AccuRadio Song Of The Day-Bebel Gilberto

Artist:Bebel Gilberto

Song:Samba da Bencao

Album:Tanto Tempo

Singer Bebel Gilberto is the daughter of Bossa Nova pioneer Joao Gilberto. She has been recording and performing since the mid 80s. The 2000 album Tanto Tempo is considered to be her breakthrough album as it sold a million copies worldwide. She was born May 12, 1966 in New York City. Her mother is singer Miucha. When her parents split up, Gilberto lived in New York and Miucha moved back to Brazil. Bebel lived mostly in Brazil. She started performing as a child with both parents including a 1977 Carnegie Hall concert with her mom and Stan Getz. She started out in the mid 80s with the Brazilian rock band Barao Vermelho and wrote several songs with their lead singer Cazuzo. Bebel moved to New York in 1991. After she appeared on the AIDS benefit album Red Hot + Rio, record companies started sniffing around. Bebel signed with the Belgian label Ziriguiboom in Europe and Six Degrees Records in the US. Tanto Tempo was her 2000 debut album. Bebel wrote most of the songs though Samba da Bencao is a Bossa Nova standard written by Vinicius de Moraes and Baden Powell. The album was produced by Serbian Mitar "Suba" Subotic. He had lived in Brazil since 1990. But tragedy struck when the recording studio caught fire while Subo was working on post production. He was able to save the masters but he died from smoke inhalation. Subo's friend and frequent collaborator Amon Tobin finished the album. The album sold a million copies worldwide including 300,000 in the US. It's available as a budget CD. Bebel recorded three albums for Ziriguiboom and has recorded for Verve among others since then. Her latest album Joao was released in 2023 on the indie label PIAS. It appears to be a tribute to her dad. She is currently touring to celebrate the 25th Anniversary of Tempo Tanto. Here's Bebel Gilberto with Masa Shimizu on violin and bass, Jorge Continento on sax and guitar, John Roggie and Sacha Amback on keyboards, Magrus Borges on drums and Marcos Suzano on percussion performing Samba da Bencao in Rio de Janeiro Dec. 2012. This entire concert can be viewed on YouTube.

 

AccuRadio Song Of The Day-Eden Espinosa

Artist:Eden Espinosa

Song:In the Blasted California Sun

Album:Lempicka: Original Broadway Cast Recording

Eden Espinosa is a Broadway performer best known for playing Elphaba in touring productions of Wicked. She was Tony nominated for playing the female lead in the 2024 musical Lempicka despite the fact the show was not favorably reviewed and it didn't run very long. She was born Feb. 2, 1978 in Anaheim, CA. She is of Mexican descent. Eden began performing as a child and in high school, she played Maria in West Side Story. After graduating from high school, she worked at Disneyland and the Universal Studios theme park. And she toured with The Young Americans. While performing at Disneyland, a casting director spotted her and introduced her to the creators of the musical Brooklyn which was in the planning stages at the time. They suggested she move to New York and she was a standby for Idina Menzel's Elphaba in the 2003 show Wicked. She also filmed the 2006 film Ask the Dust. Eden left Wicked to star in the musical Brooklyn first in Denver then on Broadway. This show ran from Oct. 2004 to June 2005. Afterwards, she returned to Wicked and was in the national tour, Los Angeles and New York until June 2010. So she got a lot of mileage from that. Eden's other big show was Lempicka which was on Broadway in 2024. Lempicka is about Polish painter Tamara de Lempicka. The show was created by Carson Kreitzer and Matt Gould. This musical had runs in Williamstown and San Diego before it played Broadway in 2024. Though Eden was nominated for a Best Actress Tony and got positive reviews, Lempicka was slammed by critics and only played for one month. The original cast album is available on CD. Eden has recorded a couple of solo albums and has performed live in New York clubs since 2005. She hasn't done much in the way of films. But she has done TV guest shots. She's been doing a lot of voiceover work and I can see her doing a lot more of that as it can be very lucrative. Here's Eden Espinosa performing In the Blasted California Sun at The Green Room in New York City. This is my first time posting an Instagram video. Like Facebook, I do not go to Instagram unless I need a video clip. 

 

AccuRadio Song Of The Day-Mellow Man Ace

Artist:Mellow Man Ace

Song:Mentirosa

Album:Rap N Oldies

Mentirosa was a top 20 hit in 1990. It was the only chart single for Latin American rapper Mellow Man Ace. He only recorded two albums and retired. He would return on his own label. He was born Ulpiano Sergio Reyes Apr. 12, 1967 in Pinar del Rio, Cuba but he grew up in the Los Angeles suburb of South Gate, CA. Reyes and his brother Senen "Sen Dog" Reyes are both rappers. They formed the group DVX with Lawrence "DJ Muggs" Muggerud and Louis "B-Real" Freese. But when Reyes left to sign with Capitol Records, the group name was changed to Cypress Hill after a street in South Gate. Of course they were known as Latin hip hop pioneers. Reyes released the 1990 album Escape from Havana. The single Mentirosa became a hit when the video was played to death on MTV. It reached #14 on the Billboard Hot 100. It was probably a bigger hit than that but radio stations were reluctant to play it. Reyes was good friends with Los Angeles radio station KDAY DJs "Tony D" Gonzalez and "Julio G" Gonzalez. No, they are not brothers. Tony D produced Mentirosa and about half of the album and Julio G did the scratching. The girl in the video is Argentine pop singer Maria Becerra. You can get Mentirosa on this various artists budget comp. The main samples were No One to Depend On and Evil Ways by Santana. BTW, they are too recognizable which is a pet peeve of mine. Reyes' big mistake was not getting clearance for the samples and not surprisingly that upset Capitol. When his 1992 album The Brother with Two Tongues didn't sell and there were no chart singles, Capitol dropped Reyes. I think Capitol buried him as they were pissed. Reyes announced his retirement. He returned in 2000 to release a couple of albums and recorded a 2006 album with his brother as The Reyes Brothers. He last released an album in 2010 but he still performs live. But he will be a one hit wonder forever. Here's the video for Mentirosa by Mellow Man Ace. 

