AccuRadio Song Of The Day-Ricky Nelson

Artist:Ricky Nelson

Song:A Teenager's Romance

Album:Hello Mary Lou: The Collection

Of course most are familiar with Ricky Nelson as a 50s pop star and actor. The 1957 single A Teenager's Romance was not his biggest hit. But it was his first big hit after he performed it on his dad's TV show. He was born Eric Hilliard Nelson May 8, 1940 in Teaneck, NJ. His father Ozzie Nelson was a bandleader and his mom Harriet Hilliard sang with the band. His older brother David Nelson acted but lacked charisma. The Nelsons appeared in the radio show The Adventures of Ozzie and Harriet. The show was very popular and the two boys played themselves in the latter days of the show. Ozzie wanted to make the transition to TV and he produced the 1952 film Here Come the Nelsons. The TV show debuted in 1952 and ran until 1966. Ricky Nelson made his singing debut on the show on a 1957 episode of The Adventures of Ozzie and Harriet. Nelson's big influence was Carl Perkins. Ozzie got Verve Records to release a single. The Fats Domino hit I'm Walkin' was the A side and A Teenager's Romance was the B side. Once Ricky performed the songs on TV, they became radio hits. But A Teenager's Romance was the bigger hit. It reached #2 on the Billboard pop chart. The song was written by a teaching tennis pro named David Gillam. It's his only credit but I'm pretty sure Ozzie owned the song. Jazz guitarist Barney Kessel produced the record. When Ozzie had a royalty dispute with Verve, He signed Ricky to a five year contract with Imperial Records. Ozzie had to approve everything. That's when Ricky Nelson became a big star. A Teenager's Romance was never released on an album. But you can get it on this 2CD budget comp from the British label Music Club. I may look at some of Nelson's other hits later on. Here's Ricky Nelson performing A Teenager's Romance on a 1957 episode of The Adventures of Ozzie and Harriet. 

 

AccuRadio Song Of The Day-Max Casella

Artist:Max Casella w/Tom Alan Robbins and Jason Raize

Song:Hakuna Matata

Album:The Lion King: Original Broadway Cast

Disney started to turn animated movies into Broadway musicals with Beauty and the Beast in 1994. It was so successful that Disney went into overdrive with the concept. So The Lion King was turned into a Broadway musical in 1997. The actors were all in animal costumes and there were these huge puppets. Julie Taymor directed the show. Hakuna Matata was one of several Elton John and Tim Rice songs from the film. And there were songs added by various writers. Hakuna Matata was performed in the show by an ensemble led by Max Casella as Timon with Tom Alan Robbins and Jason Raize. Casella is the best known of these actors from the 90s sitcom Doogie Howser M.D. He was born Maximillian Deitch June 6, 1967 in Washington, DC. His father David Deitch was a Boston Globe columnist. Casella grew up in Cambridge, MA. He has growth hormone deficiency and he needed medical intervention to go through puberty at age 27. This is why Casella was able to play teenager Vinnie Delpino in the 90s sitcom Doogie Howser, M.D. He also played a much younger character in the 1992 film musical Newsies. Disney produced that film and though it bombed, it showed that Casella can sing and that helped in casting him as Timon in The Lion King. The show was very successful though none of the actors are recognizable inside their costumes. The cast album is available on CD with a bonus DVD. Casella appeared in the films Ed Wood (1994) and Sgt. Bilko (1996). Most recently Casella was a regular on the first two seasons of the Paramount+ series Tulsa King. He also does voice work on video games. Tom Alan Robbins plays Pumbaa in The Lion King. He has spent most of his career on stage in supporting roles, most recently as Bert Berns in A Beautiful Noise, The Neil Diamond Musical. Jason Raize played Simba in The Lion King. Though he appeared in some other things, Raize was unhappy with his career and moved to Australia n 2003 to rethink things. After he went missing, his body was found hanging in a shed. Jason Raize was dead at age 28. Here's Max Casella, Tom Alan Robbins and Jason Raize performing Hakuna Matata on a 1997 episode of Regis & Kathie Lee. 

