UFC acquires 11 Invicta 115lb fighters for TUF 20

Last month UFC President Dana White announced plans for a 115lb women's division. So it was not surprising that he announced last night that the UFC has bought the contracts of 11 fighters from Invicta. I guess he had to wait until after Saturday's show. They are Carla Esparza, Claudia Gadelha, Joanne Calderwood, Tecia Torres, Rose Namajunas, Bec Hyatt, Felice Herrig, Alex Chambers, Emily Kagan, Juliana Lima and Paige Van Zant. That cleans out Invicta's Strawweight division. I don't know how much Zuffa paid for those contracts. But it makes me wonder why they just didn't buy Invicta. During the conference call, he spouted some nonsense about Invicta being an up and coming company. If that's true, shouldn't they have a TV deal after two years and not have to resort to iPPV? He'll buy them eventually. All these fighters will be in The Ultimate Fighter 20 which will begin shooting in May. Normally, fighters are competing in TUF for a UFC contract. But this is different because all 11 fighters are under UFC contract and they are competing for the UFC Strawweight Championship. Five more fighters will be added through tryouts. And the 11 fighters will be paid while waiting. It was announced on last night's Fox Sports Live that Carla will be paid $40K and the others will be paid $32K before TUF starts filming. That's a big pay bump over Invicta. Keep in mind that the Invicta contracts are not exclusive so Zuffa didn't even have to deal with Invicta. But they paid them as a courtesy. It's funny that Invicta owner Shannon Knapp responded to UFC poaching their 115lb fighters the other day by stating that the fighters are under contract knowing this deal was already done. This didn't just happen yesterday. Knapp put tried to put on a positive spin in an interview with Chuck Mindenhall of MMA Fighting. But other than Zuffa paying Invicta enough money to keep them in business for a while, there's nothing positive about this for Invicta. A potential TV partner will want to know if the UFC will poach Invicta again. That question can't be answered satisfactorily. It will happen again. So as I have said for a while, the solution is for Zuffa to buy Invicta and put them on Fox Sports 2. Through all Knapp's denials, the perception is that Invicta is a UFC feeder. And perception is reality. White didn't say anything about coaches but I still think Megumi Fujii should be one of the coaches. And the other coach should be Jessica Aguilar. I know what you're thinking. Didn't Jessica sign with World Series of Fighting? There is suspicion that WSOF is simply a placeholder for the UFC. So don't be surprised if Jessica is in the UFC by the end of 2014 and gets the first title shot. Almost forgot. I was asked about MIZUKI. She isn't under Invicta contract. DEEP JEWELS loans her to them. And I was asked about Ayaka Hamasaki. She has been forced to retire due to a bad knee.

AccuRadio Song Of The Day-Klymaxx

Artist:Klymaxx
Song:I Miss You
Album:20th Century Masters: The Millennium Collection: The Best Of Klymaxx




The all girl R & B group Klymaxx had their biggest success with the 1985 top five pop hit I Miss You. They had most of their success on the R & B charts in the late 80s. I want to emphasize that Klymaxx was not just a girl group. They were a full band and they wrote and produced their own songs. Klymaxx were from Los Angeles and were led by drummer Bernadette Cooper. She formed the band in college and came up with the name Klymaxx. Other members were singer Lorena Porter, guitarist Cheryl Cooley, keyboard players Lynn Malsby and Karen Grider and bassist Joyce Irby. They signed with Dick Griffey's Solar Records in 1981. They struggled with their first three albums. But then Griffey moved them to Solar's sister label Constellation and signed a distribution deal with MCA Records. Their first album on Constellation was Meeting In The Ladies Room in 1984. It was a huge success and was certified Platinum. And I Miss You reached #5 on the Billboard Hot 100 in 1985. The song was written and produced by Lynn Malsby with lead vocals by Lorena porter and Joyce Irby. Klymaxx had other chart hits including Man Size Love from the film Running Scared and they are all on this budget comp. Dick Griffey sold Constellation to MCA and Klymaxx took a four year break before releasing The Maxx Is Back in 1990. By that time, Joyce Irby and Bernadette Cooper left Klymaxx to go solo. Irby signed with Motown and released a CD in 1989. These days she is mostly a record producer. She discovered veteran producer Dallas Austin. Cooper released a solo album on MCA in 1990. She has also been involved in music production and is currently launching a solo tour. Klymaxx reunited for a performance at The Roxy in Los Angeles and appeared on the VH1 show Bands Reunited in 2003. Cheryl Cooley also leads an unauthorized version of Klymaxx. Here's the video for I Miss you by Klymaxx.

