AccuRadio Song Of The Day-Jodi Benson

Artist:Jodi Benson

Song:I Got Rhythm

Album:Crazy for You: Original Broadway Cast Recording

Jodi Benson is best known as the voice of Ariel in the 1989 film The Little Mermaid. She was named a Disney Legend in 2011. She was also nominated for a Tony for playing Polly Baker in the 1992 Broadway musical Crazy for You. She does plenty of voiceover work in films, TV and video games. I guess Broadway is the only place where she performs live. She was born Jodi Marzorati Oct. 10, 1961 in Rockford, IL. She was raised in a Catholic family and after graduating from high school, she attended Millikin University in Decatur, IL. She made her Broadway debut in the 1983 musical Marilyn: An American Fable. This was an attempt to turn the life of Marilyn Monroe into a Broadway musical. It only ran for two weeks. Then she appeared in the 1986 musical Smile based on the 1975 film comedy about a beauty pageant. It also flopped. But it was written by Marvin Hamlisch and Howard Ashman. And Ashman and Alan Menken wrote the songs for the 1989 Disney animated film The Little Mermaid. So though Smile was a flop, it got Jodi into Disney. And that's the base of her career as Ashman told her to audition for The Little Mermaid. Then she was nominated for a Tony for playing Polly Baker in the 1992 Broadway musical. This should have been called Gershwin's Greatest Hits as it was loosely based on the 1930 musical Girl Crazy with other Gershwin hits thrown in. I guess it's an early example of a jukebox musical. It ran for a couple of years and has been revived several times. So it was a hit. The original cast album is available as a budget CD. Jodi still appears occasionally on Broadway. She is currently appearing in a revival of the Stephen Sondheim musical Into the Woods. But mostly Jodi does lots of voiceovers on films, TV and video games. Of course she is still the voice of Ariel. And she has done other Disney films including Flubber (1997) and Toy Story 2 (1999). And she has worked for other animation studios and video game producers. And like many performers, she appears as a guest soloist with regional symphony orchestras. Here's Jodi Benson performing I Got Rhythm from the musical Crazy for You on the 1992 Tony Awards broadcast. This was my first time posting a TikTok video. I don't know why anyone would post a video like this on TikTok. I checked and it can be embedded. But I didn't like how it looked. So as I do with Facebook videos, I downloaded it and uploaded it directly to my blog. This is how it should be.

AccuRadio Song Of The Day-Phillips, Craig and Dean

Artist:Phillips, Craig and Dean

Song:Come, Now Is the Time To Worship

Album:Here I Am to Worship: 16 Timeless Worship Anthems

Phillips, Craig and Dean has been one of the most popular CCM acts over the last 25 years. They were formed in 1991 but they were more successful in the 2000s because they switched to a larger label and were given a decent promotion budget. They have been nominated for ten Dove awards and won four. Randy Phillips is a pastor from Austin, TX. In 1991, he was shopping a solo album to record companies. When he showed up at the Nashville based CCM label StarSong, they suggested he form a male vocal group. Phillips called St. Louis native Shawn Craig and Dan Dean from the Dallas suburb of Carrollton, TX. and Phillips, Craig and Dean was born. All three guys are pastors. They recorded five albums for StarSong. EMI purchased StarSong in 1996. So by 1999, EMI closed StarSong and moved Phillips, Craig and Dean to EMI's CCM label Sparrow. The group's sound is soft rock with three part harmonies aimed mainly at an older audience. But that is what would have been acceptable to Christian audiences at the time. Today's CCM sound is more contemporary and I don't think Phillips, Craig and Dean have kept up. Besides, they are getting closer to retirement. Come, Now Is the Time for Worship is from the 2001 album Let the Words Be Few. CCM chart stats can be difficult to find but this is supposed to be one of their most popular songs. The song was written by Canadian CCM singer songwriter Brian Doerksen. The album was produced by Nathan Nockels who has produced several Phiillips, Craig and Dean albums. This budget comp covers their Sparrow albums. Phillips, Craig and Dean switched to Integrity's INO label distributed by Sony. When Integrity was sold in 2011, INO president Jeff Moseley bought the assets and changed the company name to Fair Trade Services. Sony still distributed them. So Phillips, Craig and Dean were on INO/Fair Trade from 2004-17. Their latest album You're Still God was released in 2020 on Gaither Music. So that means they are touring now with Bill Gaither's group. So I guess they are a nostalgia act now. They are currently on tour and they say they aren't retiring. We'll see. Here's Phillips, Craig and Dean performing Come, Now Is the Time for Worship. 

