AccuRadio Song Of The Day-James Booker

Artist:James Booker

Song:Gonzo

Album:Raunchy! Volume 2: More Instrumentals: Rockin' Into the Sixties

Pianist James Booker was a legend of New Orleans R&B. He was known as The Black Liberace. For the most part he was a sideman and studio musician. But he occasionally he recorded as a leader. The 1960 single Gonzo was an R&B hit. Maybe you heard it on the AMC TV series Mad Men. He was born Dec. 17, 1939 in New Orleans. Booker's father and grandfather were Baptist ministers who played piano. He started playing at age six and played piano in his father's church. He spent part of his childhood with his aunt due to his father's health problems. In school he became friends with Art Neville, Charles Neville and Allen Toussaint. Then Booker was hit by an ambulance and broke his leg in eight places. He recovered but was left with a permanent limp. Booker learned to play trumpet and sax and played organ on radio station WMRY every Sunday. Booker first recorded for Imperial Records in 1954. His recordings were produced by Dave Bartholomew. Though his own recordings were unsuccessful, Bartholomew frequently had Booker play piano on Fats Domino records. At the same time, Booker adopted a flamboyant stage persona similar to Little Richard. He became known as The Black Liberace. In the late 50s, Booker recorded for Chess and Ace and as a sideman with Huey "Piano" Smith, Shirley and Lee, Joe Tex, Larry Davis, Junior Parker, Earl King, Smiley Lewis and Lloyd Price. In the early 60s, Booker recorded several singles for Don Robey's Peacock Records. These were all instrumental. Gonzo was the most successful of these. It reached #43 on the Billboard Hot 100 and #3 on the R&B Singles chart. This was the only time Booker charted. As I said, you may have heard Gonzo on the AMC TV series Mad Men. And you can get it on this 2CD various artists comp from the reissue label Jasmine. The musicians on this record are not identified. But I believe Booker played all the instruments including the flute solo. Heroin landed Booker in jail. After his mother's 1967 death, Booker was convicted of heroin possession and sentenced to a year in Angola. He was assaulted while there and lost an eye. After his release, Booker returned to session work. He recorded an album for Paramount in 1973. But the master tapes were lost. They were found in the 90s and released. Then he signed with Island Records and had success touring Europe. Booker returned to New Orleans in 1978 and continued to play clubs until his death on Nov. 8, 1983 at age 43. Though James Booker was never famous, he was certainly revered by the New Orleans music community. Here's a video for Gonzo by James Booker.

 

AccuRadio Song Of The Day-Brian d'Arcy James

Artist:Brian d'Arcy James

Song:Blue Skies

Album:Irving Berlin's White Christmas: The Musical

Actor Brian d'Arcy James is mainly known for his work on Broadway. He has been nominated for four Tonys. He has done films and TV. But he is mostly known for Broadway musicals. He was born June 29, 1968 in Saginaw, MI. His uncle was Brian Kelly from the TV series Flipper. After graduating from Northwestern University's School of Communication, he moved to New York and started to appear in shows like Carousel and Titanic. The 2002 musical Sweet Smell of Success was his first Tony nomination. This was based on the 1957 film. His other Tony nominations are for Shrek the Musical (2009), Something Rotten! (2012) and Into the Woods (2023). Blue Skies is from the 2007 musical White Christmas. Of course everyone knows it as a 1954 film starring Bing Crosby with songs by Irving Berlin. It was produced as a musical in 2000 mostly as a touring show. It played briefly on Broadway in 2008. But by that time James left the show to appear in Shrek the Musical. James starred as Bob Wallace which was the character that Bing Crosby played. There's an original cast album for this which is unusual as most cast albums are for Broadway shows. James continues to appear on Broadway currently in the musical Days of Wine and Roses. Probably his most notable film role was as Officer Krupke in the 2021 film West Side Story. BTW, I loved that film. On TV he was in the Netflix series 13 Reasons Why. But like I said, James prefers the stage and that's where I expect him to stay. Here's Brian d'Arcy James performing Blue Skies at The White House Nov. 2010.

 

AccuRadio Song Of The Day-C.J. Chenier & the Red Hot Louisiana Band

Artist:C.J. Chenier & the Red Hot Louisiana Band

Song:Turn Around and Say Goodbye

Album:Step It Up!

