Tuesday, June 30, 2020
Big Bad Blog Video Theater-Sasha Banks and Dolph Ziggler vs Drew McIntyre
Here's the match video of Sasha Banks and Dolph Ziggler vs Drew McIntyre and Asuka from last night's episode of RAW. This is the usual formulaic nonsense the WWE does to set up title matches on PPVs. Of course they kick off the show with a contract signing. They do too many of them already and all of them are the same. Of course this one leads to a mixed match which is also predictable. No one thinks Ziggler can beat McIntyre. So obviously the focus is to set up Sasha as a serious threat to Asuka's title reign. The match is OK but a time waster. Sasha winning the match with a flash pin was predictable. And so was Sasha and Bayley's post match reaction. The likely result on Sunday is that Bayley will cost Sasha the win. Will that lead to a split? I dunno. The WWE has been teasing a Sasha Bayley split for over two years. They just teased it again a couple of weeks ago. They are being portrayed as best friends but Bayley seems to want to have Sasha positioned behind her. Getting a second belt would make Sasha her equal. It's like Bayley is pretending to be Sasha's friend until she gets too close to being equal leading to a double cross. I expect Asuka to win on Sunday but that is a potential scenario. Enjoy the video!
AccuRadio Song Of The Day-The Louvin Brothers
Song:Hoping That You're Hoping
Album:When I Stop Dreaming: The Best of the Louvin Brothers
The Louvin Brothers are country gospel pioneers known for their close harmonies. They scored a total of six top ten hits in the 50s including the 1956 single Hoping That You're Hoping. Charlie and Ira Loudermilk were from Henegar, AL. Their cousin is legendary songwriter John D. Loudermilk. Ira played mandolin and Charlie played guitar. Their biggest musical influence was probably The Delmore Brothers. They grew up singing in church. They started performing in the early 40s. This was interrupted when Charlie was in the service during WWII. When he returned, they started calling themselves The Louvin Brothers. They thought it was a better stage name. They recorded a single for Decca in 1949. And then they recorded several singles for MGM. They signed with Capitol in 1953. But again Charlie was in the service during the Korean War. After he returned, Capitol producer Ken Nelson convinced them to record secular music and appear at the Grand Ole Opry. He told them the sponsor was a tobacco company and "you can't sell tobacco with gospel music". Their single When I Stopped Dreaming reached #8 on the Country Singles chart. This was followed by I Don't Believe You've Met My Baby which was their only #1 hit. Hoping That You're Hoping was the third single. It reached #7. And that was followed by three more top ten hits. But the rise of Rock 'n' Roll hurt them in the late 50s. Capitol wanted them to sound like The Everly Brothers. They continued to record for Capitol in the early 60s. Also, Ira's heavy drinking became a big problem. And that was the main reason The Louvin Brothers split up in 1963. This comp from Razor & Tie is a good intro to their music. Ira Louvin died on June 20, 1965 at age 41 when a drunk driver struck his car. Charlie Louvin continued to perform and record for Capitol. He scored three top ten country hits in the late 60s. After he left Capitol in 1972, Charlie recorded sporadically. But he continued to appear regularly on the Grand Ole Opry. After Charlie was diagnosed with cancer, he appeared with his son Sonny Louvin on RFD-TV's The Marty Stuart Show. He died on Jan. 26, 2011 at age 83. The show aired on Jan. 29, 2011 with a dedication. Here's The Louvin Brothers performing Hoping That You're Hoping on the Grand Ole Opry TV show July 21, 1956.
Monday, June 29, 2020
AccuRadio Song Of The Day-Dolly Parton and Vince Gill
Song:I Will Always Love You
Album:Souvenirs
Of course most music fans are familiar with Whitney Houston's hit single I Will Always Love You from the 1992 film The Bodyguard. But Dolly Parton wrote the song and topped the country charts in 1974. The song was on the same album as Jolene so it's somewhat overshadowed. She topped the country charts again with her 1982 recording from the soundtrack of the film The Best Little Whorehouse in Texas. This 1995 duet version of I Will Always Love You with Vince Gill was a top 15 country hit. Dolly left RCA in 1985 and eventually signed with Columbia. She recorded seven albums for Columbia. She started out OK but by the time she recorded the 1995 album Something Special, she was fading badly. The answer to that was to record I Will Always Love You with Vince Gill who was one of the hottest country stars at the time. After they performed it on the Aug. 26 Grand Ole Opry TV show on TNN, radio stations started playing the record and Columbia released it as a single. It reached #15 on the Country Singles chart. This turned out to be Dolly's final album for Columbia. She eventually had success at the bluegrass label Sugar Hill. Something Special is still available on CD. The only Dolly Parton comp that this version of the song appears on is I Will Always Love You released in 1995 to take advantage of the hit single. The album is 35 minutes long and this version does not appear on any other Dolly Parton comps. I Will Always Love You does not appear on a Vince Gill album. But MCA added it to this 1995 comp CD Souvenirs of some of his early hits. It does not appear on recent comp CDs. Here's Dolly Parton and Vince Gill performing I Will Always Love You on the 1995 CMA Awards broadcast Oct. 4, 1995.
Sunday, June 28, 2020
Big Bad Blog Video Theater-Kay Hansen vs Jinh Yu Frey
Here's the match video of Kay Hansen vs Jinh Yu Frey from last night's UFC show in Las Vegas. Both are Invicta veterans making their UFC debuts. This fight was just announced a few days ago. A total of four fights that were supposed to be on this show got cancelled which is why I am not writing about fight announcements anymore. Too many changes. Jinh is 34 years old from Arlington, TX. Her husband Doug Frey is her coach. She is a former Invicta Atomweight Champion. But she was having trouble making weight so I expected her to move up to Strawweight. At her age, she is more suspect than prospect especially since she's not an aggressive fighter and she doesn't finish fights. Kay is 20 years old. She trains at 10th Planet in Fullerton, CA. I like her especially on the ground and she likes to finish fights. She probably needs to improve her striking. And you could see that in round one as Kay had trouble establishing her range and she couldn't get a takedown. Jinh was not dominant but she did enough to win the round 10-9. Kay made adjustments and she got a takedown in round two. I didn't think Kay was in a good position to try a submission. So she rode it out and won the round 10-9. I like that she didn't try to force something that wasn't there. Kay won with a very slick third round submission. After taking Jinh's back, Kay turned it into an armbar. When Jinh blocked it, Kay switched to a triangle to distract Jinh and then switched back to the armbar. That was very smart. You'll notice Kay has a cut over her left eye. I think they butted heads during the finish. Excellent win for Kay in her UFC debut. If she can continue to improve and stay healthy, she has a promising future in the UFC. Enjoy the video!
AccuRadio Song Of The Day-Jeremy Steig
Song:Howlin' For Judy
Album:The Blue Series Sampler II
Flutist Jeremy Steig was a jazz rock pioneer. There was renewed interest in his music when Howlin' For Judy was sampled on the 1994 Beastie Boys hit Sure Shot. He has been sampled frequently since then. He was born Sept. 23, 1942 in New York City. His father was New Yorker cartoonist William Steig. Jeremy was an artist too and he designed his own album covers. Steig started playing recorder as a child and he started taking flute lessons. After attending New York's High School of Music and Art, Steig toured with Richie Havens and Tim Hardin and he also played with Paul Bley and Gary Peacock. He also recorded the 1963 album Flute Fever for Columbia. After backing up Hardin, Steig's jazz rock group Jeremy & The Satyrs released a 1968 album on Reprise. Pianist Warren Bernhardt and bassist Eddie Gomez were in that band. Of course Gomez was best known as the bassist for piano legend Bill Evans. Gomez recommended Steig to Evans and they recorded an album that I featured on the blog a few years ago. Then Steig recorded two albums for Sonny Lester's Solid State label. Howlin' For Judy is from the 1970 album Legwork. Musicians are Eddie Gomez on bass and Don Alias on drums. As I said, the Beastie Boys sampling led to renewed interest in Steig's music. Blue Note releases a lot of CDs of songs sampled by hip hop guys and this one is available as a budget CDs. After Solid State was taken over by Blue Note, Steig recorded albums for Blue Note and Capitol. Steig also recorded for Columbia, Enja, CTI and the German label CMP. Gomez was on most of these albums. And they continued to record together after they started their own label in 2003. Steig married a Japanese woman so they lived in Japan until he died from cancer on Apr. 13, 2016 at age 73. The sampling of Howlin' For Judy was a big deal as his wife still gets royalty cheques. Here's a video for Howlin' For Judy by Jeremy Steig.
