AccuRadio Song Of The Day-Ibibio Sound Machine

Artist:Ibibio Sound Machine

Song:Let's Dance (Yak Inek Unek)

Album:Ibibio Sound Machine

Ibibio Sound Machine combines electronic dance music (EDM) with Afrobeat influences. The 2014 single Let's Dance was a hit in London clubs. They were formed in 2010 by British producers Max Grunhard, Leon Brichard and Benji Bouton. All three guys had worked with other dance music acts. They wanted the group to be influenced by 80s Afrobeat. They brought in singer Eno Williams who grew up in London but her parents are from Nigeria. She worked with Grunhard in the group Konkoma. The other key member is former Osibisa guitarist Alfred Bannerman. Their 2014 debut album was released on Soundway. When Let's Dance was a hit they were able to get a deal with the much larger Merge label. They have released two albums on Merge. The other two founding members left so Grunhard is the group leader now. Their music is different from the standard EDM so it may be worth checking out. Here's the video for Let's Dance (Yak Inek Unek) by Ibibio Sound Machine.

AccuRadio Song Of The Day-Big Maceo

Artist:Big Maceo

Song:Worried Life Blues

Album:The Bluebird Recordings 1941-1942

Though the piano style of Big Maceo Merriweather has been influential, it's likely he would have been more popular if he didn't die prematurely. Worried Life Blues is his best known song. He was born Major Merriweather Mar. 31, 1905 in Newman, GA. He moved to Detroit in the 20s and then to Chicago in 1941. He met Tampa Red who introduced him to Bluebird Records head Lester Melrose. Worried Life Blues was Big Maceo's first recording. It was a big enough hit that Maceo recorded for Bluebird until 1945. Then he suffered a stroke in 1946. He attempted to continue but he died on Feb. 23, 1953 at age 47. This CD has Big Maceo's early Bluebird recordings. Big Maceo was inducted into the Blues Hall of Fame in 2002. He would have been a much bigger deal if he hadn't suffered that stroke. Here's a video for Worried Life Blues by Big Maceo. 

AccuRadio Song Of The Day-The Treniers

Artist:The Treniers

Song:Say Hey (The Willie Mays Song)

Album:The Essential Treniers: The Okeh Years

Here's a great novelty song that generated interest when Ken Burns used it in his documentary series Baseball. The Treniers were an excellent R&B group that started out in the late 40s. They were led by twin brothers Cliff and Claude Trenier. They were born July 14, 1919 in Mobile, AL. Claude joined Jimmie Lunceford's band in 1943 followed by Cliff. They left the Lunceford band in 1947 and recorded for Mercury as The Trenier Twins. They were backed by Gene Gilbeaux on piano and Don Hill on alto sax. Older brother Buddy Trenier joined in 1949 and they called themselves The Rockin' Rollin' Treniers. I would describe their music as jump blues very similar to Louis Jordan. The Treniers were known for their lively stage show. Their biggest hit was Go! Go! Go! in 1951. It reached #10 on the hit parade. But Say Hey is probably their most memorable song today because it appeared in Ken Burns Baseball. You can get everything on this comp available as a digital download. The Treniers continued to perform. Cliff died in 1983 and Claude died in 2003. Here's a video for Say Hey (The Willie Mays Song) by The Trdniers.

Big Bad Blog Video Theater-Cortney Casey vs Liana Jojua

Here's the match video of Cortney Casey vs Liana Jojua from yesterday's UFC show in Las Vegas. This match is at Flyweight. Cortney has been in the UFC for a few years. She has had mixed results and may be on the chopping block. She trains at MMA lab in Phoenix. Liana is from Georgia in Russia. She is now training at Syndicate MMA in Las Vegas. She's 1-2 in the UFC and she missed weight for this fight. Cortney dominated round one to the point that it might have been a 10-8. She continued to dominate and won easily. It doesn't make me think Cortney can be a contender.

Big Bad Blog Video Theater-Andrea Lee vs Cynthia Calvillo

Here's the match video of Andrea Lee vs Cynthia Calvillo from yesterday's UFC show in Las Vegas. This fight is at Flyweight. Cynthia was a late replacement for Jessica Eye. She got hammered in her last fight. Andrea has been a lot better since training at Fortis MMA in Houston. Her boyfriend is UFC fighter Tony Kelley. He is helping her out and was in her corner. Andrea looked better in this fight than we have ever seen her. Cynthia's corner pulled the plug between round two and three. Don't know why but she was getting hammered. If Andrea keeps this up she could be a contender very soon. 

Big Bad Blog Video Theater-Felicia Spencer vs Leah Letson

Here's the match video of Felicia Spencer vs Leah Letson from yesterday's UFC show in Las Vegas. This fight is at Featherweight. Felicia is from Montreal but she trains at The Jungle in Orlando. She is on a three fight losing streak. Leah is from Milwaukee. She was in TUF 28 but due to injuries she hasn't fought since 2018. She was never able to get on track. Felicia got her in the clinch, hammered her with elbows until she got a late third round finish. Easy win for Felicia. 

AccuRadio Song of The Day-Saxophone Summit

Artist:Saxophone Summit

Song:Our Daily Bread

Album:Seraphic Lignt

Telarc Records put Saxophone Summit together as a John Coltrane tribute. The idea was to assemble four of the best sax players in jazz. When Saxophone Summit first played in Japan in 1997, the band was Joshua Redman, Mike Brecker, Dave Liebman and George Garzone filling in for Joe Lovano who had to cancel at the last minute. After a week long engagement at Birdland in New York City, there was a lot of demand for Saxophone Summit. And Telarc wanted an album. But these guys are so busy, it's difficult to assemble them. Finally they toured Europe and recorded the 2004 album Gathering of Spirits. By this time the band was Lovano, Leibman and Brecker. After Brecker's 2007 death, Lovano decided to keep Saxophone Summit together. For the 2008 album Seraphic Light, John Coltrane's son Ravi Coltrane was brought in which is appropriate because the group is a tribute to Coltrane. Lovano wrote Our Daily Bread. But as he said in the EPK, the song is based on Coltrane's Dear Lord. Lovano plays tenor sax. Coltrane plays soprano sax. Leibman plays flute. Other musicians are Phil Markowitz on piano, Cecil McBee on bass and Billy Hart on drums. The album is dedicated to Mike Brecker. His trumpeter brother Randy Brecker guests on a couple of tracks. Saxophone Summit has since recorded two albums. The 2019 album Street Talk is on Enja Records with Greg Osby replacing Coltrane. Here's the EPK for the Saxophone Summit album Seraphic Light. Lovano talks about how he wrote Our Daily Bread. 

AccuRadio Song Of The Day-Jason Miles Ingrid Jensen

Artist:Jason Miles Ingrid Jensen

Song:The Faction of Cool

Album:Kind of New

Jazz pianist Jason Miles started out as a sideman. He has recorded as a leader since the 90s. He has recorded a lot of tribute albums. On this 2015 album, he records with Canadian trumpeter Ingrid Jensen. They recorded three albums and toured. She is currently in the all female jazz group Artemis. Miles was born June 30, 1951 in Brooklyn, NY. He attended Indiana State University. Jazz fusion was very popular in the 70s. So Miles got into a lot of synthesizer work like on the 1986 Miles Davis album Tutu. He played keyboards on albums by Whitney Houston, Luther Vandross and Michael Jackson. Miles has recorded tribute albums to Weather Report, Ivan Lins, Grover Washington Jr., Miles Davis and Marvin Gaye. He has recorded for Telarc, Narada Jazz and Shanachie. The 2015 album Kind of New is on Whaling City Sound. Ingrid is billed as co-leader. The two write most of the songs together including The Faction of Cool. Musicians are Jay Rodriguez on sax, Amanda Ruzza on bass and Jim Wilson on drums. Wilson co-wrote The Faction of Cool. Miles recorded three albums with Ingrid. It looks like the pandemic put an end to their partnership. Miles has been working on an album with singer Rebecca Angel. Ingrid is in the all female jazz group Artemis. They released an album on Blue Note. Here's Jason Miles and Ingrid Jensen performing The Faction of Cool. The musicians are identified at the end of the video.

