AccuRadio Song Of The Day-Blitzen Trapper

Artist:Blitzen Trapper

Song:Sci-Fi  Kid

Album:Wild Mountain Nation

Blitzen Trapper is an indie band that became successful as an album and touring band after the 2007 album Wild Mountain Nation was favorably reviewed by the music press. Their music is a mix of several styles most notably the 70s country rock of New Riders of the Purple Sage and progressive rock. They record for their own label and have used several distributors. Blitzen Trapper is from Portland, OR. led by Eric Earley. He is lead singer, songwriter, guitarist and producer. At first the band was called Garmonbozia which is a Twin Peaks reference. They weren't going to be able to call themselves that for copyright reasons so the name was changed to Blitzen Trapper. The other original members were Erik Menteer and Marty Marquis on guitar, Drew Loughery on keyboards, Michael Van Pelt on bass and Brian Adrian Koch on drums. Early and Koch are the only original members still in Blitzen Trapper. They recorded as Garmonbozia from 2000-03 and changed their name to Blitzen Trapper which is a reference to Earley's seventh grade girlfriend. They started their own label. Their first couple of albums had more country influences. For the 2007 album Wild Mountain Nation, Earley signed with the major indie label Sub Pop and he decided to go with a more mainstream sound. The album got a rave review from Pitchfork. And Rolling Stone called Blitzen Trapper "the best Grateful Dead knockoff in forever". Earley wrote and produced the album. The album is available as a digital download. They recorded four albums for Sub Pop followed by albums for Vagrant and Yep Roc. All three are major indie labels. Blitzen Trapper released their latest album in 2024. I suppose Blitzen Trapper could sign with a major label if they wanted. But that might backfire with their current fanbase. Blitzen Trapper is not on tour but they are playing a few shows in August. Here's Blitzen Trapper performing Sci-Fi Kid at Bottom of the Hill in San Francisco Feb. 28,2008. 

  

AccuRadio Song Of The Day-50 Cent

Artist:50 Cent f/Olivia

Song:Candy Shop

Album:Best of 50 Cent

Curtis "50 Cent" Jackson was a very successful rapper 20 years ago . The 2005 single Candy Shop was one of his three #1 hits. Like many rappers, his career stalled. His most recent album was released in 2014. He's been concentrating on film and TV production. The STARZ TV series Power has been very successful. Jackson was born July 6, 1975 in Queens, NY. His mother died when he was eight years old. So he was raised by his grandparents. Jackson started boxing as a teen. And he also sold drugs. He was arrested in 1994 for selling cocaine to an undercover police officer and went to prison where he earned his GED. Jackson did not use cocaine. Selling it was easy money unless he got caught. He claims that the name 50 Cent is a metaphor for change. It's the name given to an 80s Brooklyn robber. In 1996, he started rapping in a friend's basement. He was introduced to Jam Master Jay of Run-DMC who was starting his own label. Jay taught him how to make records but Irv Gotti of DefJam thought he sounded too much like Jay-Z. The production group Trackmasters signed Jackson to Columbia. His debut single How to Rob appeared on the soundtrack of the 1999 film In Too Deep. Nas asked him to appear on his tour. Just as he was starting to get somewhere, he was shot several times outside his grandmother's house. Jackson recovered but the alleged attacker was killed three weeks later. Columbia dropped Jackson but signed him to a publishing deal. He became popular on the mixtape circuit. That led him to Eminem and Dr. Dre and a record deal with Interscope. The 2003 album Get Rich or Die Tryin' was certified 9XPlatinum and the 2003 single 21 Questions topped the charts. This was followed by the 2005 album The Massacre. That was certified 6XPlatinum and the single Candy Shop topped the charts. Scott Storch of The Roots was the main producer. He produced several songs including Candy Shop. Eminem and Dr. Dre also produced a couple of tracks each. The singer is Olivia Longott who was a member of the rap supergroup G-Unit led by Jackson. Her own career went nowhere. The song is influenced by Middle Eastern music and samples The Salsoul Orchestra's Love Break. Those two albums were Jackson's peak. Sales decreased and Jackson last released an album in 2014. He still releases singles. But he hasn't charted since 2012. You can get all his hits on this budget comp. My problem with 50 Cent is the same problem I have with other rappers. All his music sounds the same. Listeners get tired of it. Jackson wisely got into other ventures. The most notable of these is G-Unit Film & Television. The STARZ series Power and the various spinoffs have been successful. And his new series BMF has also been successful. He also produces films. I suppose he can still make records but he doesn't need to. Here's the video for Candy Shop by 50 Cent featuring Olivia.