AccuRadio Song Of The Day-The Creatures

Artist:The Creatures

Song:Fury Eyes

Album:Boomerang

The Creatures were a spinoff of the popular British band Siouxsie and the Banshees formed by Banshees lead singer Susan "Siouxsie Sioux" Ballion and drummer Peter "Budgie" Clarke. The idea was to have something to do when the Banshees took a break. The idea came to them while in the studio working on the 1981 Siouxsie Sioux and the Banshees album Juju. They discovered by accident that the combination of just voice and drums worked well on the song But Not Them. So they recorded five songs and they released it as an EP called Wild Things. This included a reworking of The Troggs classic Wild Thing. It was released on Polydor in England. The EP did well enough in England that The Creatures performed on Top of the Pops. Then they released the 1983 album Feast. They signed with Geffen in the US. It was recorded in Hawaii so it had an exotica vibe. Their cover of the Mel Torme hit Right Now added horns and was a top 20 hit in England. So The Creatures had some success but it's not like they topped the charts. When Siouxie Sioux and the Banshees returned in 1984, The Creatures were put on hold until the 1989 album Boomerang. They recorded this album in Spain with producer Mike Hedges. Again this had an exotica vibe and horns were added to the album. The album was favorably reviewed and it did OK. Meanwhile, Susan and Clarke married in 1991 and moved to France. After Siouxsie and the Banshees split up in 1996, The Creatures started their own label and released an EP. They also filmed a concert with John Cale for Dutch TV. The Creatures released one more album in 2003. The end for The Creatures came when in a 2007 interview with The Sunday Times, Susan announced that they had divorced. Susan released an album in 2007. Clarke has appeared as a sideman and guest on several albums. But he's not really a solo artist anyway. Here's the video for Fury Eyes by The Creatures. 

AccuRadio Song Of The Day-The Elected

Artist:The Elected

Song:Not Going Home

Album:Sun, Sun, Sun

When the leaders of the band Rilo Kiley decided to take a break to work on other projects in 2002, Blake Sennett and Mike Bloom decided to start their own band The Elected. So they are a spinoff band. They released a couple of albums and then both guys went on to other bands. Sennett met Rilo Kiley lead singer Jenny Lewis in the 90s and even dated her for a while. Sennett started out as a teen actor. He is best known for playing Joey the Rat on the sitcom Boy Meets World. When acting dried up, Sennett joined Rilo Kiley. Bloom was a studio musician and joined Rilo Kiley occasionally when needed. Sennett and Bloom wrote and produced The Elected's two albums. They both sing and play guitar and keyboards. Drummer Jason Boesel was also a member of Rilo Kiley and bassist Daniel Brummel was in the band Ozma. They didn't stay as The Elected was really a two man band. Sennett and Bloom worked on demos at Sennett's home studio and they signed with the indie label Sub Pop. They released the album Me First in 2004 followed by the 2006 album Sun, Sun, Sun. Not Going Home is from Sun, Sun, Sun. They wrote all the songs and played most of the instruments. Bloom wrote and sang lead on Not Going Home. The album is available as a budget CD. The Elected ended after the two albums. Jenny Lewis released a solo album and Rilo Kiley released the 2007 album Under the Boardwalk. After they toured, Rilo Kiley went on hiatus again and so did Sennett to work on film music. Bloom joined Julian Casablancas' touring band. There was a third The Elected album in 2011 called Bury Me in My Rings. But Sennett has said that it was a solo album as he did everything himself. Sennett started the band With Night Terrors of 1927 and they released a 2015 album. Bloom is mostly a studio musician these days. My guess is if Rilo Kiley had never gone on hiatus in 2002, The Elected would never have happened. Here's The Elected performing Not Going Home on Jimmy Kimmel Live 2006.

  

AccuRadio Song Of The Day-Collie Buddz

Artist:Collie Buddz 

Song:Blind to You

Album:Collie Buddz

Colin "Collie Buddz" Harper is a reggae rapper and singer who has a significant fanbase because the 2007 singles Come Around and Blind to You connected with an audience that is still with him today. He currently records for his own label. He was born Aug. 21, 1981 in New Orleans but he grew up in Bermuda as his mom is Bermudian. Harper studied audio engineering at Full Sail University in Florida and appeared on Shaggy's 2007 album Intoxication. The name Collie Buddz is cannabis slang. That one appearance got him a record deal with Columbia Records and they released the 2007 album Collie Buddz. The album and the singles Come Around and Blind to You topped the Reggae chart. But it doesn't look like Columbia promoted Harper in any other market. Harper now says that he signed what is called a "360" deal which allows Columbia to recoup marketing and production costs. Harper says he didn't get any royalties for 13 years. When Columbia wasn't happy with the album sales, Harper decided to leave Columbia and start his own label. The album served its purpose to connect him with his target audience. So maybe Harper was using Columbia's global reach to get what he wanted. Harper wrote most of the album songs and worked with several producers. He co-wrote and produced Blind to You with Jamaican producer Dwayne "Supa Dups" Chin-Quee who is part of the Black Chiney sound system. This album is available as a digital download. Harper started his own label currently distributed by Ineffable Music Group. He does his own promotion. They just distribute his product. Harper released his latest album in 2023 and he is a very successful live performer. So it looks to me like Harper got exactly what he wanted and used Columbia to get that. Here's Collie Buddz performing Blind to You at Cali Roots 2013. 

