AccuRadio Song Of The Day-Zach Top

Artist:Zach Top

Song:I Never Lie

Album:Cold Beer & Country Music

The 2024 single I Never Lie was a top ten country hit and a top 30 pop hit for Zach Top. It's from his debut album Cold Beer & Country Music. He has a new album coming next month. He was born Sept. 26, 1997 in Sunnyside, WA. which is near Yakima. He grew up on a ranch and he played in a bluegrass band with his siblings called Top String. After Top studied mechanical engineering for a year at the University of Colorado, he dropped out and moved to Nashville. At first Top played with several bluegrass bands until he signed a publishing deal in 2021. He also released an EP in 2022. Then Top was the first artist signed by a new label Leo33 owned by former Universal Nashville execs Katie Dean and Rachel Fontenot. I Never Lie was the second single and it reached #6 on the Country Singles chart and #24 on the Billboard Hot 100. That's a pretty good result for a new artist on a new label. The album was produced by former Mercury A&R exec Carson Chamberlain. Top and Chamberlain wrote all the songs with co-writers. I Never Lie was co-written by veteran songwriter Tim Nichols. Top won the ACM award for New Male Artist of the Year. Top's sound is retro 90s which is not surprising as that's when Chamberlain had success as a producer. Top's new album Ain't in It for My Health will be released next month. Obviously Leo33 is trying to strike while the iron is hot. They have already signed a few other artists and Top's continued success would help them grow and get a better distribution deal. Here's Zach Top performing I Never Lie on The Tonight Show Starring Jimmy Fallon.

 

AccuRadio Song Of The Day-X-Ray Spex

Artist:X-Ray Spex

Song:Oh Bondage Up Yours!

Album:Let's Submerge: The Anthology

Though the British punk band X-Ray Spex only released one album and a handful of singles, they were influential on the bands that followed. For one thing, they had a female lead singer named Poly Styrene. She wrote all the songs so I will start with her. She was born Marianne Joan Elliott-Said July 3, 1957 in Bromley, England but she grew up in the south London area of Brixton. Her mother was a legal secretary and her father was a Somali born dock worker. As a teen, she ran away from home and hitchhiked to music festivals. She recorded a demo in 1976 as Mari Elliott. It was a ska song. It was released as a single on GTO Records. Then she attended a Sex Pistols concert and placed an ad in the music papers looking for "young punx who want to stick it together". And before you laugh, many bands in those days were formed that way. She got the name Poly Styrene from the Yellow Pages. The other main member of X-Ray Spex was guitarist Jack Stafford AKA Jak Airport. He wrote the music for Poly Styrene's lyrics. Plus they had a saxophonist. Susan Whitby AKA Lora Logic was the first sax player hired because the band's manager liked the idea of two girls fronting a punk band. She answered the ad but she didn't know how to play. So Rudi Thompson played sax most of the time. That's him in the video. Other members were Paul Dean on bass and B.P. Hurding on drums. X-Ray Specs were a sensation in London at the time because it was the only punk band with a female lead singer. Not that Poly Styrene could sing. It wasn't necessary in a punk band. They signed with EMI and Oh Bondage Up Yours! was released as a single. Then they released the album Germfree Adolescents in 1978. They even played a couple of weeks at the New York club CBGB's. And they appeared on the all star Rock Against Racism concert. It all ended when Poly Styrene was exhausted by touring and decided to quit the band in 1979. She went on to record solo and reformed X-Ray Spex in 1988. You can get all her recordings on this comp which is available as a digital download. Poly Styrene died of cancer on Apr. 25, 2011 at age 53. Here's X=Ray Spex performing Oh Bondage Up Yours! on Top Of The Pops 1978.

  

AccuRadio Song Of The Day-Steve Barton

Artist:Steve Barton w/Sarah Brightman

Song:All I Ask of You

Album:The Phantom of the Opera: Original London Cast

Steve Barton was a stage performer best known for playing Raoul in the London and Broadway casts of the musical The Phantom of the Opera. Of course the problem was he wasn't the star of that show. Michael Crawford and Sarah Brightman were the stars. So in the biggest role of his career, Barton is overshadowed and forgotten. Oh, well. Some actors are meant to be supporting players. He was born June 26, 1954 in Hot Springs, AR. and he grew up in Nederland, TX. Barton won a scholarship to the University of Austin where he majored in theater, dance and voice. He appeared in thirty productions while attending school. After graduating, Barton moved to Europe. It looks like he lived in Germany. Over the next decade, he appeared in several shows in Switzerland, Germany and Austria. And he also worked as a choreographer. The Phantom of the Opera composer Andrew Lloyd Webber heard about Barton and asked him to audition. Webber has scouts everywhere. Barton won the role of Raoul and played it in London and on Broadway. Of course the show was an international success. But it didn't make Barton a star. He appeared in various productions of The Phantom of the Opera. But he never appeared in another hit show. And he rarely appeared on TV. Barton lived in Germany until he committed suicide on July 21, 2001 at age 47. Here's Steve Barton with Sarah Brightman performing All I Ask of You on the 1988 TV special America Salutes Bob Hope.

