AccuRadio Song Of The Day-The Platters

Artist:The Platters

Song:Smoke Gets in Your Eyes

Album:All-Time Gteatest Hits

The Platters were the most successful R&B vocal group of the 50s. They bridged the gap between Tin Pan Alley and 50s pop music. They scored four #1 hit singles and the 1958 single The Great Pretender was their biggest hit and one of the most memorable records of the era. The Platters were formed in 1952 in Los Angeles by Federal Records A&R man Ralph Bass. The original group members were Alex Hodge, his brother Gaynel Hodge, Curtis Williams, Joe Jefferson and Cornell Gunter. Gunter and Jefferson were soon replaced by Tony Williams and Herb Reed. Reed had just been discharged from the US Army. Williams was lead singer. Reed was a member of The Platters for their entire run. Reed was at the Hodge household trying to come up with a group name when Mrs. Hodge came in with a plate of cookies. There were some 78rpm records on the table and she said "They look just like platters" and Reed chose that name. After a couple of unsuccessful singles on Federal, Bass asked his songwriter friend Buck Ram for help. He brought in female singer Zola Taylor and Paul Robi replaced Alex Hodge. Then Ram got them a record deal with Mercury. He also managed The Penguins who scored a top ten hit with the single Earth Angel. Mercury wanted them and Ram agreed to it if Mercury also took The Platters. The Penguins never had another hit. Only You was a Ram song that was already unsuccessfully recorded. Williams convinced Ram to record a new version and it was a top ten hit in 1955. This was followed by The Platters' first #1 hit The Great Pretender. And The Platters appeared in the film Rock Around the Clock. Their next #1 single was My Prayer in 1958. My Prayer was interesting because Ram didn't write it. It was a French song with English lyrics by Jimmy Kennedy. And that led to The Platters' recording of Smoke Gets in Your Eyes. Smoke Gets in Your Eyes was written by Jerome Kern and Otto Harbach for the 1933 Broadway musical Roberta. Maybe you have seen the 1935 film Roberta when Irene Dunne sang it. But The Platters' 1958 single Smoke Gets in Your Eyes not only topped the charts but it was their biggest hit and signature song. It was also their final #1 hit. You can get all their hits on this comp. Beware of knockoff versions. These are the original recordings. This version of The Platters lasted until 1960. Then Mercury dropped them in 1962. A version of The Platters continued to tour and occasionally record. But they never had the same success that they had in the 50s. Here's The Platters performing Smoke Gets in Your Eyes on the Mar. 1, 1958 episode of The Ed Sullivan Show.

AccuRadio Song Of The Day-Children Of The Day

Artist:Children of the Day

Song:For Those Tears I Died

Album:Come to the Waters

Today, Contemporary Christian Music (CCM) is very popular. But in the early 70s it was called Jesus music and the church establishment were reluctant to accept it for most of the 70s. Children of the Day may have been the first Jesus music group as the album Come to the Waters was released in 1971. The leader of Children of the Day was Marsha Stevens. She is sometimes called the mother of CCM. She was born Marsha Carter Aug. 20, 1952 in Pomona, CA. Marsha became a Christian in 1969. After writing the song For Those Tears I Died, the school's choir director suggested she publish the song. The song became popular in churches and Marsha decided that she wanted to be a performer. She brought in her sister Wendy Carter, her friend Peter Jacobs and Russ Stevens. And once they all became Christians, Children of the Day was formed. They were like a 60s folk group. Marsha sang lead and the others sang harmony. Wendy played guitar, Jacobs played piano and Stevens played bass. When they wanted to record, they borrowed $900 from Calvary Chapel pastor Chuck Smith. The 1971 album Come to the Waters was released by Maranatha Music. They usually produced choir and instrumental music. For Those Tears I Died is probably their best known song. The album is available on CD. They switched to Light Records for the 1975 album Where Else Would I Go. Children of the Day released five albums. By the time the 1979 album Butterfly was released, Jacobs left the group and they disbanded. Meanwhile, Marsha and Russ Stevens divorced and Marsha announced that she was a lesbian. This was CCM's first scandal. After that, Marsha started BALM (Born Again Lesbian Music). She still performs at gay churches. Jacobs created the Praise Symphony Orchestra and recorded for Maranatha. He has mainly been a producer for years. Here's Children of the Day performing For Those Tears I Died on a 1971 TV show.

