AccuRadio Song Of The Day-Fapy Lafertin

Artist:Fapy Lafertin

Song:Fleur de Lavende

Album:Dutch Jazz Giants Volume 7: Gipsy Swing

The influence of French jazz guitar legend Django Reinhardt is so vast that it's impossible to know where to start. Look at all the bands that have the name "Hot Club" in their name. And Reinhardt did invent what we know today as Gipsy Swing. Belgian guitarist Jean "Fapy" Lafertin plays other styles of music sometimes. But mostly he plays in Reinhardt's style. He was born Nov. 20, 1950 in Kortrijk, Belgium in the Manouche Romani community. He started playing guitar at age five. After playing in his family band with his father on violin and his brother on second guitar, he joined a band led by violinist Piotto Lindberger. The band was called WASO. The other members were Vivi Limberger on guitar, Keon De Cauter on sax and Michael Verstraeten on bass. Then Lafertin started his own band in 1985 in The Netherlands with Rudi Brink on violin and Joop Hendricks and Tim Kliphuis on sax and clarinet. Then Lafertin released his debut album as a leader in 1991. The album title is Fleur de Lavende. The album was released on the Norwegian label Hot Club Records owned by Jon Larsen of the band Hot Club de Norvege. Lafertin recorded some Gipsy Swing standards. But he wrote Fleur de Lavende. Musicians are guitarist Flip Krajenbrink, violinist Hadi Mouallem, bassist Simon Planting and drummer Onno De Brujin. I think they are all Dutch. This album is available as part of a 10CD box set called Dutch Jazz Giants released by the Dutch label Pink Records. There's a different artist on each CD. I don't know why anyone would release a box set like this. But the albums are available individually as digital downloads. Lafertin's album is volume 7 of the box set. Since then Lafertin has released several albums on different labels. His latest album is with clarinetist Evan Christopher called A Summit in Paris on the French label Camille Productions released in 2020. Lafertin tours Europe frequently. But I don't think he has ever played in North America. Django Reinhardt fans should check him out. Here's Fapy Lafertin with Martin Limberger on guitar, Simon Planting on bass and Frans van Oosterhout on drums performing Fleur de Lavende on Dutch TV 1992.

 

AccuRadio Song Of The Day-The El Dorados

Artist:The El Dorados

Song:At My Front Door

Album:Essential Doo-Wop: Let's Have a Ball

The doo wop group The El Dorados topped the R&B Singles chart and scored a top 20 pop hit with the 1955 single At My Front Door. It turned out to be their only big hit though a version of The El Dorados has played the oldies circuit for many years. The El Dorados went to Englewood High School in Chicago. They were called Pirkle Lee and the All Stars when they formed in 1952. The lead singer was Pirkle Lee Moses Jr. He also wrote songs and led the group for decades. After Moses spent some time in the US Air Force, he returned in 1954 and the group name was changed to The El Dorados. The other members were tenors Louis Bradley and Arthur Basset, second tenor Jewel Jones and baritones James Maddox and Richard Nickens. They came to the attention of Chicago DJ Al Benson and he got them an audition with Vivian Carter of Vee-Jay Records. The El Dorados signed with Vee-Jay. At My Front Door was their fifth single and it topped the R&B Singles chart and reached #17 on the pop chart. They released an album called Crazy Little Mama. Pat Boone's version of At My Front Door reached #7 on the pop charts. At My Front Door was written by The Drifters lead singer John Moore and he produced with Vee-Jay co-owner Ewart Abner. Abner went on to be Stevie Wonder's manager and president of Motown in the 70s. The album Crazy Little Mama is available on CD from the Japanese label P-Vine. But if you only want At My Front Door, you can get it on this comp of doo wop classics. The El Dorados split up in 1957. Vee-Jay soon dropped them. Moses continued to lead a version of The El Dorados until his 2000 death. A version of The El Dorados still tours today. Here's The El Dorados performing At Your Front Door 1994.

AccuRadio Song Of The Day-Barleyjuice

Artist:Barleyjuice

Song:Weekend Irish

Album:The Barleyjuice Irish Collection

Barleyjuice is an American band that plays Irish themed music. There have been other similar bands, most notably The Dropkick Murphys. Like that band, Barleyjuice performs mostly original songs. They are from Philadelphia. Kyf Brewer and Keith Swanson were bagpipers for the Loch Rannoch Pipes & Drums in Pineville, PA. They decided to start Barleyjuice in 1998 as a side project to perform traditional Irish and Scottish songs in a rock style very similar to The Dropkick Murphys. They played mostly on St. Patrick's Day. They became a full time band in 2001 after they released their debut album One Shilling. They record for their own label. One of the songs from that album appeared in the 2001 film Driven. Brewer and Swanson are the only constant members of Barleyjuice. They write and produce everything. They started to get attention when the song What's Up Yours? from the 2003 album Another Round was named Song of the Year by listener vote at Celtic Radio. Weekend Irish is from their 2008 album Bonnie Prince Barley. A music video was produced for that song. Then they made a deal with the shopping network QVC to sell the 2CD comp The Barleyjuice Irish Collection to viewers. Bonnie Prince Barley is probably Barleyjuice's most popular album. But it's out of print. You can get Weekend Irish on The Barleyjuice Irish Collection which is available as a digital download. Swanson retired from Barleyjuice in 2019. But he returned and they still play occasional shows. They last released an album in 2018. Here's the video for Weekend Irish by Barleyjuice. 