Saturday, June 27, 2020
AccuRadio Song Of The Day-Habib Koite
Song:Wassiye
Album:Putomayo Presents Africa
Habib Koite is one of Mali's top musicians. He's not known in North America. Some of his albums aren't released here. But famous musicians admire him and want to work with him. He was born Jan. 27, 1958 in Thies, Senegal. His grandfather taught him to play guitar. Koite was planning to be an engineer. But his uncle convinced him to attend the National Institute of the Arts in Bamako, Mali in 1978. Koite was made conductor of the school band. And after he graduated in 1982, the school hired him as a guitar teacher. He also played with guys like Toumani Diabate. He formed his own band Bamada in 1988. His big break came in 1994 when Michel De Bock became his manager. He owns the Belgian company Contre Jour specializing in African music. Wassiye is from Koite's 1998 album Ma Ya. It was released in the US by Putomayo. And they release plenty of various artists world music CDs. Wassiye is on Putomayo Presents Africa which is available as a budget CD. Ma Ya is available but it's too expensive. In 2001, Koite appeared on Late Night with David Letterman. Jackson Browne and Bonnie Raitt visited him in Mali. Koite appeared on Bonnie's 2002 album Silver Lining. Koite toured with Art Ensemble of Chicago. And he recorded the 2012 album Brothers in Bamako with blues singer Eric Bibb. Koite's latest album Kharifa was released in 2019. It looks like he is recording solo now. But he could reform Bamada in the future. Here's Habib Koite performing Wassiye in 2008.
Friday, June 26, 2020
AccuRadio Song Of The Day-Janet Jackson & Luther Vandross
Song:The Best Things In Life Are Free
Album:The Best
The Best Things In Life Are Free was a top ten pop hit in 1992. It also topped the R&B chart. It was in the 1992 film Mo' Money starring and written by Damon Wayans. It appeared on the soundtrack album but it did not appear on a Janet Jackson or Luther Vandross album. So it is an orphan in the discography of both artists. It came at a significant time for Janet as she had just signed a huge contract with Virgin Records. This song was her first appearance since signing that deal though it was not part of her Virgin deal. The soundtrack for Mo' Money was written and produced by Janet's long time producers Jimmy Jam and Terry Lewis and it was released on their Perspective label with A&M distribution. Jam and Lewis approached artists directly to appear on the soundtrack. Normally a record company employee handles those negotiations. They asked Janet to appear on the soundtrack and then they brought in Vandross. It seems to be the only time he worked with Jam and Lewis. They added Bell Biv Devoe and Ralph Tresvant to do the rap. It reached #10 on the Billboard Hot 100 and it topped the dance & R&B charts. Caron Wheeler, Public Enemy and MC Lyte are among those who appear on the soundtrack which is still available on CD. Janet gets to shine more on this song than Vandross. So I think it will be of more interest to her fans. You can get it on this 2009 2CD comp The Best. It's on a couple of her other comps but this is the most recent. It also appears on a couple of Vandross comps including the 2CD The Essential Luther Vandross. None of the artists appear in the music video. Mo' Money stars Damon Wayans and Stacey Dash lip sync. It's not unusual for a music video to promote the movie. Here's the video of The Best Things In Life Are Free by Janet Jackson & Luther Vandross f/Bell Biv Devoe & Ralph Tresvant.
Thursday, June 25, 2020
AccuRadio Song Of The Day-Post Malone
Song:Circles
Album:Hollywood's Bleeding
Post Malone started out as a mix of hip hop and other styles. But he seems to have gone in a more rock direction with his 2019 album Hollywood's Bleeding and his number one hit Circles. It is his fourth number one hit. He was born Austin Richard Post July 4, 1985 in Syracuse, NY. His father was once a DJ so Malone was exposed to all kinds of music. His family moved to Grapevine, TX after his dad took a job as concessions manager with the Dallas Cowboys. Malone says he learned to play guitar using the popular video game Guitar Hero. He used a rap name generator to get the name Post Malone. He released a mixtape while in high school. After briefly attending college, Malone and his friend Jason Probst moved to Los Angeles. Probst is a professional game streamer. In 2015, he released the single White Iverson to Soundcloud. It got enough attention that record companies came calling. Malone signed with Republic Records and White Iverson reached #14 on the Billboard Hot 100. He recorded with 50 Cent, Young Thug and Kanye West. And then he became friends with Justin Bieber and opened for him. He's not the first to have success after associating with Bieber. Malone has released four albums. Circles is from the 2019 album Hollywood's Bleeding. It's his latest album. Circles topped the Billboard Hot 100. It was the third single. Malone writes and produces everything with the same producers. The two main producers are Louis Bell and Adam Feeney AKA Frank Dukes. He met them through Bieber. Bell produces other artists but Malone is his main guy. Feeney is Canadian so like I said, he's a Bieber guy. The other songwriters are Billy Walsh and Kaan Gunesberk who are associates of Bell and Feeney. Malone recently said he is working on a new album. Is Malone a success because of Justin Bieber? Probably but there's nothing wrong with that. Here's the video for Circles by Post Malone.
Wednesday, June 24, 2020
AccuRadio Song Of The Day-Kay Kyser & His Orchestra
Song:(I Got Spurs That) Jingle, Jangle, Jingle
Album:The Best of Kay Kyser & His Orchestra
Though he was not a musician, Kay Kyser led a popular 40s big band. He was probably best known for his radio show and he also appeared in films. He scored five number one hits including Jingle, Jangle, Jingle in 1942. Because a lot of his hits were novelty songs, Kyser's music doesn't hold up as well as other bands of that era. He was born James Kern Kyser June 18, 1905 in Rocky Mount, NC. He planned to attend law school. But while attending the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill, he took over the campus band. Kyser took clarinet lessons but he was better as an entertaining announcer. So he hired George Duning as musical director. Duning was a graduate of the Cincinnati Conservatory of Music and he would go on to be musical director at Columbia Pictures and compose many film scores. Kyser's fame came from his radio show Kay Kyser's Kollege of Musical Knowledge. This show ran mostly on NBC from 1938-49 and then he took it to TV. It was a mix of music, comedy and a quiz show. Meanwhile Kyser recorded first for Brunswick and then his recording career really took off when he moved to Columbia in 1939. His number one hits were The Umbrella Man (1938), Three Little Fishes (1939), Jingle, Jangle, Jingle (1942), Ole Buttermilk Sky (1946) and Woody Woodpecker (1948). Jingle, Jangle, Jingle was written by Joseph J. Lilley and Frank Loesser for the 1942 film The Forest Rangers where it was sung by Dick Thomas. Of course Loesser wrote hundreds of hits. Lilley was a staff songwriter for Paramount Pictures. Kyser's recording topped the charts. It appears in the 2010 video game Fallout: New Vegas. Singer Harry Babbitt was with Kyser's band since 1936. He was great at novelty songs. He also sang the Spike Jones classic All I Want for Christmas Is My Two Front Teeth. Julie Conway joined the Kyser band after Ginny Simms left for a film career. She was soon replaced by Gloria Wood. Another featured performer was Ish Kabibble who played trumpet in the band along with his comedy shtick. Kyser also appeared in several films. I've seen a couple of them and it's the same problem as his music. It's corny so it doesn't hold up well today. Kyser intended to retire after WWII. But instead he moved his radio show to TV in 1949. That ran for a couple of years and then he retired. He did not participate in the early 60s reunion of his band. He was married to Georgia Carroll who once sang in his band until his death of a heart attack on July 30, 1985 at age 80. Here's a video of (I Got Spurs That) Jingle, Jangle Jingle by Kay Kyser & His Orchestra featuring Harry Babbitt and Julie Conway.
