AccuRadio Song Of The Day-Blotto

Artist:Blotto

Song:I Wanna Be a Lifeguard

Album:Collected Works

The band Blotto were an early MTV success story when their video for the song I Wanna Be a Lifeguard was played on MTV's first day. It was never a radio hit because in those days radio stations refused to play MTV hits. Blotto is from Albany, NY. Blotto was called The Star Spangled Washboard Band when they formed in the mid 70s. They appeared on The Mike Douglas Show and the New York Times described them as a mix of Earl Scruggs and The Three Stooges. After the band split up, four of the members stayed together and named themselves Blotto after a 1931 Thorne Smith novel. Influenced by The Ramones, all the members took the surname Blotto. The leader of Blotto is Bill Polchinski on guitar. He wrote all the songs. The other members were Paul Jossman on guitar, Keith Stephenson on bass, Helena Binder on keyboards, Paul Rapp on drums and Greg Haymes on percussion. He also was the graphic designer. Blotto played local clubs and released the single I Wanna Be a Lifeguard. New York radio station WNEW DJ Vin Scelsa started playing it and I Wanna Be a Lifeguard became the theme for the Jones Beach lifeguards. Dr. Demento played the record. Blotto toured the Northeast US and self released a couple of EPs. Then with the help of students at SUNY Albany, a music video for I Wanna Be a Lifeguard was produced. Blotto sent the video to MTV and it was played on their first day broadcasting. It was the first MTV hit. Blotto released the album Combo Akimbo on the children's record label Peter Pan Records. They released two more videos which Sony released on VHS. Buck Dharma of Blue Oyster Cult appeared in the video for Metalhead. But despite a level of fame, Blotto still couldn't get a record deal. They were going to sign with Boardwalk Records but they closed. And they talked with Atlantic Records and couldn't make a deal. Record labels viewed Blotto as a novelty act that would have limited success. So they split up in 1984 and went on to other things. Paul Rapp became a lawyer. The reissue label One Way Records released this comp in 2005. It is available as a digital download. Keith Stephenson died in 1999. Greg Haymes died in 2019. Blotto reunites occasionally for special occasions. A documentary called Hello! My Name Is Blotto: The Movie. It played at last year's Susquehanna Film Festival in Williamsport, PA. It is not streaming but you can buy a DVD on Blotto's website. Here's the video for I Wanna Be a Lifeguard by Blotto. 

AccuRadio Song Of The Day-Georgia Brown

Artist:Georgia Brown

Song:As Long As He Needs Me

Album:Lionel Bart's Oliver!: The Original Broadway Cast Recording

British singer and actress Georgia Brown had her greatest success when she played Nancy in the 1960 London production of the musical Oliver!. She played the same role in the 1963 Broadway production and was nominated for a Tony. She also recorded and appeared in films and TV. But I don't think anything else she did was memorable. She was born Lilian Claire Klot Oct. 21, 1933 in Whitechapel, London, England. She is Jewish of Russian descent. Her father worked in a textile factory. During the London Blitz, Georgia was evacuated to Wales. When she started out as a nightclub singer, she took the stage name Georgia Brown after the song Sweet Georgia Brown. She signed with Decca Records and released a couple of songs including Sweet Georgia Brown in 1951. She played local clubs to promote them. Georgia lived with singer Annie Ross and was a member of the jazz vocal group that became Lambert, Hendricks & Ross. Georgia appeared on the BBC show Variety Parade in 1955. Then she got the role of Lucy in the 1956 London revival of Kurt Weill's musical The Threepenny Opera. She also appeared in the 1957 off Broadway production. Then she got her big break when she was cast in Lionel Bart's musical Oliver! which was an adaptation of the Charles Dickens novel Oliver Twist. She got lucky. Bart was a childhood neighbor and greeted her as "Lily". Georgia auditioned and won the role. Bart said that he hoped to cast Alma Cogan as Nancy. But after Georgia auditioned, he wrote the song As Long As He Needs Me for her. Georgia also appeared in the 1963 Broadway production of Oliver! and was nominated for a Tony. The cast album is available on CD. If you are wondering about the 1969 film Oliver!. Nancy was played by Shani Wallis. They knew each other and were the same age. Supposedly director Carol Reed saw Shani on The Ed Sullivan Show and preferred her voice. Georgia returned to England and appeared in films like A Study in Terror (1965), The Fixer (1968). She also appeared in the 1970 BBC series The Roads to Freedom. Georgia returned to Broadway in 1977 and appeared in the revue Side by Side by Sondheim. Georgia got another Tony nomination for appearing in the 1989 revival of The Threepenny Opera. After that, she made concert appearances and TV guest shots on shows like Murder, She Wrote and as Carla Tortelli's spiritual advisor Madame Lazora in a 1990 episode of Cheers. That got her an Emmy nomination. She appeared in a couple of episodes of Star Trek: The Next Generation. Georgia lived in Los Angeles. She went to London to appear on a Sammy Davis Jr. tribute show. While there, Georgia underwent emergency surgery for an intestinal obstruction and died on July 5, 1992 at age 58. Here's Georgia Brown performing As Long As He Needs Me on The Ed Sullivan Show Jan. 20, 1963.

