AccuRadio Song Of The Day-Dianne Reeves

Artist:Dianne Reeves

Song:Better Days

Album:The Palo Alto Sessions 1981-1985

Singer Dianne Reeves recorded for Blue Note for years. So I think most jazz fans are familiar with those albums. But I first heard her on her 1982 debut album Welcome to My Love on Palo Alto Records. They didn't last very long. But Dianne signed with Blue Note in 1987. So I wanted to talk about her early days. She was born Oct. 23, 1956 in Detroit. Her father sang and her mother played trumpet. Bassist Charles Burrell was a cousin and so was keyboard wizard and producer George Duke. Her father died when she was two years old so Dianne moved to Denver with her mom to live with her family. Dianne started singing and playing piano in 1971 and was in her high school band. While performing at a convention in Chicago, jazz trumpeter Clark Terry spotted her and invited her to sing with him. And that got her into jazz. Dianne studied classical voice at the University of Colorado. She moved to Los Angeles and sang with Stanley Turrentine, Lenny White and the fusion band Caldera. Then she started working regularly with pianist Billy Childs. And that led to a record deal with Palo Alto Records and the 1982 album Welcome to My Love. Childs played piano and produced the album. Better Days was the big song from that album. Dianne wrote it with Tony Lorrich. It seems to be his only credit. Musicians were guitarist Nick Kirgo who played with Les McCann, Billy Carroll on bass, Joe Heredia on drums and Luis Conte on percussion. Conte is a veteran sideman. But Carroll and Heredia were in Childs' band and soon quit the music business. The problem was Palo Alto closed in 1985. They were owned by trumpeter Jim Bernham. They released plenty of music but none of it sold so they closed. It's difficult for an independent jazz label to survive. Dianne's cousin George Duke got her a record deal with Blue Note and he produced the 1987 album Dianne Reeves. Better days was the big hit from that album. Blue Note released The Palo Alto Sessions in 1996. It's the Welcome to My Love album with bonus tracks and is available as a budget CD. Dianne recorded for Blue Note until 2008 then a 2014 album for Concord. She says on her website that she has a new record deal with Candid and a new album and tour with Brazilian guitarist Romero Lubambo. She has also recorded a John Coltrane 100th birthday tribute album with Branford Marsalis and that will be released on Blue Note in September on Coltrane's 100th birthday. Here's the video for Better Days by Dianne Reeves.

 

AccuRadio Song Of The Day-Trevor Daniel

Artist:Trevor Daniel

Song:Falling

Album:Nicotine

Singer songwriter Trevor Daniel scored a top 20 hit when the 2018 single Falling spread through TikTok. He hasn't been successful since then. He was born Trevor Daniel Neill Sept. 28, 1994 in Houston. He started playing drums as a child. During high school, Daniel recorded using Mixcraft 5 in his bedroom and posted videos on Youtube. He started posting music to SoundCloud in 2017. After the 2017 single Pretend was uploaded to a popular YouTube channel, Internet Money Records owner Taz Taylor signed Daniel with distribution by Alamo Records and Interscope. The EP Homesick was released and the single Falling spread through TikTok and then Spotify added it. That led to radio play and it reached #17 on the Billboard Hot 100. Daniel wrote the song with Taylor and Charlie Handsome and they produced it. Daniel co-wrote all the songs on the EP. A second EP Restless was released. So the two EPs were combined and released as the album Nicotine. It's available as a digital download. After Daniel charted with the 2020 single Past Life, Internet Money had a falling out with Alamo and Alamo switched distributors to RCA. An EP was released in 2021 but it went nowhere and Daniel left Alamo in 2024. He signed a new record deal with Fearless Records. After releasing the 2024 single Tempo, he announced that he was leaving Fearless in May 2025. He has yet to sign a new record deal. Trevor Daniel's career could be over before it even starts. Here's the video for Falling by Trevor Daniel. 

 