AccuRadio Song Of The Day-Joyce Manor

Artist:Joyce Manor

Song:Schley

Album:Never Hungover Again

Punk rock fans should enjoy the modern day punk band Joyce Manor. Of course punk rock was very popular in the 70s. It's not popular anymore but Joyce Manor has a significant following. Joyce Manor was formed in 2008 in Torrance, CA. Lead singer and guitarist Barry Johnson and guitarist Chase Knobbe decided to start a band. The name Joyce Manor came from an apartment building that Johnson would pass on walks. They started out as an acoustic duo. Bassist Matt Ebert and drummer Kurt Walcher were added in 2009 to give them the sound they were after. At first, Joyce Manor was part of Southern California's emo revival. They signed with 6131 Records and released their debut album Joyce Manor in 2011. The band gained a following through word of mouth. Punknews named it their 2011 Album of the Year. They released the 2012 album Of All Things I Will Soon Grow Tired on Asian Man Records. The album was not well received. Johnson says now that he didn't want to be like other bands. He was put in touch with Epitaph Records owned by Bad Religion guitarist Brett Gurewitz and they are still on that label. The 2014 album Never Hungover Again was Joyce Manor's first album on Epitaph. The album was produced by Joe Reinhart of the band Algernon Cadwallader. Johnson writes all the songs though they are credited to Joyce Manor and the royalties are evenly split. All the songs are around two minutes long. All their albums are around twenty minutes long. Apparently this is a nod to the 90s California punk and emo scene where they started out. I don't like twenty minute albums. But Joyce Manor's fans are OK with it. And this album got rave reviews most notably from Spin Magazine. It's available on CD. The album did well enough that Joyce Manor is playing bigger shows and sometimes headlining. Walcher left Joyce Manor before they recorded the 2016 album Cody. They tried to hire a replacement but they now hire a drummer for tours. Joyce Manor went on hiatus for COVID. But they released a new album I used to Go to This Bar Jan. 2026. Gurewitz produced it. They are currently on tour. Here's Joyce Manor performing Schley at The El Rey in Los Angeles 2014. 

AccuRadio Song Of The Day-BigXthaPlug

Artist:BigXthaPlug f/Bailey Zimmerman

Song:All the Way

Album:I Hope You're Happy

Rapper Xavier "BigXthaPlug" Landrum scored a top five hit with the 2025 single All the Way featuring country music star Bailey Zimmerman. It also topped the country charts. A country rap crossover is not new. It's just not done that frequently and it's usually done as a one off. Recently there was Beyonce's 2024 album COWBOY CARTER which she produced after a record company executive told her she couldn't. And of course Jelly Roll straddles country and rap. More typical was when Nelly featured Tim McGraw on the 2004 single Over and Over. And Nelly appeared on the 2013 Florida Georgia Line single Cruise. This is a complete album of the same formula. Rapper and country singer alternating vocals on every song. I think most folks would tire of this type of crossover quickly. That's why you don't see it done frequently. Also this album is only 26 minutes long. Landrum was born May 12, 1998 in Dallas. His mom was a "gangsta" who once shot at a would be thief during an attempted robbery. But she was his best friend. His father was the disciplinarian. Landrum listened to rap and R&B as a child. He was a poor student who skipped classes and got into fights. After moving to Commerce, TX to live with his father, Landrum got into football. And after graduating from high school, he attended Crown College in Minnesota. When Landrum started selling weed to students, police found weed in his dorm room and he was expelled from school and sent home. When he got home, Landrum started robbing drug dealers. That landed him in jail. And that's when he started rapping. And after he was released, he recorded his first mixtape. Landrum again landed in jail in 2022 for illegal possession of weapons and weed. This time he signed with UnitedMasters and released his 2023 debut album Amar named after his son. UnitedMasters is owned by former Sony Music president of Urban Music Steve Stoute. When Landrum's 2022 single Texas contained slide guitar and Southern Rap swagger, some country stars expressed an interest in working with him. And that's when he recorded the 2025 album I Hope You're Happy. The single All the Way featuring Bailey Zimmerman reached #4 on the Billboard Hot 100 and it topped the Country Singles chart. It was certified 2XPlatinum. The album was certified Gold and it was only released as a digital download. Most of the album was produced by Krishon "BandPlay" Gaines. They met in 2022 while Landrum was on tour with Key Glock. Gaines has worked on all his albums. Landrum is currently on tour. But he has said that his next album will be rap and the country crossover is a one off album. I'm not surprised. The album did make him famous. Here's the video for All the Way by BigXthaPlug featuring Bailey Zimmerman.