Tuesday, June 23, 2020
Big Bad Blog Video Theater-Asuka vs Charlotte Flair
Here's the match video of Asuka defending her WWE RAW Women's Championship against Charlotte Flair. I figured Nia Jax would get involved and we would get a gimmick match at Extreme Rules. Instead the WWE has done an injury angle to get Charlotte off TV probably until SimmerSlam. Nia Jax came out to complain about last week's loss. Then Charlotte came out and after a skirmish, Charlotte seemed to hurt her arm. Later she emerged from the trainer's room with her shoulder taped. Like Samoa Joe said on commentary, that's a target for Asuka to attack. And that's exactly what she did. The match was very similar to their other matches. The end comes when Asuka applies an armbar and Charlotte turns it into a power bomb. Asuka transitions into an Asuka Lock for the win. Considering how hard that bump was, that was an incredible transition. Afterwards, Nia attacks Charlotte. The WWE announces that Charlotte may have a broken collarbone. This morning they announced that she will have surgery and will return by SummerSlam. Dave Meltzer of The Wrestling Observer reports that Charlotte is indeed having surgery but not on her shoulder. My guess is her boob implants are leaking like two years ago. Later on after Bayley and Sasha Banks successfully defend their WWE Women's Tag Team Championships, Sasha challenges Asuka for her title. So that's the match we will get at Extreme Rules. Enjoy the video!
AccuRadio Song Of The Day-Pink Mountaintops
Song:The Second Summer of Love
Album:Get Back
Pink Mountaintops started out as a solo project for Black Mountain leader Stephen McBean. But he decided to turn it into a band so he could tour when Black Mountain was off. The Pink Mountaintops sound can best be described as neo psychedelia. McBean is from Vancouver. He had been in bands since the 80s. But his late 90s band Jerk With A Bomb recorded three albums for the indie label Jagjaguwar. They became Black Mountain in 2003. So while they have been very successful, McBean was recording in his home. As I said, he gave it the name Pink Mountaintops so he could turn it into a band. A lot of the songs on their 2004 debut CD were left over from Jerk With A Bomb. I guess he didn't want them to go to waste. Then when Black Mountain became popular on the indie scene, fans discovered that Pink Mountaintops was led by the same guy. McBean moved to Los Angeles in 2010. He still records and tours with Black Mountain and Pink Mountaintops. The Second Summer Of Love is from the 2014 CD Get Back. It was produced by Joe Cardamone. He was in the 90s band The Icarus Line and he is now a producer. This is the latest Pink Mountaintops album. Black Mountain released a CD last year. It's not clear if McBean plans to record as Pink Mountaintops in the future. The website is kaput so probably not unless Black Mountain goes on hiatus as they did a few years ago. Here's the video for The Second Summer of Love by Pink Mountaintops.
Monday, June 22, 2020
AccuRadio Song Of The Day-Matt Stell
Song:Prayed for You
Album:Country Heat 2020
The 2019 single Prayed for You was a top five country hit and it crossed over to be a top 40 pop hit. After ten years trying to make it in Nashville, Matt Stell is an overnight success. He was born Apr. 19, 1984 in Center Ridge, AR. He attended Drury University in Missouri on a basketball scholarship. He also released three albums and performed in clubs. He moved to Nashville in 2014. Stell had been accepted to Harvard's pre-med course. But then he got a publishing deal with Wide Open Music owned by Ash Bowers. After modest success as a recording artist, Bowers started Wide Open as a full service management company. Jimmie Allen is his greatest success story to date. Stell is well on his way to getting there. Prayed for You was released on the 2018 EP Last of the Best. The song got the attention of former Jive Records CEO Barry Weiss. He signed Stell and eventually Arista released the EP Everywhere but On. Prayed for You reached #2 on the Country Singles chart and #36 on the Billboard Hot 100. Stell and Bowers wrote the song with Allison Veltz. She showed the lyric to Stell and when Bowers arrived, they wrote the song. The song straddles the line between country, pop and CCM. When I first heard it, I thought Stell was a CCM artist. The girl in the video is Savannah Chrisley of the USA Network reality show Chrisley Knows Best. The EP Everywhere but On is available as a digital download. There is no album yet. But you can get Prayed for You on this various artists CD. The EP has been out for a year. I don't know if there will be an album. Stell made his Grand Ole Opry debut last year and he toured opening for Chris Young. Like I said, he's an overnight success after ten years. Here's the video for Prayed for You by Matt Stell.
Sunday, June 21, 2020
Big Bad Blog Video Theater-Lauren Murphy vs Roxanne Modafferi
Here's the match video of Lauren Murphy vs Roxanne Modafferi from last night's UFC show in Las Vegas. Of the four women's fights on this show, this one was the worst. Though both are ranked in the Flyweight division, I don't think either is good enough to contend for the title. The first round was a good example. Neither of them did much of anything. I guess I scored it 10-9 for Roxy very marginally. The turning point of the fight was when Lauren rocked Roxy early in round two. Roxy was never the same after that. But it's not like Lauren was more aggressive and went for a finish. She cruised to a unanimous decision win. It didn't make me think that she has anything for Valentina Shevchenko. What's funny is if Lauren wins one more fight, she could get that title shot. check out the video for yourself.
Big Bad Blog Video Theater-Gillian Robertson vs Cortney Casey
Here's the match video of Gillian Robertson vs Cortney Casey from last night's UFC show in Las Vegas. Gillian is a submission ace who isn't much of a striker and is mistake prone. Cortney doesn't have good takedown defense so I figured if Gillian could take her down, she could win quickly. she didn't get the submission win until late in the third round. But Gillian was winning anyway. By then it didn't matter much. The big question about Gillian is can she get to the next level. Enjoy the video!
Big Bad Blog Video Theater-Tecia Torres vs Brianna Van Buren
Here's the match video of Tecia Torres vs Brianna Van Buren from last night's UFC show in Las Vegas. Tecia is on a four fight losing streak where she has looked progressively worse. Brianna is an up and comer who is good on the ground. I thought that in this fight we would see how her striking is. I thought Brianna won round one by controlling the clinch on the fence. She just wasn't able to get the takedown she needed. Tecia was better in the other two rounds. She was more aggressive and quicker than she has been in recent years. So I scored the fight 29-28 for Tecia. My guess is she would still have problems with better competition. What Brianna needs to do is get her striking to a level where she can properly set up takedowns. We'll see how she bounces back. Enjoy the video.