AccuRadio Song Of The Day-OK Go

Artist:OK Go

Song:Here It Goes Again

Album:Oh No

OK Go is an indie band that have had success as an album and touring band. The 2006 single Here It Goes Again was a top 40 hit so it's probably their best known song. OK Go leader Damian Kulash met bassist Tim Nordwind at summer camp in Michigan when they were 11 years old. The band name came from something their art teacher would say while they were drawing. They kept in touch afterwards. Nordwind met keyboardist Andy Duncan in high school. After they moved to Chicago to attend school, they formed the band Stanley's Joyful Noise with drummer Dan Konopka. Meanwhile, Kulash studied music at Brown University in Providence, RI. After graduating, he moved to Chicago and formed OK Go in 1998. Kulash is lead singer, guitarist and he writes all the songs. They started playing local clubs and opened for Elliott Smith, The Promise Ring and The Olivia Tremor Control. They were the house band for the Chicago Public Media radio show This American Life. After self releasing a couple of EPs and opening for They Might Be Giants, OK Go moved to Los Angeles in 2001 and sent out demos to record companies. They signed with Capitol because Andy Slater was Capitol's new president and they thought he would give them more attention. Their debut album OK Go was released in 2002. The single Get Over It charted in England and OK Go performed on Top Of The Pops. But the album didn't sell in the US. For the 2005 album Oh, No, OK Go went to Malmo, Sweden to work with producer Tore Johansson who had worked with The Cardigans and Franz Ferdinand. After they finished recording, Duncan left due to creative differences and the tour schedule. Andy Ross replaced him. This album did better than the first one and the single Here It Goes Again reached #38 on the Billboard Hot 100. The video for Here It Goes Again was the band dancing on treadmills. So MTV played it to death and OK Go performed it live on the 2006 MTV Video Music Awards. In those days, it was a double edged sword. The video helped record sales. But many radio stations were still resentful of MTV and might have refused to play the record anyway. Also, Kulash was concerned about being typecast as "that goofy band". Oh, No is available as a budget CD. OK Go ran into problems with their 2010 album On the Blue Colour of the Sky when Capitol posted videos on YouTube and would not allow embedding. In response to complaints, Kulash posted an open letter on the band website which included embed codes. He thought it was stupid too. Soon after OK Go left Capitol and started their own label Paracadute. OK Go is still around. They released an album last year and will tour in the fall. Here's the video for Here It Goes Again by OK Go.

AccuRadio Song Of The Day-Eladio Carrion

Artist:Eladio Carrion f/Bad Bunny

Song:Coco Chanel

Album:3MEN2 KBRN

Rapper Eladio Carrion has had success mostly in the Latin market. Reggaeton is marketed a little differently than other kinds of music. This song Coco Chanel charted in 2023 despite not being released as a single. Bad Bunny is on it and he's one of the biggest stars right now. My problem with Carrion is the same problem I have with many rappers. He releases way too much music and should be more selective. He's released seven albums since 2020 and plenty of standalone singles. He was born Nov. 14, 1994 in Kansas City, KS. His parents are Puerto Rican. His father was in the military so they moved around a lot until his family relocated to Humacao, Puerto Rico in 2005. Carrion was a swimmer who represented Puerto Rico in the 2010 Central American and Caribbean Games and the 2011 Pan American Games. After he finished eighth in 2011, Carrion quit swimming and posted funny videos to Vine and Instagram. Then he started rapping and singing. He signed with Rimas Entertainment and released his 2020 debut album Sauce Boyz. The album was certified Platinum and his single Kemba Walker featuring Bad Bunny was certified Platinum and nominated for a Latin Grammy. And as I said, Carrion's music is not marketed traditionally. Word of mouth is more important than radio play. He's had similar success with all his albums. Coco Chanel is from Carrion's 2023 album 3MEN2 KBRN which is an abbreviation of Tremendo Cabron which means badass. Coco Chanel was Carrion's first song to chart on the Billboard Hot 100. And it was not released as a single. The success of the song was fueled by Bad Bunny's star power. Carrion and Bad Bunny had success with the 2020 single Kemba Walker. So there was a lot of anticipation for this new song. And it went viral when Bad Bunny dissed Phoenix Suns' Devin Walker who used to date Kendall Jenner who was dating Bad Bunny at the time. Coco Chanel was written by Carrion, Bad Bunny and producer John "DVLP" Zayas. This album is available as a digital download. Since then Carrion has released three albums including his latest in Apr. 2026. Plus he makes guest appearances. As I said, I think he could decrease his musical output and still do OK. It looks like he's going on tour in the fall. Here's the video for Coco Chanel by Eladio Carrion featuring Bad Bunny. 