 

AccuRadio Song Of The Day-Los Campesinos!

Artist:Los Campesinos!

Song:The Sea Is a Good Place to Think of the Future

Album:Romance Is Boring

With a name like Los Campesinos!, you might think this band is Latin American. But they were actually formed at Cardiff University in Wales in 2006. They are a quirky indie band who have had modest success in England and they tour in the US. As I said, the band members were students at Cardiff University in 2006. The main members appear to be from Essex, England. The main members of the band are Gareth Paisey on lead vocals and glockenspiel and he writes all the songs, Neil Turner on lead guitar and Tom Bromley on guitar and keyboards. The rest of the band membership is fluid so I will concentrate on them. Campesino is Spanish for peasant and all band members were identified by the surname Campesino. That's too cutesy poo for me and apparently they aren't doing that anymore. Los Campesinos! began performing in local clubs in 2006. After posting songs on MySpace, they opened for the Canadian band Broken Social Scene. And that led to a record deal with the British label Wichita Recordings for Europe and the Canadian label Arts & Crafts for North America. They released a couple of singles and an EP and toured England in 2007. They released their 2008 debut album Hold on Now, Youngster... and toured Europe and North America to support it. The Sea Is a Good Place to Think of the Future was the lead single for the 2010 album Romance Is Boring. It was around this time that Gareth Paisey's sister Kim Paisey joined the band as keyboardist. The album was produced by John Goodmanson who produces Death Cab for Cutie. The album was a breakthrough for Los Campesinos! as it got rave reviews from critics. And that's important with this kind of music as it leads to longevity. Los Campesinos! released a tenth anniversary edition of this album in 2010. This was remastered and has a bonus track. It's available on CD. Los Campesinos! is still around. They released their latest album All Hell in 2024 on their own label. They have been rereleasing remastered versions of all their recordings. Here's the video for The Sea Is a Good Place to Think of the Future by Los Campesinos!. I know the video looks very amateurish but I believe that was done deliberately. This is a band that doesn't want to come across as too slick. 

 

AccuRadio Song Of The Day-Oran "Juice" Jones

Artist:Oran "Juice" Jones f/Vincent Bell

Song:The Rain

Album:Juice

The 1986 single The Rain was a top ten hit. It was the only chart single for R&B singer songwriter Oran "Juice" Jones. So he is a one hit wonder. He retired in 2008 to take care of his ailing mother. He was in the news a few years ago when he announced plans to sue his record label DefJam for unpaid royalties. He was born Mar. 28, 1957 in Houston but he grew up in Harlem in New York City. The most notable thing about Jones before he got into music is that he was a Brigade Commander in the US Naval Academy and a trained Marine Corps sniper. After he left the Navy, he planned to make music with rapper Kurtis Blow. He wrote the song Daydreaming for Blow. When there was a payment dispute, Blow suggested that Jones should go to DefJam and work with Russell Simmons. So he signed with DefJam. They were strictly known for rap so Simmons started ORB Records for R&B. Rain was the first single from the 1987 album Juice. It reached #9 on the Billboard Hot 100 and topped the R&B Singles chart. Jones wrote the song and most of the album with Vincent Bell and Bell produced the album with Simmons. It looks like Bell was a DefJam house producer at the time. Bell also does the spoken word part at the end of the song. The girl in the video is model Danita Davis. This album is available on CD. Jones recorded three albums for DefJam. He charted on R&B but was unable to chart again on the Billboard Hot 100. He released the 1997 album Player's Call on Tommy Boy but that didn't sell either. Jones wrote and produced that album with Al Green's legendary producer Willie Mitchell. Jones retired from recording in 2008 to care for his ailing mother. He composes music for commercials so I assume he works for an ad agency. When The Rain was sampled in the film Suicide Squad, Jones announced that he planned to sue DefJam for unpaid royalties. It never went to court and was settled for a reported $2M. Jones still performs live and he has other business interests. Here's the video for The Rain by Oran "Juice" Jones. 