Big Bad Blog Video Theater-Raquel Pennington vs Marion Reneau
Here's the match video of Raquel Pennington vs Marion Reneau from last night's UFC show in Las Vegas. The four women's matches on last night's show were varying degrees of terrible. A couple of months ago, Schwan Humes and I discussed this on my Big Topic in WMMA podcast. Poor quality fights are the main reason some MMA fans turn away from WMMA. In this fight, Raquel had lost three of her last four so she needed a win. And Marion has ability but she is inconsistent. Round one was awful. Neither fighter did much of anything. I gave it to Marion 10-9. Very marginal. Marion seemed to get worse as the fight went on. And it's not like Raquel was better. But she was good enough to win the fight. So I scored it 29-28 for Raquel but it was not a good fight. And it was all on Marion's 43rd birthday. My guess is when her UFC contract runs out, it won't be renewed. She's not good enough to keep a roster spot that could be taken by a younger fighter. And because Marion was so bad in this fight, I don't think I can give Raquel much credit for winning. Check out the video for yourself.
AccuRadio Song Of The Day-The White Stripes
Song:White Moon
Album:Get Behind Me Satan
The White Stripes were at the forefront of the garage rock revival of the 00s. The band's albums sold well for a few years. Jack White did everything himself in the studio and he hired musicians to tour. He was born John Anthony Gillis July 9, 1975 in Detroit. He was the youngest of ten children. His older brothers had a band. He started playing drums as a child. As a teen, he got into progressive rock and the blues. In a 2005 60 Minutes interview, he told Mike Wallace that he almost became a priest. While serving an upholstery apprenticeship, he formed The Upholsterers with Brian Muldoon and they released an album. He met and married Megan White in 1996. He took her name and called himself Jack White. For a while he owned an upholstery business. In 1984 he became drummer with Goober & the Peas. After two years of touring, he started The White Stripes. Meg played drums but for the most part The White Stripes are a Jack White home recording project. He wanted a group name for touring and anonymity. After releasing three albums on the indie label Sympathy for the Record Industry, White signed with V2 to get better distribution. Despite being on a small label, the 2001 album White Blood Cells sold over a million copies. His first album for V2 was Elephant in 2003. It sold even better. White Moon is from the 2005 album Get Behind Me Satan. The album was more acoustic than previous albums but it still did OK. After the 2007 album Icky Thump and the subsequent tour, The White Stripes went on hiatus. The 2009 film Under Great White Northern Lights documents the 2007 tour. Though Jack and Meg White divorced in 2000, they continued to work together as The White Stripes. And though they attempted to reunite in 2010, it didn't work out. White formed The Raconteurs in 2005 and The Dead Weather in 2007. And he has recorded three solo albums most recently in 2018. It doesn't look like Meg White is in the music business. Her anxiety attacks led to The White Stripes split and she doesn't want to appear on stage. Here's The White Stripes performing White Moon in the 2009 film Under Great White Northern Lights.
Saturday, June 20, 2020
AccuRadio Song Of The Day-Sin Bandera
Song:Entra En Ma Vida
Album:Solo Para Mujeres
Sin Bandera was a very popular pop duo mostly in Mexico but also in other Latin American countries. Entra En Ma Vida wasn't their biggest hit but it was their first single in 2002. It did well enough to set them up for longevity. Leonel Garcia and and Noel Scharjis were trying to make it as solo artists. Garcia is Mexican. Scharjis is from Argentina but he moved to Mexico after he married. They started working together in 1999 and decided to call themselves Sin Bandera which means Without A Flag. Garcia plays guitar and Scharjis plays piano. They write the songs together. They brought in Aureo Baqueiro to produce. He had been writing and producing since the 80s. Sin Bandera signed with Sony and they released their 2002 debut CD Sin Bandera. Entra En Ma Vida was the first single. It topped the Mexican charts and the album was certified 2XPlatinum. It was also the theme for the TV Azteca telenovela Cuando Seas Mia. Sin Bandera won a Latin Grammy and other awards. Their next couple of albums did well. They had a total of four number one hits in Mexico. They started to fade when they brought in Brian McKnight to produce the 2005 album Manana. They wanted to stretch to an R&B vibe. But it didn't do that well. And then the 2006 album Pasado was an album of covers. Varying their approach was unsuccessful. Fans don't really want that. Sin Bandera split up and both guys recorded solo albums. This budget comp is a good intro to their music. Sin Bandera reunited in 2016. They released an EP and toured successfully. Both have returned to solo careers. Here's the video for Entra En Ma Vida by Sin Bandera.
Friday, June 19, 2020
AccuRadio Song Of The Day-Ty England
Song:Should've Asked Her Faster
Album:Original Hits: Total Country: The Kings of New Country
Should've Asked Her Faster was a top five country hit in 1995. It is to date the only big hit for Ty England. He played guitar with Garth Brooks before going solo. He was born Dec. 5, 1963 in Oklahoma City. He was in bands during high school. While attending Oklahoma State University, England met Brooks and they became roommates. When Brooks got a record deal, he hired England to play guitar and sing background vocals. After touring with Brooks for several years, England got his own record deal with RCA and veteran producer Garth Fundis who was best known for producing Alabama. Should've Asked Her Faster was the first single from England's 1995 debut album Ty England. It reached #3 on the Country Singles chart. The song was written by veteran songwriters Al Anderson and Bob DiPiero and Joe Klimek. England recorded two albums for RCA and that was his only big hit. You can get it on this various artists budget CD. Brooks got England a deal with Capitol and he also produced the 1999 album Highways & Dance Halls. England even re-recorded Should've Asked Her Faster with Steve Warriner. There were no hits and the album didn't sell. Since then England continues to perform. He released the 2007 album Alive and Well and Living the Dream on his own label. Here's the video for Should've Asked Her Faster by Ty England.
Thursday, June 18, 2020
AccuRadio Song Of The Day-Sting
Song:If You Love Somebody Set Them Free
Album:Fields of Gold:The Best of Sting 1984-1994
Of course most music fans became familiar with Gordon "Sting" Sumner when he was lead singer of The Police. After they split up in 1984, Sting has had a lot of success mostly as an album artist. If You Love Somebody Set Them Free is his biggest hit to date and it was the first single on his 1985 debut album The Dream of the Blue Turtles. He was born Oct. 2, 1951 in Wallsend, Northumberland, England. He got into music as a teen and he was in the Phoenix Jazzband in the early 70s. He wore a black and yellow sweater and bandleader Gordon Solomon thought he looked like a wasp and called him Sting. He moved to London in 1977 and formed The Police with Stewart Copeland and Andy Summers. They had great success until they went on hiatus in 1984. Sting decided to go solo. A 1986 attempt to reform The Police did not work out. Sting recorded his 1985 album The Dream of the Blue Turtles with jazz musicians including Branford Marsalis on sax, Kenny Kirkland on keyboards, Darryl Jones on bass and Omar Hakim on drums. Marsalis is featured on the single If You Love Somebody Set Them Free. It reached #3 on the Billboard Hot 100. The album was certified 3XPlatinum. Sting has had a total of five top ten singles. His only #1 hit was All For Love with Bryan Adams and Rod Stewart from the soundtrack of the 1993 film The Three Musketeers. That may be an orphan. Until recently Sting's albums have sold very well. This budget comp covers 1984 to 1994. A&M has released a couple of box sets but I think they need to release a more career spanning single CD comp. On his 2019 album My Songs, Sting reworks Police and some of his own songs. His most recent album of new music was released in 2016. He records different types of music all the time. One never knows what he will do. Here's the video for If You Love Somebody Set Them Free by Sting.