 

AccuRadio Song Of The Day-Djelimady Tounkara

Artist:Djelimady Tounkara

Song:Sigui

Album:Sigui

Guitarist Djelimady Tounkara has been a big part in the development of West African music. He probably hasn't got the credit he deserves. But he probably doesn't record enough. He seems to prefer being part of a band. He was born in 1947 in Kita, Mali. He started out learning about music from family members. He moved to Mali's capital Bamako in the 60s. He planned to become a tailor. But music was a stronger calling and he played in the band Misira and L'Orchestre Nacional du Mali. In the 70s he was lead guitarist for Rail Band led by Salif Keita. Tounkara was in other bands before he recorded his debut solo album Sigui in 2002 for the French company Label Bleu. As I have said before, there is a large African music community in Paris. Tounkara wrote most of the songs including Sigui and he plays lead guitar. And his guitar is what you should focus on and he has gotten worldwide attention for his guitar skills. Tounkara still records for Label Bleu as his latest album for them was in 2016. He plays on a lot of sessions and he has a trio called Bajourou with singer Lafia Diabate who he has worked with since the Rail Band. Tounkara was supposed to go to Cuba and appear in the documentary Buena Vista Social Club. But when his visa didn't arrive, World Circuit owner Nick Gold had a mix of Malian and Cuban musicians record the 2010 album AfroCubism. I already featured that album. Here's Djelimady Tounkara with Bill Frisell on guitar, Greg Leisz on pedal steel guitar, Jenny Scheinman on violin and Sidiki Camara on drums performing Sigui at the Barbican Theater in London Feb. 29, 2004.

AccuRadio Song Of The Day-Evan Craft

Artist:Evan Craft f/Danny Gokey and Redimi2

Song:Be Alright

Album:Desesperado

CCM singer songwriter Evan Craft is interesting because he records in English and Spanish. He has been very successful in both markets including this 2021 single Be Alright. He was born Apr. 18, 1991 in Conejo Valley, CA. He started playing guitar and writing songs at age 12. He studied Spanish and attended schools in Spain and Costa Rica. Craft released his first couple of albums through Dream Records. When he wasn't happy with that, he signed with Universal for the 2012 album Yo Soy Segundo. This was his first Spanish album and it topped the Billboard Latin Christian Album chart and even reached the top ten of the Latin Pop Album chart. Since then, things have been going well. For the 2021 album Desesperado, Craft released it in English and Spanish versions. You can get both as digital downloads. The single Be Alright is bilingual and features Danny Gokey and Redimi2. Most should be familiar with Gokey as an American Idol contestant. These days he's a CCM artist. Redimi2 is a Christian rapper from the Dominican. It's Alright reached #2 on the Hot Christian Songs chart. Desesperado won a Dove award for Spanish Language Album of the Year. Since then he has released English and Spanish albums simultaneously. That's what he did in 2023 with Chances and Miss Rico del Mundo. Either way I think CCM fans will enjoy Craft's music. Here's the video for Be Alright by Evan Craft featuring Danny Gokey and Redimi2.

AccuRadio Song Of The Day-Cyre

Artist:Cyre

Song:Last Chance

Album:Freestyle Explosion Volume 4

The music business is so weird sometimes. Here's a singer who had a hit on the dance charts in 1987. She never recorded an album and she never recorded for the label again. The kind of music is Freestyle and a lot of the artists have short term success. But this is odd even for that kind of music. Of course a lot of these singers are still around doing Freestyle nostalgia shows. Cyre was born Laura Cyre Rodriguez in The Bronx, NY. She majored in Science at Marymount University in Tarrytown, NY and studied music at Mozartina Music Conservatory. After graduation, it looks like she did a lot of background vocals and jingles in studios. She also performed at local clubs. And it was at one of these clubs that she was approached by Fresh Records producer Jose "Animal" Diaz. Fresh was a subsidiary of the Freestyle label Sleeping Bag Records. Diaz was a radio DJ known for his remixes. It looks like he was working for Fresh as a house producer. He wrote and produced the 1987 single Last Chance. The song is nothing special and the video is terrible. But the record was played in clubs and it reached #4 on Billboard's Dance chart. It remained on the chart for twelve weeks. So it did pretty well. You can get it on this Thump Records comp. Logic would suggest that Cyre should have recorded an album or at least a follow up single. But that didn't happen. The likely reason was that Sleeping Bag was in financial trouble. They closed in 1992. Cyre released the single The Life in 1992 on Island's 4th & Broadway label. But it was too late by then and it went nowhere. Cyre continues to perform mostly on Freestyle nostalgia shows. But it could have been much more. Here's the video for Last Chance by Cyre. Thanks to the blog Rare and Obscure Music for the Cyre info.

 

AccuRadio Song Of The Day-Pastor Mike Jr.

Artist:Pastor Mike Jr.

Song:Big

Album:Live Free

The 2019 single Big topped the Billboard Gospel charts and so did the album Live Free. He has also won Stellar and Dove awards. He just signed a new distribution deal with Capitol and released a new album last week. He was born Michael DeWayne McClure Jr. June 15, 1983 in Birmingham, AL. Not surprisingly, his dad is a pastor and Pastor Mike Jr. leads the Rock City Church. They have locations in four states. He started his own label with distribution by the gospel label Blacksmoke. The 2019 single Big topped the US Gospel Airplay chart and the album Live Free topped the US Gospel chart. Pastor Mike Jr. writes and produces everything. He won two Stellar awards including Best New Artist and he also won a Dove award. The album is available as a digital download. Since then McClure has had difficulty finding decent distribution as he outgrew Blacksmoke. Last fall he signed a distribution and publishing deal with Capitol and his new album Confetti and Conspiracies: The Amen Mixtape is the first album of that deal. Pastor Mike Jr. has a very energetic sound. So gospel music fans should check him out. Here's the video for Big by Pastor Mike Jr.