  

AccuRadio Song Of The Day-DJ Sammy

Artist:DJ Sammy w/Yanou f/Do

Song:Heaven

Album:Heaven

Spanish DJ Samuel "DJ Sammy" Bouriah scored a top ten hit with this 2002 disco cover of the Bryan Adams song Heaven. It topped the British charts. Here he is a one hit wonder. But he's had chart success in Europe but not lately. He was born Oct. 19, 1969 in Mallorca, Spain. He started performing in local clubs in 1984. Bouriah studied as a sound technician at the Mallorca Music College. He met Dutch dancer and singer Loona in 1991. They started performing together. Bouriah released his first single Life Is Just a Game featuring Loona in 1995. It was a top ten hit in Spain. He has also had chart success in Germany. He released his debut album Life Is Just a Game in 1998. Then he started his own label and released the 2002 album Heaven. When The single Heaven started to chart across Europe, the dance label Robbins Entertainment picked it up in North America. They are distributed by Sony. The single Heaven reached #8 on the Billboard Hot 100 and it topped the British charts. The album was certified Gold in England. Though there are a couple of covers on the album, Bouriah wrote and produced most of the album with co-writers. For Heaven, the co-producer is German DJ Yann "Yanou" Peifer. The singer is Dutch singer Dominique Rijpma van Hulst. She goes by the stage name Do. She is unknown outside The Netherlands and Belgium. This album is available on CD. Bouriah last released an album in 2005. He still releases singles, most recently in 2026. There is a sentiment in the dance music community that only singles are needed and albums are obsolete. Of course that's not true but some DJs believe that. Bouriah still produces artists like Enrique Iglesias, Marta Sanchez and David Bisbal. And he still DJs in clubs mostly in Europe. Here's the video for Heaven by DJ Sammy with Yanou and featuring Do. 

 

AccuRadio Song Of The Day-Ted Nugent

Artist:Ted Nugent

Song:Cat Scratch Fever

Album:Great Gonzos!: The Best of Ted Nugent

These days Ted Nugent probably gets more press for his political views than his music. But back in the 70s, he was a favorite of hard rock fans. Without that success, no one would care about his politics. The 1977 single Cat Scratch Fever was his biggest chart hit. He was born Dec. 13, 1948 in Detroit. His father was a US Army Sergeant. He was transferred to the Chicago area in 1965 and Nugent attended St. Viator High School in Arlington Heights. He formed his first band The Amboy Dukes in 1965. They had success with the 1968 album and single Journey to the Center of the Mind. They did well enough that Nugent moved to a ranch in Michigan in 1973. Nugent signed with Epic in 1975 and dropped the Amboy Dukes name. Only bassist Rob Grange remained from The Amboy Dukes. The other members were Derek St. Holmes on vocals and guitar and Clifford Davies on drums. This was the band for the albums Ted Nugent (1975), Free-For-All (1976), Cat Scratch Fever (1977). Cat Scratch Fever was the most successful of those albums because the single Cat Scratch Fever reached #30 on the Billboard Hot 100. The album was certified 3XPlatinum. Nugent wrote Cat Scratch Fever and sang lead. But most of the songs were written by the band and St. Holmes sang lead. St. Holmes claims that Nugent took sole credit for most of the songs so he could avoid paying royalties to the band. Many bands split the royalties evenly to keep the band happy. St. Holmes left in 1976. Grange left in 1978. Davies left in 1982. The band lineup was not consistent after that. So maybe the band was more important than  Nugent would admit. Nugent's albums weren't as successful after that and he moved to Atlantic in 1982. This comp covers the Epic years and three bonus tracks were added when it was released on CD in 1999. Nugent's decline continued on Atlantic. There was a brief detour to the "supergroup" Damn Yankees featuring Jack Blades of Night Ranger and Tommy Shaw of Styx. Their 1990 album Damn Yankees was certified 2XPlatinum and the single High Enough reached #3 on the Billboard Hot 100. But their second album didn't do as well and they split up. Nugent left Atlantic in 1995 and signed with the video producer Eagle Rock. He last released an album in 2022. Nugent announced his retirement in 2023. But he changed his mind and is still touring. As I said, these days he's known for his political beliefs along with various TV appearances including his own reality TV shows. Here's Ted Nugent performing Cat Scratch Fever in London, England.

