AccuRadio Song Of The Day-Barleyjuice

Artist:Barleyjuice

Song:Weekend Irish

Album:The Barleyjuice Irish Collection

Barleyjuice is an American band that plays Irish themed music. There have been other similar bands, most notably The Dropkick Murphys. Like that band, Barleyjuice performs mostly original songs. They are from Philadelphia. Kyf Brewer and Keith Swanson were bagpipers for the Loch Rannoch Pipes & Drums in Pineville, PA. They decided to start Barleyjuice in 1998 as a side project to perform traditional Irish and Scottish songs in a rock style very similar to The Dropkick Murphys. They played mostly on St. Patrick's Day. They became a full time band in 2001 after they released their debut album One Shilling. They record for their own label. One of the songs from that album appeared in the 2001 film Driven. Brewer and Swanson are the only constant members of Barleyjuice. They write and produce everything. They started to get attention when the song What's Up Yours? from the 2003 album Another Round was named Song of the Year by listener vote at Celtic Radio. Weekend Irish is from their 2008 album Bonnie Prince Barley. A music video was produced for that song. Then they made a deal with the shopping network QVC to sell the 2CD comp The Barleyjuice Irish Collection to viewers. Bonnie Prince Barley is probably Barleyjuice's most popular album. But it's out of print. You can get Weekend Irish on The Barleyjuice Irish Collection which is available as a digital download. Swanson retired from Barleyjuice in 2019. But he returned and they still play occasional shows. They last released an album in 2018. Here's the video for Weekend Irish by Barleyjuice. 

AccuRadio Song Of The Day-OK Go

Artist:OK Go

Song:Here It Goes Again

Album:Oh No

OK Go is an indie band that have had success as an album and touring band. The 2006 single Here It Goes Again was a top 40 hit so it's probably their best known song. OK Go leader Damian Kulash met bassist Tim Nordwind at summer camp in Michigan when they were 11 years old. The band name came from something their art teacher would say while they were drawing. They kept in touch afterwards. Nordwind met keyboardist Andy Duncan in high school. After they moved to Chicago to attend school, they formed the band Stanley's Joyful Noise with drummer Dan Konopka. Meanwhile, Kulash studied music at Brown University in Providence, RI. After graduating, he moved to Chicago and formed OK Go in 1998. Kulash is lead singer, guitarist and he writes all the songs. They started playing local clubs and opened for Elliott Smith, The Promise Ring and The Olivia Tremor Control. They were the house band for the Chicago Public Media radio show This American Life. After self releasing a couple of EPs and opening for They Might Be Giants, OK Go moved to Los Angeles in 2001 and sent out demos to record companies. They signed with Capitol because Andy Slater was Capitol's new president and they thought he would give them more attention. Their debut album OK Go was released in 2002. The single Get Over It charted in England and OK Go performed on Top Of The Pops. But the album didn't sell in the US. For the 2005 album Oh, No, OK Go went to Malmo, Sweden to work with producer Tore Johansson who had worked with The Cardigans and Franz Ferdinand. After they finished recording, Duncan left due to creative differences and the tour schedule. Andy Ross replaced him. This album did better than the first one and the single Here It Goes Again reached #38 on the Billboard Hot 100. The video for Here It Goes Again was the band dancing on treadmills. So MTV played it to death and OK Go performed it live on the 2006 MTV Video Music Awards. In those days, it was a double edged sword. The video helped record sales. But many radio stations were still resentful of MTV and might have refused to play the record anyway. Also, Kulash was concerned about being typecast as "that goofy band". Oh, No is available as a budget CD. OK Go ran into problems with their 2010 album On the Blue Colour of the Sky when Capitol posted videos on YouTube and would not allow embedding. In response to complaints, Kulash posted an open letter on the band website which included embed codes. He thought it was stupid too. Soon after OK Go left Capitol and started their own label Paracadute. OK Go is still around. They released an album last year and will tour in the fall. Here's the video for Here It Goes Again by OK Go.