AccuRadio Song Of The Day-Morgan James

Artist:Morgan James

Song:Call My Name

Album:Hunter: Bonus Tracks

Morgan James has appeared in several Broadway musicals. And she has recorded a few albums that I would describe as blue eyed soul. Epic Records had big plans for her. She now records for her own label. She was born Morgan Grunerud Nov. 21, 1981 in Boise, ID. Her parents were actors. So the family moved around a lot. She attended high school in Modesto, CA. Morgan earned a Bachelor in Voice at Juilliard. One of her instructors was the great Barbara Cook. Morgan appeared in the 2010 musical The Addams Family and the 2011 revival of Godspell. Then she played Teena Marie in Motown: The Musical. She started performing in clubs and decided to do that permanently. Morgan signed with Epic and released the 2012 album Morgan James Live: A Celebration of Nina Simone. Then she recorded the 2014 album Hunter. The album was produced by guitarist Doug Wamble. They married in 2016. Robert Glasper was among the special guests. After Prince gave Morgan permission to record Call My Name, Hunter was rereleased with Call My Name as one of three bonus tracks. Morgan has since released two albums on her own label. Not sure why she left Epic. Maybe they wanted more commercial music. Here's the video for Call My Name by Morgan James. 

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UFC review and Bellator and UFC preview. 

AccuRadio Song Of The Day-Dick Gautier

Artist:Dick Gautier f/Susan Watson

Song:A Lot of Livin' To Do

Album:Bye Bye Birdie: Original Broadway Cast

Most fans should be familiar with Dick Gautier as a comic actor on TV and films. But he started out on Broadway and got a Tony nomination for playing Conrad Birdie in the 1960 musical Bye Bye Birdie. This was his only Broadway appearance and his only singing appearance. He was born Oct. 30, 1931 in Culver City, CA. Gautier started out as a nightclub comic and singer. After a stint in the US Navy, he was hired to play Conrad Birdie in the 1960 Broadway musical Bye Bye Birdie. This was written by Charles Strouse and Lee Adams. This was obviously influenced by the Elvis Presley craze especially when he was in the US Army. That idea came from director and choreographer Gower Champion. Gautier was in a supporting role. The star was Dick Van Dyke as Birdie's manager. It helped make Van Dyke a star as he filmed the pilot for The Dick Van Dyke Show while he was in Bye Bye Birdie. It didn't do that for Gautier. Though he sang a couple of songs and was nominated for a Tony, he did not appear in the film version. He did have success as Hymie the Robot in the TV series Get Smart. And he starred as Robin Hood in Mel Brooks' 1975 TV series When Things Were Rotten. He also starred in the 1967 series Mister Terrific. Both shows were short lived. In the 70s Gautier appeared frequently as a panelist on Match Game and other game shows. He was never asked to sing again. He went on to do a lot of voiceover work until his death on Jan. 13, 2017 at age 85. Here's a video of Dick Gautier and Susan Watson performing A Lot of Living To Do from the 1960 Broadway musical Bye Bye Birdie. Susan is a Tony nominated stage performer who I may feature at another time. 

Big Bad Blog Video Theater-Kay Lee Ray vs Sarray

Here's the match video of Kay Lee Ray vs Sarray from last night's episode of NXT. Kay Lee Ray is a former NXT UK Women's Champion. So you think they will job her out in NXT. Of course not. I expect her to get a title run. So this is a semi competitive squash. KLR hits her finisher on the floor. And then she hits it again in the ring for the win. The thing I did like is Sarray tweeted about how upset she was about the loss. That should lead to a change in attitude. As I have said before, they are working on things with her. Her ring skills are great. They are working on other things. 

Big Bad Blog Video Theater-Toxic Attraction vs Io Shirai, Kacy Catanzaro and Kayden Carter

Here's the match video of Toxic Attraction vs Io Shirai, Kacy Catanzaro and Kayden Carter from last night's episode of NXT. Last week the WWE ran an injury angle with Toxic Attraction attacking Zoey Stark. Zoey actually blew out her knee during the ladder match. She has had surgery and is expected to be out for six months. Of course this pissed off her tag team partner Io Shirai. Kayden and Kacy joined her for a six women tag match. The match is OK. The whole point is to build Toxic Attraction's momentum to War Games. Io did hit her moonsault. But Toxic Attraction broke up the pin. Even commentary said that should have been a DQ. Toxic Attraction looked so bad in the ladder match that I don't think they are ready for War Games. Expect Io to carry the freight in that match. And that is why Toxic Attraction's push is a double edged sword.

AccuRadio Song Of The Day-Reunion

Artist:Reunion

Song:Life Is A Rock (But the Radio Rolled Me)

Album:The Real '70s

Life Is A Rock was a top ten hit in 1974. It was the only hit for the very short lived group Reunion. I'm sure most folks have heard this song but know nothing about Reunion. It was a studio group that will remind you of the Kasenetz-Katz bubblegum music factory of the 60s. The guys behind this record were Norman Dolph and partner Paul DiFranco. Dolph was an executive at Columbia in the 60s. He produced the Velvet Underground demos that turned into the classic album Velvet Underground and Nico. By the early 70s Dolph was trying unsuccessfully to make a living as a songwriter. He and DiFranco wrote Life Is A Rock which had shoutouts to everyone in the music business. They decided to call themselves Reunion. After releasing a couple of unsuccessful singles for Bell Records, Joey Levine was brought in to see if he could do something with Life Is A Rock. Levine was a jingle singer best known as a singer for Kasenetz-Katz acts like Ohio Express, 1910 Fruitgum Company and Music Explosion. Levine not only helped Dolph and DiFranco finish the song but he sang lead on the record. It reached #8 on the Billboard Hot 100. Unfortunately Reunion was unable to follow it up. They released three singles on RCA. They didn't even record an album. Even Kasenetz-Katz acts released an album. You can get Life Is A Rock on this 2CD various artists budget comp. Considering Levine's history of one hit wonders, Reunion's short lived fate was not very surprising. Here's a video of Life Is A Rock (But the Radio Rolled Me) by Reunion. I have conveniently included the lyrics. 