Wednesday, June 17, 2020
AccuRadio Song Of The Day-Queen Latifah
Song:Big, Blonde and Beautiful
Album:Hairspray: Soundtrack to the Motion Picture
Dana "Queen Latifah" Owens started out as a pioneering female rapper. But by the time she appeared in the 2007 musical film Hairspray, she wasn't rapping much anymore. And when she did record, it was as a jazz singer. Though she returned to rap in 2009, Dana is mainly an actress. She was born Mar. 18, 1970 in Newark, NJ and she grew up in East Orange. In high school she played basketball and appeared in school plays. She got into rap as a member of Flavor Unit and then signed with Tommy Boy. But even while she was having success as a rapper, Dana was getting into acting. She starred in the Fox sitcom Living Single from 1993-98 and she hosted The Queen Latifah Show from 1999-2001. Her film breakthrough was playing Matron "Mama" Morton in the 2002 musical Chicago. She was nominated for a Best Supporting Actress Oscar. This led to success in the 2003 film Bringing Down The House and other film appearances. Dana's other big role was in the 2007 musical Hairspray. as Maybelle "Motormouth" Stubbs. Big, Bad and Beautiful was her big song in the film. Dana continues to appear in films and on TV. She has also produced several films. Most recently she played Hattie McDaniel in the Netflix series Hollywood. She was also executive producer of the Lifetime film The Clark Sisters: First Ladies of Gospel. She is currently working on a revival of the TV series The Equalizer for Universal and CBS. She will executive produce and star with Chris Noth. Dana last recorded in 2009. As you can see, she is very busy in films and TV. Here's Queen Latifah performing Big, Blonde and Beautiful in the 2007 film Hairspray.
Tuesday, June 16, 2020
Big Bad Blog Video Theater-Asuka vs Nia Jax
Here's the match video of Asuka defending her RAW Women's Championship against Nia Jax. This is a rematch from Sunday when they did a double countout finish. After this match, I still don't know why they did that finish. Of all the great things Asuka does, one of the best is her ability to take bumps safely. This is particularly important with Nia who can be very careless. Nia gave Asuka a power bomb on the floor. And I guess concerned fans were Tweeting Asuka to see if she is OK. And she Tweeted back "The impact on the body is severe. But at my level, I'm not going to be injured like everyone is concerned about. It's Asuka quality! That's when my insides twitched though." So she can even joke about it. The finish had Nia hit her Samoan Drop finisher. But Asuka had her foot under the ropes. Nia went nuts and attacked the ref. He was going to DQ her. But Asuka rolled her up and the ref counted quickly and Asuka won. I expect this to lead to a match at Extreme Rules. How about a cage match? Asuka has never done a cage match. Enjoy the video!
AccuRadio Song Of The Day-Major Lazer
Song:Lean On
Album:Peace Is The Mission
Major Lazer have been very successful on the dance charts. They have occasionally crossed over to pop. Lean On was a top five pop hit in 2015. The leader of Major Lazer is Thomas Wesley "Diplo" Pentz. He was born Nov. 10, 1978 in Tupelo, MS. He started DJing while attending the University of Central Florida. He first came to prominence working with rapper M.I.A. And through her he met David "Switch" Taylor. They formed Major Lazer and released the 2009 album Guns Don't Kill People...Lazers Do. Taylor left in 2011 and was replaced by Christopher "Jillionaire" Leacock and Leighton Paul "Walshy Fire" Walsh. They released the 2012 album Free the Universe. They also produced Rita Ora and No Doubt. Lean On was the first single from the 2015 album Peace Is The Mission. It reached #4 on the Billboard Hot 100. Pentz says he offered the song to Rihanna and Nicki Minaj. But he was very happy with Danish singer Karen Marie "MO" Orsted. The music was written by German producer Philip "Jr Blender" Meckseper and and Orsted wrote the lyrics and along with William "DJ Snake" Grigahcine rewrote the song. Major Lazer's other big hit was the 2016 single Cool Water featuring Justin Bieber and Orsted. It reached #2 on the Billboard Hot 100. Leacock left Major Lazer last year and was replaced by Eric "Ape Drums" Alberto-Lopez. Their new album Lazerism is due to be released this month. Wentz said in an interview that he has so many projects on the go that this could be the final Major Lazer album. Of course he may have changed his mind by now. Here's the video for Lean On by Major Lazer with DJ Snake featuring MO.
Monday, June 15, 2020
Big Bad Blog Video Theater-Asuka vs Nia Jax
Here's the match video of Asuka defending the WWE RAW Women's Championship against Nia Jax. The match was very similar to their other matches. Asuka is great at selling offense and then firing back. Of course the only problem is the double countout finish. Bryan Alvarez of The Wrestling Observer reported last night that Asuka was supposed to win and Vince McMahon changed it yesterday. As you may have already heard, Paul Heyman was fired and Bruce Prichard is now running RAW and Smackdown. Since the endgame will likely result in Charlotte Flair as champ, it makes no sense to change the finish just keep Asuka as a weak champ. Making her strong actually helps Charlotte. I don't know what will happen tonight. But it doesn't look good for Asuka. Enjoy the video!
AccuRadio Song Of The Day-Reyli
Song:Amor del Bueno
Album:En la Luna
Mexican singer songwriter Reyli Barba was lead singer of the rock band Elefante. After he left in 2003, he turned himself into a crooner and had success with the 2004 album En la Luna and singles like Amor del Bueno. After some personal problems, Barba is currently on the comeback trail. He was born Apr. 12, 1972 in Juarez, Mexico. He joined Elefante in the late 90s and he was lead singer when they had success with singles like El Abandonao in 2001. Barba left to go solo in 2003. His 2004 debut album En la Luna was released on Sony. He scored three hit singles from the album including Amor del Bueno which reached #11 on the Billboard Hot Latin Tracks chart. His song La Descarada was the theme for Televisa's internationally shown telenovela Rubi which was very popular in Mexico. The album was certified 2XPlatinum in Mexico and Gold in the US. Subsequent albums have not done as well. Barba's biggest success was when his song Amor Gitano was recorded by Beyonce and Alejandro Fernandez in 2007. Barba had previously written songs for Fernandez. Beyonce and Fernandez were working on albums and Beyonce told a Sony exec that she wanted to record with a male Latin star. Amor Gitano did well in Latin America. In recent years Barba has had drug and alcohol addiction problems. He was arrested in 2013 and sent to a rehab center. He is now on the comeback trail. He released the 2019 album La Metamorfosis under his full name Reyli Barba. Here's the video for Amor del Bueno by Reyli.
Sunday, June 14, 2020
Big Bad Blog Video Theater-Julia Avila vs Gina Mazany
Here's the match video of Julia Avila vs Gina Mazany from last night's UFC show in Las Vegas. This fight was at Bantamweight. Julia is from Oklahoma City. She is known as The Raging Panda. Remember The Killer Bunny. I liked that name too. Julia won her UFC debut. Unfortunately her opponent had visa problems. Gina was in the UFC before and she was released. She won her last fight outside the UFC. And she lives in Las Vegas. I expected Julia to get an easy win. And a knee to the body took a lot out of Gina. And she pounded Gina until the fight was stopped. It went as expected. Obviously I would like to see Julia face better opposition. Enjoy the video!
Big Bad Blog Video Theater-Mariya Agapova vs Hannah Cifers
Here's the match video of Mariya Agapova vs Hannah Cifers from last night's UFC show in Las Vegas. Mariya lost to Tracy Cortez in Dana White's Tuesday Night Contender Series. But two wins in Invicta got her into the UFC. She was a boxing champ in her native Kazakhstan. She now trains at American Top Team in Florida. Hannah is a late replacement and she is a Strawweight fighting at Flyweight. So I expected Mariya to win easily. And after she knocked Hannah down with a head kick, she took her back and won with a rear naked choke. Mariya is 23 years old. And as we saw in her post match interview, her English is really good. And she has charisma. So she has potential though obviously I would like to see her face better opposition. She called out Shana Dobson. I wouldn't mind seeing that. Enjoy the video!