AccuRadio Song Of The Day-The Dandy Warhols

Artist:The Dandy Warhols

Song:Bohemian Like You

Album:The Capitol Years 1995-2007

The alt rock band The Dandy Warhols have been around for over thirty years. They had their greatest commercial success when they were on Capitol Records from 1995-2007. They never had a hit single but the 2000 single Bohemian Like You was their highest charting song and it made a lot of money from other media. The Dandy Warhols currently record for their own label. The Dandy Warhols are from Portland, OR led by lead singer songwriter and guitarist Courtney Taylor-Taylor. Taylor-Taylor met guitarist Peter Holmstrom while both were attending Sunset High School in the Portland suburb of Beaverton, OR. After an unsuccessful experiment trying to teach his girlfriend to play bass, Taylor-Taylor taught Zia McCabe to play keyboards. Eric Hedford was the original drummer. But he left over a royalty dispute and was replaced by Taylor-Taylor's cousin Brent DeBoer in 1998. The Dandy Warhols started playing local clubs and released the 1995 album Dandys Rule OK on the local indie label Tim/Kerr. Capitol Records liked the album enough to sign the band. They wanted them to have hit singles. So when they recorded a follow up album, Capitol rejected it because they said it didn't have any hits. Much of the band's music has humor. Even the band name is obviously a gag. But I don't think Capitol was in on the joke. So a new album was recorded and ...The Dandy Warhols Come Down was released in 1997. As usual, Taylor-Taylor wrote and produced. Capitol brought in Elliott Smith's producer Eric Lash to give the album some polish. The album and a couple of singles charted in England. The 2000 single Bohemian Like You is from the album Thirteen Tales from Urban Bohemia. It was a top twenty hit in England after it was used in an ad for the British phone company Vodafone. It also appeared on the TV series Buffy the Vampire Slayer and the films Flushed Away and Igby Goes Down. It was reported by the British newspaper The Guardian that Taylor-Taylor earned $1.5M in royalties after Vodaphone used Bohemian Like You. He used that money to buy a quarter of a city block in Portland and build a recording studio. So I guess The Dandy Warhols don't need a hit single. Taylor-Taylor wrote and produced Thirteen Tales from Urban Bohemia with Dave Sardy formerly of Barkmarket. You can get Bohemian Like You on this comp which is available as a digital download. Taylor-Taylor wrote Bohemian Like You after he saw a woman at a traffic light under his apartment and he started to fantasize about her. The song wrote itself. The Dandy Warhols recorded four albums for Capitol. They started their own label Beat the World with distribution from the British label Caroline. They have switched distributors a couple of times and released their latest album in 2024. They aren't on tour right now. But they have a couple of shows coming up in Sept. Here's the video for Bohemian Like You by The Dandy Warhols. 

AccuRadio Song Of The Day-Junior Wells

Artist:Junior Wells

Song:Come On in This House

Album:Messin' With the Kid 1957-1963

Junior Wells is one of the all time blues harmonica greats. He is best known for his long partnership with guitarist Buddy Guy. He first recorded in 1955. But he didn't become a fan favorite until the mid 60s when he partnered with Guy and toured with The Rolling Stones. He was born Amos Wells Blakemore Jr. Dec. 9, 1934 in Memphis. His cousin Junior Parker and Sonny Boy Williamson II taught Wells to play harmonica. After his mother's divorce, Wells moved to Chicago with her in 1948. Wells hung out with local musicians in bars and at parties. Wells joined The Aces led by guitarists Dave and Louis Myers. But drummer Fred Below had worked with harmonica legend Little Walter so he helped Wells with his harmonica playing. And in 1952, Wells replaced Walter on a Muddy Waters session on Chess. Of course Little Walter was on Chess so they weren't interested in Wells. He first recorded for States Records in 1955. They closed in 1957 and Wells signed with Chief Records. Chief was owned by producer and songwriter Mel London. In those days, Chess was the only game in Chicago. So the rest was left to guys like London. But he signed Earl Hooker who was a really good guitarist and a good partner for Wells. So Chief released about 25 Wells singles from 1957-63 and then Chief closed in 1964. Wells wrote Come On in This House and it was released in 1960. London is credited as producer. Musicians are Earl Hooker on guitar, Lafayette Leake on piano, Dave Meyers on bass guitar, Willie Dixon on acoustic bass and Eugene Lounge on drums. Hooker and Dixon play on most of this album. This budget CD is all original recordings first released by Paula Records in 1991. These recording are now owned by P-Vine Records, a Japanese label that reissues vintage jazz, blues and R&B recordings. Wells released his first album Hoodoo Man Blues on Delmark Records in 1965. Buddy Guy was on that album and that's when Wells' career really started especially when they toured with The Rolling Stones in the 70s. After suffering a heart attack, Wells died on Jan. 15, 1998 at age 63. I may look at Wells' later recordings in the future but here's Junior Wells with Buddy Guy performing Come On in This House at Montreux 1978.