AccuRadio Song Of The Day-Eladio Carrion

Artist:Eladio Carrion f/Bad Bunny

Song:Coco Chanel

Album:3MEN2 KBRN

Rapper Eladio Carrion has had success mostly in the Latin market. Reggaeton is marketed a little differently than other kinds of music. This song Coco Chanel charted in 2023 despite not being released as a single. Bad Bunny is on it and he's one of the biggest stars right now. My problem with Carrion is the same problem I have with many rappers. He releases way too much music and should be more selective. He's released seven albums since 2020 and plenty of standalone singles. He was born Nov. 14, 1994 in Kansas City, KS. His parents are Puerto Rican. His father was in the military so they moved around a lot until his family relocated to Humacao, Puerto Rico in 2005. Carrion was a swimmer who represented Puerto Rico in the 2010 Central American and Caribbean Games and the 2011 Pan American Games. After he finished eighth in 2011, Carrion quit swimming and posted funny videos to Vine and Instagram. Then he started rapping and singing. He signed with Rimas Entertainment and released his 2020 debut album Sauce Boyz. The album was certified Platinum and his single Kemba Walker featuring Bad Bunny was certified Platinum and nominated for a Latin Grammy. And as I said, Carrion's music is not marketed traditionally. Word of mouth is more important than radio play. He's had similar success with all his albums. Coco Chanel is from Carrion's 2023 album 3MEN2 KBRN which is an abbreviation of Tremendo Cabron which means badass. Coco Chanel was Carrion's first song to chart on the Billboard Hot 100. And it was not released as a single. The success of the song was fueled by Bad Bunny's star power. Carrion and Bad Bunny had success with the 2020 single Kemba Walker. So there was a lot of anticipation for this new song. And it went viral when Bad Bunny dissed Phoenix Suns' Devin Walker who used to date Kendall Jenner who was dating Bad Bunny at the time. Coco Chanel was written by Carrion, Bad Bunny and producer John "DVLP" Zayas. This album is available as a digital download. Since then Carrion has released three albums including his latest in Apr. 2026. Plus he makes guest appearances. As I said, I think he could decrease his musical output and still do OK. It looks like he's going on tour in the fall. Here's the video for Coco Chanel by Eladio Carrion featuring Bad Bunny. 

AccuRadio Song Of The Day-The Dandy Warhols

Artist:The Dandy Warhols

Song:Bohemian Like You

Album:The Capitol Years 1995-2007

The alt rock band The Dandy Warhols have been around for over thirty years. They had their greatest commercial success when they were on Capitol Records from 1995-2007. They never had a hit single but the 2000 single Bohemian Like You was their highest charting song and it made a lot of money from other media. The Dandy Warhols currently record for their own label. The Dandy Warhols are from Portland, OR led by lead singer songwriter and guitarist Courtney Taylor-Taylor. Taylor-Taylor met guitarist Peter Holmstrom while both were attending Sunset High School in the Portland suburb of Beaverton, OR. After an unsuccessful experiment trying to teach his girlfriend to play bass, Taylor-Taylor taught Zia McCabe to play keyboards. Eric Hedford was the original drummer. But he left over a royalty dispute and was replaced by Taylor-Taylor's cousin Brent DeBoer in 1998. The Dandy Warhols started playing local clubs and released the 1995 album Dandys Rule OK on the local indie label Tim/Kerr. Capitol Records liked the album enough to sign the band. They wanted them to have hit singles. So when they recorded a follow up album, Capitol rejected it because they said it didn't have any hits. Much of the band's music has humor. Even the band name is obviously a gag. But I don't think Capitol was in on the joke. So a new album was recorded and ...The Dandy Warhols Come Down was released in 1997. As usual, Taylor-Taylor wrote and produced. Capitol brought in Elliott Smith's producer Eric Lash to give the album some polish. The album and a couple of singles charted in England. The 2000 single Bohemian Like You is from the album Thirteen Tales from Urban Bohemia. It was a top twenty hit in England after it was used in an ad for the British phone company Vodafone. It also appeared on the TV series Buffy the Vampire Slayer and the films Flushed Away and Igby Goes Down. It was reported by the British newspaper The Guardian that Taylor-Taylor earned $1.5M in royalties after Vodaphone used Bohemian Like You. He used that money to buy a quarter of a city block in Portland and build a recording studio. So I guess The Dandy Warhols don't need a hit single. Taylor-Taylor wrote and produced Thirteen Tales from Urban Bohemia with Dave Sardy formerly of Barkmarket. You can get Bohemian Like You on this comp which is available as a digital download. Taylor-Taylor wrote Bohemian Like You after he saw a woman at a traffic light under his apartment and he started to fantasize about her. The song wrote itself. The Dandy Warhols recorded four albums for Capitol. They started their own label Beat the World with distribution from the British label Caroline. They have switched distributors a couple of times and released their latest album in 2024. They aren't on tour right now. But they have a couple of shows coming up in Sept. Here's the video for Bohemian Like You by The Dandy Warhols. 

