AccuRadio Song Of The Day-Jay & The Americans

Artist:Jay & the Americans

Song:This Magic Moment

Album:Come a Little Bit Closer: The Best of Jay & the Americans

Considering that they were a doo wop throwback group, Jay & the Americans had a pretty good run in the 60s. After the top ten singles She Cried (1962), Come a Little Bit Closer (1964) and Cara Mia (1965), they went through a dry spell. Just when it looked like they were through, Jay & the Americans scored their final top ten hit with the 1968 single This Magic Moment. Of course in their initial run, they had to compete with British Invasion bands like The Beatles and The Rolling Stones. They even opened for those bands. The group in those days was Jay Black, Howard Kane, Kenny Vance, Sandy Deanne and Marty Sanders. Black was usually lead singer and Sanders played guitar. They never wrote their own songs. After Cara Mia was a hit in 1965, they didn't have much success. Cara Mia was produced by DJ Gerry Granahan. After United Artists released a 1965 Greatest Hits album, Jay & the Americans released the 1966 album Sunday and Me. Granahan produced this album and Artie Butler wrote the arrangements. As with their previous albums, the songs were mostly covers. But with the exception of Roy Orbison's Crying, none of the songs were hits elsewhere. They did score a top 20 hit with the Neil Diamond song Sunday and Me. That was Diamond's first chart hit as a songwriter. Meanwhile, Jay & the Americans appeared in the 1966 film Wild Wild Winter. And they decided to start their own production and publishing company. They had the same problem with the albums Livin' Above Your Head (1966) and Try Some of This! (1967). They even brought in Jeff Barry and Lieber and Stoller to write and produce some songs on Try Some of This!. It didn't help. So for the 1969 album Sands of Time, Jay & the Americans decided to return to recording classic covers. Their cover of The Drifters classic This Magic Moment reached #6 on the Billboard Hot 100. That song was written by the legendary team of Doc Pomus and Mort Shuman. Jay & the Americans produced the album. But Thomas Jefferson Kaye arranged and conducted. He had previously produced The Shirelles at Scepter Records. He brought in Donald Fagan and Walter Becker to write arrangements. And of course they went on to lead Steely Dan in the 70s. But they couldn't keep it going. The 1970 album Wax Museum was again produced by Kaye. The single Walkin' in the Rain reached #19 on the Billboard Hot 100. After Black took over and wrote and produced most of the 1970 album Capture the Moment and it was a failure, Jay & the Americans split up though Black continued to lead a version of the group. Due to gambling debts, Black filed for bankruptcy in 2006 and lost the rights to the name Jay & the Americans to Sandy Deanne. He continues to lead a version of the group today. They have released a couple of albums and tour the oldies circuit. The new lead singer John Reincke led a Jay & the Americans tribute band for 30 years. Sanders is also in the band. Kenny Vance leads his band The Planotones. Jay Black died in 2021 and Howard Kane died in 2023. You can get all of Jay & the Americans hits on this comp. Here's Jay & the Americans performing This Magic Moment.

 

AccuRadio Song Of The Day-Layla Zoe

Artist:Layla Zoe

Song: You Won't Call

Album:Shades of Blue

Layla Zoe is a Canadian blues rocker who has recorded mostly for her own label since 2006. I call her a blues rocker because though she performs in the blues style, she writes her own songs. She is similar to women like Susan Tedeschi and Bonnie Raitt but not as successful. She was born May 26, 1970 in Nanaimo, BC. By age four, she was performing in her father's band. Then she led his band as a teen and started writing poetry. Then she moved to Toronto because that's capital of the music business in Canada. After releasing a 2005 EP, she released her 2006 debut album Shades of Blue on her own label. She wrote and produced everything with guitarist Chris Raines. It seems to be his only credit. She even produced a video for You Won't Call. The album is available on CD. She played with Jeff Healey in his Toronto club. It's just that this kind of music is a crowded marketplace and if an artist is not on a label like Alligator, it's an uphill climb. So Layla has played a lot of European blues festivals. Guitarist Henrik Freischlader liked her and released a couple of her albums on his Cable Car label. She also released albums on Ruf Records owned by Luther Allison's manager Thomas Ruf. She moved to Germany in 2013 mainly because she was touring Europe a lot. She currently lives in The Netherlands. Her latest album Back to the Spirit of 66 was released in 2023. It's a 2CD set. She wrote and produced it. I think the move to Europe is a good move for Layla as there are more opportunities there for her brand of blues rock. Here's the video for You Won't Call by Layla Zoe.

 

AccuRadio Song Of The Day-Jan Bradley

Artist:Jan Bradley

Song:Mama Wouldn't Lie

Album:Time Life Rhythm & Blues 1963

The 1963 single Mama Didn't Lie was a top 20 hit and the only big hit for singer Jan Bradley. One of her other singles charted so she was not technically a one hit wonder. But it's Jan's only memorable record and it still gets radio play on oldies stations. Of course music fans have heard this song. But they don't know who sings it. Addie "Jan " Bradley was born July 6, 1943 in Byhalia, MS. but she grew up in the Chicago suburb of Robbins, IL. She met guitarist Phil Upchurch at a high school talent show. He referred her to his manager Don Talty. Talty wanted to sign her to his record label Formal Records. But her parents wanted her to graduate from high school first. After Jan graduated, Upchurch sent her to The Impressions leader Curtis Mayfield to audition. He wrote some songs for her. And when one of those songs We Girls was a regional hit in the Midwest, Talty and Mayfield knew they had to get national distribution for Jan. So they sold her contract to Chess Records and the single Mama Didn't Lie reached #14 on the Billboard Hot 100 and #8 on the R&B Singles chart. Mayfield wrote the song and Talty produced. You can get Mama Didn't Lie on this Time Life various artists comp. Soon after that, Mayfield got into a dispute with Chess over publishing rights. The result was that Jan could no longer work with Mayfield. So she and Talty started writing songs together. The only other single that charted was I'm Over You in 1965. After Jan left Chess, She recorded unsuccessfully for several small labels. Jan retired from music in the early 70s to become a social worker and to raise a family. She still sings in her church choir. But her music heyday is a distant memory. Mama Didn't Lie is certainly a great record. Here's a video for Mama Didn't Lie by Jan Bradley.