AccuRadio Song Of The Day-Brian McKnight

Artist:Brian McKnight

Song:Back at One

Album:Gold

R&B singer songwriter Brian McKnight had his greatest success in the 90s. The 1999 single Back at One was his biggest hit and his final big hit. He still records and tours these days. He was born June 5, 1969 in Buffalo. His older brother Claude McKnight III is a member of the acapella vocal group Take 6. The boys grew up in the church choir directed by their grandfather. Their family moved to Orlando, FL. when McKnight was ten years old. His dad worked for the Martin Marietta aircraft manufacturer. McKnight learned to play instruments and writing songs as a teen. He performed in local clubs while in high school. After graduating, McKnight got a publishing deal and moved to Los Angeles. After Claude McKnight's group Take 6 got a record deal with Warner Bros.' Reprise label in 1987, McKnight sent out demos and signed with Mercury Records. He released three albums for Mercury including the 1997 album Anytime which was certified 2XPlatinum. The 1997 single You Should be Mine was a top 20 pop hit. Even in those early days, McKnight normally wrote and produced his music. It was unusual for outside producers to be brought in though You Should be Mine was written and produced by Sean "Puffy" Combs. It was at this point that Universal bought Mercury's parent company PolyGram and all black artists were moved to Universal's Motown label. Mercury was turned into a country label. So McKnight signed a new deal with Motown and released the 1998 Christmas album Bethlehem. This was followed by Back at One in 1999. And this turned out to be McKnight's most successful album. It was certified 3XPlatinum and the single Back at One reached #2 on the Billboard Hot 100. As with his other albums, McKnight wrote and produced it himself. Why was this such a big success? Some believe that Anytime exposed McKnight to a more hip hop oriented audience and they stuck around for Back at One. After that, things didn't go so well. McKnight released three more albums for Motown. When none of them were positively received and they didn't sell as well as Back at One, McKnight left for Warner Bros. for the 2006 album Ten. When the album didn't sell, McKnight started recording for smaller labels. This 2CD comp has all his Universal hits. In recent years, McKnight appears to record for the indie label SoNo with Universal distribution. At this point he's a nostalgia act. Here's the video for Back at One by Brian McKnight.  

AccuRadio Song Of The Day-William Johnson

Artist:William Johnson

Song:The Man I Used to Be

Album:Pipe Dream: An Original Cast Recording

The most notable thing about the Broadway musical Pipe Dream is it was one of Rodgers & Hammerstein's biggest flops. It looks like the musical was shown on TV but I couldn't find out when and where it aired though this clip was used in an episode of the Netflix series The Marvelous Mrs. Maisel. William Johnson started out as a child actor. Pipe Dream was his final appearance as he died in 1957. He was born Mar. 22, 1915 in Baltimore. He made his Broadway debut at age 8 in the 1924 play Shipwrecked. Then he appeared in the 1926 operetta The Vagabond King. After performing in vaudeville and appearing in a couple of films, Johnson returned to Broadway in the 40s. He starred with Ethel Merman in the 1944 show Something for the Boys and with Patricia Morison in a 1951 London production of Kiss Me, Kate. Then he was nominated for a Tony for the 1956 show Pipe Dream. Then he died from a heart attack on Mar. 6, 1957 at age 40. Pipe Dream was based on the John Steinbeck novel Sweet Thursday. Former Republic Pictures music department head Cy Feuer and partner Ernie Martin backed the hit musical comedy Where's Charley?. Rodgers and Hammerstein helped them finance the show. After the success of Guys and Dolls, Feuer and Martin wanted to turn Steinbeck's novel Cannery Row into a musical. Steinbeck didn't think that would work. But he agreed to write a sequel that could be a musical. And that was called Sweet Thursday. Feuer, Martin and Steinbeck wanted Frank Loesser to write the show. But he was busy with The Most Happy Fella. So they approached Rodgers and Hammerstein. After some reluctance due to the racy subject matter, they agreed to do it. They cast opera singer Helen Traubel as the female lead. Feuer and Martin wanted Henry Fonda for the male lead. He tried to learn to sing. But his father-in-law Richard Rodgers said no. For the prostitute Suzy, they auditioned Julie Andrews. But she was also up for My Fair Lady and Rodgers told her to take that role. Rodgers had seen Judy Tyler on The Howdy Doody Show playing Princess Summerfall Winterspring. After she left the show, she auditioned for Pipe Dream and got it. The problem with the show was Rodgers was having health issues so Hammerstein was in charge. And he tried to clean up the content of the show. Remember one of the lead characters is a prostitute. How do you clean that up? Pipe Dream was a critical and financial failure. It ran from March to June 1956. The original cast album is available on CD. After Johnson died, Judy Tyler died in a car accident. Helen Traubel thought the show was cursed. So she started carrying good luck charms. Pipe Dream is generally considered to be Rodgers and Hammerstein's worst musical. It's only been revived a couple of times as a standalone concert. It was probably a mistake for them to agree to do it in the first place. Here's William Johnson performing The Man I Used to Be from the musical Pipe Dream 1956. 