AccuRadio Song Of The Day-Rachel Proctor

Artist:Rachel Proctor

Song:Emily and Me

Album:Where I Belong

Country music singer songwriter Rachel Proctor scored a top twenty country hit with the 2004 single Me and Emily. She has had most of her success as a songwriter and she is still doing that today. She was born Aug. 11, 1974 in Charleston, WV. She began performing as a child. As a teen, she got a manager and competed on Star Search. Then she started writing songs and played in local bands. Then she moved to Nashville in pursuit of a record deal. Rachel's big break came when Martina McBride recorded one of her songs Where Would You Be and that reached #3 on the Country Singles chart. And then she signed with BNA Records. BNA was owned by RCA and they had success in the 90s. By the time Rachel signed with them, Sony bought RCA and of course that sort of thing is always a mess. Rachel released the 2004 album Where I Belong. Emily and Me was the third single and it reached #18 on the Country Singles chart. My guess is Rachel didn't get much of a promotion budget or it would have done better. She wrote the song with Chris Tompkins who has written hits for Carrie Underwood. Emily and Me is about a woman and her daughter escaping an abusive relationship. So it resonated with listeners. It just needed better promotion. The song intro will remind you of Marc Cohn's Walking in Memphis. Rachel co-wrote six of the eleven songs on the album. The album was produced by Chris Lindsey who produced number one country hits for Chris Cagle and Mark Willis. This album is available as a budget CD. Rachel left BNA and these days she is a full time songwriter. She released a couple of albums on her own label, most recently in 2009. Rachel hasn't had a chart single since 2012. But she still takes songwriter meetings. Some of her songs have been recorded. But she hasn't charted lately. But one never knows. She could score a big hit tomorrow. Her family keeps her busy though. Here's the video for Emily and Me by Rachel Proctor. 

AccuRadio Song Of The Day-Dion

Artist:Dion

Song:Abraham, Martin and John

Album:The Rock 'N' Roll Philosopher

Most folks should be familiar with Dion DiMucci as leader of the group Dion and the Belmonts and then as a solo artist. He had several hits in the early 60s and then a long dry period until the 1968 top five single Abraham, Martin and John. This would turn out to be Dion's final big hit. But he's still around and published his memoir last year. Dion left The Belmonts in 1960 and topped the charts with the 1961 single Runaround Sue followed by the 1962 top five hit The Wanderer. Then he left Laurie for Columbia and his first single for Columbia Ruby Baby reached #2 on the Billboard Hot 100. Dion was the first Rock 'n' Roll artist on Columbia because A&R head Mitch Miller hated Rock 'n' Roll. John Hammond signed Dion. After two more hits, the British Invasion rolled over guys like Dion. Plus he had a drug addiction. After Dion stalled at Columbia, he returned to Laurie. But he wasn't having much luck until the 1968 single Abraham, Martin and John reached #4 on the Billboard Hot 100. Dion also kicked his drug habit and became a born again Christian. Abraham, Martin and John was written by Dick Holler. He led the band The Holidays. They never had a hit single. So Holler's friend and producer Phil Gernhard told him to stick to songwriting. Holler's song Snoopy vs the Red Baron reached #2 on the Billboard Hot 100 by The Royal Guardsmen in 1966. That was on Laurie. So they asked Gernhard if Holler had any more songs. And he came up with Abraham, Martin and John. It appeared on Dion's 1968 album Dion which was produced by Gernhard. Plus the single was released right after Bobby Kennedy was murdered. Needless to say, Abraham, Martin and John was a big hit and still resonates today. The 1968 album Dion is mostly folk music covers so I can't recommend it. But you can get it on Dion's new CD The Rock 'N' Roll Philosopher. This was released to help promote Dion's memoir also called The Rock 'N' Roll Philosopher. The CD not only has Dion's hits but guest appearances by guitarists Joe Bonamassa, Sonny Landreth, Mark Knopfler and Eric Clapton. This is on Bonamassa's label Keeping The Blues Alive Records (KTBA). It looks like he started this label to record his friends. Dion has recorded several recent albums for KTBA. Dion has been touring so check him out if he's coming your way. Here's Dion performing Abraham, Martin and John on a 1968 episode of The Smothers Brothers Comedy Hour. Check out that haircut. 

 

AccuRadio Song Of The Day-Rachael Yamagata

Artist:Rachael Yamagata

Song:Worn Me Down

Album:Happenstance

When she first started out twenty years ago, it was thought in the music industry that singer songwriter Rachael Yamagata would become this big global superstar. But it didn't happen and now she finances her own music through PledgeMusic. Rachael was twice the victim of corporate restructuring and she fell through the cracks. Rachael was born Sept. 23, 1977 in Arlington, VA. Her father is Japanese American and her mother is Italian. Comedian Josh Ruben is her half brother. She attended Northwestern University and Vassar College. Rachael toured for six years as lead singer of the band Bumpus. She left in 2001 and signed a record deal with Private Music. Private started out in the 80s as a new age label similar to Windham Hill. RCA bought them in 1996 and attempted to turn it into a mainstream music label. By the time Rachael signed with Private, they were part of Arista. Then Sony merged with RCA and by the time Rachael's 2004 debut album Happenstance was released, she was on RCA. They didn't seem to know how to promote her. So they placed her songs on all kinds of films and TV shows. At best that is a hit or miss strategy. Not surprisingly, it didn't work. Worn Me Down was the lead single. The song appeared on the TV shows Charmed, Miss Match, The O.C. and Laguna Beach: The Real Orange County. Rachael wrote the song. The album was produced by The Dave Matthews Band producer John Alagia. RCA dropped Rachael. But they probably should have let her go after the merger. The people who signed her weren't there anymore. Rachael signed with Warner Bros. and released the 2008 album Elephants... Teeth Sinking Into Heart. The same thing happened there. There was corporate restructuring going on and the people who signed her weren't there anymore. Since then Rachael has mostly recorded for her own label. Her latest album was released on the indie label Jullian. Happenstance is available on CD. I don't think Rachael was a commercial artist anyway. She probably would have been better off on an indie label in the first place. Here's the video for Worn Me Down by Rachael Yamagata. 