AccuRadio Song Of The Day-Lewis Capaldi

Artist:Lewis Capaldi

Song:Someone You Loved

Album:Divinely Uninspired to a Hellish Extent

Singer songwriter Lewis Capaldi had success with his 2019 debut album Uninspired to a Hellish Extent in his native Scotland and England. Someone You Loved is his biggest hit to date. He was born Oct. 7, 1995 in Whitburn, Scotland. At age nine he was playing in local pubs. His manager heard him on an iPhone and came to England from the US to hear him live. His 2017 single Bruises reached 28M plays on Spotify. This led to a record deal with Universal's Vertigo label in Europe and Capitol in the US and Virgin in England. So he had a lot of hype before he recorded an album. He was the next big thing in England. After two EPs, Capaldi released the 2019 album Uninspired to a Hellish Extent. Someone You Loved topped the charts in England and the US and several other countries. Capaldi writes all of his songs usually with a co-writer who also produces. Someone You Loved was written with Romans and the production trio TMS. They also produced. They are Tom "Froe" Barnes, Benjamin Kohn and Pete "Merf" Kelleher. They have produced other artists but Someone You Loved is their biggest hit to date. Most of the album was produced by Nick Atkinson and Edd Holloway. The guy in the video is actor Peter Capaldi. He is a cousin of Lewis. Capaldi won a few awards and was nominated for a Song of the Year Grammy. He is currently working on his next album. He got off to a good start. We'll see how he follows that up. Here's the video for Someone You Loved by Lewis Capaldi. 

AccuRadio Song Of The Day-The Style Council

Artist:The Style Council

Song:Walls Come Tumbling Down

Album:Gold

In 1982, Paul Weller disbanded the very popular punk band The Jam and formed a new band The Style Council. He hated the Jam's music and The Style Council was more soul based. His main collaborator in The Style Council was former Dexys Midnight Runners keyboard player Mick Talbot. The rest of the band was fluid including Weller's girlfriend at the time Dee C. Lee on vocals and Steve White on drums. The Style Council had seven top ten hits in England but they weren't successful in the US. Their first single Speak Like A Child reached #4 on the British Singles chart and it went from there. They were on Polydor in England and Geffen in the US. Walls Come Tumbling Down is from the 1985 album Our Favourite Shop. Geffen changed the title to Internationalists. Walls Come Tumbling Down reached #6 on the British Singles chart. Like most of Weller's songs, it reflects his leftist political views which is one of the reasons the band was a tough sell in the US. The Style Council released four albums from 1984-88. This 2CD comp is a good intro to their music. Weller disbanded The Style Council in 1989. He said he should have done that a couple of years earlier. He said they made a couple of good albums and the quality fell off. They reunited for a 2019 recording session that is documented in the 2020 documentary Long Hot Summers: The Story of the Style Council. Here's the video foe Wall Come Tumbling Down by The Style Council.

Big Bad Blog Video Theater-Rose Namajunas vs Zhang Weili

Here the match video of Rose Namajunas defending her UFC Strawweight Championship against Zhang Weili from last night's UFC show in New York City. This was a rematch from April. The big news is that Zhang and her camp moved to Fight Ready in Scottsdale, AZ. Head coach is Eric Alberracin along the one and only Henry Cejudo. This move was long overdue. Here's the bottom line. I thought Zhang won the fight and got jobbed out by poor judging. Rose acknowledged afterwards that she did not give a great performance. I scored the first three rounds for Zhang. Round two was close enough that it could have been scored the other way. So that was the key round. Judge Michael Bell scored it the same as me. So 48-47 for Zhang. Judge Doug Crosby scored round two for Rose. So 48-47 for Rose. Eric Colon not only gave round two to Rose but also round three. He scored it 49-46 for Rose. He's the only one in the building who thought Rose won round three. And Rose even resorted to lay and pray in round five. But if the fight had been properly scored, that wouldn't have mattered. Because of the scoring, I expect a third fight after Carla Esparza gets her title shot. There is talk that Zhang could move to Flyweight. Here's the video. Check it out for yourself. 

AccuRadio Song Of The Day-The Replacements

Artist:The Replacements

Song:I'll Be You

Album:Don't You Know Who You Think I Was?: The Best of the Replacements

The Replacements were successful in punk and early alt rock in the 80s. But they wanted commercial success so they signed with a major label. They had some success but ultimately it didn't work out and they split up. The Replacements are from Minneapolis. Guitarist Bob Stinson gave his brother Tommy Stinson a bass guitar to give him something to do. Chris Mars was brought in to play drums. They called themselves Dogbreath. Paul Westerberg heard the band while he was walking home from work. He was invited to join. It's unlikely that Dogbreath would have survived without Westerberg. He made himself lead singer and wrote all the songs. He convinced the others to take music more seriously. A demo was given to Twin/Tone Records owner Peter Jesperson. The Replacements recorded three albums for Twin/Tone. And though the albums were critically acclaimed, their success was limited because Twin/Tone didn't have the money to promote them. And the band was touring but were unable to recoup expenses. So they signed with much larger Sire Records distributed by Warner Bros. Sire owner Seymour Stein brought in Tommy Ramone of The Ramones to produce the 1985 album Tim. The Replacements appeared on the Jan. 18, 1986 edition of Saturday Night Live. Of course this was a big opportunity. But they screwed it up by drinking backstage and delivering a profanity laced live performance. Drug and alcohol abuse was an ongoing problem. Bob Stinson was fired and replaced by Slim Dunlap. Stinson didn't like Westerberg's more commercial music. I'll Be You is from the 1989 album Don't Tell a Soul. It did well on the alternative rock chart mostly because MTV was playing the video in heavy rotation. It was their most successful album to date. But there was still conflict in The Replacements about musical direction. And after Westerberg recorded the 1990 album All Shook Down with session musicians, the band split up. This comp is a good intro to their music. It's available as a digital download. Westerberg went on to a successful solo career. The Replacements reunited to tour in 2013 and they released an EP of new music. They split up for good in 2015. Westerberg was unhappy with the EP. Here's the video for I'll Be You by The Replacements.

AccuRadio Song Of The Day-Frank Sinatra and Peggy Lee

Artist:Frank Sinatra and Peggy Lee

Song:Nice Work If You Can Get It

Album:Classic Duets

Though Frank Sinatra and Peggy Lee never recorded together, they performed as a duo on this 1957 episode of Sinatra's TV show. They also performed a couple of times with Bing Crosby. Many of Sinatra's classic duets are on this 2002 CD released by Capitol. There are two tracks featuring Peggy Lee. Others include Louis Armstrong, Ella Fitzgerald, Dean Martin, Sammy Davis Jr. and others. From what I could tell, most of these are audio tracks lifted from Sinatra's TV shows. Nice Work If You Can Get It was written by George and Ira Gershwin and popularized by Fred Astaire in the 1937 film Damsel in Distress co-starring Joan Fontaine and Burns & Allen. This duet was on the debut episode of The Frank Sinatra Show broadcast Oct. 18, 1957. This show was a mix of variety and drama episodes. At the time Sinatra was so big he could get any deal he wanted. This video clip appears on the DVD Frank Sinatra & Friends Together On Stage. Take your pick, audio or video. Here's Frank Sinatra and Peggy Lee performing Nice Work If You Can Get It on The Frank Sinatra Show Oct. 18, 1957.