 

AccuRadio Song Of The Day-Skip Ewing

Artist:Skip Ewing

Song:Burnin' a Hole in My Heart

Album:The Coast of Colorado

Skip Ewing was already a successful songwriter when he signed with MCA Records and released the 1988 album Coast of Colorado. He scored three top ten country hits including Burnin' a Hole in My Heart. When subsequent albums didn't do well, he returned to songwriting and had plenty of success in the 90s. These days he records for his own label. He was born Donald Ralph Ewing II Mar. 6, 1964 in Redlands, CA. His father was a US Navy officer so the family moved a lot. Dad's nickname was Skipper so he nicknamed Ewing Little Skipper which was shortened to Skip. Seeing Glen Campbell on TV inspired Ewing to play guitar. And listening to Merle Haggard got him into writing. After his parents divorce, Ewing left home at age 16 and supported himself with odd jobs while pursuing music. He played bass in a country music show at Busch Gardens in Williamsburg, VA. An Opryland USA talent scout saw Ewing and brought him to Nashville. While working there, Ewing sang demos and jingles then got a staff songwriter job at Acuff-Rose Music. After Ewing's songs were recorded by George Jones and George Strait, he signed with MCA Records and veteran producer Jimmy Bowen produced Ewing's 1988 debut album The Coast of Colorado. Burnin' a Hole in My Heart was the third single and it reached #3 on the Country Singles chart. He scored three top ten Country hits on that album plus one from his second album. Ewing wrote all the album songs with co-writers. On Burnin' a Hole in My Heart, the co-writers were the team of Mike Gieger and Woody Mullis. They wrote songs for T. Graham Brown and Sawyer Brown. This album is available on CD. Ewing recorded four albums for MCA but only the first two charted. He went with Bowen to Capitol in 1991. After two more albums, Ewing decided to concentrate on songwriting. He had already written #1 country hits for Randy Travis and Bryan White. He released a 1997 gospel album on Word. Ewing continued to have success as a songwriter in the late 90s. Since 2001, Ewing has recorded five albums for his own label Write! Records. He moved to Wyoming in 2018 to study horsemanship. He runs a retreat called Horse and Writer that combines the two. Ewing released a new album in June. Here's Skip Ewing performing Burnin' a Hole in My Heart on Austin City Limits. 