 

AccuRadio Song Of The Day-Lauren Alaina

Artist:Lauren Alaina

Song:Road Less Traveled

Album:Road Less Traveled

Country singer songwriter Lauren Alaina finished second to Scotty McCreery on the 2011 season of American Idol (AI). I remember watching that and I didn't think either of them was any good. The 2017 single Road Less Traveled is her biggest hit to date. She has a new album coming out in August. I will say about Lauren what I say about a lot of AI contestants. She never would have got a record deal without AI. She's a pretty girl but there are plenty of those in Nashville. She writes all her songs but they are terrible. So I don't like her. She was born Nov. 8, 1994 in Rossville, GA. which is a suburb of Chatanooga. Her mother is an actress and TV host and entered Lauren in child talent competitions. She won her share of those. But it didn't get her anywhere and she worked in a pizza joint. She was rejected twice by America's Got Talent before passing her AI audition. The judges loved her and she was expected to win but finished second to Scotty McCreery. After AI, she signed with Mercury Nashville. And her single Like My Mother Does was a top 20 pop hit. The album Wildflower did OK but not great. She appeared on all the TV shows and was named New Artist of the Year at the American Country Awards. So she was treated like a star. But the results don't reflect that. But Mercury keeps trying. After 2014 vocal cord surgery, Lauren released the 2017 album Road Less Traveled. The single Road Less Traveled was a top ten country hit and was certified Platinum. The big difference between the first album and this one is that Lauren co-wrote all the songs on this one. The co-writers on Road Less Traveled were Meghan Trainor and Jesse Frasure. Frasure is a producer who has worked with many Nashville artists. The album was produced by busbee who died in 2019. Her 2021 album Sitting Pretty on Top of the World didn't sell either. Again, Lauren co-wrote all the songs. Paul DiGiovanni formerly of the band Boys Like Girls produced. He has produced Jordan Davis. She left Mercury for Joey Moi's Big Loud label. They are distributed by Universal. So they haven't given up. Her album Stages is coming out in August. Moi produced the album with Ben Johnson. Moi produced Morgan Wallen. This almost seems like Lauren's last chance. If Joey Moi can't sell her, who can? Here's the video for Road Less Traveled by Lauren Alaina.

  