AccuRadio Song Of The Day-Melissa Errico

Artist:Melissa Errico

Song: Uptown, Downtown

Album:Sondheim in the City

Melissa Errico is a Tony nominated Broadway performer who has recorded as a solo artist since 2003. She frequently performs in New York City clubs. She was born Mar. 23, 1970 in New York City. Her father was an orthopedic surgeon and her mother was a teacher. She met her husband former tennis pro Patrick McEnroe in grade school. They married in 1998 and have three daughters. Melissa was 12 years old when she appeared in the kids TV series The Great Space Coaster. She went to high school in Manhasset on Long Island and then at Yale. While at Yale, she got a role in a touring production of Les Miserables. She played Eliza Doolittle in a 1993 revival of My Fair Lady. She was Tony nominated for her performance in the 2003 musical Amour written by Michel Legrand. Meanwhile, Melissa signed a record deal with EMI's Manhattan label and her 2003 debut album Blue Like That was produced by Arif Mardin. She has appeared in several Broadway musical revivals. But in recent years, she has been more active as a recording artist and club performer. She recorded several albums for the Broadway specialty label Ghostlight. Uptown, Downtown is from her 2024 album Sondheim in the City. This is her first album for Concord Theatricals. It is a tribute to Stephen Sondheim. Uptown, Downtown is from Follies. Of course Concord started out as a jazz label in the 70s. Since they were sold in 2002, they have become a corporate monolith swallowing companies. They have recently merged with BMG. Concord bought Rodgers & Hammerstein in 2022 and started Concord Theatricals to release Broadway recordings. Sondheim in the City was produced by veteran producer Rob Mathes. Among the musicians on this album is veteran jazz drummer Lewis Nash. She recently released the album I Can Dream, Can't I? on her own label accompanied by pianist Todd Firth. She is playing New York clubs. Melissa has done films and TV but these days she is more active as a singer. Here's Melissa Erico performing Uptown, Downtown at the New York club 54 Below. 

AccuRadio Song Of The Day-Touche Amore

Artist:Touche Amore

Song:Skyscraper

Album:Stage Four

Touche Amore is a post hardcore band that was formed in Los Angeles in 2007. What is post hardcore? Well, hardcore was an offshoot of punk. When hardcore faded in the 00s, bands like Touche Amore sprung up to replace them. They still had elements of hardcore but with a softer sound. Lead singer Jeremy Bolm was a post hardcore fan before he started the band. He had started a fansite for the post hardcore band Thursday. Then he decided to form a post hardcore band. They released a demo. By the time Touche Amore released the 2009 album To the Beat of a Dead Horse, the band was Clayton Stevens and Nick Steinhardt on guitar, Tyler Kirby on bass and Elliot Babin on drums. The album got positive reviews from Alternative Press and others. And that was enough to get Touche Amore a record deal with the indie label Deathwish. The two albums on Deathwish did well enough to get them a record deal with Epitaph Records owned by Brett Gurewitz of Bad Religion. So now they are on the largest post hardcore label. Bolm dedicated the 2016 album Stage Four to his late mother's battle with cancer. The songs are credited to the band though Bolm writes them all. They share the royalties. Brad Wood was credited as producer. He's a recording engineer so I think the band self produces. That's not unusual for this kind of music. This is probably the album you should get if you are interested in this kind of music. It's available as a digital download. Touche Amore released two albums on Epitaph. They signed with Rise Records for the 2024 album Spiral in a Straight Line. Bands like Touche Amore are constantly on tour. Currently they are on a European tour. They may be due for a new album after that. Here's the video for Skysraper by Touche Amore. 

AccuRadio Song Of The Day-The Wonders

Artist:The Wonders

Song:That Thing You Do

Album:That Thing You Do!: Original Motion Picture Soundtrack

The Wonders were a fictional band created by Tom Hanks for the 1996 film That Thing You Do!. It told the story of a 60s one hit wonder. He hired actors to play the band members. Real musicians wrote and performed the music. The film was not a commercial success but it has become a cult film. And the title song charted on the Billboard Hot 100. As I said, Hanks wrote and directed the film and produced with Playtone partner Gary Goetzman. He also appears in the film as the band's manager. The members of The Wonders were played by Jonathan Schaech (lead singer), Steve Zahn (lead guitarist), Ethan Embry (bassist) and Tom Everett Scott (drums). Liv Tyler makes their costumes. So the four actors playing the band were not stars. And they also aren't musicians. So they were taught to mime the music. Canadian Howard Shore was hired to compose the score. He is best known for The Lord of the Rings scores. The two main guys brought in to write and produce the songs were Rick Elias and Adam Schlesinger. Elias was a member of CCM singer Rich Mullins' band. He also wrote songs for the TV series Dawsons Creek. He died in 2019. Schlesinger was the leader of the popular band Fountains of Wayne. He had become a prolific songwriter for films and TV when he died from COVID in 2020. Schlesinger wrote the song That Thing You Do! and it reached #41 on the Billboard Hot 100. The soundtrack album was certified Platinum and is available on CD. So who actually performed the music? It was mostly guys who are pals with Schlesinger and Elias. The lead singer on That Thing You! was Mike Viola of the band Dawes. Schlesinger did the backup vocals. We can assume that the music was performed by friends of Schlesinger. The musician names have never been revealed. Though That Thing You Do! was favorably reviewed, it was not a theatrical success and it became a cult movie through home video and cable. I doubt the film is made without Hanks. Here's the video for That Thing You Do! by The Wonders.