AccuRadio Song Of The Day-Jesse Belvin

Artist:Jesse Belvin

Song:Goodnight My Love

Album:The Unforgettable Mr. Easy

Jesse Belvin was a soul singer who was poised to be a big star when he and his wife were killed in a 1960 car accident. The 1956 single Goodnight My Love was his biggest hit. But he had just signed with RCA Records and finished his debut album. RCA signed Sam Cooke after Belvin's death. He was born Dec. 15, 1932 in San Antonio, TX. But his family moved to Los Angeles when he was five years old. He started singing in church at age seven. Belvin appeared on the 1949 Cavalcade of Jazz at Wrigley Field in Los Angeles opening for saxophonist Big Jay McNeely. Then he joined McNeely's backup singers Three Dots and a Dash. He appeared on McNeely's records and signed with Specialty Records. The 1953 single Dream Girl reached #2 on the Billboard R&B chart. Belvin recorded that with bandmate Marvin Phillips on sax and it was released as Jesse & Marvin. Then Belvin was drafted into the US Army. While there, he wrote The Penguins classic Earth Angel. After a legal dispute, Belvin got a third of the songwriting credit. Belvin was known for writing songs and selling them outright to make a few bucks. I guess songwriting wasn't perceived as big business back then. Belvin signed with Modern Records in 1956 and that's when he recorded Goodnight My Love which reached #7 on the Billboard R&B Singles chart. Goodnight My Love was written by producer George Motola. Belvin helped him finish the song. But he sold the authorship to producer John Marascalco for $400. Marascalco produced the record. The song was the closing theme on Alan Freed's radio show. After ten singles for Modern, Belvin recorded for Knight, Class and Jamie under his own name. And he recorded with The Shields formed by producer George Motola for his Tender label. That band included lead singer Frankie Ervin and guitarist Johnny "Guitar" Watson. Their 1958 single You Cheated reached #15 on the pop chart. Belvin's wife Jo Ann took over as his manager. The first thing she did was get him a record deal with RCA. He recorded the album Mr. Easy and the 1959 single Guess Who was a top 40 pop hit. RCA planned to have Belvin compete with Nat King Cole. But before the album could be released, Belvin appeared with Jackie Wilson and Marv Johnson on a Feb. 6, 1960 Little Rock, AR. show. This was the first concert in front of an integrated audience in Little Rock. There were disruptions during the show by white racists. After the show, Belvin and Jo Anne were killed in a head on collision near Hope, AR. Police suspected that Belvin's car was tampered with but nothing was ever proven. But Jesse Belvin was gone. The reissue label Jasmine has released all of Belvin's recordings on 2CDs. Here's a video of Goodnight My Love by Jesse Belvin. 

AccuRadio Song Of The Day-The Royal Guardsman

Artist:The Royal Guardsmen

Song:Snoopy vs The Red Baron

Album:The Best of the Royal Guardsmen

The novelty song Snoopy vs The Red Baron was a top five hit in 1966. It was the only big hit for the band The Royal Guardsmen. Some of their other songs charted so they are not a one hit wonder. But most will only remember Snoopy vs The Red Baron. Unlike many novelty songs, The Royal Guardsmen were a real band from Ocala, FL. At first they were called The Posmen. But they were influenced by The British Invasion to change the band name to The Royal Guardsmen. The band members were Barry Winslow on lead vocals and guitar, Chris Nunley on vocals, Tom Richards on guitar, Billy Taylor on organ, Bill Balogh on bass and John Burdett on drums. Leonard Stogel became their manager and he got them a record deal with Laurie Records. After releasing a single that went nowhere, producer Phil Gernhard got an idea from the band name The Royal Guardsmen. At the time in the Peanuts comic strip, Snoopy imagined himself as a WWI airman battling The Red Baron. Gernhard recalled that his songwriter pal Dick Holler had written a song called The Red Baron in 1962. It was supposed to be similar to the Johnny Horton hit Sink the Bismark. No one would release it. Gernhard thought that if they rewrote the song and made it about Snoopy vs The Red Baron, it could be a hit. They took this new song to Stogel and he convinced The Royal Guardsman to record it. Snoopy vs The Red Baron reached #2 on the Billboard Hot 100 Dec. 1966. The Monkees' I'm a Believer topped the charts at the time. The record sold three million copies. It got so big that Laurie had to farm the record out to Capitol Records. Unfortunately, they forgot to get the approval of Peanuts creator Charles Schulz and United Feature Syndicate (UFS). UFS sued and they got all the royalties. Schulz did allow them to record other Peanuts songs. So the 1967 album Return of the Red Baron has mostly Peanuts related songs. The single Return of the Red Baron was a top 20 hit. This comp released by EMI Australia is available on CD. The Royal Guardsman released four albums and then split up in 1970. They have reunited a few times but nothing permanent. Gernhard and Holler went on to write and produce the 1968 Dion hit Abraham, Martin and John. And Gernhard produced the 1971 single Me and You and a Dog Named Boo by Kent "Lobo" Lavoie. Here's The Royal Guardsmen performing Snoopy vs The Red Baron 1966.