AccuRadio Song Of The Day-Burl Ives

Artist:Burl Ives

Song:A Holly Jolly Christmas

Album:20th Century Masters: The Christmas Collection: The Best of Burl Ives

Burl Ives performed A Holly Jolly Christmas in the 1964 TV special Rudolph the Red Nosed Reindeer.  It was a top five hit and has become a best selling Christmas perennial. Ives was already famous for his music and acting. So he didn't really need another hit. But A Holly Jolly Christmas has turned out to be his most enduring recording. Rudolph the Red Nosed Reindeer was produced by Arthur Rankin Jr. and Jules Bass. They produced TV commercials through their company Videocraft. The two created a stop motion animation called Animagic. This was all executed by Tadahito Mochinaga. NBC hired Rankin/Bass to produce a holiday Christmas special. Of course Rudolph the Red Nosed Reindeer is based on the Gene Autry hit written by Johnny Marks. He also wrote a couple of new songs including A Holly Jolly Christmas. The voices were recorded in Toronto under the supervision of Bernard Cowan and Paul Soles. You know those mid 60s Spiderman cartoons? They did those too and plenty of others. Originally the voice of Sam the Snowman was supposed to be played by Canadian actor Larry D. Mann. But NBC suggested Ives because of his fame. And it paid off. The TV special was very successful which of course led to more TV specials. And Ives' recording of A Holly Jolly Christmas reached #4 on the Billboard Hot 100. The recording and the TV special are now beloved Christmas perennials. This Burl Ives Christmas album is available as a budget CD. Here's the video for A Holly Jolly Christmas by Burl Ives. Universal produced this animated video in 2019.

The Big Topic in WMMA

EXCLUSIVE!!! Details about Claressa Shields matchmaking. And UFC review and preview. 

AccuRadio Song Of The Day-Keith David

 

Artist:Keith David

Song:Friends on the Other Side

Album:The Princess and the Frog: Original Songs and Score

Actor Keith David has been around since the 80s. I would describe him as a character actor who has appeared on stage, screen and television. He is particularly known for voiceover work. He doesn't sing unless it is required as it was in the 2009 Disney animated film The Princess and the Frog. He was born Keith David Williams June 4, 1956 in New York City. He earned a Bachelor of Fine Arts at Juilliard. He was first noticed in the 1982 film John Carpenter's The Thing and then the 1988 film They Live. He has worked steadily since then. He first sang in the 1992 Broadway musical Jelly's Last Jam which starred Gregory Hines as jazz legend Jelly Roll Morton. Starting in the early 90s David became known for voiceover work. He done a lot of voice work in films, TV and video games. He works for all the studios including Disney. He has narrated many Ken Burns documentaries including Ken Burns Jazz in 2001. The 2009 film The Princess and the Frog is a Disney animated film set in 1920s New Orleans. David plays the villain Dr. Facilier. Friends on the Other Side is David's big song in the movie. Randy Newman wrote the songs and the soundtrack is available as a budget CD. Though David still appears on camera in films and TV, he has mostly concentrated on voice work in recent years. Here's Keith David performing Friends on the Other Side from the 2009 film The Princess and the Frog.

AccuRadio Song Of The Day-Diane Delin

Artist:Diane Delin

Song:Beautiful Love

Album:Talking Stick

Twenty years ago violinist Diane Delin won Down Beat Magazine's Rising Star award. Today she is mainly an educator though she still records and tours occasionally. Diane is from Chicago. She has a BA in Music from Northwestern University. She started out playing in various orchestras in the Chicago area. Diane toured with the Frank Sinatra Orchestra from 1991-94. She has also recorded with The Manhattan Transfer, Ray Charles and others.  Since 1997 she has recorded for BluJazz which is based in Chicago. Beautiful Love is from her 2001 album Talking Stick. Diane wrote half of the songs on the album. Beautiful Love was written in 1931 by bandleader Wayne King with Victor Young, Egbert Van Alstyne and Haven Gillespie. It became a jazz standard after Bill Evans recorded it in 1961. Musicians are Dennis Luxion on piano, Michael Arnepol on bass and Tom Hipsklind on drums. There is also a string quartet and singer Greg Paenko makes a guest appearance. This album is available as a budget CD. Since 2004 Diane has been a professor at Columbia College. Her latest album of new music was released in 2006. Here's Diane Delin performing Beautiful Love on Soundstage at Chicago PBS station WTTW 2006. This video is not on Youtube.

Beautiful Love from Dennis Luxion on Vimeo.

AccuRadio Song Of The Day-David Ball

Artist:David Ball

Song:Riding with Private Malone

Album;Amigo

David Ball had success on the country charts when he recorded for Warner Bros. in the 90s. The 2001 single Riding with Private Malone was a hit after he left Warners. He was born July 9, 1953 in Spartanburg, SC. His father was a minister and his mother played piano in the church. After persuading his parents to buy him a guitar, Ball taught himself to play and started writing songs. After graduating from high school, Ball moved to Austin, TX and joined Uncle Walt's Band led by Walter Hyatt. Ball moved to Nashville and recorded the 1989 album David Ball for RCA. After three singles went nowhere, RCA shelved the album. Ball signed with Warner Bros. and the 1994 single Thinkin' Problem reached #2 on the Country Singles chart. The album Thinkin' Problem was certified Platinum. After one more top ten hit, Ball faded. He released three albums for Warner Bros. Ball signed with Dualtone for the 2001 album Amigo. The single Riding with Private Malone reached #2 on the Country Singles chart. It was a surprise hit because Dualtone is not a country label. The song was written by album producer Wood Newton and Thom Shepherd. Both guys are veteran songwriters. The song is about  restoring a Corvette that belonged to a deceased Vietnam soldier named Private Malone. Sometimes the stories in country music resonate with DJs and listeners. I think that explains the success of the song. Since then Ball has recorded for Shanachie and E1. His latest album was released in 2018 on his own label. Here's the video for Riding with Private Malone by David Ball. 

AccuRadio Song Of The Day-Frank Sinatra and Shirley MacLaine

Artist:Frank Sinatra and Shirley MacLaine

Song:Let's Do It

Album:Can-Can: Original Soundtrack Album

Though they were close friends, the 1960 film Can-Can was the only time Frank Sinatra and Shirley MacLaine performed together in a movie. They may have performed together on TV. In the 60s Shirley was an unofficial Rat Pack member. They had appeared together in the 1958 film Some Came Running. The 1960 film Can-Can was loosely based on a play. But it was really a tribute to Cole Porter. It didn't have much of a story. The film did not do well as critics hated it. But at least there is a great soundtrack album. Sinatra agreed to do Can-Can as a contractual obligation to 20th Century Fox for walking off the set of Carousel. So he owed them one. So he couldn't have been too thrilled about it. But at least he got to work with Shirley, Maurice Chevalier, Louis Jourdain and legendary choreographer Hermes Pan. Plus he brought in his good buddy Nelson Riddle to arrange and conduct the songs. One of the criticisms of the 1953 play was the songs weren't as good as Porter's earlier songs. So the film producers replaced the songs from the play with older songs like Let's Do It. The soundtrack is available as a budget CD. The film was not a high point in either performer's career. But as I said, this was the only time they sang together in a film. Here's Frank Sinatra and Shirley MacLaine performing Let's Do It from the 1960 film Can-Can. 