AccuRadio Song Of The Day-Dan Hill

Artist:Dan Hill f/Vonda Shepard

Song:Can't We Try

Album:Love of My Life: The Best of Dan Hill

Of course most folks are familiar with Canadian singer songwriter Dan Hill for his 1977 top five hit Sometimes When We Touch. He also scored a top ten hit with the 1987 single Can't We Try. This was for the NBC daytime soap Santa Barbara. This was not the first time a soap spawned a hit like this. Vonda Shepard was unknown at the time. This was her first recording. She is best known for the TV series Ally McBeal. Vonda was born Jan. 7, 1963 in New York City but she grew up in Los Angeles. Her father was mime Richmond Shepard. Vonda started out as a backup singer in a local recording studio. Hill was recording Can't We Try which he wrote with his wife. He was looking for a duet partner and he was unhappy with the singers who were auditioning. The recording studio manager knew Vonda and she lived nearby so she could walk to the studio. She nailed the audition and Can't We Try appeared on Santa Barbara and reached #6 on the Billboard Hot 100. It was from Hill's 1987 album Dan Hill on Columbia. The album was produced by John Capek who knew Hill in Canada. He also played keyboards and co-wrote much of the album with Hill. The vocals were produced by Hank Medress formerly of The Tokens. Though Vonda was unknown, she had already signed a record deal with Reprise Records. After the 1989 album Vonda Shepard was released, the A&R exec who signed her was fired. They dropped her and she recorded a couple of albums for small labels. By 1996, Vonda was still performing in local clubs. She asked Michelle Pfeiffer and her TV producer husband David E. Kelley to come see her. At the time Kelley was developing the TV series Ally McBeal. And he was looking for a singer to be the voice of the inner thoughts of the Ally McBeal character. Vonda appeared on the entire run of the show. Vonda is still around. She last released an album in 2022. And Dan Hill is still around writing occasional songs. He released his latest album in 2021. You can get Can't We Try on this Dan Hill comp which also contains Sometimes When We Touch. Here's the video for Can't We Try by Dan Hill featuring Vonda Shepard.

AccuRadio Song Of The Day-Two Gallants

Artist:Two Gallants

Song:Fly Low Carrion Crow

Album:Two Gallants

Two Gallants is an indie folk duo from San Francisco. They had modest success twenty years ago. They went on hiatus in 2008 and returned in 2012. After two more albums, they went on hiatus again. This time it looks more permanent but they are hedging their bets just in case. Adam Stephens and Tyson Vogel knew each other while growing up in San Francisco. They were in bands while in high school. After they both learned about blues, they decided to form Two Gallants in 2002. The band name is from a James Joyce short story. They write and produce everything themselves. On stage it looks like they both play guitar which is why I label them as a folk duo. In the studio, Stephens sings lead and plays guitar and harmonica. Vogel plays drums. But they decided not to turn it into a band for live performances. At first Two Gallants performed in Sn Francisco clubs and busking outside BART stations. Then they released their 2004 debut album The Throes on the indie label Alive Records. Their big break came when Pitchfork's Jonathan Zwickel gave the album a rave review of 8.5/10. That generated interest and Two Gallants expanded their touring. They also realized that for the 2006 album What the Toll Tells, they needed to sign with a larger label with better distribution. So they signed with Omaha based indie label Saddle Creek Records owned by Conor Oberst's brother Justin Oberst. They appeared on Saddle Creek's CMJ Showcase at New York City's Bowery Ballroom and they played a couple of festivals in England. What the Toll Tells wasn't received as well as the first album. But Two Gallants toured North America so that got them out there. Fly Low Carrion Crow is from the 2008 album Two Gallants. The album got mixed reviews similar to the previous album which means the rave review for the first album was probably overpraised by this one guy. It just came at a good time for Two Gallants. The 2008 album Two Gallants is available as a digital download. They appeared on Jimmy Kimmel Live! and continued to tour. After six years of touring, Two Gallants decided to go on hiatus in the summer of 2008. Both recorded albums and neither was received as well than when they were a duo. Two Gallants returned in 2012 with the album The Bloom and the Blight on Dave Matthews' ATO label followed by the 2015 album We Are Undone. They tried to make their music more mainstream rock. But that made some listeners wish for the sound of the early albums. After touring Two Gallants again decided to go on hiatus. And they are still on hiatus. It seems more permanent but they are not ready to admit to a permanent split. So Two Gallants was around for over a decade because of one fluke rave review. Subsequent results indicate that they weren't that good in the first place. That kind of thing can happen with indie music. Here's Two Gallants performing Fly Low Carrion Crow by Seattle radio station KEXP at the 2008 Bumbershoot Music Lounge in Seattle.