AccuRadio Song Of The Day-Junior Wells

Artist:Junior Wells

Song:Come On in This House

Album:Messin' With the Kid 1957-1963

Junior Wells is one of the all time blues harmonica greats. He is best known for his long partnership with guitarist Buddy Guy. He first recorded in 1955. But he didn't become a fan favorite until the mid 60s when he partnered with Guy and toured with The Rolling Stones. He was born Amos Wells Blakemore Jr. Dec. 9, 1934 in Memphis. His cousin Junior Parker and Sonny Boy Williamson II taught Wells to play harmonica. After his mother's divorce, Wells moved to Chicago with her in 1948. Wells hung out with local musicians in bars and at parties. Wells joined The Aces led by guitarists Dave and Louis Myers. But drummer Fred Below had worked with harmonica legend Little Walter so he helped Wells with his harmonica playing. And in 1952, Wells replaced Walter on a Muddy Waters session on Chess. Of course Little Walter was on Chess so they weren't interested in Wells. He first recorded for States Records in 1955. They closed in 1957 and Wells signed with Chief Records. Chief was owned by producer and songwriter Mel London. In those days, Chess was the only game in Chicago. So the rest was left to guys like London. But he signed Earl Hooker who was a really good guitarist and a good partner for Wells. So Chief released about 25 Wells singles from 1957-63 and then Chief closed in 1964. Wells wrote Come On in This House and it was released in 1960. London is credited as producer. Musicians are Earl Hooker on guitar, Lafayette Leake on piano, Dave Meyers on bass guitar, Willie Dixon on acoustic bass and Eugene Lounge on drums. Hooker and Dixon play on most of this album. This budget CD is all original recordings first released by Paula Records in 1991. These recording are now owned by P-Vine Records, a Japanese label that reissues vintage jazz, blues and R&B recordings. Wells released his first album Hoodoo Man Blues on Delmark Records in 1965. Buddy Guy was on that album and that's when Wells' career really started especially when they toured with The Rolling Stones in the 70s. After suffering a heart attack, Wells died on Jan. 15, 1998 at age 63. I may look at Wells' later recordings in the future but here's Junior Wells with Buddy Guy performing Come On in This House at Montreux 1978.

 