Miriam Nakamoto out with a torn ACL

On Saturday's Invicta show, Lauren Murphy took Miriam Nakamoto down and Miriam injured her knee. She was unable to continue and Lauren won the Invicta Bantamweight Championship. The big question now is how bad is the injury. Miriam had an MRI today and posted on Twitter that she has a torn anterior cruciate ligament (ACL). That's the worst possible news she could get as an MCL or a meniscus injury isn't nearly as bad. This certainly puts her future in the fight game in jeopardy. Now she will have surgery and I guess it depends what the doctor finds during surgery. Generally, it takes about a year to recover from an ACL injury. And as we saw recently with Ayaka Hamasaki, it's also possible her doctors will tell her she can't fight anymore. In addition, at 37 years of age, time is not in Miriam's favour. Unfortunately, the chances of Miriam returning to fighting are not good and I think she is aware of that. It's sad to see any fighter forced into retirement. But that's one of the risks of entering the cage. Can she beat the odds? Anything is possible. But I've been around long enough to know that it doesn't look good. Let's keep Miriam in our prayers and wish her good luck.

AccuRadio Song Of The Day-Outlaws

Artist:Outlaws
Song:Green Grass and High Tides
Album:Best of the Outlaws: Green Grass and High Tides




Outlaws was a very successful Southern Rock band in the mid-70s. Though they had a couple of chart hits, Green Grass and High Tides was one of their most popular songs. They usually closed their shows with an extended jam of the song. But it was never released as a single. The leader of Outlaws was singer and guitarist Hughie Thomasson. When he first formed the band in 1967 in Tampa, they were called The Rogues and then The Four Letter Words. Guitarist Frank Guidry brought the name Outlaws from his previous band. Their manager tried to record them but so many guys were bouncing in and out of the band they couldn't find any consistency. Outlaws split up in 1970 and Thomasson moved to New York. Singer and guitarist Henry Paul formed Sienna in 1971 with drummer Monte Yoho and bassist Frank O'Keefe. Both guys were former Outlaws members. When Thomasson returned to Tampa, he joined the band and Outlaws was reborn. Then guitarist Billy Jones joined and Outlaws became known for having three guitarists. Lynyrd Skynyrd lead singer Ronnie Van Zant got Outlaws a new manager and took them on tour. Clive Davis was starting Arista Records and Outlaws was his first signing in 1974. Their 1975 debut album Outlaws reached #13 on the Billboard Hot 200 and the single There Goes Another Love Song reached #34 on the Billboard Hot 100. Green Grass and High Tides was never released as a single because it was almost ten minutes long. They usually perform a twenty minute version to close their shows. One rumour that might have helped the song was that it was about marijuana. Thomasson says he wrote it as a tribute to dead rock legends like Jimi Hendrix. Outlaws also charted with Ghost Riders in The Sky in 1980 and you can get all their hits on this budget comp. But by the mid-80s, Thomasson was the only original member left. Henry Paul had success with Henry Paul Band and later the country group BlackHawk. Thomasson attempted to continue Outlaws but disbanded them in 1994. Billy Jones and Frank O'Keefe died in 1995. Thomasson, Paul and Yoho reformed Outlaws in 2005 with members of BlackHawk. Thomasson died in 2007 but Outlaws continues to tour and they released a new CD last year. Here's Outlaws performing Green Grass and High Tide at the Tower Theater in Philadelphia 1982.

AccuRadio Song Of The Day-Harry Connick Jr. and Kelli O'Hara

Artist:Harry Connick Jr. and Kelli O'Hara
Song:There Once Was A Man
Album:Harry On Broadway Act 1