Big Bad Blog Video Theater-Cynthia Calvillo vs Jessica Eye
Here's the match video of Cynthia Calvillo vs Jessica Eye from last night's UFC show in Las Vegas. This was the main event because Jessica is ranked #1 at Flyweight. That's too high for me. But she did get a big win last time out. This is Cynthia's first fight at Flyweight after missing weight at Strawweight. She is now training at American Kickboxing Academy (AKA) in San Jose. I thought with her last win Jessica had good chemistry with her new coach Eric Nicksick. And she has a big size advantage plus she missed weight and apparently she cheated by holding the towel. So one would think she would be aggressive and try to dominate. No such luck. Jessica reverted to her old ineffective ways and did nothing for five rounds. Nicksick told her what to do but she didn't listen to him and she thought she won the fight. Both fighters were ineffective in round one. Cynthia was marginally more ineffective so I scored the round 10-9 for Jessica. But Cynthia knew she messed up and was better for the rest of the fight. And that's why she won. She made adjustments and Jessica didn't. Cynthia scored a takedown early in round two and won 10-9. Round three was similar to round one but worse. Cynthia scored a takedown late in the round and won 10-9. So now one would think Jessica would be more aggressive and show some urgency. But she didn't. I scored the fight 49-46 for Cynthia. Two judges scored it the same and the third scored it 48-47. And then Jessica was surprised when she lost. And I guess that's the problem. She thought she was winning. Valentina Shevchenko is currently recovering from an ankle injury. But her next title defense will be against Joanne Calderwood. Katlyn Chookagian is a possible next opponent for Cynthia and then we'll see after that. The lesson to be learned from this is don't pay attention to UFC rankings because they are screwed up and the UFC only uses the rankings when it suits them. Enjoy the video!
AccuRadio Song Of The Day-Gale Garnett
Song:We'll Sing In The Sunshine
Album:Those Were The Days: Summer Holiday
We'll Sing In The Sunshine was a top five pop hit in 1964. It was the only big hit for singer songwriter Gale Garnett. Some of her other songs charted but We'll Sing In The Sunshine is the only memorable one. She went on to an acting career and novelist. She was born July 17, 1942 in Auckland, New Zealand but she moved with her family to Toronto when she was 11 years old. She moved to Los Angeles and she appeared in TV shows like Hawaiian Eye, 77 Sunset Strip and The Real McCoys. After performing in the New York nightclub The Blue Angel, Gale signed with RCA Records. She was opening for Miriam Makeba who was on RCA and had recorded a few of Gale's songs. We'll Sing In The Sunshine was released in Oct. 1964 and it reached #5 on the Billboard Hot 100. It also won a Grammy for Best Traditional or Folk Recording. The record was produced by RCA house producer Andy Wiswell. Gale released an album My Kind of Folk Songs. But We'll Sing In The Sunshine wasn't on the album. It was only released as a single. Gale released several albums on RCA but she was unable to score another hit. You can get We'll Sing In The Sunshine on this 2CD various artists budget comp. Gale moved back to Toronto and appeared on Canadian TV shows and films like The King of Kensington and the film My Big Fat Greek Wedding. She has also written romance novels. In recent years she has performed a couple of one woman shows. Gale Garnett was inducted into the Canadian Songwriters Hall of Fame in 2015. Here's Gale Garnett performing We'll Sing In The Sunshine on the 1965 Grammy Awards broadcast.
Saturday, June 13, 2020
AccuRadio Song Of The Day-Hadley Caliman
Song:Cigar Eddie
Album:Hadley Caliman
Sax player Hadley Caliman was a sideman and educator. He is probably best known for appearing on the 1972 Santana album Caravanserai. I would describe his music as soul jazz. He was born Dec. 31, 1949 in Idabel, OK. He moved to Los Angeles with his father and attended Jefferson High School. He saw Johnny Griffin playing with Duke Ellington and decided to play the sax. Art Farmer was one of his teachers along with Dexter Gordon. In the late 60s Caliman was a member of The Gerald Wilson Orchestra. He was also in tuba player Ray Draper's jazz rock band Red Beans and Rice. He also appeared on albums by Bobby Bryant, Phil Moore III, Don Ellis and Mongo Santamaria. An appearance on a 1971 album by guitarist John White got Caliman a record deal with Bob Shad's Mainstream label. White appeared on the 1971 album Hadley Caliman with Larry Vuckovich on piano, Bill Douglass on bass and Clarence Becton on drums. Cigar Eddie was released as a single. Carlos Santana heard it and invited Caliman to join Santana. At the time he was turning Santana into a jazz fusion band. Caliman appears on the 1972 album Caravanserai. He also toured with Santana and he appears on the 1972 album Carlos Santana & Buddy Miles Live!. Caliman also appeared on albums by Malo and Santana member Jose "Chepito" Areas. He recorded a second album for Mainstream and two for Catalyst. Then he moved to Seattle to raise his family and he joined the faculty of Cornish College of the Arts. After his 2003 retirement, Caliman recorded three albums for Origin Records. He died of liver cancer on Sept. 10, 2010 at age 78. Boplicity has released Hadley Caliman on CD and I recommend it to soul jazz fans. Here's a video for Cigar Eddie by Hadley Caliman.
Friday, June 12, 2020
AccuRadio Song Of The Day-Tasha Page-Lockhart
Song:Different
Album:Here Right Now
Tasha Page-Lockhart won season six of Sunday Best which is the gospel American Idol. The show airs on BET and Kirk Franklin is the host and producer. The winner gets a contract with his Fo Yo Soul label. The big difference from AI is the Sunday Best contestants are clearly professional singers. I haven't watched the show in a while but I didn't think the judges were critical enough. The tenth season is supposed to air this year. After she won, Tasha's single Different was a top ten gospel hit. She was born Mar. 21, 1983 in Detroit. Her mom Lisa Page Brooks led the veteran gospel girl group Witness. Her stepfather Michael Brooks was a member of Commissioned and he produced Witness. Tasha played basketball in high school. Her dream was to play in the WNBA. But she got pregnant and dropped out of high school. She got addicted to drugs and the father of her child Calvin Lockhart left her. Tasha recovered and the two moved to Atlanta and married in 2006. She joined Witness in 2003 and appeared on two albums. After Witness disbanded, Tasha appeared on her mom's solo albums. Then she auditioned for and won Sunday Best. Kirk Franklin wrote and produced Tasha's 2014 album Here Right Now. Different reached #9 on the Gospel Singles chart. For her 2017 album The Beautiful Project, Tasha and her husband wrote and produced most of the album. Myron Butler produced a couple of songs. Since then Tasha divorced Lockhart and married T. Vernon House in 2019. She is calling herself Tasha and she released the single Why Not Me in Feb. on Heritage Music Group. I assume an album is on the way. Here's the video for Different by Tasha Page-Lockhart.
