AccuRadio Song Of The Day-John Wilkins

Artist:Jack Wilkins

Song:Emily

Album Trioart

Jazz guitarist Jack Wilkins was mainly a sideman and he played New York clubs. He probably wasn't flashy enough to be really popular. But Wilkins didn't care about that. He just wanted to be respected by his peers. He was born Jun 3, 1944 in Brooklyn, NY. His stepfather played sax and his mother sang and played piano. His real father played guitar. But Wilkins didn't know about him until he was an adult. Wilkins started playing guitar at age 13. He listened to guys like Charlie Christian, Tal Farlow, Django Reinhardt and especially Johnny Smith. As a teen, he played with Les and Larry Elgart, Warren Covington and Sammy Kaye. In the 60s, he played with guys like Dan Armstrong, Lew Soloff, Lew Tabackin and Lloyd Wells. Wilkins played vibraphone in the band The Jazz Partners led by Barry Manilow. Then he got to record the 1973 album Windows for Bob Shad's Mainstream label. It was a trio album with Mike Moore in bass and Bill Goodwin on drums. When Buddy Rich's manager heard the album, Wilkins joined Rich's band for the next few years. He also worked on albums by Charles Mingus, Sonny Fortune and Stan Getz. Wilkins first recorded the Johnny Mandel/Johnny Mercer jazz standard Emily on his 1983 album Opal. This was Wilkins' one of two albums on CTI Records. Phil Woods appears on this album. From what I can tell, this album was only released in Japan. It's not available anyway. Wilkins also recorded Emily on the 1998 album Trioart on Arabesque Jazz. Musicians are Marc Puricelli on piano, Steve LaSpina on bass and Jeff Hirshfield on drums. This may have been Wilkins' regular band at the time. This album is available as a digital download. Wilkins also recorded for Chiaroscuro, Musicmasters and MAXJAZZ. Wilkins last recorded as a leader in 2009 and died on May 5, 2023 at age 78. Here's Jack Wilkins performing Emily at the American Institute of Guitar 1983.

  

AccuRadio Song Of The Day-Warren Hill

Artist:Warren Hill

Song:Do You Feel What I'm Feeling?

Album:The Collected Warren Hill

Smooth jazz saxophonist Warren Hill did very well on the Smooth Jazz charts when he was on RCA in the 90s. He hasn't recorded for a while. But he still performs live. He was born Apr. 15, 1966 in Toronto. Hill started playing guitar at age eight. And he fronted a rock group while in high school. He played sax in the school band. And got interested in jazz while taking a summer program at Eastman School of Music in Rochester, NY. Hill says that David Sanborn is his main influence. Hill played in a local band while studying physics at the University of Toronto. He dropped out of school to study at Berklee School of Music in Boston. On his 1988 graduation day, Hill played some solos. Producer Russ Titleman was in the audience and he hired Hill to play on a Chaka Khan session. Hill soon moved to Los Angeles and a demo got him a record deal with RCA. He also toured with Natalie Cole. Do You Feel What I'm Feeling? is from the 1994 album Truth which was his third album. By this time, Hill moved to Nashville and started playing sessions, most notably the 1993 Restless Heart single Tell Me What You Dream. For the most part, Hill writes and produces everything with outside producers. On Truth, the producers were Peter Bunetta and Rick Chudacoff from the band Crackin'. Musicians were Dain Noel and Michael Eckart on keyboards, Freddie Fox on guitar and Lenny Castro on percussion. This comp of Hill's RCA recordings is available as a digital download. Hill has also recorded for Discovery, Narada and most recently his own Popjazz label in 2015. Hill started his own Smooth Jazz Cruise in 2004 and owns the Cancun Jazz Festival. So he's still active. Here's Warren Hill with Kristian Alexandrov on keyboards, Ian Cameron on guitar, Victor Balconi on bass and Issah Contractor on drums performing Do You Feel What I'm Feeling? in Beijing, China Sept. 8, 2024.