Harry Connick Jr. made his name as a singer who sounds like Frank Sinatra. But he's more diverse than that. And for this 2006 Broadway revival of the musical The Pajama Game, the inexperienced Connick wisely chose veteran Broadway performer Kelli O'Hara as his co-star. He knew she could carry him. Connick was born Sept. 11, 1967 in New Orleans. his father was a Louisiana Supreme Court justice. Connick was a child prodigy on the piano and he signed with Columbia Records in 1988. Connick became famous when he performed several songs in the 1989 film When Harry Met Sally. And he made his acting debut in the 1990 film Memphis Belle. Since then, Connick has recorded many different styles of music very successfully. In 2000, he wrote the score for the Broadway musical Thou Shalt Not and he starred in a TV production of the musical South Pacific with Glenn Close. So now he has the itch to appear on Broadway. After he finished filming the 2007 film Bug, Connick starred in a revival of the musical The Pajama Game. His co-stars were Kelli O'Hara and Michael McKean. The show opened on Feb. 23, 2006 and closed on June 17, 2006. It was supposed to be a short run. Connick is so busy he could never do a year long run. The original cast recording of Pajama Game was released on the 2CD set Harry On Broadway. The Second CD is Connick's show Thou Shalt Not also co-starring Kelli O'Hara. Let's just say that Kelli adds a lot of value to these shows. The CD was nominated for a Grammy. Connick returned to Broadway in the 2011 revival of On A Clear Day You Can See Forever. The show only ran for a month. And as I'm sure you know, Connick will be a judge on the new season of American Idol. Doesn't he have enough going on already? Here's Harry Connick Jr. and Kelli O'Hara performing there once Was A Man on Today Feb. 14, 2006.

Review of WWE Total Divas episode 13

This is probably the first episode of WWE Total Divas where all three major storylines seem to be based in real life instead of at least one being phony. The first big storyline is The Bella Twins are bickering as usual. The subject is that Nikki Bella has been out with an ankle injury for five months and Brie starts to think that she won't return. Brie has a shot at the WWE Divas Championship coming up at Night Of Champions. She says she never thought she would get that chance. But she has actually held the title a couple of times. Not all of us have short memories. I guess it's more dramatic this way. I believe this storyline because these two idiots bicker about everything. Next we have a big crisis at Nattie Neidhart's house. Her beloved cat Gismo collapsed and she rushes home to take him to the vet. The vet tells her he suffered a stroke and the best course of action is to put him to sleep so he doesn't suffer. A pet dying is very traumatic and in addition Nattie's husband TJ Wilson is returning to the ring after a serious knee injury. TJ is so upset about Gismo, he's thinking about delaying his return. Trinity McCray of The Funkadactyls is doing a photoshoot for Jet Magazine. That's a big deal for her. But fiancee Jon Fatu Jr. doesn't want her to pose in a bikini. Both Trinity and Jet veto that. And she is told by Mark of Talent Relations that the WWE is planning on doing a romance angle with Trinity after Night Of Champions. So TJ returns to the ring in a dark match against NXT champ Bo Dallas. He is one of two sons of retired WWE wrestler Mike Rotundo who now works backstage in the WWE. His other son is Bray Wyatt. TJ and Nattie return home to say goodbye to Gismo. Of course it's very sad but regular folks have to do this too and I thought TJ and Nattie handled it very well. This has been my favourite Total Divas storyline to date. The Bella Twins are still bickering and Nikki and Eva Marie are to accompany Brie to the ring at Night Of Champions in Detroit. But plans change and the WWE decides not to have them do that. And they have also told The Bella Twins that they may split them up and have them feud. The girls don't want that. They did tease a split on TV but didn't go through with it. I would like to see a split and see how it affects their behaviour. WWE Talent Relations tells Trinity that Jon nixed the romance angle. Trinity is pissed. She goes to Brodus Clay (George Murdoch) for advice and he tells her to confront Jon. And she does. He admits he is jealous about Trinity kissing another guy even in a storyline. But she tells him this is business and they are actors and he should trust her. She wants the TV time and he shouldn't jeopardize that. Jon apologizes and they do make up. But I doubt he has learned his lesson. I liked Trinity before but now I really like her. She's a badass. The episode ends with TJ bringing home a kitten that looks remarkably like Gismo. Nattie is delighted and dresses him up. That was a great ending. Next week is the season finale of WWE Total Divas and the teaser at the end of this video is a must watch. No spoilers from me. Enjoy the video!
WWE - Total Divas - Season 01 - Episode 13... by wwetotaldivas