Thursday, June 11, 2020
AccuRadio Song Of The Day-Bobby Watson
Song:Deep Pockets
Album:From the Heart
Alto sax player Bobby Watson started out as musical director of the late 70s edition of Art Blakey and the Jazz Messengers. Since then he has recorded as a leader and a sideman and he is an educator in his home town of Kansas City. He was born Aug. 23, 1953 in Lawrence, KS and he grew up in Kansas City. He attended the University of Miami. Classmates included Pat Metheny, Jaco Pastorius and Bruce Hornsby. After graduation, Watson moved to New York and he became Art Blakey's musical director in 1977. He left in 1981 and became a very popular sideman. He also recorded as a leader for Enja and in the 90s he recorded for Blue Note and Columbia. He formed the band Horizon in 1988 with bassist Curtis Lundy. These two have worked together frequently for many years. Watson is also the director of jazz studies at the University of Missouri-Kansas City Conservatory of Music. Deep Pockets is from Watson's 2007 album From The Heart on Palmetto Records. Musicians are Curtis Lundy on bass, Leron Thomas on trumpet, Warren Wolf on vibraphone, Harold O'Neal on piano and Quincy Davis on drums. He also recorded Deep Pockets with The Leaders on the 2007 album Spirits Alike. The Leaders recorded a few albums in the 80s. Sax player Chico Freeman and bassist Cecil McBee reformed The Leaders with Watson, Eddie Henderson on trumpet, Fred Harris on piano and Billy Hart on drums. They toured and that's where the video is from. It looks like The Leaders reformed for the one album. I recommend Watson's album only because it's cheaper. Watson's latest album is Bird at 100 in 2019. It's a Charlie Parker tribute with Watson, Gary Bartz and Vincent Herring. Here's Bobby Watson with The Leaders performing Deep Pockets at Jazzwoche Berghausen in Germany 2007. This entire concert can be streamed on YouTube.
Wednesday, June 10, 2020
AccuRadio Song Of The Day-Lila McCann
Song:I Wanna Fall In Love
Album:Super Hits Series
Lila McCann was 16 years old when I Wanna Fall In Love was a top five country hit in 1997. It was all downhill from there. She was born Dec. 4, 1981 in Puyallup, WA which is near Tacoma. As a child, she sang with her father's country band. She was in high school when her manager gave her the song Down Came a Blackbird. The song was written by Mark Spiro. Born in Seattle, Spiro lived in Germany in the 80s and produced Laura Branigan and Anne Murray among others. He produced the demo for Down Came a Blackbird. Asylum Records president Seymour Stein heard it and signed Lila. LeAnn Rimes was very popular at the time. So when the 1997 album Lila was released, Lila was compared to LeAnn. I Wanna Fall In Love reached #3 on the Country Singles chart. The album was certified Platinum and it was the biggest selling country artist debut for 1997. Spiro wrote and produced the album. He wrote I Wanna Fall In Love with Buddy Brock who had written with Aaron Tippin. She scored a top ten country hit with With You from the 1999 album Something in the Air. That album was certified Gold. When Asylum's Nashville office closed, Lila was moved to Warner Bros. and David Malloy was brought in to produce the 2001 album Complete. When that didn't sell, Warners dropped her. Lila McCann was 19 years old. Obviously the record company management change didn't do her any favors. This happens a lot in the music business. Lila signed with Broken Bow Records. She released four singles but there was never an album. She started a family and had two kids. And she also started a photography business. She financed her 2017 album Paint This Town through Pledgemusic. She is now in the real estate business. Here's the video for I Wanna Fall In Love by Lila McCann. Sorry about the poor quality. This happens a lot with old videos.
Tuesday, June 09, 2020
Big Bad Blog Video Theater-Charlotte Flair vs Asuka
Here's the match video of Charlotte Flair vs Asuka from last night's episode of RAW. This is a long match and they decide to have Charlotte dominate the match to use the narrative that she will be damaged goods when she defends her WWE RAW Women's Championship on Sunday. It's a common narrative that I wish they would stop using because fans are wise to the wrestling business. We know that Asuka is great at selling offense. She can make it look like she was murdered. I thought she went a little overboard with her selling in this match. But that is what she was asked to do. The bottom line is that Charlotte couldn't finish her until Nia Jax came out to distract Asuka. And Asuka actually kicked out of the pin. But they were out of time and the ref had to count three. Earlier on Charlotte and Asuka were on the floor and the ref stopped counting at seven. I assume someone forgot to roll into the ring to stop the count. I understand the finish because Nia is the one with a title shot. Maybe it should be asked why she didn't have a match last night. The major complaint fans had of last night's show was too much Charlotte. It's interesting to note that Asuka had the same amount of screen time. But it's like I said last month. They are overexposing Charlotte to the point that fans don't want to see her anymore. On a media call after Sunday's NXT Takeover show, someone asked about Charlotte getting favorable treatment because she is Ric Flair's daughter. HHH called that garbage. But there is some truth to that and it has led to them using her way too much. At SummerSlam 2018, Becky Lynch was the answer to that. With her gone, I don't think there is an answer for that now. What HHH needs to understand is there is a fan perception that Charlotte is overrated and overexposed. And he can get mad when he is asked about that. But remember perception is reality. That perception is not going away. Enjoy the video!
Big Bad Blog Video Theater-Asuka and Charlotte Flair vs Bayley and Sasha Banks vs The Iiconics
Here's the match video of Asuka and Charlotte Flair vs Bayley and Sasha Banks vs The Iiconics from last night's episode of RAW. The WWE announced that Asuka would face Charlotte Flair on the show. so Asuka came out and then instead of Charlotte, Bayley and Sasha Banks came out to brag about winning the WWE Women's Tag Team Championships. Then Charlotte comes out followed by the Iiconics. This eventually turns into a three way tag team match. And it is announced that Asuka vs Charlotte will still happen later in the show. The match was OK. The main thing was Asuka and Charlotte not getting along and refusing to tag each other. After Charlotte goes to the top rope and taunts Asuka, Asuka tags herself in and wins with the Asuka Lock on Billie Kay. To be continued later in the show. Enjoy the video!
AccuRadio Song Of The Day-Patti Page
Song:(How Much Is That) Doggie in the Window
Album:The Complete US Hits 1948-62
Patti Page was already one of the most popular singers in America when the 1953 single Doggie in the Window made her an even bigger star. Though Tennessee Waltz is her signature song, Doggie in the Window is her biggest hit. It is very durable for a novelty song. Doggie in the Window was written by Bob Merrill. Though Merrill wrote Broadway shows like Carnival! and Funny Girl, he started out writing songs for Dorothy Shay, known as the Park Avenue Hillbilly. Then he co-wrote If I Knew You Were Coming I'd've Baked a Cake which was a hit for Eileen Barton in 1948. He also wrote the Rosemary Clooney hit Mambo Italiano. Patti's long time producer Joe Reisman was the man behind Doggie in the Window. He even did the barking dogs. The song topped the charts for eight weeks. It should have been a bigger hit but Mercury Records delayed the British release. And that gave time for Ted Heath singer Lita Roza to score a top ten hit in England. Doggie in the Window is frequently cited as impetus for the rise of Rock 'N' Roll. Pop music at the time was very bland. The song is still popular with children. And Patti recorded a reworked version of the song in 2009 to benefit the American Humane Society. And legendary country comedians Homer and Jethro recorded a parody that crossed over to be a top 20 pop hit. That's pretty good for a silly novelty song. Here's Patti Page performing (How Much Is That) Doggie in the Window on The Perry Como Show 1953.
Monday, June 08, 2020
Big Bad Blog Video Theater-Io Shirai vs Charlotte Flair vs Rhea Ripley
Here's the match video of Io Shirai vs Charlotte Flair vs Rhea Ripley from last night's NXT Takeover show. As I said a couple of weeks ago, this is a good way to get the belt off of Charlotte without her taking the fall. This match was like Where's Waldo. On a couple of key occasions, I'm wondering Where's Io?. And then she comes flying out of the sky. One time Charlotte tosses Io through the In Your House set. She figures that gets rid of her. While Charlotte and Rhea brawl, suddenly we see Io emerge at the top of the set and she hits them with a cross body. It was a spectacular effect like her leaping from the Korakuen Hall balcony. The finish was like that too. While Io is on the floor, Charlotte applies the figure eight on Rhea. Suddenly Io does her top rope moonsault for the finish. The streamers in the ring afterwards was a nice touch. I thought it was a great match and it's well worth seeing. There was a report a few days ago that Io will move up to the main roster probably to reunite The Sky Pirates with Kairi Sane. We'll see what happens. Congratulations to Io Shirai for winning the NXT Women's Championship. Enjoy the video!