C.J. Chenier is the son of The King of Zydeco Clifton Chenier. C.J. continues that tradition and is known as The Crown Prince of Zydeco. He was born Clayton Joseph Thompson Sept. 28, 1957 in Port Arthur, TX. He grew up knowing about his father's music but was a fan 0f 70s funk and soul. When he first listened to his father's music, Chenier thought all the songs sounded the same. He played sax in local bands in Texas and studied music in college. In 1978, Chenier was asked to play sax in his father's band. By the time Clifton Chenier died in 1987, C.J. was ready to take over the band. And he's been recording and touring ever since. You may have heard Chenier when he appeared on Paul Simon's 1990 album Rhythm of the Saints and he also toured with him. Chenier recorded several albums for Alligator Records. Turn Around and Say Goodbye is from the 2001 album Step It Up!. This was his final Alligator album. He has since recorded for World Village. C.J. Chenier performs at the annual New Orleans Jazz & Heritage Festival and he records his set and sells it. Zydeco is great party music so I suggest you check it out. Here's C.J. Chenier & the Red Hot Louisiana Band performing Turn Around and Say Goodbye on The Artie Lange Show 2012. 

 

AccuRadio Song Of The Day-Josh Gracin

Artist;Josh Gracin

Song:Nothin' to Lose

Album:Josh Gracin

After a fourth place finish on season two of American Idol (AI), Josh Gracin topped the country charts with the 2004 single Nothin' to Lose. Things didn't go so well after that especially when his record label closed. Now I guess he's the subject of "Whatever happened to" articles. That happens to many AI contestants. He was born Oct. 18, 1980 in Westland, MI which is a Detroit suburb. He listened to rock as a child. But when his radio station switched to country, he got into Garth Brooks and George Strait. Gracin performed locally as a teen and performed at a national talent show at the Grand Ole Opry. After graduating from high school, Gracin joined the US Marine Corps, got married and was assigned to Camp Pendlton in California as a supply clerk. He still had the music bug so he successfully auditioned for AI in 2003. After finishing fourth in the finals, Gracin wasn't able to go on the AI tour because of his Marines commitment. They sent him on a recruitment tour. Gracin was honorably discharged in 2004. So how did he get a record deal? When he sang the Rascal Flatts song I'm Movin' On on AI, that band was watching him on their tour bus. Rascall Flatts bassist Jay DeMarcus was so impressed that he hooked Gracin up with producer Marty Williams who had produced a couple of Rascal Flatts albums. This led to a record deal with Disney owned Lyric Street Records. Gracin's 2004 debut album Josh Gracin was certified Gold and the single Nothin' to Lose topped the Country Singles chart. A couple of other singles were top five. Nothin' to Lose was written by Marcel Chagnon and Kevin Savigar. It appeared on Chagnon's 1993 album on Mercury Records. He recorded as Marcel. When Chagnon's music career was unsuccessful, he turned to  directing music videos. Savigar is a British session musician who was in Rod Stewart's band in the 80s. Gracin did not write any of the songs. For Gracin's 2008 album We Weren't Crazy, Williams brought in veteran songwriter Brett James to work with Gracin on developing songwriting skills. James wrote Carrie Underwood's Jesus, Take the Wheel. James wrote several songs on the album including a couple with Gracin. But the album didn't do as well as the first one. The criticism of both albums was Gracin was not distinctive enough to be successful long term. In other words, he sounded too much like other country singers. Then Disney closed Lyric Street in 2010. He released the 2012 album Redemption on Average Joes Entertainment. Gracin wrote all the songs and co-produced. But he didn't have the Disney machine behind him anymore. So of course the album was unsuccessful. Since than, Gracin has released a few singles on his own label and he still tours. The closing of Lyric Street really hurt him. So that's what happened to Josh Gracin. Here's the video for Nothin' to Lose by Josh Gracin. The video was shot at a Nashville high school so Anne Marie Kovacs was probably a student there. It's her only credit.

  

AccuRadio Song Of The Day-Limblifter

Artist:Limblifter

Song:Tinfoil

Album:Limblifter

Ryan and Kurt Dahle of the Canadian band Age of Electric (AOE) started Limblifter in 1994 when AOE went on hiatus and they had surplus songs they wanted to use in a side project. The Dahle brothers are from Vancouver. Ryan plays guitar and Kurt plays drums and sings. AOE signed with MCA in Canada and Mercury in the US which was also AOE's label. The album Limblifter was released in 1995. The third member of Limblifter was Taste bassist Ian Somers. The Dahle brothers wrote and produced the albums. Singles like Tinfoil were played on Canadian radio. When AOE returned with the 1997 album Make a Pest a Pet, the Dahles put Limblifter on the backburner. When AOE split up in 2008, the Dahles revived Limblifter and replaced Somers with Todd Fancey. After the 2000 album Bellaclava, Kurt Dahle and Fancey left to join The New Pornographers. Ryan Dahle formed a new band Alarm Bell with former members of The Matthew Good Band. When that didn't work out, Dahle revived Limblifter. Limblifter has since released three albums. The latest was Little Payne in 2022. They are playing some shows in May. Here's the video for Tinfoil by Limblifter. 