  

AccuRadio Song Of The Day-Rosalind Russell

Artist:Rosalind Russell f/Jacqueline McKeever

Song:Ohio

Album:Wonderful Town: CBS TV Cast

Rosalind Russell was a movie star best known for the 1940 film His Girl Friday and the 1959 film Auntie Mame. Then she came to Broadway and won a Tony for the 1953 musical Wonderful Town. She was born June 4, 1907 in Waterbury, CT. Her father was a lawyer and her mother was a teacher. Her parents thought she was going to be a teacher. She didn't tell them of her plans to be an actress. Rosalind studied at the American Academy of Dramatic Arts in New York. After graduating, she acted in summer stock and joined a repertory company in Boston. When she moved to Los Angeles in the early 30s, she signed with Universal. But she didn't like it there and signed with MGM in 1934. Her breakthrough role was the 1939 film The Women followed by the 1940 film His Girl Friday. That's her best known film. It helped that she traded barbs with Cary Grant. The success of that film got her much better roles. She was Oscar nominated for the films My Sister Eileen (1942), Sister Kenny (1946) and Mourning Becomes Electra (1947) but she never won one. She was awarded the Jean Hersholt Humanitarian Award in 1973. Rosalind decided to take a break from Hollywood to appear in the 1953 musical Wonderful Town. This was based on the 1940 play My Sister Eileen and of course Rosalind appeared in the 1942 film version. It's about two sisters living in a Greenwich Village basement apartment looking for success. The songs were written by Betty Comden, Adolph Green and Leonard Bernstein. Rosalind won a Best Actress Tony and it also won Best Musical. The show was very successful and it ran for over a year. Edie Adams was Rosalind's co-star on Broadway. When CBS produced Wonderful Town for TV in 1956, Edie Adams was replaced by Jacqueline McKeever. Jacqueline was Tony nominated for the 1958 musical Oh, Captain!. It looks like she retired from acting in 1959. The album for this TV version is available on CD. The original cast album from the 1953 version is available as a budget CD. Rosalind got her final Oscar nomination for the 1959 film Auntie Mame. Rosalind continued to appear in films, most notably the 1966 film The Trouble with Angels. Her final film was the 1971 film Mrs. Polifax-Spy. After her retirement, Rosalind did charity work for arthritis research. She died of breast cancer on Nov. 28, 1976 at age 69. Here's Rosalind Russell and Jacqueline McKeever performing Ohio from the 1958 CBS TV telecast of Wonderful Town.

 

AccuRadio Song Of The Day-Lonette McKee

 

Artist:Lonette McKee f/Gretha Boston and Michel Bell

Song:Can't Help Lovin' Dat Man

Album:Show Boat: World Premiere Cast Recording

I have been a Lonette McKee fan since I found her 1978 album Words and Music in a used record store in Toronto. She wrote and produced everything. Plus she is a fantastic singer and is drop dead gorgeous. But when her records didn't sell, she turned to acting and she has done that ever since. She has only released three albums. You may have seen her in the films Sparkle (1976), The Cotton Club (1984), Brewster's Millions (1985), 'Round Midnight (1986) and three Spike Lee films; Jungle Fever (1991), Malcolm X (1992) and He Got Game (1998). She recorded her third album for Lee's record label. Lonette has also had success on Broadway as Julie in the 1994 production of Show Boat. Of course Show Boat was based on Edna Ferber's book with music by Jerome Kern and Oscar Hammerstein II. The musical was first produced in 1927 and there have been many revivals. There have also been a couple of films. This particular revival is interesting because it was produced by Toronto based narcissist Garth Drabinsky. The kicker was that he brought in Broadway veteran Hal Prince to direct. I'm sure that's why it moved to Broadway. The actors in this video were in both versions including Lonette McKee, Michel Bell and Gretha Boston. Show Boat ran for over two years on Broadway. Lonette was nominated for a Tony. She also played Billie Holiday in the musical Lady Day at Emerson's Bar and Grill. In recent years, she has toured with her one woman show. I just think she had the talent to be a big singing star. But she took advantage of her acting opportunities. Here's Lonette McKee with Michel Bell Gretha Boston performing Can't Help Lovin Dat Man on PBS Great Performances Mar. 7, 1995.