 

AccuRadio Song Of The Day-Carmen Cusack

Artist:Carmen Cusack

Song:Sun Is Gonna Shine

Album:Bright Star: Original Broadway Cast Recording

Carmen Cusack is a Broadway performer who was nominated for a Tony for the 2016 musical Bright Star. She was also nominated for the 2022 musical Flying Over Sunset. She got good reviews but neither show was a hit. I guess Broadway has never fully recovered from COVID which is why we are seeing so many Jukebox Musicals playing there. She was born Apr. 25, 1971 in Denver but she grew up with her grandparents in Fountain, TX. She grew up singing in church. Carmen graduated from University of North Texas with a performing arts degree. Carmen took a job performing on the MS Queen Elizabeth 2. That's when she met her husband and moved to England. After appearing in some British musical productions like Phantom of the Opera and Les Miserables, Carmen returned to the US in 2006 and was a standby for the Chicago production of Wicked. Then she was cast in the touring production of Wicked. Carmen got her big break when she was cast to star as Alice Murphy in the 2016 musical Bright Star. This was a new musical written by the husband wife team of Steve Martin and Edie Brickell. It's based on their 2013 album Love Has Come for You set in the Blue Ridge Mountains. So it's kind of a bluegrass musical. Carmen got positive reviews and was nominated for a Tony. But Bright Star got mixed reviews. It opened in March 2016 and closed in June. So it was not a big success. The original cast album is available as a digital download. Carmen did the national tour for Bright Star. Carmen was also Tony nominated for the 2021 musical Flying Over Sunset. But the show was adversely affected by COVID and didn't last long. Carmen hasn't done much in films or TV. She was supposed to be in the 2019 NBC series Zoey's Extraordinary Playlist but was replaced by Lauren Graham. Her only film appearance was in the 2019 Fred Rogers biopic A Beautiful Day in the Neighborhood. She and her husband now live in Los Angeles. She has been appearing live. But she wants to get into films and TV. Here's Carmen Cusack performing Sun Is Gonna Shine from Bright Star at From Broadway with Love: A Benefit Concert for Orlando at the Disney Theater in Orlando, FL July 25, 2016.

 

AccuRadio Song Of The Day-Karen Olivo

Artist:Karen Olivo f/Lin-Manuel Miranda, Robin de Jesus

Song:It Won't Be Long

Album:In the Heights: Original Broadway Cast Recording

Karen Olivo had her breakthrough role for playing Olivia in the 2008 Broadway musical In the Heights. Then she won a Tony for playing Anita in the 2009 revival of West Side Story. But things didn't go so well after that. And the result is she changed her name to KO and is non binary. She now lives in Illinois and teaches. So she could have been a star. But it looks like she became disenchanted with show business. I will refer to her as Karen as this role was before she changed her name. She was born Aug. 7, 1976 in the South Bronx in New York City. Her father is Puerto Rican and her mother is Dominican. She grew up in Bartow, FL. and attended the Lois Cowles Harrison Center for the Visual and Performing Arts in Lakeland. Then she studied at the University of Cincinnati College-Conservatory of Music. She left before her final year to be a replacement and understudy on the 1997 Broadway musical Rent. She also toured with the show. After returning to New York, Karen couldn't get any decent Broadway roles. So she took some TV roles until In the Heights came up in 2007. Of course I have talked about In the Heights before. Vanessa was the female lead. And it should have made her a star. BTW, the film version of In the Heights was released in 2021. So Karen would have been too old to play Vanessa. The original cast album is available on CD. Immediately after this, Karen won a Tony for playing Anita in the 2009 revival of West Side Story. She tried TV and film. She did some TV guest shots and she didn't appear in any notable films. She was a regular on the NBC series Harry's Law starring Kathy Bates. But that show was cancelled after two seasons. This is when Karen changed her name to KO and moved to Madison, WI to teach theater at the University of Wisconsin theater department. Karen returned to the Chicago production of Lin-Manuel Miranda's new show Hamilton. She left in Aug. 2017 to return to teaching. She returned again in 2019 Broadway adaptation of Baz Luhrmann's film Moulin Rouge!. Karen was nominated for a Tony. The show was suspended for COVID. Karen announced that she would not return to Moulin Rouge! afterwards because abuse allegations against producer Scott Rudin were not addressed by the industry. BTW, Rudin was not a producer on Moulin Rouge!. And the allegations were in The Hollywood Reporter. So it looks like she was looking for a reason to leave the business. And that's what she did. Karen is now an associate professor at Northwestern University in Evanston, IL. So that was the real reason she quit the business. Here's Karen Olivo with Lin-Manuel Miranda and Robin de Jesus performing It Won't Be Long on a 2008 episode of Good Morning America.

 