AccuRadio Song Of The Day-Jellyfish

Artist:Jellyfish

Song:Joining a Fan Club

Album:Spilt Milk

Jellyfish was a power pop band that recorded two unsuccessful albums in the early 90s. Since they split up, they have developed a cult following and have been influential on other similar bands. The leaders of Jellyfish were Andy Sturmer and Roger Manning. They met while attending Amador Valley High School in Pleasanton, CA. Sturmer was lead singer and drummer. Manning played keyboards. They wrote all the songs. Sturmer wrote the lyrics. Sturmer and Manning joined Chris Ketner's San Francisco based band Beatnik Beatch. They released a 1988 album on Atlantic. When it went nowhere, Beatnik Beatch split up. Sturmer and Manning planned to start a new band at Atlantic. Manning brought in former The Three O'Clock guitarist Jason Falkner and his brother Chris Manning on bass. Manning promised Falkner that he would contribute to the songwriting. But he didn't tell Sturmer so there was tension over that. An Atlantic exec suggested the band name Jellyfish. When Sturmer couldn't think of anything better, he decided to go with that. The 1990 album Bellybutton was produced by Albhy Galuten who produced The Bee Gees. While they were recording the album, they shopped for a new label and signed with Virgin's Charisma label. Bellybutton was released July 1990. The album was favorably reviewed but it didn't sell. The problem was hair metal was popular at the time. It's hard to buck a trend when Jellyfish sounded like a 60s band. They toured wearing fancy costumes. When reviewers concentrated on that, they stopped wearing them. After the tour, Falkner was unhappy and left the band. Chris Manning left to become a chef. Sturmer and Manning appeared on Ringo Starr's 1992 album Time Takes Time. They also had a songwriting session with Brian Wilson but nothing came from that. Their 1992 album Spilt Milk was again produced by Galuten. Tim Smith was brought in to play bass. They used several guitarists. By the time Spilt Milk was released, grunge had taken over the music business. And critics bemoaned that Jellyfish sounded like the 70s band The Raspberries. Guitarist Eric Dover was brought in to tour. When this album didn't sell, Jellyfish split up. Sturmer and Manning weren't getting along anyway. Spilt Milk is available on CD. Manning formed the bands The Moog Cookbook and Imperial Drag. Sturmer wrote songs for the Japanese duo Puffy. And that led to writing songs for Cartoon Network shows like Teen Titans and these days, he works a lot for Disney. Manning has recorded solo in recent years. His latest album was released in 2023. Attempts to reunite Jellyfish have been unsuccessful as Sturmer won't do it. That's what he said in a 2015 interview. He seems to prefer the studio work that he's doing now. Here's Jellyfish performing Joining a Fan Club in Munich, Germany 1993. 

AccuRadio Song Of The Day-Michael Nouri

Artist:Michael Nouri

Song:King's Dilemma

Album:Victor/Victoria: Original Broadway Cast Recording

Actor Michael Nouri is best known for his many TV roles. He has also appeared in films. But it might surprise some that he has also appeared on Broadway. His most notable Broadway appearance was as King Marchan in the 1995 musical adaptation of the film Victor/Victoria. This appears to be Nouri's only recorded singing appearance. He has appeared in other musicals but none were recorded and most were not on Broadway. It's funny because he started out on Broadway before he got into TV. He was born Dec. 9, 1945 in Washington, DC. His father was an Iraqi immigrant who served in the US Army in WWII and became a writer for Stars and Stripes and The New Yorker. Nouri studied drama at Emerson College in Boston and was trained by famed acting coach Lee Strasberg. After appearing in an off Broadway production of The Crucible, Nouri made his Broadway debut in the 1970 comedy Forty Carats which ran for two years. He also had a small role in the 1969 film Goodbye, Columbus. Then he appeared in daytime soaps, most notably as Steve Kaslo in Search for Tomorrow. He was nominated for a Daytime Emmy. His next significant role was as Lucky Luciano in the 1981 miniseries The Gangster Chronicles. Then he played Nick Hurley in the 1983 film Flashdance. That was one of the most successful films of the year. So I think it's fair to say that's where most folks heard of Nouri. His other significant 80s film was the 1987 film The Hidden. He starred in the TV series' Bay City Blues and Downtown. Both shows were cancelled after one season. He was in the sitcom Love & War which ran for three seasons and that's when he appeared in Victor/Victoria. Of course most folks should be familiar with Blake Edwards' 1982 film Victor/Victoria starring his wife Julie Andrews. Edwards wanted to turn it into a Broadway musical. Henry Mancini and Leslie Bricusse were supposed to write the music. But Mancini died and Frank Wildhorn composed the music with Bricusse. Along with Julie Andrews, the stars were Tony Roberts, Michael Nouri and Rachel York. The show ran for two years so it was successful. The original cast is available on CD. It was also broadcast on TV and released on DVD. Since then Nouri has appeared as a regular on the TV series' The O.C., Damages, NCIS and most recently Yellowstone. And he has appeared on the daytime soaps The Young and the Restless and All My Children. Nouri recently appeared on The Pitt and The Rookie. So with his career winding down, I expect he will continue to make TV guest shots. Here's Michael Nouri performing King's Dilemma on the 1995 TV production of Victor/Victoria.