AccuRadio Song Of The Day-Ready for the World
Song;Oh Sheila
Album:Ready for the World
Oh Sheila topped the charts in 1985. I know that many music fans thought the song was by Prince. The influence was obvious but Oh Sheila was by Ready for the World. They were from Flint, MI led by lead singer Melvin Riley Jr. He also played rhythm guitar and co-wrote most of the songs. Gordon Strozier was his usual writing partner and lead guitarist. Other members were Gregory Potts on keyboards, John Eaton on bass, Gerald Valentine on drums and Willie Triplett on percussion. A 1982 album released independently got them radio airplay in Michigan and that led to a deal with MCA Records. Their 1984 debut album Ready for the World was written and produced by the band. MCA A&R director Louis Silas was executive producer. Oh Sheila was the third single. It topped the Billboard Hot 100. There was even a rumor at the time that the song was about Prince's pal Sheila E. That was not true. Supposedly Prince and Sheila were in a car and Oh Sheila played on the radio. She asked him when he wrote it. Prince said "I didn't". So I think a lot of fans think Oh Sheila is a lost Prince track. The album was certified Platinum and it's available on CD. Ready for the World had one other top ten hit with Love You Down from the 1986 album Long Time Coming. They released four albums on MCA and have continued to perform and record occasionally. They last recorded in 2004. Riley released a solo album on MCA in 1994 and he has produced other artists. Here's the video for Oh Sheila by Ready for the World.
Sunday, June 07, 2020
Big Bad Blog Video Theater-Amanda Nunes vs Felicia Spencer
Here's the match video of Amanda Nunes defending her UFC Featherweight Championship against Felicia Spencer. The last time we saw Amanda she went five rounds against Germaine De Randamie and she didn't look that good. There's no question that Felicia is a better fighter than Germaine. I figured if Felicia could take Amanda down and tire her out, she could win this fight. As it turns out, Amanda is a much different fighter at Featherweight mainly because she doesn't have to cut as much weight. And remember this is only her second Featherweight fight in the UFC. Felicia could never get going and when she tried for a takedown, she wound up on the bottom. And Felicia doesn't have the striking to compete with Amanda. So Amanda beat her up for five rounds and she hit her hard enough to knock her out. She just wouldn't go down. There were the usual complaints that the fight should have been stopped. But it's not like Felicia was staggering around. She was just getting beat up. And there are still fans who don't want to see women get beat up. This double standard has always been around. So the problem with Amanda is there aren't any decent Featherweights. I expect her to return to Bantamweight and I would like to see her stay there and I would not be surprised if the UFC closed the Featherweight division. Going between the two weight classes seems to affect Amanda negatively at Bantamweight. She doesn't need to fight at Featherweight anymore. Bantamweight is her bread and butter. There is more competition there. Enjoy the video!
AccuRadio Song Of The Day-Rachele Lynae
Song:Fishin' for Somethin'
Album:Rachele Lynae
Country singer Rachele Lynae had modest success with her 2014 album Rachele Lynae. She has just released a new album on her own label. I think she needs to be on a major label. But she may not be distinctive enough to get anywhere. She was born Jan. 7, 1988 in Yuba City, CA but she grew up in Kodiak, AK where her father is a commercial fisherman. Her sister Heather Cole is also a singer. She grew up singing in church. When Rachele decided to pursue a music career, she moved to Nashville and attended Belmont University. While performing in clubs, She released a 2012 EP that got the attention of Aussie country music star Jamie O'Neal and her father Jimmy Murphy. They were starting a new label and Rachele was their first signee. Rachele released her debut album in 2014. She co-wrote all the songs and Jamie produced the album. She sounds OK but I don't think she is anything special. The album didn't sell and Jamie's label closed. Since then Rachele has continued to perform. She just released her new album Every Reason a couple of weeks ago. It looks like it's on her own label. Obviously it is too soon to tell if the album will be a success. I'm skeptical because she is trying to do this herself. Pursuing songwriting might be a better road for Rachele. Here's the video for Fishin' for Somethin' by Rachele Lynae.
Saturday, June 06, 2020
AccuRadio Song Of The Day-Sufjan Stevens
Song:Chicago
Album:Illinois
Singer songwriter Sufjan Stevens has had success mostly as an album artist in the alt rock market. He records for his own Asthmatic Kitty label so he does what he wants. The 2005 album Illinois is his best seller to date and his first to be critically acclaimed. He was born July 1, 1975 in Detroit. When his parents divorced, he moved with his father and his wife to Petoskey in the lower peninsula of Michigan. His mother and her new husband Lowell Brams moved to Oregon. Brams now runs Asthmatic Kitty. While attending Hope College in Holland, MI, Stevens played local clubs in the band Marzuki. He then moved to New York to attend The New School. He started releasing albums on his own label Asthmatic Kitty. After the 2003 album Michigan, Stevens announced plans to record an album for each of the fifty states. The 2005 album Illinois was the second album of that project. The album was highly acclaimed. It was the highest rated album of 2005 on Metacritic which is like Rotten Tomatoes for music. The album sold 300K copies which is really good for an indie release. You may have heard Chicago in the 2006 film Little Miss Sunshine. Since then Stevens has been prolific releasing several albums of all kinds of music including film scores and orchestral works. His latest album Aporia was recorded with Brams. It was released in March. What about the fifty states project? In 2009, Stevens admitted that it was a promotional gimmick and a running joke and he never intended to complete it. Here's Sufjan Stevens performing Chicago on Austin City Limits 2006.
Friday, June 05, 2020
AccuRadio Song Of The Day-Serge Gainsbourg
Song:Les Succettes
Album:Gainsbourg...Forever
Serge Gainsbourg was the bad boy of French music. Here he is best known for the 1969 hit Je t'aime with Jane Birkin. That's just the tip of the iceberg. Gainsbourg was notorious for songs like Les Succettes which he wrote for France Gall. He recorded it himself on the album he recorded with Birkin. He was born Lucien Ginsburg Apr. 2, 1928 in Paris. His parents were Russian Jews who fled to Paris after the 1917 Russian Revolution. When he got into music in the late 50s he changed his name to Serge Gainsbourg as a tribute to the artist Thomas Gainsborough. He also thought that Serge seemed more Russian than Lucien. Early on he worked with Juliette Greco and others. But he had his first success when his song Poupee de cire, poupee de son sung by 16 year old France Gall won the 1965 Eurovision Song Contest. He wrote France's next single Les Succettes (Lollipops). The song was a big hit. France thought the song was about a girl enjoying lollipops. She was mortified when she discovered the song was actually about oral sex. The same thing happened when Gainsbourg tried to record Je t'aime with Brigitte Bardot. When she refused to allow him to release the song, he recorded it with Jane Birkin and it was a worldwide hit. The album Jane Birkin/Serge Gainsbourg was a big success. Gainsbourg recorded his own version of Les Suceettes on the album. Gainsbourg continued to have success in France in the 70s. This 2CD budget comp covers his entire career. Gainsbourg smoked five packs of unfiltered Gitane cigarettes a day. He continued to do this after suffering a 1973 heart attack. Health problems forced him to slow down in the 80s. And his relationship with Jane Birkin ended in 1981. He was banned from TV after appearing on a couple of talk shows drunk. But he continued to produce albums for Jane Birkin, Vanessa Paradis and Isabelle Adjani until he died on Mar. 2, 1991 at age 62. Here's Serge Gainsbourg performing Les Succettes 1969.
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