AccuRadio Song Of The Day-The Jarmels

Artist:The Jarmels

Song:A Little Bit of Soap

Album:The Golden Age of American Rock 'n' Roll Vol. 1

In the last days of doo wop, the 1961 single A Little Bit of Soap was a top twenty hit. It was the only chart single for The Jarmels. As you will see, a version of the group is still around today. The Jarmels were from Richmond, VA. and they all grew up singing in church. At first they were called The Cherokees. Group members were Nathaniel Ruff, Ray Smith, Paul Burnett, Earl Christian and Tom Eldridge. They met Ben E. King when he appeared in Richmond and he invited them to come to New York and meet with record companies. They were the first black group to sign with Laurie Records. The Mystics were on Laurie. The Mystics' manager Jim Gribble became The Cherokees' manager and the group name was changed to The Jarmels possibly to make listeners think they were from New York. A Little Bit of Soap was the second single and it reached #12 on the Billboard Hot 100. The song was written by Bert Russell which was an alias for producer Bert Berns. Of course he went on to own Bang Records and produce Van Morrison and Neil Diamond. But A Little Bit of Soap was Berns' very first hit. The record was arranged by Laurie house arranger Glen Stuart. The Jarmels recorded five singles and then Laurie dropped them. There are a couple of comps available but they are too short. I also think most listeners will only be interested in A Little Bit of Soap so I recommend this Ace Records various artists comp which is available on CD. The Jarmels continued to perform until they split up in 1969. A version of The Jarmels reformed to work the nostalgia circuit. Ray Smith is the only surviving member and a version of the group still performs today. It's amazing the longevity an act can get from one hit single. Here's The Jarmels performing A Little Bit of Soap on a doo wop TV show.

 

AccuRadio Song Of The Day-Jamie Owens-Collins

Artist:Jamie Owens-Collins

Song:The Victor

Album:The Battle Belongs to the Lord

Jamie Owens-Collins is a Contemporary Christian (CCM) singer songwriter who had success in the 70s when CCM was called Jesus Music. The Victor seems to be one of her more popular songs. She was born Sept. 27, 1955 in Oakland, CA. Her parents Jimmy and Carol Owens wrote and staged Christian musicals mostly for children. They won a 1981 Best Children's Album Grammy for Ants'hillvania. After Jamie sang on some of their albums, Light Records signed her to a record deal. Light was owned by Ralph Carmichael and they were at the forefront of the creation of CCM and Contemporary Gospel. Andrae Crouch and Sweet Comfort Band were on Light. The Victor is from Jamie's second album Growing Pains which was released in 1975. Her 1973 album Laughter in Your Eyes was produced by her dad Jimmy Owens. For Growing Pains, Jamie went in a more contemporary direction and used Los Angeles studio musicians. Her dad was involved on a supervisory level. Jamie wrote most of the songs including The Victor. The producer was Al Perkins of The Flying Burrito Brothers who also played guitar. Michael Omartian arranged and played organ and synthesizer. He's a CCM recording artist and a top producer. Keith Green played piano. He went on to be a CCM singer songwriter. Other musicians were John Talbot and Rick Vito on guitar, David Hungate and Leland Sklar on bass and David Diggs and Mike Baird on drums. Jamie married Dan Collins in 1976 and he took over management of her career. Collins is a record executive who was a big part of The Maranatha Singers. After one more album for Light, Jamie switched to the other big CCM label Sparrow. Since the 80s, they have owned their masters and this comp was released in 2008. It's available as a digital download. Jamie Owens-Collins still tours and she hosts her own podcast. Here's Jamie Owens-Collins performing The Victor on the 2004 documentary First Love: A Historic Gathering of Jesus Music Pioneers. Dan Collins was one of the producers and you can watch the entire film on YouTube. 

AccuRadio Song Of The Day-Stars on 54

Artist:Stars on 54

Song:If You Could Read My Mind

Album:54: Music from the Miramax Motion Picture Volume 2

This dance cover of the Gordon Lightfoot classic If You Could Read My Mind is from the 1998 film 54. The record was a worldwide club hit and was the best thing from this film. Because it bombed following major disagreements between writer director Mark Christopher and Miramax Films head Harvey Weinstein. After Christopher had made a couple of short films, Weinstein convinced him to write and direct a film about the New York City club Studio 54. The stars were Ryan Phillippe, Salma Hayek, Neve Campbell and Mike Myers. Christopher wanted make a film to capture Studio 54's notoriety as the epicenter of the gay culture explosion in New York City. Weinstein wanted a commercial film similar to Saturday Night Fever with all the gay references removed. I know that makes no sense. After Christopher's cut was previewed, Weinstein had his own cut done. Not surprisingly, the Miramax cut of Studio 54 was a critical and commercial flop. Christopher restored his cut for a 2014 DVD release and the response was positive to that. And that brings me back to the soundtrack. Marco Beltrami's score for the film has never been released. The two soundtrack albums have mostly previously released songs that were used as background music. So that tells me that Weinstein wanted to replicate the Saturday Night Fever soundtrack album too. The exceptions were the Studio 54 Medley which was a medley of song snippets and If You Could Read My Mind. The singers were Ultra Nate, Jocelyn Enriquez and Amber. Ultra Nate sings most of the lead parts. Those three are pros. They knew what to do. The record was produced by veteran German producers Christian and Frank Beerman aka The Berman Brothers. They won a Grammy for Who Let the Dogs Out by Baha Men. The single was an international hit especially on the dance charts. Volume 2 of the Studio 54 soundtrack is available as a budget CD. It's all previously released songs by various artists. The song is available on other various artists CDs. Here's the video for If You Could Read My Mind by Stars on 54. 

AccuRadio Song Of The Day-The 2 Live Crew

Artist:The 2 Live Crew

Song:Banned in the U.S.A.

Album:Banned in the U.S.A.