Meet the rocket scientist behind the Holly Holm hype train

I'm sure you have heard that Holly Holm won her fight on Saturday by unanimous decision over Angela Hayes. The fight was promoted by her manager Lenny Fresquez. Tristin Critchfield of Sherdog was at the show and did video interviews with Holly, her trainer Mike Winklejohn and Fresquez. The interviews with Holly and Winklejohn are pretty standard. But in his interview, Fresquez says he wants a six figure UFC contract for Holly or she will keep fighting tomato cans in Palookaville. OK I have to stop laughing now. Obviously Holly is a former boxing champ and she has star potential as an MMA fighter. But I think her future is questionable as long as this bumbling idiot manages her. The UFC has said that they have already made inquiries about Holly and have been told she isn't ready. And she won't be ready as long as she is facing mediocre competition. At least in Invicta or the UFC, she would face a higher level of competition. That's what she needs to improve. Apparently, Fresquez doesn't want that. I've seen managers attempt this kind of strategy before. It doesn't work and it makes him a laughing stock. Fresquez did announce that in March, Holly will face Brazilian fighter Juliana Werner in a Legacy FC championship match. I would describe Juliana as unknown as opposed to suspect. It's actually similar to how Japanese promoters use foreign fighters sometimes. Bring in an unknown and because no one has seen her, it can't be said that she isn't qualified. Juliana has a 7-3 record but two of her losses were to Vanessa Porto. One of those fights where she was choked out in 30 seconds is on Youtube. She made her MMA debut in 2005 and then took a five year break and returned in 2011. She hasn't lost since her return but she hasn't beaten anyone with a winning record. And all her fights have been at 125lb. I see this a lot in Brazil. There are a lot of female fighters there but a good number of them aren't very good. It can be difficult to identify the elite fighters because the general talent level isn't high. Of course it's ludicrous that someone who hasn't fought outside Brazil is getting a title shot. But I guess Fresquez doesn't care if Holly ever fights a credible opponent under his watch. Check out the video.

AccuRadio Song Of The Day-Graham Dechter

Artist:Graham Dechter
Song:Be Deedle Dee Do
Album:Takin' It There




Graham Dechter is normally the guitarist for The Clayton-Hamilton Jazz Orchestra. But he has branched off and recorded two solo albums that will be of interest to jazz guitar fans. Dechter is from Los Angeles and he started playing guitar at five years of age. His father Brad Dechter is a composer and arranger who has worked for Johnny Mathis and Barbra Streisand and on plenty of film scores. Dechter's influences lean more towards old school guitarists like Wes Montgomery and Barney Kessel. As a teen, Dechter trained with Marshall Hawkins at the Idylwild Arts Academy and attended the Eastman School of Music. At age 19, he joined The Clayton-Hamilton Jazz Orchestra and has toured with them ever since. They are one of the top big bands in the US. In 2009, Dechter signed as a solo artist with Capri Records and has released two solo albums. And his bosses are very supportive and play on both CDs. John Clayton plays bass and also wrote the CD liner notes and Jeff Hamilton is on drums. Tamir Hendelman is on piano. Dechter's version of the Barney Kessel song Be Deedle Dee Do is from his latest CD Takin' It There released in 2012. Jazz guitar fans should check it out. Graham Dechter is only 27 years old so I'm sure we will hear more from him in the future. Here's Graham Dechter performing Be Deedle Dee Do San Pedro, CA 2012.