Big Bad Blog Video Theater-Amanda Ribas vs Virna Jandiroba

Here's the match video of Amanda Ribas vs Virna Jandiroba from yesterday's UFC show in Abu Dhabi. This fight is at Strawweight. Both fighters are Brazilian. Amanda is 28 years old. She trains with her father and also American Top Team. After losing her last fight, I need to see if she can bounce back from that. She was supposed to fight in May but came down with COVID-19. She is a well rounded fighter but she needs to keep this fight standing. And that's because Virna's striking is sub par. She is 33 years old from Bahia, Brazil. She trains at Academia Fight House coached by Renato Velame. Virna is a former Invicta champ but she is 3-2 in the UFC. She needs to get it to the ground and use her BJJ. And that's what Virna did in round one. She got in top position for most of the round. Amanda tried a head scissors submission which wasn't going to work. And then when they got up, Virna knocked her down. So Virna won round one 10-9. But Amanda woke up in round two. We saw the kind of striking she laid on Mackenzie Dern. She was using her jab, throwing combinations, body punching. She landed a head kick in round three that should have knocked Virna out. Amanda won both rounds and won the fight 29-28. Virna and her coaches had no answer for this. She really needs to improve her striking or she won't be in the UFC much longer. This is a good first step to get Amanda back into the title picture. She has the skills along with great charisma. The Strawweight title picture is crowded right now. But there is a way to get there maybe starting with Tecia Torres. Enjoy the video!

AccuRadio Song Of The Day-Madonna

Artist:Madonna

Song:Like A Virgin

Album:Celebration

The 1984 single Like A Virgin was Madonna's first number one single. She went on to have bigger hits but Like A Virgin launched her to stardom. She was born Aug. 16, 1958 in Bay City, MI. She took ballet lessons as a child. Madonna moved to New York City in 1978 to have a career as a dancer. But she got into a relationship with musician Dan Gilroy, he made her lead singer of his band The Breakfast Club. She left that band with drummer Stephen Bray and formed The Emmys. Bray would be a big factor in establishing Madonna's music career. She started dating Danceteria DJ Mark Kamins. He got her a meeting with Sire Records owner Seymour Stein. Sire was distributed by Warner Bros. Her three singles did well enough on the dance charts that Warners hired Mtume leader Reggie Lucas to produce her debut album Madonna. When Madonna was unhappy with the finished product, she brought in John "Jellybean" Benitez to remix everything. He also produced Madonna's first top ten single Holiday. The album did well and there were three hit singles. Then she appeared in the 1985 film Vision Quest. Crazy For You was a big hit from the soundtrack. Madonna became more popular because of her look. She was a fashion trend. The music seemed secondary. There was criticism that she was imitating Marilyn Monroe. She did not have a great singing voice. Madonna wanted to produce her next album. But Warners wouldn't allow that. So she brought in Nile Rodgers of Chic as she liked his work with David Bowie. He brought in Chic members Bernard Edwards on bass and Tony Thompson on drums. Madonna deliberately wanted to be provocative. That's why her sex appeal is up front. And it's also why Like A Virgin was the first single. It came with a sexy video. And Madonna performed Like A Virgin on the MTV Music Awards in a provocative manner. The result was that Like A Virgin topped the charts for six weeks. The album sold over 20M copies worldwide. Though Madonna and Stephen Bray wrote several of the songs on the album, Like A Virgin was written by the team of Thomas Kelly and William Steinberg. They were very successful in the 80s writing songs with The Bangles' lead singer Susanna Hoffs. Of course Madonna went on to bigger hits. Like A Virgin is not even a top five hit in her career. But it was an important bridge to bigger things for her. Here's the video for Like A Virgin by Madonna. 

Big Bad Blog Video Theater-Sarray vs Katrina Cortez

Here's the match video of Sarray vs Katrina Cortez from last night's episode of 205 Live. A few months ago, there were reports that the WWE was going to add a second NXT show for the WWE Network. That's what they have done with 205 Live but the name hasn't been changed. I am posting this video for Sarray fans who don't have the WWE Network. They are still working on Sarray's entrance. She's great in the ring. Katrina is from Chile. She came to the WWE in 2019. She's been on TV a few times. They changed her name and her look last year. The match is very similar to the TV match Sarray had a couple of weeks ago. Katrina get way too much offense for me. But I know Sarray doesn't like doing squash matches. After Katrina misses a splash from the top rope, Sarray wins with her basement dropkick. Katrina was out of position so she had to slide over to the right spot. That didn't look good. Enjoy the video! 

AccuRadio Song Of The Day-Robert Wilkins

Artist:Robert Wilkins

Song:That's No Way To Get Along

Album:The Original Rolling Stone

Bluesman Robert Wilkins recorded seventeen songs from 1928-35. One of those songs, That's No Way To Get Along, was covered by The Rolling Stones. And that generated enough interest in Wilkins that he was rediscovered in the 60s. He was born Jan. 16, 1896 in Hernando, MS. This was close enough to Memphis that Wilkins moved there as a teen. For a while he led a jug band. After appearing on a Memphis radio station, Wilkins recorded for Vocalion and Brunswick from 1928-35. That's No Way To Get Along was released on Brunswick in 1930. He witnessed a murder while performing in 1936. He gave up the blues and became a minister. He was rediscovered by blues enthusiast Dick Spottiswood in 1964. And this led to him recording an album for Spottiswood's Piedmont label and playing folk festivals. The Rolling Stones covered That's No Way To Get Along as Prodigal Son on the 1968 album Beggars Banquet. That generated even more interest in Wilkins and he continued to perform until he died on May 26, 1987. In his performances, Wilkins reworked his songs so they would have a gospel message. His son John Wilkins continued his legacy after his death. You can get all of Wilkins' original recordings on this CD from Yazoo. Here's a video for That's No Way To Get Along by Robert Wilkins. 

AccuRadio Song Of The Day-Los Indios Tabajaras

 

Artist:Los Indios Tabajaras

Song:Maria Elena

Album:Serie Platino: 20 Exitos

Maria Elena was a top ten pop hit in 1963. It was the only big hit for the Brazilian duo Los Indios Tabajaras. They are not a one hit wonder as one of their other songs charted. But Maria Elena is the definition of a fluke hit. Los Indios Tabajaras are brothers Antenor and Natalicio Lima from Tiangua in northeast Brazil. They are from the Tabajara tribe which is where the group name comes from. They found a guitar in the jungle and taught themselves to play. Eventually they moved to Rio de Janeiro. The brothers performed in ceremonial costumes and on the radio. The radio appearances got them a record deal with RCA in 1943. They moved to the US in the mid 50s. They recorded Maria Elena in 1958. They recorded an album. Maria Elena was written by Mexican songwriter Lorenzo Barcelata in 1932. It was dedicated to the wife of Mexican president Emilio Portes Gil. The song was popularized in the US when Bob Russell wrote English lyrics. Jimmy Dorsey with Bob Eberly on vocals topped the charts in 1941. The Los Indios Tabajaras instrumental recording reached #6 in 1963. New York radio station WNEW was using Maria Elena as bumper music for newscasts. Listeners wanted to know about the song. And it grew from there. As I said, it's the definition of a fluke hit. But it did allow Los Indios Tabajaras to record and perform for years. Chet Atkins liked them and brought them to Nashville to record. This budget comp is a good intro to their music. Antenor Lima retired in 1979 and died in 1997. Natalicio continued to perform with his wife until his 2009 death. Here's a video for Maria Elena by Los Indios Tabajara. Thanks to The Independent's obit of Natalacio Lima for the WNEW story.

The Big Topic In WMMA

UFC review and preview plus RIZIN and PFL. 