AccuRadio Song Of The Day-Boots Randolph

Artist:Boots Randolph

Song:Yakety Sax 

Album:Yakety Sax

Most of you are probably familiar with Yakety Sax as the theme of The Benny Hill Show. But what you don't know is that Homer "Boots" Randolph scored a top 40 pop hit with Yakety Sax in 1963. He also wrote it so The Benny Hill Show made him a lot of money. Most of the time, Randolph was a Nashville session musician. He was born June 3, 1927 in Paducah, KY. His brother gave him the nickname Boots because their father was also named Homer and he wanted to avoid confusion. Randolph learned to play music in his father's band. He started out playing ukulele and trombone. But he switched to sax when his dad unexpectedly brought one home. After graduating from high school, Randolph served in the US Army and played in the US Army Band until his 1946 discharge. He settled in Decatur, IL. and played with Dink Welch's Kopy Kats from 1948-54. Then he started his own band. He called himself Randy Randolph. Randolph moved to Nashville in 1957 and signed with RCA in 1958. Legendary guitarist Chet Atkins was the head of RCA's Nashville office. Though Randolph's recordings weren't commercially successful, Atkins put him to work in the recording studio and he played on records by Brenda Lee, Al Hirt, Roy Orbison and many more. Most notably he played on the Elvis Presley hit Return to Sender. He worked a lot with Atkins. Meanwhile, Randolph signed with Monument Records in 1961. Monument was owned by producer Fred Foster. His best known artist was Roy Orbison. Randolph first recorded Yakety Sax on the 1961 album Boots Randolph's Yakety Sax. In 1963, it reached #35 on the Billboard Hot 100. Randolph rerecorded it on the 1963 album Boots Randolph's Yakety Sax. Foster produced the album. Yakety Sax was inspired by King Curtis' sax solo on The Coasters 1958 single Yakety Yak. In 1969, British comedian Benny Hill adopted Yakety Sax as the theme of The Benny Hill Show. That's where most folks heard the song. It made him money while he was playing on hundreds of albums and on TV. Randolph recorded for Monument for most of his career. You can get Yakety Sax on this comp from Bear Family. Randolph owned his own Nashville club from 1977-94. He continued to tour and record until he died on July 3, 2007 at age 80. Here's Boots Randolph performing Yakety Sax on Nashville Now.

AccuRadio Song Of The Day-James Taylor

Artist:James Taylor

Song:How Sweet It Is (To Be Loved By You)

Album:The Essential James Taylor

James Taylor's 1975 cover of the Motown classic How Sweet It Is was his final top ten hit before he left Warner Bros. for Columbia in 1979. At the time, Taylor took some time off after he married Carly Simon and Warners was bugging him to get back into the recording studio. The 1974 album Walking Man was a commercial failure with no hit singles. Taylor decided his 1975 album Gorilla would be more polished and commercial with a lighter tone. Warners house producers Russ Titleman and Lenny Waronker were brought in to make sure the album would be successful. How Sweet It Is was the first single and it reached #5 on the Billboard Hot 100. Of course that song was originally a hit for Marvin Gaye in 1964 and written and produced by Holland-Dozier-Holland. It was lighter in tone than Taylor's previous hits. Carly Simon was on harmony vocals. Musicians were Danny Kotchmar on guitar, Clarence McDonald on electric piano, Leland Sklar on bass and Russ Kunkel and Jim Keltner on drums. David Sanborn plays the sax solo and he plays it on the video. It is believed that Taylor recorded this song as a tribute to Carly. So all was well with Taylor and Warner Bros., right? Wrong. Taylor was unhappy at Warners and he had one album left on his contract. While he was recording the 1976 album In the Pocket, Taylor talked to labels and settled on Columbia. They offered him a whole lot more money and promised a more attentive production. Taylor's Columbia debut album was the 1977 album JT. And his cover of the Jimmy Jones classic Handy Man was a top five hit. The album was produced by Peter Asher who worked with Taylor when he was at Apple. This 2CD comp contains a mix of Warners and Columbia hits. Taylor sued Warner Bros. in 2012 for $2M of unpaid royalties mostly from digital downloads. After an audit was done, Warners settled out of court for an undisclosed amount. So I guess Taylor got his pound of flesh. Here's James Taylor performing How Sweet It Is (To Be Loved By You) at the Blossom Music Festival at Cuyahoga Falls, OH. July 18, 1979. And that is David Sanborn on sax. 

AccuRadio Song Of The Day-Ali Gatie

Artist:Ali Gatie

Song:It's You

Album:You

Ali Gatie is an R&B singer songwriter whose 2019 single It's You had chart success. It remains to be seen if he can cross over to pop. I have my doubts. He was born May 31, 1997 in Aden, Yemen. His family moved to Abu Dhabi. Then they settled in the Toronto suburb of Mississauga, ON. Gatie was influenced by Ed Sheeran, J. Cole and Frank Ocean. He started posting videos on YouTube in 2016. He was in university at the time and he decided to drop out of school and pursue a music career. His big break came in 2017 when he won an online competition called RhymeStars. That got him a manager followed by a record deal with Warner Bros. An EP was released in 2019 followed by the single It's You. It reached #25 on the R&B Singles chart and charted worldwide. Gatie wrote It's You in fifteen minutes. It's obviously about a girl. He performed it on Instagram to a positive response and then posted it on YouTube. Then he brought in producers Happy Perez, Pop Wansel and Sam Wish to record it. Warners took two previously released EPs and turned them into an album. The album was released as a digital download. The 2020 single What If I Told You That I Love You was from the same album and got similar results. Subsequent singles haven't done as well. We'll see how his next album does. The songs I have heard all sound the same to me. I could see that getting old very quickly. I would like to see him write about different topics and perform the songs in different ways. He can't do the same thing all the time. Folks will tire of that. Here's the video for It's You by Ali Gatie. 