AccuRadio Song Of The Day-Will Young

Artist:Will Young

Song:Leave Right Now

Album:20 Years: The Greatest Hits

Will Young was the first winner of the British TV talent show Pop Idol in 2002. Of course when Simon Fuller and Simon Cowell brought the show to America, it was called American Idol. After winning, Young scored four #1 hits in England. The 2003 single Leave Right Now was his final hit of those four. He was born Jan. 20, 1979 in Wokingham, Berkshire, England. Though he performed on stage and learned to play piano as a child, Young wanted to compete in the 400 meter sprint in the Olympics. So he was an athlete in high school. But he wasn't a great student and he wasn't sure what he wanted to do. He joined a theater group and after playing Curly in their production of Oklahoma, he decided he wanted to be a singer. He moved to London and attended the Arts Educational School. Young saw on TV about auditions for the talent show that would become Pop Idol. Initially, a boy band was supposed to come from this show. And yes, Simon Cowell was behind this. But as X Factor has shown, he doesn't understand that you can't put strangers together because they don't stay together. And that's what happened here. The band that Young was supposed to be a part of split up before they got started. So then Young saw an ad for the Pop Idol auditions. And he won Pop Idol and that got him a record deal with RCA. Cowell worked at RCA at the time. Of course Pop Idol was a big hit and it turned into a global franchise. Young's first single Anything Is Possible was his first #1 hit and the song he performed when Young won Pop Idol. That song was written and produced by former Swing Out Sister leader Cathy Dennis. She wrote and produced several songs on the album. The second single was a cover of Light My Fire that Young performed on Pop Idol. That also topped the chart. The 2002 album From Now On was certified 2XPlatinum. The question was can Young have his own hit or will he suffer from what I call the "Idol hangover". The answer is he had success at first. The 2003 album Friday's Child was certified 5XPlatinum. So it did even better mostly because the single Leave Right Now topped the British charts. Most of the album including Leave Right Now was produced by Stephen Lipson who is buddies with Cowell. Leave Right Now was written by Eg White. He led the band Yip Yip Coyote in the 80s. But by this time he was a successful songwriter. Young co-wrote a few songs on the album. His next couple of albums didn't do as well and he left RCA for Island after the 2011 album Echoes. The 2015 album 85% Proof continued Young's slide. He has since recorded for the indie label Cooking Vinyl and on his own label with BMG distribution. You can get all of Young's RCA hits on this comp. I expect he will continue to record. But he has concentrated more on acting in recent years and has had some success. So Will Young did OK but not great. Here's the video for Leave Right Now by Will Young. 

AccuRadio Song Of The Day-Widespread Panic

Artist:Widespread Panic

Song:Blue Indian

Album:Live in the Classic City

Widespread Panic is a jam band similar to The Grateful Dead. There are plenty of jam bands around these days. I guess they're good for the music business because they are always touring and they have a rabid fanbase. So Widespread Panic moves a lot of product for a non commercial band. The problem is a lot of these bands sound the same. So I dunno how we're supposed to know which bands are really good. Maybe none of them are. Widespread Panic was formed in Athens, GA. in 1981. John Bell and Michael Houser started jamming in their dorm room at the University of Georgia. They performed as Severe Driving Problems. They started writing songs. Bassist Dave Schools joined them in 1985. And drummer Todd Nance joined for a charity event. He was a childhood friend of Houser's. That's when they started calling themselves Widespread Panic named after Houser's once frequent panic attacks. Widespread panic played in local clubs and released the 1988 album Space Wrangles on the indie label Landslide Records. They were starting to get local press attention and they toured nationally. This led them to a deal with the much larger Capricorn Records. Owner Phil Walden revived the 70s label and signed Widespread Panic in 1991. Capricorn was distributed by Warner Bros. Widespread Panic recorded five albums for Capricorn. Blue Indian is from the 1999 album 'Til the Medicine Takes. This was their final album for Capricorn. It was produced by John Keane who is a recording engineer who has worked with R.E.M. among others. The songs are credited to the band as a whole meaning Bell and Houser split the royalties evenly. That's probably a good idea for a band that tours a lot. Special guests included gospel singer Dottie Peoples and the Dirty Dozen Brass Band. Since then Widespread Panic started their own label. Sadly, Michael Houser was diagnosed with pancreatic cancer and died on Aug. 10, 2002. He was replaced by former Beanland guitarist George McConnell. Jimmy Herring replaced McConnell in 2006. It was at this point that Widespread Panic started releasing live albums from their archive. This is probably the best way to listen to them. Live in the Classic City was recorded over three nights in Apr. 2000 and released in 2002. It has 3 CDs and is available as a digital download. Todd Nance was forced to leave the band in 2014 due to failing health. Duane Trucks replaced him. Nance died in 2020. Widespread Panic released a new album in 2024. But they continue a heavy tour schedule to keep their fans fappy. Here's Widespread Panic performing Blue Indian in Austin, TX. from a DVD. 

 