AccuRadio Song Of The Day-Jan Hammer

Artist:Jan Hammer

Song:Miami Vice Theme

Album:Escape from Television

I became familiar with keyboardist Jan Hammer when he was a member of John McLaughlin's fusion band The Mahavishnu Orchestra. When that band ended, Hammer got into film and TV music and he topped the charts with the 1985 single Theme from Miami Vice. That show was really hot at the time. Hammer was born Apr. 17, 1948 in Prague, Czech Republic. His mother was a singer and his father was a doctor who played vibraphone in clubs when he was in school. Hammer started playing piano at age four. He was considering following his dad into medicine. But a family friend convinced him to develop his musical talent. He led a jazz trio while in high school and they toured eastern Europe. He studied at the Prague Academy of Musical Arts. Hammer's influences include Bill Evans, Paul Bley and Larry Young. After the 1968 invasion of Czechoslovakia, Hammer received a scholarship from Berklee School of Music in Boston and he moved to the US. After graduating, Hammer toured with singer Sarah Vaughan. Then he joined John McLaughlin's jazz fusion band The Mahavishnu Orchestra. Hammer was recommended to McLaughlin by Czech bassist Miroslav Vitous of the fusion band Weather Report. Hammer was an early adopter of the Moog Synthesizer, especially the Minimoog. Drummer Billy Cobham was also a member of The Mahavishnu Orchestra and Hammer played on Cobham's 1973 debut album Spectrum. He also played on albums by guitarist John Abercrombie and drummer Jack DeJohnette. And he recorded his 1975 debut album The First Seven Days for Columbia's Nemperor label. He appeared on guitarist Jeff Back's 1976 album Wired and then toured with him. And he led his own touring band. He continued to record and tour with Beck until in 1984, the producers of the TV series Miami Vice hired Hammer to compose the music for the show. Of course Miami Vice was a big hit and MCA Records released a soundtrack album. Not only did the album top the charts but so did the single Miami Vice Theme. Hammer won two Grammy awards and he was nominated for two Emmys. This comp CD is available as a budget CD. Hammer left Miami Vice and returned to touring and recording with drummer Tony Williams in 1990. Hammer has also continued to score films and TV shows including Tales from the Crypt. He also continued to record with Jeff Beck. Hammer still records on his own label, most recently in 2022. He seems to be semi retired at the moment. But it wouldn't surprise me if Jeff Beck convinced him to tour again. Here's the video for Miami Vice Theme by Jan Hammer.

AccuRadio Song Of The Day_Hugo

Artist:Hugo

Song:99 Problems

Album:No Strings Attached: Music From The Motion Picture

Hugo is a singer songwriter who forged an unlikely alliance with Jay-Z after his song Disappear appeared on Beyonce's 2008 album I Am...Sasha Fierce. This led to a record deal with Jay-Z's record label Roc Nation. And this cover of the Jay-Z song 99 Problems appeared in the 2010 film No Strings Attached. Jay-Z describes Hugo's music as "gangsta rock". In the video, Hugo presents himself as a one man band. Plus it's not every day you hear a banjo in a pop record. He was born Hugo Chua Alexander Levy Aug. 6, 1981 in London, England. His mother is writer and environmental activist M.R. Narisa Chakrabongse. She is Thai royalty so Hugo grew up in Thailand. Hugo appeared in Thai soap operas as a child. As a teen, he recorded four albums with the band Siplor. After some success, Hugo went solo and moved to London. That's when Beyonce recorded Disappear and Hugo signed with Roc Nation. His cover of the Jay-Z song 99 Problems appeared on his 2011 debut album Old Tyme Religion. It also played over the end credits of the 2011 film No Strings Attached. That film was produced and directed by Ivan Reitman. The stars were Natalie Portman and Ashton Kutcher. Hugo's album is available as a digital download. But the No Strings Attached soundtrack is available on CD. Plus I think most folks will only be interested in Hugo's version of 99 Problems. The film was a big hit. Hugo wrote all the songs on his album with various co-writers. Dave McCracken was one of those writers and he produced the album. Noam Pikelny of Punch Brothers played the banjo. And no, the song is not bluegrass. But I like the use of the banjo. Hugo last released an album last year. Here's the video for 99 Problems by Hugo.