2 Live Crew Was an early rap group that became successful after a federal court ruled that one of their albums was obscene. The 1990 single Banned in the U.S.A. was their reaction to that ruling. It turned out to be their biggest hit. This dumb ruling was overturned upon appeal in 1992. All it did was give free publicity to 2 Live Crew and they became a symbol of free speech. 2 Live Crew was formed in 1984. But they started to get noticed after DJ and Miami promoter Luther Campbell became their manager and joined the group. The other members were David "DJ Mr. Mixx" Hobbs and Chris "Fresh Kid Ice" Wong Won. After Mark "Brother Marquis" Ross joined in 1986, Campbell started his own record company and became the spokesman for the group. The 1986 album The 2 Live Crew Is What We Are had sexually explicit lyrics. I don't have a problem with that except radio stations can't play their records as they could have their license taken away by the FCC. The album was still certified Gold based on word of mouth. With their 1988 Move Somethin', Campbell decided to release explicit and clean versions so they could get radio play. This album was also certified Gold. Then they released the 1998 album As Nasty as They Wanna Be. The single Me So Horny reached #26 on the Billboard Hot 100. The Christian fundamentalist organization American Family Association (AFA) went to Florida Governor Bob Martinez to have obscenity charges filed. This progressed to a point where a judge ruled that the album was obscene. Campbell sued the sheriff in Florida. The police response to that was to arrest a record retailer for selling the album to an undercover cop and they arrested members of 2 Live Crew while they performed in a local club. Free speech advocates were outraged and professor Henry Louis Gates Jr. handled the case. Charges were dropped and the appeals court reversed this ridiculous ruling. Meanwhile, As Nasty As They Wanna Be sold over two million copies without the benefit of a hit single. Then they released the 1990 album Banned in the U.S.A. and the title song reached #20 on the Billboard Hot 100. Bruce Springsteen let Campbell use his song Born in the U.S.A. This album is available on CD. After two more albums, this version of 2 Live Crew split up. Campbell left and the other three continued to record until 1998. They would reunite occasionally and release singles. Wong Won died in 2017 and Ross died in 2024. The one thing I can say about 2 Live Crew is they helped popularize rap music. Here's the video for Banned in the U.S.A. by 2 Live Crew. 

 

AccuRadio Song Of The Day-Marvelous 3

Artist:Marvelous 3

Song:Freak of the Week

Album:Hey! Album

Marvelous 3 was a short lived band that had success when their videos were played on MTV. The 1999 single Freak of the Week is their best known song. They sound too much like other bands of that era like Blink-182. In fact, they toured with Blink-182. Band leader Butch Walker has gone on to have a very successful production career, most notably Avril Lavigne. Walker is currently a member of Train and records solo. So I guess he still wants that big hit record. Walker was born Nov. 14, 1969 in Rome, GA and he grew up in Cartersville, GA. He was in several 80s bands including Byte the Bullet. They moved to Los Angeles in 1988. They changed their name to SouthGang and released two albums on Virgin Records. Then they split up. Walker formed a new band with bassist Jayce Fincher and drummer Mitch "Slug" McLee called Floyd's Funk Revival and then The Floyds. They released two albums that went nowhere. So in 1997 Walker formed a new band Marvelous 3 with the same musicians and released an album independently. It did well enough that they signed with Elektra Records. Instead of releasing this album, Elektra wanted Walker to rerecord most of the songs and replace a couple of them. That reworked album was titled Hey! Album and was released in 1999. I guess it was no big deal as Walker writes and produces everything. Freak of the Week was the lead single and MTV played the video in heavy rotation. It reached #5 on Billboard's Modern Rock Tracks. It probably would have done better if Elektra spent some money to promote Marvelous 3. And that was Walker's main problem with Elektra. He asked to be released in 2001. Then they split up. This album is available as a budget CD. Since then Walker has recorded solo. But he has had great success as a songwriter producer for Avril Lavigne, Taylor Swift, Pink, Katy Perry and plenty more. He is currently working on Courtney Love's upcoming album. Marvelous 3 has reunited a couple of times and released a 2023 album. Walker joined Train as guitarist last year. They are currently on tour with plans to record new music. Here's the video for Freak of the Week by Marvelous 3. 

 

AccuRadio Song Of The Day-John Rubinstein

Artist:John Rubinstein

Song:Corner of the Sky

Album:Pippin: Original Cast Recording

As the son of a world famous musician, John Rubinstein has had a lot to live up to. For most of his career, he has had success on Broadway. The 1972 musical Pippin was his first big hit. He has also appeared on TV and films and even composed film scores. But he's best known for his work on Broadway. He was born Dec. 8, 1946 in Los Angeles. His father was famed classical pianist Arthur Rubinstein. So I suppose Rubinstein was always going to be a musician. After studying theater and music at UCLA, he studied composition at Juilliard in New York. The first time I heard of Rubinstein was in the 1970 film Zachariah as the title character. This film was a psychedelic western that had rock musicians in it. That's why I knew about it. The film wasn't a hit at the time. But now it's a cult film. Rubinstein sang one song in the film but it wasn't on the soundtrack album. Then he got the title role in the Broadway musical Pippin. Stephen Schwartz had just had success with Godspell. Like that show, Pippin started out as a school project at Carnegie Mellon University in Pittsburgh. Schwartz took over the project and developed it himself. It was a vehicle for Ben Vereen as Leading Player. He won a Tony. Rubinstein and the rest of the cast were support players. The show did OK. Motown released the original cast album. Rubinstein sang several songs in the show. Corner of the Sky was in Act 1. The Jackson 5 scored a hit single with the song. The cast album was remastered in 2000 and released with three bonus tracks including The Jackson Five's recording of Corner of the Sky. Rubinstein composed the scores for the 1972 Robert Redford films Jeremiah Johnson and The Candidate. He composed music for a lot of TV movies in the 80s. For the rest of the 70s, he did lots of TV guest shots. Rubinstein was a regular on the 80s TV series Crazy Like a Fox. I don't think Rubinstein has ever had a starring role in a film. He returned to Broadway for the 1980 show Children of a Lesser God. Other shows include M. Butterfly (1989), a late 90s revival of Ragtime, Wicked when it played Los Angeles in 2007 and a 2014 revival of Pippin as King Charlemagne. He has also done 150 audio books. Currently Rubinstein is touring with the one man show Eisenhower: This Piece of Ground and he teaches musical theater at USC. So he's done pretty well. Here's John Rubinstein performing Corner of the Sky on an Easter Seals Telethon in the 70s. 