AccuRadio Song Of The Day-Lindsey Buckingham

Artist:Lindsay Buckingham

Song:Trouble

Album:Solo Anthology:The Best of Lindsey Buckingham

Of course Lindsey Buckingham is best known as a long time member of Fleetwood Mac. He does record solo occasionally and he scored a top ten hit with the 1981 single Trouble. But other than that, he hasn't been successful as a solo artist. He was born Oct. 3, 1949 in Palo Alto, CA. His father was a football star at San Jose State College and ran a coffee plant. Buckingham and his two brothers swam competitively and Gregory Buckingham won a silver medal at the 1968 Olympics in Mexico City. Buckingham is self taught on guitar and he doesn't read music. He played along to folk music records as a teen. He was in the band Fritz in high school. He met Stevie Nicks when she was hired as a backup singer. Their romantic relationship began after both left Fritz. After they recorded demos, they signed with Polydor Records and released the 1973 album Buckingham Nicks. Richard Dashut was the recording engineer and he went on to produce Fleetwood Mac for two decades. Polydor dropped Buckingham Nicks  when the album didn't sell. Buckingham toured with Don Everly's backing band. In 1974, Mick Fleetwood was looking to record at Sound City in Los Angeles. When he heard the song Frozen Love from Buckingham Nicks, he asked about the guitarist. Buckingham Nicks were recording demos at Sound City. After Bob Welch left Fleetwood Mac, Fleetwood offered that slot to Buckingham. Buckingham told Fleetwood that he and Stevie Nicks are a team and he didn't want to work without her. So Fleetwood hired both of them and the rest is history. So we all know how successful Fleetwood Mac was. But during the recording of the 1977 album Rumours, Buckingham and Nicks split up. For the 1979 album Tusk, Fleetwood allowed Buckingham to work on the album at home. When the album wasn't as successful as previous albums, Buckingham released the 1981 album Law and Order. The single Trouble reached #9 on the Billboard Hot 100. Buckingham wrote all the songs, produced with Richard Dashut and played all the instruments. On Trouble, George Hawkins of Loggins & Messina played bass and Mick Fleetwood played drums. The problem was despite the hit single, the album got mixed reviews and didn't sell well. So Buckingham returned to Fleetwood Mac. Law and Order is not available. But you can get Trouble along with the song Holiday Road from the 1983 film National Lampoon's Vacation on this budget comp that was first released on 3CDs and reduced to one. 3CDs is a little excessive. Over the years, Buckingham would leave Fleetwood Mac, go solo and then return when his solo albums didn't sell. Buckingham left Fleetwood Mac for good in 2018. He recorded and toured with The Killers and released his most recent album in 2021. He had open heart surgery in 2019 so he is currently off the road. But he is working on a new album. Here's the video for Trouble by Lindsey Buckingham. 

AccuRadio Song Of The Day-Noah Haidu

Artist:Noah Haidu

Song:Slipstream

Album:Slipstream

Jazz pianist Noah Haidu has played New York clubs for more than a decade. Slipstream was his 2011 debut album. He was born July 28, 1972 in Charlottesville, VA. He took piano lessons as a child but got into jazz as a teen. He moved to Los Angeles where he studied jazz piano and composition and went to clubs. Haidu studied with Kenny Barron at Rutgers University. Haidu moved to New York City and earned a Bachelor of Fine Arts at New School University and a Master of Music Degree at The State University of New York. He started out in the band Native Soul. After recording two albums with them, he got a record deal with the jazz label Posi-Tone and released the 2011 album Slipstream. Haidu wrote all the songs. Haidu also produced the album. Musicians are Jeremy Pelt on trumpet, Jon Irabagon on soprano sax, Chris Haney on bass and Willie Johns III on drums. This album is available on CD. Haidu recorded two albums for Posi-Tone followed by four albums for Sunnyside. His latest album Standards III was released on his own label in 2025. Haidu is finishing a West Coast tour. As I said, he plays New York clubs but also tours internationally. Here's Noah Haidu performing Slipstream with Alejandro Ariel de la Portilla and Steve Johns on drums performing Slipstream at Smalls Jazz Club in New York City. 

AccuRadio Song Of The Day-Art Brut

Artist:Art Brut

Song:Emily Kane

Album:Top of the Pops

Art Brut is a British band that have been around since 2003. The 2005 single Emily Kane is probably their best known song though they've never had a big hit. Art Brut is a conventional rock band except for lead singer Eddie Argos speech singing delivery and cheeky lyrics. Argos was born Kevin Macklin Oct. 25, 1979 in Weymouth, Dorset, England. Argos was still in school when he formed his first band The Art Goblins in the 90s. After they split up, Argos moved to London in 2001 looking to form a new band. He met Chris Chinchilla at a party. He already knew guitarist Ian Catskilkin. The rest of the band was Freddy Feedback on bass and Mikey Breyer on drums. The band name Art Brut was inspired by a French museum that Argos visited. They started playing gigs and recorded a demo. Rough Trade released one of the demos as a single but decided not to sign art Brut. Then Fierce Panda released a single. It did well enough that they agreed to release the 2005 album Bang Bang Rock & Roll. The album was produced by John Fortis and Howard Gray. Argos wrote all the songs. The single Emily Kane reached #41 on the British Singles chart. It is Art Brut's highest charting single. They toured but Chinchilla left during the tour. He was replaced by Jasper Future of Argos' former band The Art Goblins. You can get Emily Kane on this 2CD comp. For the 2007 album It's a Bit Complicated, Art Brut signed with EMI's Mute label. It was released in the US by EMI's Downtown label. They toured the US and appeared on Conan and Jimmy Kimmel. But EMI was in the process of being sold. So Art Brut didn't get the necessary promotion and they left the label. Art Brut signed with the indie label Cooking Vinyl. They released two albums which were produced by Frank Black. Then Breyer and Future left the band and were replaced by Stephen Gilchrist and Toby MacFarlane. And that's how it's gone for Art Brut. They have released five albums on four different labels. And it's hard to get anywhere when they are bouncing around like that. Art Brut still tours. But they last released an album in 2018. But they are worth checking out. Here's the video for Emily Kane by Art Brut.