Tatame, Polyana announced that she has moved to Sao Paulo and is now training with Chute Boxe Diego Lima. Tabatha is Brazilian but she trains at Paragon BJJ in Ventura, CA. This fight was awful. Neither fighter looked good but Polyana's insistence in staying on her back made no sense. So Tabatha won by unanimous decision and Polyana should be released. Check it out for yourself. 

Big Bad Blog Video Theater-Ketlen Vieira vs Holly Holm

Here's the match video of Ketlen Vieira vs Holly Holm from last night's UFC show in Las Vegas. This fight is at Bantamweight and it's likely the winner gets a title shot. I picked Ketlen to win because she is ten years younger than Holly and a more accomplished fighter. I just don't think she is aggressive enough. Holly is 40 years old and she's coming off of knee surgery. And she was never a hard puncher to begin with. The strategy of Holly pinning Ketlen on the fence reminded me of Rose Namajunas' strategy a couple of weeks ago in the sense that it is a defensive strategy. Any strategy that depends on judges is seriously flawed. It worked at first because Ketlen didn't expect it. Between rounds, Ketlen's coach Andre "Dudu" Pederneiras told her to stay out of the clinch. So she was a lot better in round two. A standing choke almost finished Holly. She grabbed the fence to get out of it. Ref Jason Herzog missed that. In that situation, a point should have been deducted. Round three and four were close but I scored them for Ketlen. And I scored round five for Holly. Ketlen was tired. So I scored the fight 48-47 for Ketlen and so did two of the judges. The third judge scored round three for Holly. Ketlen won by split decision. Clinch control is another strategy that is not favorably interpreted by judges. If Holly and her coaches didn't know that, it's on them.  Enjoy the video!

AccuRadio Song Of The Day-Parker McCollum

Artist:Parker McCollum

Song:Pretty Heart

Album:Gold Chain Cowboy

Singer songwriter Parker McCollum recorded for his own label before signing with MCA Nashville in 2019. Pretty Heart was his first MCA single and it was a top five country hit. He was born June 15, 1992 in Conroe, TX which is near Houston. He listened to country music as a child and learned to play guitar as a teen. He also started writing songs. After graduating high school, McCollum moved to Austin and released a single in 2013 followed by an EP and a 2015 album all on his own label. McCollum has cited Ryan Bingham as an influence. His music at the time was categorized as Americana as opposed to Country. That may be because McCollum lived in Austin as opposed to Nashville. When McCollum's 2017 EP Probably Wrong charted, record companies came calling. McCollum signed with MCA Nashville in 2019. Pretty Heart was his first single. It reached #4 on the Country Singles chart and #36 on the Billboard Hot 100. It was released on the 2020 EP Hollywood Gold and then on the 2021 album Gold Chain Cowboy. The album was produced by Jon Randall who has produced Dierks Bentley and others. McCollum first performed Pretty Heart on Instagram in 2014. He showed it to Randy Montana at a 2018 songwriting session. Montana made some changes and MCA urged McCollum to make it his first single. Montana released an album on Mercury in 2011. He has written several songs with Luke Combs. McCollum's latest single To Be Loved By You reached #6 on the Country Singles chart. He won Best New Male Artist at the ACM Awards and Breakthrough Video of the Year at the CMT Music Awards. So McCollum is off to a good start. Here's the video for Pretty Heart by Parker McCollum. The girl in the video is acting student Amanda Lougee.