AccuRadio Song Of The Day-Natalie La Rose

Artist:Natalie La Rose f/Jeremih

Song:Somebody

Album:NOW That's What I Call Music! 54

Dutch singer Natalie La Rose scored a top ten hit with her 2015 debut single Somebody. It's her only hit to date. In fact, Natalie has not released an album. She currently records for her own label. She was born July 11, 1988 in Amsterdam, The Netherlands. Her parents are from Surinam. As a child, Natalie and her sister sang and danced together. She graduated from the Lucia Marthas Dance Academy in 2008. Natalie moved to Los Angeles in 2010. She signed with Blackground Records. They are best known as the late Aaliyah's label owned by her uncle Barry Hankerson. They were distributed by Interscope. Hankerson put Natalie in a duo with Sigourney Korper called Amsterdam. They appeared in the J. Lewis and Flo Rida video Dancing for Me. When things didn't work out, Natalie appeared as lead dancer in Lloyd's 2011 video Dedication to My Ex (Miss That). At an ESPY Awards after party, she ran into Flo Rida and told him that she would work with him one day. Flo Rida was so impressed that she toured with him for the next two years. She signed with his IMG label with Republic distribution. The 2015 single Somebody reached #10 on the Billboard Hot 100 and was an international hit. The record is based on the Whitney Houston hit I Wanna Dance with Somebody. The record was produced by The Futuristics (Alex Schwartz, Joe Khajadourian) and William Lobban-Bean aka Cook Classics. The remix featured singer Jeremih. When the follow up single Around the World didn't do nearly as well, Republic dropped her like a bad habit. Natalie never even got to record an album. That's how labels like Republic treat young black women. She's OK in the video. There's nothing wrong with her. But she comes across like Republic's Hot Girl of the Month. They think she's disposable. Since 2022, Natalie has recorded for her own label. I don't see that going anywhere. As we have seen in the past, an artist needs more than one hit record to get a big push from Universal labels. It's too bad but that's how they work. Here's the video for Somebody by Natalie La Rose.

   

AccuRadio Song Of The Day-Billy Joe & The Checkmates

Artist:Billy Joe & the Checkmates

Song:Percolator (Twist)

Album:Teen Beat 5: Another 30 Great Rockin' Instrumentals

Coffee lovers are going to want to check out this classic 1962 top ten hit made by Los Angeles studio musicians. The guy behind this record was Dore Records owner Lew Bedell. He also founded Era Records with former Atlantic Records exec Herb Newman. Lew Bedell was born Lewis Joseph Bedinsky Mar. 21, 1919 in El Paso, TX. His father was from The Ukraine and his mother was born in New York City. After his parents divorced, his family moved to Los Angeles. They changed their surname to Bedell in 1941. After WWII, he formed a comedy team with Doug Mattson. They played clubs in Los Angeles and split up in 1953. Bedell continued to work clubs. He even had a short lived TV show in New York. He met Herb Newman in 1955 when Era Records was founded. Bedell was Era's comptroller. Era's big hit was the single The Wayward Wind by Gogi Grant. When she tried to leave Era for RCA, Era sued her for breach of contract. Bedell and Newman started Dore Records. They scored a hit with To Know Him Is to love Him by The Teddy Bears. Then Newman and Bedell split up and Bedell retained control of Dore. In 1961, Bedell suggested to studio pianist Ernie Freeman that they should record a version of the Maxwell House advertising jingle. The musicians were Freeman on piano, Rene Hall on guitar, Red Callender on bass, Julius Wechter on marimba and Earl Palmer on drums. These guys were all Los Angeles studio musicians and members of The Wrecking Crew. The record was called Percolator (Twist) by Billy Joe & the Checkmates. Freeman wrote the song and Bedell took a songwriting credit as Louis Bideau. He even used a college photo of himself and said it was a pic of the group leader Billy Joe Hunter. Of course the big surprise was when Percolator reached #10 on the Billboard Hot 100. You can get it on this Ace Records various artists comp. There were several Billy Joe & the Checkmates singles but Percolator turned out to be a one hit wonder. Bedell continued to run Dore Records. He had a thing for comedy and Hudson & Landry was his most successful act. Lou Bedell died on July 6, 2000 at age 81. Here's a video of Percolator (Twist) by Billy Joe & the Checkmates.