Big Bad Blog Video Theater-Hikaru Shida vs Serena Deeb

Here's the match video of Hikaru Shida vs Serena Deeb from last night's AEW Dynamite. It is a first round tournament match for the TBS Championship. First, I am not a fan of having feuding wrestlers compete in the first round of a tournament. It's lazy booking when the WWE does it and lazy when AEW does it. The tournament should be a separate entity. It was a good match. Hikaru got her win back. The whole 50th win thing is dopey Tony Khan nonsense. This is what happens when fanboys are booking. They let Hikaru look a lot stronger than the match a couple of weeks ago. The suplex that had Hikaru pulling Serena into the ring showed her strength. I would have preferred a more decisive finish. A rollup pin is lazy booking. And of course Serena attacked Hikaru's knee post match to set her up for her next round match against Nyla Rose. They have a couple of ways they can go with the injury angle. We'll see what they do. Enjoy the video! 

AccuRadio Song Of The Day-Miguel Zenon

Artist:Miguel Zenon

Song:Tiemblas

Album:Alma Adentro: The Puerto Rican Songbook

Sax player Miguel Zenon has recorded as a leader since 2002. He is also a member of SF Jazz Collective and he is an in demand sideman. He was born Dec. 30, 1976 in San Juan, Puerto Rico. He learned to play sax in high school and he also got into jazz. He attended Berklee in Boston and then the Manhattan School of Music where he earned a Master's degree in performance. Zenon has lived in New York City since 2001. He recorded as a sideman with William Cepeda, David Sanchez and he was a member of Either/Orchestra. He made his recording debut as a leader with the 2002 album Looking Forward on the Spanish label Fresh Sound New Talent. For the 2004 album Ceremonial, Zenon signed with Branford Marsalis' label Marsalis Music. Tiemblas is from the 2011 album Alma Aldentro. This is a tribute to Puerto Rican musicians. Tiemblas was written by Tite Curet Alonso. He wrote many salsa songs for many artists. Tiemblas was recorded by Tito Rodriguez. Zenon records with an orchestra arranged and conducted by Guillermo Klein. Zenon has appeared on his albums. The band was Luis Perdomo on piano, Hans Glawischnig on bass and Henry Cole on drums. These are all guys Zenon met at Berklee. This album is available as a digital download. This was Zenon's final album for Marsalis. After one album for Sunnyside, Zenon now records for his own label. He released his latest album, a tribute to Ornette Coleman, in 2021. He is also still a member of SF Jazz Collective. Here's Miguel Zenon with the HR Big Band performing Tiemblas in Germany 2020. This video is not on YouTube.

Big Bad Blog Video Theater-Karine Silva vs Yan Qihui

Here's the match video of Karine Silva vs Yan Qihui from last night's Dana White Contender Series. This fight is at Flyweight. Karine is 27 years old from Curitiba, Brazil. Her coach is Gile Ribeiro. Her record is 14-3 mostly on the Brazilian regional circuit. Yan is one of several fighters who have been training at the UFC PI in China who were brought to Las Vegas for Contenders series. She's 25 years old and her record is 20-3. She's a striker. Karine seems like a more complete fighter. And round one reflected that. Both landed strikes. But Karine probably won the round with more activity in bottom position. In round two, Karine got Yan in a standing guillotine. Yan slammed her to the mat in attempt to  break the hold. But she made it worse and Karine won by submission. Yan really showed her inexperience. And Karine got a UFC contract. Enjoy the video! 

Big Bad Blog Video Theater-Toxic Attraction vs Io Shirai and Zoey Stark vs Indi Hartwell and Persia Pirotta

Here's the match video of Io Shirai and Zoey Stark defending their NXT Women's Tag Team Championships vs Toxic Attraction vs Indi Hartwell and Persia Pirotta in a ladder match from last night's Halloween Havoc show. It was commercial free so that was good. I expected a title change in this and the NXT Women's Championship match. Of course it's kind of cliche for the heel group to have all the belts. But it's the sort of thing that the WWE has done before. Other than Io and to a lesser extent Zoey, I don't know if any of these girls have been in a ladder match. So for the first half of the match, there seemed to be a lot of standing around. But things picked up later in the match when Zoey did a dive to the outside. It looks like she might have hurt her knee. That may have resulted in Zoey missing a twisting dive off the top rope. She probably should not have tried that. Other than that, there was a lot of repetitive unsuccessful climbing of the ladder. Io did a moonsault onto Jacy and a ladder. And then there was this crazy bump. Io was at the top of the ladder. Indi tipped the ladder onto a ladder suspended between the announce table and the ring. It looked like Io got killed. And Indi's reaction sold that. But on other camera angles of the bump, Io turned her body and it wasn't as bad as it looked. I'm sure she's sore but fine. I knew she would do something crazy. I think it's time to move Io to the main roster. Congratulations to Toxic Attraction for winning all the belts. Enjoy the video! 

AccuRadio Song Of The Day-Us3

Artist:Us3

Song:Cantaloop (Flip Fantasia)

Album:Hand on the Torch

Cantaloop was a top ten hit in 1992. The 1992 album Hand on the Torch was on Blue Note Records and sampled from the Blue Note catalog. Obviously this was not the first time hip hop sampled jazz. But it was the first time a jazz label was behind it. Us3 is led by British producer Geoff Wilkinson. As NW1 he released the 1991 single The Band Played the Boogie on Ninja Tune. This sampled Grant Green's Sookie Sookie which was on Blue Note. After the record got local radio airplay, Wilkinson was summoned to EMI's London office. They were going to sue him for using an unauthorized sample. Instead he was granted the rights to the Blue Note catalog as long as the album was on Blue Note. Wilkinson and partner Mel Simpson called themselves Us3 after a Horace Parlan album. The single Cantaloop reached #9 on the Billboard Hot 100. Of course the record is based on Herbie Hancock's Cantaloupe Island. The voice at the start of the song is Pee Wee Marquette introducing Art Blakey from A Night at Birdland. They also sample Lou Donaldson's Everything I Do Gonna Be Funky. The rap is by Rahsaan Kelly. It was his only major appearance. The trumpet solo is by Gerard Prescencer. He was in Charlie Watts' band. The album Hand on the Torch was certified Platinum. Simpson left and Wilkinson recorded the 1997 album Broadway & 52nd. Wilkinson left Blue Note after management changes at parent company Capitol. At first he signed with Sony. But he never recorded there and the 2001 album An Ordinary Day in an Unusual Place was released on Universal's EmArcy label. Since then Wilkinson has released albums on his own label, most recently in 2013. Here's the video for Cantaloop (Flip Fantasia) by Us3. 

AccuRadio Song Of The Day-Triumph

Artist:Triumph

Song:Hold On

Album:Classics

The hard rock band Triumph were successful in their native Canada and to a lesser extent in the US. Some of their singles charted. But they were a successful album and touring band. Triumph is from Toronto. They were a four piece band when they released a 1975 single as Abernathy Shagnaster. After that band split up, bassist Mike Levine and drummer Gil Moore saw guitarist Rik Emmett performing with the band ACT III. After jamming at Moore's house in Mississauga, Triumph was born. They signed with Attic Records and released the 1976 album Triumph. Emmett and Moore wrote most of the songs and Levine produced. Emmett and Moore both sang lead. Triumph were criticized for being too generic. They sounded too much like other bands, especially Rush. For the 1979 album Just A Game, Triumph signed a US record deal with RCA Records. The single Hold On got significant radio play. It reached #38 on the Billboard Hot 100. The album eventually was certified Gold in the US. That is probably better than RCA expected. Subsequent albums did even better. The 1981 album Allied Forces was certified Platinum. So they were doing OK but their relationship with RCA soured and they moved to MCA for the 1984 album Thunder Seven. Though that album did OK, Triumph faded until Emmett left in 1988. He was replaced by Phil Xenedis of Aldo Nova and Frozen Ghost. The band went on hiatus in 1992. You can get all their hits on this comp. Emmett returned to Triumph in 2008. They have performed occasionally but they have not released new music. Here's Triumph performing Hold On 2010.