AccuRadio Song Of The Day-Dizzy Gillespie

Artist:Dizzy Gillespie

Song:Birks' Works

Album:Dizzy's Diamonds: Best of the Verve Years

This is another in my Jazz for Beginners complete with a performance video and an affordable comp suitable for beginners. Trumpeter Dizzy Gillespie was one of the inventors of bebop. He started recording in the 40s. But his prime was when he recorded for Verve in the 50s. He was born John Birks Gillespie Oct. 21, 1917 in Cheraw, SC. His father was a local bandleader who died when Gillespie was ten years old. Gillespie started playing piano at age four. By age 12, he taught himself to play trumpet and trombone. He listened to his idol Roy Eldridge on the radio and dreamed of being a jazz musician. Gillespie won a music scholarship to the Laurinburg Institute and went there for two years until his family moved to Philadelphia in 1935. He played with local bands like Edgar Hayes and Teddy Hill and appeared on a 1937 Hill recording of King Porter Stomp. Then he met dancer Lorraine Willis and they married in 1940. She got him a spot in Cab Calloway's band. But Calloway didn't like Gillespie's onstage antics nor his solos which he called "Chinese". When someone threw a spitball during rehearsal, Calloway blamed Gillespie which Gillespie denied. They had an altercation and Gillespie was fired. A Great Day in Harlem director Jean Bach has made a short about this incident called The Spitball Story. This film is an extra on the DVD of A Great Day in Harlem and it's available on Amazon. He joined Earl Hines' band in 1943. And that's where he met Charlie Parker. They both went to Billy Eckstine's band in 1944. Gillespie left to start his own band. And that's when bebop was born. Gillespie continued in Eckstine's band. He signed with RCA's Bluebird label in 1946 and starred in the film Jivin' in Be-Bop. That's when he started bringing in Cuban musicians like Chano Pozo. Gillespie appeared regularly on Norman Granz' Jazz at the Philharmonic concert series. Then Granz started Verve Records. Gillespie started his own label Dee Gee which didn't last. Then he was throwing a party for his wife and someone bent the trumpet's bell upward. Gillespie liked the sound so much that he had all his trumpets made that way and it became his trademark. Gillespie signed with Verve in 1951 and stayed there until 1961. He first recorded Birks' Works on one of his Dee Gee albums in 1951. This recording is from the 1958 big band album Birks' Works. You can get it on this 2CD budget comp. Also the album Birks' Works is available in a 2CD expanded edition. Except for Birks' Works, all the songs on this album are standards. Ernie Wilkins from the Count Basie band was the main arranger. But Gillespie, Melba Liston and Benny Golson also arranged some tracks. Musicians are Gillespie, Talib Daawud, Lee Morgan, Ermit V. Perry and Carl Warwick on trumpet, Melba Liston, Al Grey and Rod Levitt on trombone, Emile Henry and Jimmy Powell on alto sax, Benny Golson and Billy Mitchell on tenor sax, Billy Root on baritone sax, Wynton Kelly on piano, Paul West on bass and Charlie Persip on drums. After leaving Verve in 1961, Gillespie recorded for Philips, Limelight, Solid State and Perception. Remember Granz sold Verve to MGM in 1960. When Granz started Pablo Records in 1973, Gillespie signed in 1975 and stayed until 1983. Granz sold Pablo to Fantasy in 1987. Concord now owns those recordings. Gillespie recorded for Atlantic, GRP and Timeless and continued to tour until he died on Jan. 6, 1993 at age 75. Here's Dizzy Gillespie with Sam Rivers on sax, Ed Cherry on guitar, John Lee on bass and Ignacio Berroa on drums performing Birks' Works at the 1987 New Jersey Jazz Festival.  

AccuRadio Song Of The Day-Dorothy Love Coates And The Original Gospel Harmonettes

Artist:Dorothy Love Coates and the Original Gospel Harmonettes

Song:You Must Be Born Again

Album:The Best of Dorothy Love Coates and the Original Harmonettes

Though I am sure most of you have never heard of her, gospel singer songwriter Dorothy Love Coates was a major influence on the music we listen to today. No less a star than Little Richard repeatedly cited her as a major influence. And he ain't the only one. Dorothy could have been a mainstream star. But she always refused to sing secular music and even retired in the early 50s when the other members of the group appeared on Arthur Godfrey's show. She was born Dorothy McGriff Jan. 28, 1928 in Birmingham, AL. as one of seven children. Her father was a minister and he left the family when she was six. Dorothy played piano in church and performed with her siblings as The McGriff Singers. They had a live weekly radio show on radio station WJLD. Dorothy quit high school after grade ten. She worked menial jobs during the week and sang with The Gospel Harmoneers on Sunday. Dorothy had her greatest success in the 50s as leader of The Original Gospel Harmonettes. She was not only lead singer but she wrote most of the songs. They appeared on Arthur Godfrey's Talent Scouts in 1949 and that got them a record deal with RCA. Dorothy was not on those recordings. She returned when they left RCA and signed with Art Rupe's Specialty label. They had R&B and gospel artists on the label. The 1951 single Get Away Jordan was probably their biggest hit. You Must Be Born Again was released in 1954. There were times that Dorothy's stage performance was so fervent that she would disappear from the stage. The other members brought her back. Of course James Brown copied this. So Dorothy's influence was very broad. Many R&B artists acknowledged the influence of the church. Dorothy retired in 1959 and that's when Specialty released these two comps. They were released on one CD after Fantasy Records bought Specialty in 1991. These recordings are now owned by Concord. It's available on CD. Dorothy joined the Civil Rights movement in 1961. So she was very active doing that in the 60s. She reformed The Gospel Harmonettes in 1961. They recorded for Okeh and Nashboro. After they split up, Dorothy formed The Dorothy Love Coates Singers and they recorded for Savoy. She retired from recording in 1980 but continued to make appearances including in the films The Long Walk Home (1990) and The Beloved (1998). Dorothy Love Coates died on Apr. 9, 2002 at age 74. Here's Dorothy Love Coates and the Original Gospel Harmonettes performing You Must Be Born Again. I got this video from Facebook. I don't normally go to Facebook but I couldn't find this on YouTube.