 

AccuRadio Song Of The Day-Linda Ronstadt and Aaron Neville

Artist:Linda Ronstadt and Aaron Neville

Song:Don't Know Much

Album:Just One Look: Classic Linda Ronstadt

Singer Linda Ronstadt had her greatest success in the 70s. By the 80s, she wasn't chasing fame anymore. She was trying different kinds of music. But her two biggest overall hits were the 1987 single Somewhere Out There featuring James Ingram and the 1987 single Don't Know Much featuring Aaron Neville. I've already written about Somewhere Out There so now I will write about Don't Know Much. Linda met Neville at the 1984 World's Fair in New Orleans. After they met, the two promised to work together in the future. At the time, Linda was recording big band music with Nelson Riddle, the Trio recordings with Dolly Parton and Emmylou Harris and albums in Spanish. So she hadn't recorded a pop album for a while. Somewhere Out There was on the soundtrack of the 1987 film An American Tail. So Linda got together with producer Peter Asher to make plans. Producer Steve Tyrell brought them a demo of Don't Know Much. They wanted that song as one of the duets with Neville. Don't Know Much was written by the husband wife team of Barry Mann and Cynthia Weil along with Tom Snow. Mann recorded it on his 1980 album Barry Mann. Bill Medley and Bette Midler also recorded it. Linda's recording of Don't Know Much reached #2 on the Billboard Hot 100. Per VF Music, it's the biggest hit of her career. The album was certified 3XPlatinum. The guitar solo was by studio musician Michael Landau. Other musicians were Don Grolnick on piano, Leland Sklar on bass, Carlos Vega on drums, Michael Fisher on percussion and The Skywalker Symphony Orchestra arranged by David Campbell. This 2CD budget comp concentrates on Linda's Elektra/Asylum recordings of the 70s & 80s. If you want a comp of Linda's early Capitol recordings, I recommend the comp Icon which is available at a budget price. Linda Ronstadt retired in 2011 due to Parkinson's disease. Her memoir was published in 2022. Here's the video for Don't Know Much by Linda Ronstadt and Aaron Neville. 

AccuRadio Song Of The Day-Bloodstone

Artist:Bloodstone

Song:Natural High

Album:The Ultimate Collection

Bloodstone scored a top ten hit with the 1973 single Natural High. Some of their other singles charted but Natural High was their only big hit. Bloodstone is from Kansas City, MO led by bassist, singer and songwriter Charles McCormick. When they were formed in 1962, they were a high school doo wop group called The Sinceres. By 1967 they toured with a horn band called The Smokin' Emeralds. And that's when they learned to play instruments. Then they moved to Los Angeles. They moved to England and signed a record deal with Decca Records. They were on London Records in the US. The band was McCormick on bass and vocals, Charles Love on guitar and vocals, Wllis Draffen Jr. on guitar, Eddie Summers on drums and Harry Williams and Roger Durham on percussion. The band name was changed to Bloodstone by their management. Natural High is from Bloodstone's 1973 album also called Natural High. The single Natural High reached #10 on the Billboard Hot 100. The song was written by McCormick and he also sang lead. Al the members of Bloodstone wrote songs. Natural High underwent a revival when Quentin Tarantino used it in his 1997 film Jackie Brown. The album was produced by Mike Vernon who had previously produced John Mayall's Bluesbreakers. The album was certified Gold. After appearing in the 1975 film Train Ride to Hollywood, Bloodstone recorded for Motown and T-Neck. A version of Bloodstone continues to perform though all the original members have died. This comp was put together by the band and includes some rerecorded versions of songs. I normally don't recommend that but the band did that themselves. Charles McCormick died in 2022. Here's Bloodstone performing Natural High on a July 20, 1973 episode of The Midnight Special. BTW, The Midnight Special now has a YouTube page. So check that out.

 

AccuRadio Song Of The Day-The Bongos

Artist:The Bongos

Song:Numbers with Wings

Album:Numbers with Wings/Beat Hotel

The New Wave band The Bongos had the potential to be successful with singles like Numbers with Wings in 1983. They were even on a major label. But that forced them to put pressure on themselves to get that big hit single and they split up in 1987. They were from Hoboken, NJ and came out of the New York City arts scene. The leader of The Bongos was Richard Barone. He was lead singer, guitarist and wrote all the songs. The other members were Rob Norris on bass and Frank Giannini on drums. Guitarist James Mastro joined later. The Bongos played New York clubs. A demo got them a record deal with the British label Fetish Records. The Bongos mixed new wave with dance beats. So that created dance club success. A 1981 cover of T. Rex's Mambo Sun reached #22 on the Billboard Dance chart. They toured opening for The B-52s and then Barone and Mastro recorded an acoustic album. The turning point for The Bongos came when they signed with RCA Records in 1983 and released the EP and single Numbers with Wings. Though the single never charted, MTV played the music video and it was nominated for Best Direction at the 1984 MTV Video Music Awards. At that time, there may still have been radio station bias against playing songs that were popular on MTV. The Bongos went on a year long tour and then released the 1985 album Beat Hotel. The album was produced by recording engineer John Jansen. The album got positive reviews. But I guess RCA was hoping for a big hit single and they didn't get it. The Bongos had a cult following. But that probably wasn't going to be enough to sustain constant touring. The Bongos left RCA for Island and were recording the album Phantom Train in The Bahamas when they decided to split up. There was too much pressure. Razor & Tie released the album Beat Hotel and the EP Numbers with Wings on one CD and it is available. Barone has had a pretty good solo career and continues to record and tour. He published his memoir in 2007. James Mastro owns a guitar shop in Hoboken and tours with the reformed Mott the Hoople. The Bongos have reformed occasionally to play live. But they aren't planning to record again. RCA did release a live album in 2025. Here's the video for Numbers with Wings by The Bongos.