AccuRadio Song Of The Day-Ellen Greene

Artist:Ellen Greene

Song:Somewhere That's Green

Album:Little Shop of Horrors: Original Cast Album

Actress Ellen Greene is probably best known for her Tony nominated performance as Audrey in the 1983 Off-Broadway musical adaptation of the 1960 cult film Little Shop of Horrors. She also starred in the 1986 film version. The musical was written by Howard Ashman and Alan Menken. Ashman told Playbill in 1982 that he wanted to write a fun show where he didn't care if it was a hit. He had seen the film Little Shop of Horrors in 1961. Menken had not seen the film. But once he did, he got to work on the songs. The other key figure was producer Kyle Renick who was a big fan of the film. There was also puppeteer Martin Robinson who turned a plant into a singing puppet. He plays Mr. Snuffleupagus on Sesame Street. It was supposed to be a small show which is why it was off-Broadway. Of course it became much bigger than that including a 1986 film. Plus Ashman and Menken went to work for Disney. Ellen Greene's Audrey was supposed be similar to Judy Holiday. She was born Feb. 22, 1951 in New York City. She started performing in high school. Ellen performed in New York nightclubs. She became friends with Australian singer songwriter Peter Allen who was getting into writing musicals. He cast Ellen in a show that never opened. Then she appeared in the 1976 film Next Stop, Greenwich Village. At Joseph Papp's New York Shakespearian Festival, Ellen was cast in a 1976 revival of The Threepenny Opera. She got a Tony nomination. And that's when she met Ashman and Menken. They cast her as Audrey in Little Shop of Horrors. It's still Ellen's most memorable role. The Broadway cast album is available as a digital download. She's appeared in films like I'm Dancing As Fast As I Can and Talk Radio. And she starred in the TV series Pushing Daisies. But she sems to prefer performing in clubs with husband Christian Klikovits. She also does a lot of voice work on animated films. It doesn't look like Ellen was interested in stardom. And that's why Audrey in Little Shop of Horrors is still her most memorable role. Here's Ellen Greene performing Somewhere That's Green on the 1983 Standards Awards broadcast. 

AccuRadio Song Of The Day-Eddie Money

Artist:Eddie Money

Song:Baby Hold On

Album:The Best of Eddie Money

Though it was not his biggest hit, the 1977 single Baby Hold On was Eddie Money's first single and the success of that song set him up for the next decade. So it's important in his discography. He was born Edward Joseph Mahoney Mar. 21, 1949 in New York City but he grew up in the Long Island city of Levittown. His father was a police officer. Money started busking at age 11. And in high school he played in bands to get dates with cheerleaders. Money's grandfather, father and brother are all cops. So he planned to continue that tradition. But instead he decided to pursue a career in music because the police did not allow him to grow his hair long. Money said he couldn't see himself as a cop with short hair. Money's father was unhappy with his decision. So he decided to move to Berkeley, CA in 1968. Once he arrived, he took the stage name Eddie Money. Money started playing San Francisco clubs. He got the attention of legendary promoter Bill Graham and signed to his Wolfgang label with Columbia distribution. He recorded the album Eddie Money with producer Bruce Botnick who produced The Doors album L.A. Woman. The idea was for Money to record his live show in the recording studio. Money wrote all the songs including Baby Hold On. Money's guitarist Jimmy Lyon co-wrote Baby Hold On. He played with Money for several years. Graham discovered Lyon and paired him with Money. Baby Hold On reached #11 on the Billboard Hot 100. So it was not his biggest hit but a good start that set him up for future success. The other main musicians were Lonnie Turner on bass and Gary Mallaber on drums from the 70s version of the Steve Miller Band. They also worked with Money for several years. After a stretch in the early 80s where he didn't have much success, Money scored a top five hit with the 1986 single Take Me Home Tonight featuring Ronnie Spector. The success of that song was enough to keep Money going until he left Columbia in 1991. You can get all of his hits on this budget comp. He continued to perform until he died from cancer on Sept. 13, 2019 at age 70. Here's Eddie Money performing Baby Hold On on Top of the Pops Mar. 6, 1978.

AccuRadio Song Of The Day-Moloney O'Connell & Keane

Artist:Moloney O'Connell & Keane

Song:Kilkelly

Album:Kilkelly

Kilkelly is probably the best known song recorded by Irish singer songwriter Robbie O'Connell. But he didn't record it on one of his own albums. He recorded it on this 1987 album by a trio he formed with banjoist Mick Moloney and accordionist Jimmy Keane. O'Connell received so many requests for Kilkelly that he self released a comp. I guess fans couldn't find Kilkelly anywhere. That album is out of print. But you can find Kilkelly on this album where O'Connell originally recorded it. I'm going to talk mostly about O'Connell because he is featured. He was born Dec. 28, 1950 in St. John's Parish, Waterford, Ireland. His mother was a Clancy so he's a nephew of The Clancy Brothers. He replaced Liam Clancy in 1977, moved to the US and toured with The Clancy Brothers for five years. He joined the band Green Fields of America. Maloney and Keane were in that band and the trio Maloney O'Connell & Keane was an offshoot of that band. Kilkelly was one of two albums they recorded for the Irish folk label Green Linnett. That company was based in the US. His recording of the song Kilkelly has become very popular. Peter Jones wrote Kilkelly after he found some old family letters detailing a son moving from Ireland to America. He based the song on those letters. One of the first to record the song was Irish singer Danny Doyle. And that is where O'Connell heard it and decided to record it on this album. Kilkelly was popularized by the 1991 BBC TV series Bringing It All Back Home. This was a five part series featuring many Irish musicians. And fans have been searching for Kilkelly since then. Moloney O'Connell & Keane only recorded two albums. O'Connell returned to The Clancy Brothers until their 1996 retirement. Since then O'Connell has recorded solo and performed with many Irish musicians. He lives in Boston. Here's the video for Kilkelly by Moloney O'Connell & Keane.