AccuRadio Song Of The Day-Chvrches

Artist:Chvrches

Song:The Mother We Share

Album:Bones of What You Believe In: 10 Year Anniversary Special Edition

The Scottish synth pop band Chvrches have had success mostly in England. Their 2013 debut album Bones of What You Believe In is their biggest selling album and The Mother We Share is their biggest hit. But they have never scored a big hit and they are more of an album and touring band. Iain Cook and Martin Doherty met in 2003 as students at the University of Strathclyde in Glasgow, Scotland. Doherty was in the band Julia Thirteen and he asked Cook to produced their 2006 EP Tired Hearts. Julia Thirteen went nowhere but Doherty and Cook wanted to work together. Cook was in the band Aereogramme. Doherty joined the band but they soon split up in 2007.Doherty was in The Twilight Sad's touring band. But he got tired of playing someone else's music and left in 2012. He had planned to train as a history teacher. Then he reconnected with Cook and they decided to start their own band. Cook was interested in synth pop influenced by the band Emeralds. Then he produced a 2011 EP for the band Blue Sky Archives and he asked their lead singer and drummer Lauren Mayberry if she would be interested in adding vocals to their project. At first Doherty was supposed to be lead singer. But both guys liked Lauren's singing and she was made lead singer. The band is called Churches but was changed to Chvrches for copyright reasons and differentiate them from real churches. I think the name is confusing so I don't like it. At first, Chvurches had not planned to tour and were going to be a studio band. The 2013 song Lies was posted on the Neon Gold Records blog. It was accompanied by a picture of three masked nuns. But Lies was played on BBC Radio 1. They were surprised by the response. They realized that they would have to perform live to get a record deal. The problem was when record companies came to their shows, they were interested in Lauren and not the band because of her looks. Cook and Doherty should have anticipated that but that showed their naivety. They signed with the indie label Glassnote Records and released the 2013 album The Bones of What You Believe and the single The Mother We Share. The album was certified Gold in England and The Mother We Share is their highest charting single to date. The album was released on Virgin's Vertigo label in Europe. Chvrches write and produce everything. A 2CD tenth anniversary edition of The Bones of What You Believe was released in 2023. It is available on CD. Chvrches has released four albums, most recently in 2021. They signed a new record deal with Island Records in 2022. Meanwhile, Lauren released a 2024 solo album Vicious Creature on EMI Records. Chvrches should have a new album out sometime this year. Here's the video for The Mother We Share by Chvrches.

AccuRadio Song Of The Day-Cowboy Mouth

Artist:Cowboy Mouth

Song:Jenny Says

Album:Are You with  Me?

Cowboy Mouth had modest success in the 90s. Jenny Says is probably their best known song. But it wasn't a big enough hit to keep them on a major label. I don't think they should have been on a major label in the first place. They would have been better of on an indie label like Yep Roc. Cowboy Mouth is from New Orleans. They were formed in 1990 by lead singer, drummer and main songwriter Fred LeBlanc. In the 80s, LeBlanc was in the bands The Backbeats and Dash Rip Rock. Meanwhile, John Thomas Griffith was in the new wave band Red Rockers and their 1983 video for China was played a lot on MTV. After they split up in 1986, Griffith released a 1988 solo album. Meanwhile, LeBlanc signed a record deal with EMI. He got together with former Backbeats guitarist Paul Sanchez and approached Griffith about forming a band. The name Cowboy Mouth is from a play by Sam Shepherd and Patti Smith meaning loudmouth. LeBlanc was lead singer and drummer. Griffiths was lead guitarist. Sanchez was rhythm guitarist. He left in 2006. And after that, the rhythm guitarist and bassist were disposable. After releasing a couple of albums on indie labels, Cowboy Mouth signed with MCA Records and released the 1996 album Are You with Me?. Jenny Says from that album is their most popular song. LeBlanc wrote it and Dash Rip Rock recorded it in 1989. The album was produced by John Cougar Mellencamp's guitarist Michael Wanchic. MCA was disappointed with album sales. This album is available as a budget CD. After the 1998 album Mercyland was also a disappointment, MCA dropped Cowboy Mouth. Since then they have recorded for indie labels and currently on their own label. And they still tour. Last year they released an album of covers called Cover Yo' Azz. They have enough of a fanbase in New Orleans that they don't need to be on a major label and probably would have been better off if they had never recorded for MCA. Here's the video for Jenny Says by Cowboy Mouth.