 

AccuRadio Song Of The Day-Olivia Newton-John

Artist:Olivia Newton-John f/Cliff Richard

Song:Suddenly

Album:Olivia's Greatest Hits Vol. 2: Deluxe Edition

Olivia Newton-John's 1980 single Suddenly was a much bigger deal in England than here because it featured Cliff Richard who at one time was the British Elvis. He still appears on British TV. Suddenly is from the 1980 film Xanadu. It's on the soundtrack album. But it's also on comps by both artists. After Olivia's debut film Grease made her a potential movie star, the films Xanadu (1980) and Two of a Kind (1983) were so bad that her potential was killed. Olivia concentrated more on music. The soundtrack album for Xanadu was very successful. The album was certified 2XPlatinum and the singles Magic and Xanadu were big hits. Half of the soundtrack album was produced by Jeff Lynne and Electric Light Orchestra. The other half was written and produced by Olivia's usual producer John Farrar. Along with Cliff Richard, Olivia also recorded with The Tubes and Gene Kelly. Farrar pitched the song as a duet and he suggested Richard to record it. Suddenly reached #20 on the Billboard Hot 100 and #15 on the British Singles chart. Suddenly is available on this comp which was originally released by MCA in 1982. EMI released a very similar comp in 1983 with the same cover. So you need to watch out when you are shopping for this. This Deluxe Edition which has four bonus tracks was released in 2023 by Primary Wave who owns Olivia's catalog. Olivia sold it to them in 2020. As most should know, Olivia had cancer and died on Aug. 8, 2022 at age 73. Here's the video of Suddenly by Olivia Newton-John featuring Cliff Richard from Olivia's ABC TV special Hollywood Nights that aired before the Oscar broadcast on Apr. 14, 1980. 

 

AccuRadio Song Of The Day-Seduction

Artist:Seduction

Song:(You're My One and Only) True Love

Album:Nothing Matters Without Love

Seduction was a girl group that scored four chart hits from their 1989 album Nothing Matters Without Love. (You're My One and Only) True Love was not their biggest hit but their first hit. The guys behind Seduction were Robert Clivilles and David Cole who went on to be C+C Music Factory. The idea for Seduction was to create a freestyle act similar to Expose using New York studio singers. Nobody was supposed to know who was singing. The single Seduction was released in 1988. The singer on the record was A&M Records Black Music A&R Director Carol Cooper. When the single got dance club play, Clivilles, Cole and Cooper decided to turn it into a group called Seduction on A&M. But first, they had to hire singers. Meanwhile, Cole recorded the song True Love with Martha Wash of Weather Girls. It was released as a single but Martha was not credited. Cole tried to alter her voice so no one would know it was Martha. When the single became a hit, they knew they needed to hire singers. They were April Harris, Michelle Visage and Idalis DeLeon. April was the only one was was really a singer. She was Cole's sister's best friend. So he could have hired her previously. Cole did a remix with the three singing backup for Martha's vocals. The single reached #23 on the Billboard Hot 100. The rest of the album Nothing Matters Without Love featured vocals by the three girls. Why couldn't Cole wait? You know what they say. Strike while the iron is hot. Martha sued and it was settled out of court. Seduction's biggest hit was the single Two to Make it Right which reached #2 on the Billboard Hot 100. This album is available on CD. Of course C+C went on to have more trouble when the C+C Music Factory single Gonna Make You Sweat used uncredited Martha Wash vocals and she sued them again. As for the girls, April reformed Seduction and released a 2005 album. She owns the business Keeping You Sweet. Michelle is part of RuPaul's Drag Race and has appeared on various TV shows related to that. Idaris has worked as a TV host for Access Hollywood and Extra. And she has done acting mostly on TV. Here's the video for (You're My One and Only) True Love by Seduction.