AccuRadio Song Of The Day-Camila

Artist:Camila

Song:Alejate de Mi

Album:Greatest Hits

Camila has been very successful in Mexico and other Latin markets. Alejate de Mi is one of their biggest hits. Mario Domm was a successful producer before he started Camila. He had worked with Alejandro Sanz, Alejandra Guzman and many others. Domm is from Torreon, Mexico but he now lives in Los Angeles. After releasing the 2002 solo album Mex-Funky-Music, Domm decided to form a group. He knew singer Samuel "Samo" Parra Cruz from the group Reyii Barba. Parra Cruz is a classically trained opera singer. Guitarist Pablo Hurtado auditioned and was hired. He was a session musician. Domm already had a relationship with Sony Latin so he signed with them. They were going to call themselves Altavoz. But that name was already in use so they settled on Camila. Their 2006 debut album Todo Cambio was certified 3XPlatinum in Mexico. It sold a million copies worldwide. The title song Todo Cambio was the biggest hit single. The 2010 album Dejarte de Amar did even better. It was certified 4XPlatinum in Mexico. It sold 1.5M copies worldwide. It won several Latin Grammys. There were several hit singles from the album including Alejate de Mi. Domm wrote and produced everything. Parra Cruz was lead singer. He left in 2013 to go solo. Domm is now the lead singer. Camila's latest album was released in 2019. This comp has all their hits. It is available as a digital download. Here's the video for Alejate de Mi by Camila. 

Big Bad Blog Video Theater-Randa Markos vs Livinha Souza

Here's the match video for Randa Markos vs Livinha Souza from last night's UFC show in Las Vegas. This fight is at Strawweight. I think it's fair to say that both fighters have been disappointing. Randa has been in the UFC since TUF 20. She's from Windsor, ON and she trains at Michigan Top Team in Dearborn, MI with former UFC fighter Daron Cruikshank. She's on a four fight losing streak. She has the physical tools but a low fight IQ. Livinha is a former Invicta champ from Brazil. I think she is more suited to Atomweight. Schwan Humes and I were joking about this being a Loser Leave Town match. Maybe the loser gets released. Round one was close. I thought Livinha won the round 10-9 very marginally. But Randa won the other two rounds pretty easily and she won the fight 29-28. It may have saved her job. And now she should try and string a few wins to get out of the early prelims. And if Livinha does get released, we should see her in Invicta soon. Enjoy the video! 

Big Bad Blog Video Theater-Tabatha Ricci vs Maria Oliveira

Here's the fight video of Tabatha Ricci vs Maria Oliveira from yesterday's UFC show in Las Vegas. This fight is at Strawweight. Both fighters are Brazilian. Tabatha trains at Platinum BJJ in Santa Barbara, CA. In her first UFC fight, she lost to Manon Fiorot. But that was at Flyweight and this was at Strawweight. And I think she's a little small for Strawweight. This is Maria's UFC debut. But she lost to Karina Rodriguez in the Brazilian Contenders Series in 2018. It shows why Gaillard Parana moved PRVT to Los Vegas. If they were still in Brazil, Maria would never make it to the UFC because she isn't good enough. Moving to Vegas gets her into the UFC. Maria is a lot bigger than Tabatha. But Tabatha is a lot quicker and more effective. Tabatha won easily but I would have liked to see her go for a finish. I can see her having problems with the better Strawweights. She probably should be an Atomweight. Enjoy the video!

Big Bad Blog Video Theater-Jessica-Rose Clark vs Joselyne Edwards

Here's the match video of Jessica-Rose Clark vs Joselyne Edwards from yesterday's UFC show in Las Vegas. This fight is at Bantamweight. Jessie Jess is from Australia but she moved to the US a few years ago. She is currently training at Team Alpha Male (TAM) in Sacramento. She had knee surgery last year and before that she had foot surgery. Joselyne is from Panama but she lives in El Paso, TX. For this camp, she trained at Kings MMA in Huntington Beach, CA. It's obvious that someone at TAM saw that Joselyne has poor takedown defense. Jessie Jess is normally a striker but not a very effective one. So she went for a takedown which she normally doesn't do. After doing nothing for a couple of minutes, ref Keith Peterson stood them up. It was enough for Jessie Jess to win round one. She repeated this strategy over the rest of the fight. This was not an accident. It was a strategy called lay and pray. I guess TAM thought Jessie Jess couldn't outstrike Joselyn. So they went this route. The ref can prevent this by warning the fighter or breaking it up quicker. It depends on the ref. She used the first takedown to gauge what she could get away with. And then she got away with it. Not only is this a strategy to get a cheap win but it makes for a boring fight that turns fans away from WMMA. Plus once opponents are aware that she uses this strategy, it's not difficult to counter it. So lay and pray is short sighted and selfish. And it doesn't make me think that Jessie Jess can beat a ranked fighter. So I'm sure Jessy Jess and TAM are happy with the win. But I can assure you the worm will turn. Check out the video for yourself.

AccuRadio Song Of The Day-Keller Williams Presents Grateful Grass

Artist:Keller Williams Presents Grateful Grass

Song:Eyes of the World

Album:Rex (Live at the Fillmore)

Keller Williams is a bluegrass musician known as The One Man Jam Band because of his use of looping technology. He is also a big Grateful Dead fan. He recorded a Grateful Dead tribute album in 2007 with all proceeds going to charity. He was born Feb. 4, 1970 in Fredericksburg, VA. New Age guitarist Michael Hedges is his biggest influence. Williams earned a theater degree at Virginia Wesleyan College. He released his first solo album in 1994. He has also recorded and toured with The String Cheese Incident and toured with Yonder Mountain String Band, Umphrey's McGee and Ratdog. The 2007 album Rex is a Grateful Dead tribute album recorded at the Fillmore Auditorium in Denver with Keith Moseley of The String Cheese Incident and Jeff Austin of Yonder Mountain String Band. This is only available as a digital download. All proceeds go to The Rex Foundation which was founded by The Grateful Dead. Williams has recorded two albums as Grateful Grass. And his latest solo album was released in 2020. He tours with several bands so you never know where he might appear. Here's Keller Williams performing Eyes of the World at the 2017 ROMP Festival in Owensburg, KY. The band is not identified. It is the Yonder Mountain String Band. Solos are by Allie Kral on fiddle, Dave Johnston on banjo and Adam Aijala on guitar.