AccuRadio Song Of The Day-Chita Rivera

Artist:Chita Rivera

Song:Kiss of the Spider Woman

Album:Legends of Broadway

Chita Rivera was an all time great of the Broadway stage. She worked in films and TV. But she is mainly known for Broadway musicals. Her Tony winning performance in the 1993 musical Kiss of the Spider Woman cemented her legacy. She was born Dolores Conchita Figueroa del Rivero Jan.23, 1933 in Washington, DC. The Chita nickname was because her real name is a mouthful. Her father was born in Puerto Rico and he played clarinet and sax in the US Navy Band. He died in 1940. Chita was one of five children so her mom worked as a clerk at The Pentagon to support the family. In 1944, mom enrolled Chita at the Jones-Haywood School of Ballet. A teacher from George Balanchine's School of Ballet visited the school. Chita auditioned and won a scholarship. She started appearing on Broadway shows in 1950. Her breakthrough was in the 1956 musical Mr. Wonderful starring Sammy Davis Jr. And she danced on the 1956 TV show The Maurice Chevalier Special. And that led to West Side Story which made her a star. Keep in mind Chita was the only Latino actor in West Side Story and there were plenty of Latino characters. Chita got her first Tony nomination for the 1960 musical Bye Bye Birdie. She finally appeared in her first film. Bob Fosse cast her in the 1969 film of the Broadway musical Sweet Charity. Then Fosse cast her in the 1975 musical Chicago and she was nominated for a Tony. She was also Tony nominated for the 1983 musical Merlin. And she finally won a Tony for the 1984 musical The Rink. It all came to a halt when Chita broke her leg in 12 places in a 1986 car accident. After she recovered, she continued to perform. But I think some on Broadway must have thought that Chita had retired. Because when Garth Drabinsky was casting the 1993 musical Kiss of the Spider Woman, New York Times drama critic Frank Rich thought the title role needed a Chita Rivera type. Of course she played the role. The other stars were Brent Carver and Anthony Crivello. Kiss of the Spider Woman was written by John Kander and Fred Ebb who also wrote Chicago and The Rink. Harold Prince directed and Vincent Patterson and Rob Marshall choreographed. It won seven Tonys including one for each of the three stars. The show ran for two years and it made Chita Rivera a star all over again. The original cast of Kiss of the Spider Woman is available on CD. But I recommend this budget comp which is one of a Columbia Masterworks series. After that, Chita made occasional appearances. But she was winding down her career. In 2009, President Barack Obama gave her the Presidential Medal of Freedom. She returned to Broadway in the 2015 musical The Visit and was nominated for a Tony. In 2018, she received a Lifetime Achievement Tony. Chita Rivera died on Jan.30, 2024 at age 91. Here's Chita Rivera performing Kiss of the Spider Woman on the 1993 Macy's Parade broadcast. 

 

AccuRadio Song Of The Day-David Hazeltine

Artist:David Hazeltine

Song:My Ship

Album:For All We Know

Jazz pianist David Hazeltine has been performing in New York City clubs since 1993. He has recorded for jazz labels since 1995 and he also tours. He has never recorded for one of the big jazz labels so he's gone under the radar. He usually performs and records with a trio. He was born Oct. 27, 1958 in Milwaukee. He began studying piano at age nine. And by age 13 he was playing local clubs. After studying at the Wisconsin College Conservatory of Music, he started playing midwest clubs and was the house pianist at the Milwaukee Jazz Gallery. He played with visiting jazz musicians. After Hazeltine played with Chet Baker, Baker told him to move to New York which he did in 1981. He returned to Milwaukee to be chairman of Wisconsin College Conservatory of Music's jazz department from 1985-92. Then he returned to New York. Hazeltine first recorded in 1993. He has recorded for jazz labels like the Dutch label Criss Cross, Sharp Nine Records and the Japanese label Venus Records. My Ship is from the 2014 album For All We Know on Smoke Sessions. Musicians are Seamus Blake on tenor sax, David Williams on bass and Joe Farnsworth on drums. All three are veteran sidemen. Hazeltine wrote most of the songs. But My Ship was written by Kurt Weill and Ira Gershwin for the 1941 Broadway musical Lady in the Dark. It did not appear in the 1944 film version but was in the 1954 TV production. It was first recorded by jazz singer Ernestine Anderson in 1958. Plenty of jazz singers have recorded it. The most significant recent recording was on the 2002 album Directions in Music: Live at Massey Hall by Herbie Hancock, Michael Brecker and Roy Hargrove. My guess is that's where Hazeltine heard it. I don't think it's been recorded enough to be a jazz standard. This album is available on CD. Hazeltine's latest recording as a leader was in 2022. He is currently on a European tour. He will return to New York in May. Here's David Hazeltine with Aldo Zunino on bass and Bernd Reiter on drums performing My Ship in Cologne, Germany Mar. 2, 2023.