AccuRadio Song Of The Day-Daniel Boone

Artist:Daniel Boone

Song:Beautiful Sunday

Album:Hard to Find 45s on CD Volume 8: Seventies Pop Classics

British singer songwriter Daniel Boone scored a top 20 hit with the 1972 single Beautiful Sunday. He is perceived as a one hit wonder but one of his other songs charted so he is technically not a one hit wonder. Boone has had a long career in England. He was born Peter Charles Green July 31, 1942 in Birmingham, England. He was guitarist for The Beachcombers who played local clubs from 1958-62. The band met Tommy Bruce who had a top five hit with the 1960 single Ain't Misbehavin'. He was billed as Tommy Bruce and the Bruisers. But there was no band as the music was recorded by studio musicians. So The Beachcombers became The Bruisers. Green started writing and recording as Lee Stirling with Bruce's manager Barry Mason. Green had little success as Lee Stirling. But The Bruisers continued to chart until they split up in 1967. In 1971, Green joined Larry Page's Penny Farthing label as a singer songwriter. He decided to call himself Daniel Boone. Page produced The Troggs hit Wild Thing. Green started writing with another staff songwriter Rod McQueen. They wrote several songs for an upcoming Daniel Boone album. But the song they thought would be a hit was Beautiful Sunday. After hearing the song, Page thought so too. Beautiful Sunday reached #21 on the British Singles chart. But when it was licensed to Mercury Records in the US, it reached #15 on the Billboard Hot 100. Boone continued to write and perform for many years. But Beautiful Sunday was his only big hit. You can get it on this various artists CD from the oldies label Eric Records. This song is on a lot of various artist CDs. But I know Boone re-recorded it I know that this CD has the original recording. Daniel Boone died on Jan. 27, 2023 at age 80. Here's the video for Beautiful Sunday by Daniel Boone. 

AccuRadio Song Of The Day-Suede

Artist:Suede

Song:Animal Nitrate

Album:The Best of Suede: Beautiful Ones 1992-2018

Suede was successful in their native England in the 90s. The 1993 single Animal Nitrate was their first top ten hit in England. They were known as The London Suede in the US and they weren't as successful there. Lead singer and main songwriter Brett Anderson and guitarist Justine Frischmann met in 1988 while studying at University College London and soon became a couple. They started jamming with Anderson's childhood friend Mat Osman on bass. They placed an ad in NME for a lead guitarist. That brought them 19 year old Bernard Butler. They decided on the name Suede. There was no drummer. They used a drum machine. Suede was influenced by The Smiths and The Cure among others including 70s glam rock. They started playing gigs. A demo was sent to the BBC radio show Demo Clash. They won five straight weeks and that got them a record deal with the small label RML. They weren't happy with the drum machine and placed an ad for a drummer. They ultimately hired Simon Gilbert who spoke to their manager at the time Ricky Gervais. Anderson and Justine split up and she started dating Blur lead singer Damon Albarn. She thought she could stay in the band. But there was tension so she was kicked out. Anderson and Butler started writing songs together. They had trouble getting a record deal because they sounded too much like The Smiths and grunge was popular at the time. They finally signed with Saul Galpern's Nude label for two singles. That's when the buzz started and record companies offered to buy their contract from Galpern. Instead he signed a distribution deal with Sony that gave Suede creative control. Their debut album Suede was released in 1993. Animal Nitrate was the third single and it reached #7 on the British Singles chart. The album topped the charts. Anderson and Butler wrote all the songs and former Psychedelic Furs keyboardist Ed Buller produced the album. Not surprisingly, Animal Nitrate was about drugs. Suede still sounded like The Smiths but that didn't matter anymore. When the album was released in the US, some lounge singer threatened to sue about the name. So they were forced to call themselves The London Suede. Meanwhile, Anderson and Butler weren't getting along and Butler left in 1994. A lot of the 1994 album Dog Man Star had already been recorded. Anderson continued to write on his own. Richard Oakes was the new guitarist. They also added Gilbert's cousin Neil Codling to play keyboards. Suede continued to have success in England until Nude closed in 2001 and Sony stopped promoting them. Anderson decided to disband Suede in Oct. 2003. Suede reunited for one time only in 2010. But they decided to make it permanent and they have released three albums. This 2CD budget comp covers Suede's entire career. Suede toured with the Manic Street Preachers in 2022 and they are currently on tour with them again. Here's the video for Animal Nitrate by Suede.