AccuRadio Song Of The Day-The Mississippi Moaner

Artist:The Mississippi Moaner

Song:Mississippi Moan 

Album:Mississippi Blues Vol. 1 (1928-1937)

The history of early blues is littered with guys who walked into a recording studio, recorded a few songs and then disappeared. Some of the songs are pretty good like this one by The Mississippi Moaner. His real name was Isaiah Nettles. We don't know much about him except that he used to hang around a train station in Rockport, MS singing for change. One day H.C. Speir came by. He owned a record store in Jackson and he would broker blues singers to record companies. He discovered Robert Johnson, Charlie Patton, Son House and plenty of others. He had a disc machine in his record store. He would record a demo and send it to labels and he was very successful. Remember none of these musicians were sophisticated enough or had the money to do this. So they needed a guy like Speir until Alan Lomax started doing field recordings. Speir is in the Blues Hall of Fame for his activities. Nettles recorded five songs at Speir's record store in Oct. 1935. They were produced by Art Satherley who came up with the name The Mississippi Moaner. Vocalion Records bought the recordings but only released Mississippi Moan on a 78. Nettles is clearly influenced by Blind Lemon Jefferson who was very popular at the time. Nettles never recorded again. Speir retired in 1936 so the stream of blues records from Mississippi would have slowed down. Nettles would have had to sell a lot to get another shot. The four available Nettles recordings are on this Document Records CD with several artists with similar histories. After doing some research for her 1998 book Chasin' That Devil Music: Search for the Blues, Gayle Dean Wardlow surmised that Nettles served during WWII and at some point he moved from Mississippi to "up north". That's all we know. Here's a video for Mississippi Moan by The Mississippi Moaner.

AccuRadio Song Of The Day-Au Revoir Simone

Artist:Au Revoir Simone

Song:Trace a Line

Album:Still Night, Still Light

All three members of the indie band Au Revoir Simone play electronic keyboards and drum machines and they sing in harmony. So if that's what you are looking for, this could be for you. Au Revoir Simone are from the Williamsburg section of Brooklyn, NY. The band name comes from a line in the 1985 film Pee-Wee's Big Adventure. They formed in 2003 when Annie Hart and Erika Forster met on a train and decided to form an all keyboard band. Erika had been in the band Dirty On Purpose. Annie was in the band Uninhabitable Mansions. They were joined by Heather D'Angelo and Sung Bin Park. Park left in 2004. So they were a three piece band when they released the 2005 album Verses of Comfort, Assurance & Salvation on their own label. They got positive reviews and they toured. They released an album in 2007. Trace a Line is from the 2009 album Still Night, Still Light. The album did OK but the band went on hiatus until they returned with the 2013 album Move In Spectrums. And then they went on hiatus again. And they are still on hiatus. It is not known if the band will return. Erika formed the band Nice as Fuck with Jenny Lewis of Rilo Kiley and Tennessee Thomas of The Like. They released a 2016 album that may have been a one off. Annie Hart just released a solo album and she is on tour. They still have an active Facebook page so that tells me they may return. Here's Au Revoir Simone performing Trace a Line in Dijon, France 2009. 

The Big Topic in WMMA

UFC review and preview. 

AccuRadio Song Of The Day-Scott H. Biram

Artist:Scott H. Biram

Song:Truck Driver

Album:The Dirty Old One Man Band

Back in the 90s, there was a trend of one man bands on the fringe of the music industry. Scott H. Biram has taken his one man band much farther than you would think. His music is a mix of blues and punk. He was born Apr. 4, 1974 in Lockhart, TX. In 1997 he graduated with a BA in Fine Arts from Texas State. Biram was in the punk band The Thangs and he led a couple of bluegrass bands. Then he started releasing albums on his own KnuckleSandwich label. This is where the one man band thing started. On stage he plays a guitar and has an amplified stomp board. I don't know if that makes him a one man band but Biram has been doing it for over twenty years. Biram was almost killed in 2003 collision with a truck. The 2004 album The Dirty Old One Man Band got the attention of roots music label Bloodshot Records. They had him make some changes to the album including adding the song Truck Driver. Biram appeared on The Tonight Show with Jay Leno and he started touring internationally. That's what he has been doing ever since. His latest album was released in 2020. Bloodshot Records just announced they are closing. Biram either has to find a new label or more likely he will return to recording for his own label. He has enough of a following that he doesn't need a label. Here's Scott H. Biram performing Truck Driver on Last.fm Sessions Nov. 2016. 

Big Bad Blog Video Theater-Piera Rodriguez vs Valesca Machado

Here's the match video of Piera Rodriguez vs Valesca Machado from last night's episode of Dana White Contenders Series. This fight is at Strawweight. Piera is 28 years old from Venezuela. She seems to bounce around different gyms. Her record is 6-0. Her last win was in the LFA in April. Valesca is 26 years old from Rio de Janeiro. She trains at the all female team MSP led by former Smackgirl fighter Ana Michele Taveras. Her record is 8-2-1NC in the Brazilian regional circuit. I favored Piera in this fight just because she has more international experience. And that's how it turned out. The judges all scored it 29-28 for Piera. I scored it that way too. Piera got a UFC contract. And I would not be surprised to see Valesca in the UFC in the near future. Enjoy the video!

Big Bad Blog Video Theater-Io Shirai vs Persia Pirotta vs Jacy Jayne

Here's the match video of Io Shirai vs Persia Pirotta vs Jacy Jayne from last night's episode of NXT. Next week's Halloween Havoc will have a three way match for Io and Zoey Stark's NXT Women's Tag Team Championships vs Gigi Dolin and Jacy of Toxic Attraction vs Indi Hartwell and Persia. This match was a timewaster. The match winner gets to spin the wheel to determine the type of match. As Wade Barrett pointed out, there is no advantage for spinning the wheel. So the match was just to kill TV time. Jacy almost killed herself doing a suicide dive. Her feet got stuck in the ropes. She was taken away during the commercial break. The match continued as Io vs Persia. The match is decent. Persia is a big girl so she was given plenty of offense. The end of the match came when Io hoisted Persia with a German suplex followed by her moonsault. The suplex was very impressive considering the size difference. After spinning the wheel, we are getting a ladder match next week. I understand Jacy is fine. Maybe she shouldn't do moves like that. Enjoy the video!

AccuRadio Song Of The Day-Pink Martini

Artist:Pink Martini

Song:Ocho Kandelikas (Eight Little Candles)

Album:Joy to the World

With the holiday season upon us, I feature occasional Christmas songs. But I have never featured a Hanukkah song...until today. Pink Martini is a vocal group that mixes jazz and other musical styles. They included a couple of Hanukkah songs on their 2010 Christmas album Joy to the World. Pink Martini is led by pianist Thomas Lauderdale. He was a political fundraiser in his hometown of Portland. He thought the music on political fundraisers was boring. He formed Pink Martini to solve that problem. He called his Harvard classmate China Forbes to be lead singer. Storm Lange is the other lead singer. She was on the reality show Rock Star: Supernova. She joined Pink Martini in 2013. They have been recording since 1997 on their own label. I would describe Pink Martini's music as jazz. But it has other elements like classical and rock. Lauderdale wants to make diverse music. Ocho Kandelikas is from the 2010 album Joy to the World. It is a Christmas album. But Ocho Kandelikas is one of two Hanukkah songs on the album. It is the best known song written by Bosnian folksinger Flory Jagoda. Idina Menzel is among those who have recorded the song. It was written in Ladino which is a mix of Spanish and Hebrew. Lauderdale gives the song a Latin vibe. The guest singer is Ari Shapiro, one of the hosts of NPR's All Things Considered. He specializes in singing in foreign languages. Also on this album is a Japanese version of White Christmas. Joy to the World is available as budget CD. Their latest album was released in 2018. But according to their Facebook page, new music is on the way. And Pink Martini is touring again. So check them out if they are coming your way. Here's Pink Martini featuring Ari Shapiro, China Forbes, Storm Lange and Cantor Ida Rae Cahana performing Ocho Kandelikas on the NPR holiday special Joy to the World: A Holiday Spectacular at OPB Studios in Portland Dec. 2015.