Invicta FC 7 another iPPV disaster

Barb Honchak punches Leslie Smith

It's interesting that some fans are so desperate for Invicta FC to be successful that they are willing to forgive anything. But there is no excuse for the ongoing problems they have with iPPVs. And the bottom line is if they don't find a solution to that problem, they will close because no one can survive repeatedly refunding money. When Invicta first offered iPPV last year, I predicted disaster because I knew none of the iPPV providers could handle any kind of volume. At the time, we discovered that even 5,000 buys would bog them down. That's a small figure. When Invicta FC 6 was on all major North American PPV providers, it was thought that maybe the problem was solved. But they weren't able to do that for this show. The big missing PPV providers were DIRECTV in the US and Viewer's Choice in Canada which is the PPV provider for Rogers Cable. BTW, I am with Rogers Cable. And they moved to a new iPPV provider Dacast because they accept Paypal. So a lot of fans who bought the last show on PPV through cable or satellite would be forced to buy it on iPPV. That put a lot of pressure on Dacast and they flunked the test. No one could get in. And the dope running the Invicta Twitter knew about this but didn't tell Invicta owner Shannon Knapp. She didn't know until Ariel Helwani of MMA Fighting told her at around 8:30PM Eastern. That person should be fired. Shannon took the paywall down and is refunding everyone. And even after that, the stream seemed to buffer a lot and needed refreshing. It was an inexcusable disaster. Last year I said that iPPV isn't reliable enough to be used as a major source of revenue. After the UStream fiasco, Shannon should have known that. Those who don't learn from mistakes are doomed to repeat them. This was deja vu all over again. One thing she could do in the future is be sure that all PPV carriers are on board before announcing a date. That takes pressure off of iPPV. But she can't depend on any of the iPPV providers. All of them suck. So the other big problem was the Invicta Strawweight Championship match between Carla Esparza and Claudia Gadelha was cancelled because Claudia got sick on Friday night. Until she came to Invicta, Claudia fought at 125. So is cutting to 115 unsafe for her? After this, Shannon should be very reluctant to allow Claudia to fight at 115. This was a major blow to the show and I don't think it should be acceptable as just one of those things. Some fighters cut too much weight and it affects their health. That seems like the case here. And Carla Esparza had too much time on her hands and took too many stupid pills. But I'll get to that in a minute. The main event had Barb Honchak defending her Invicta Flyweight Championship against Leslie Smith. I think Barb is a better fighter but some were surprised when she won by unanimous decision. It didn't surprise me. I'm not sure why some favoured Leslie. I don't pay attention to other people's predictions and I never predict anything myself. Lauren Murphy won the Invicta Bantamweight Championship when Miriam Nakamoto was forced to retire at the start of round four due to a knee injury. Miriam won the first two rounds but Lauren won round three. If Miriam needs surgery, it could be over for her. She's 37 years old. I like her Muay Thai skills but time waits for no one. Tecia Torres won an easy decision over the overhyped Felice Herrig. I think Felice is an excellent self promoter. She improved as a fighter but I think her development has stalled. Afterwards, Carla Esparza came out and challenged Tecia because Felice is her best friend. I know some people liked this foolishness. I guess I'm old school. I don't like it when pro wrestlers or MMA fighters go into business for themselves and try to pre-empt matchmaking. To her credit, Tecia said she doesn't believe she is the next challenger. For one thing, some might say Joanne Calderwood should get a title shot but she didn't seem too upset about the supposed snub. She just came off her biggest win to date over Katja Kankaanpaa by unanimous decision. Joanne showed a little more diversity in this fight but I am still concerned she depends too much on her Muay Thai skills. Katja was the first fighter to win a round over Joanne. There are plenty of 115lb fighters in the mix so I wouldn't necessarily grant her a title shot yet. And some of those 115lb fighters could be UFC bound. Julia Budd beat Charmaine Tweet by unanimous decision. They are both kickboxers but Julia is much stronger than Charmaine and won easily. Julia could be the next victim...er...challenger for Cris Cyborg. Vanessa Porto won over Zoila Gurgel by unanimous decision. I didn't see this fight because of the streaming problems. Maybe Zoila is heading to Muay Thai full time. In the prelims, Tonya Evinger won by unanimous decision over late replacement Sarah D'Alelio and Nina Ansaroff won by second round TKO over Munah Holland. That was the only real finish of the night. The scuttlebutt is the next Invicta show will be in February. But I think Shannon Knapp needs to do something about their broadcasting situation before the next show. She can't keep shooting herself in the foot like this.

AccuRadio Song Of The Day-Art & Dotty Todd

Artist:Art & Dotty Todd
Song:Chanson D'Amour
Album:Hard To Find 45s On CD Vol. 9: 1957-1959




The husband wife team of Art & Dotty Todd were a lounge act in Los Angeles and Las Vegas. But they had a top ten hit with Chanson D'Amour in 1958. This was at a time when Rock 'N' Roll was taking over but a lot of radio stations preferred the pop music of the early 50s. And that's how oddball hits like this were born. Dotty Todd was born Doris Dabb June 22, 1913 in Elizabeth, NJ. She learned to play piano as a child and gave a piano recital at Carnegie Hall in New York at age 13. Guitarist Art Todd was born Mar. 11, 1914 in Baltimore. They met when both were accidently booked to play the Biltmore Hotel in Providence, RI. They married in 1941. After WWII, they moved to Los Angeles and settled in playing clubs. They were known as a lounge act. They recorded for RCA in the early 50s and their 1953 recording of Simple Wings was a top ten hit in England. In 1958 they were the house act at the Chapman Park Hotel in Los Angeles. Songwriter Wayne Shanklin approached Art Todd and gave him Chanson D'Amour. Shanklin co-wrote the 1951 Frankie Laine hit Jezebel and the 1959 Jerry Wallace hit Primrose Lane. The Todds recorded a demo and sold it to Herb Newman's Era Records. As I said, at that time some DJs hated Rock 'N' Roll and jumped all over Chanson D'Amour. It reached #6 on the Billboard Hot 100 in 1958. The Fontane Sisters version of Chanson D'Amour was released at the same time and reached #12. The Lettermen had a hit with it in 1966 and The Manhattan Transfer did well in Europe with their 1977 recording of Chanson D'Amour. Danny Boyle used the Art & Dotty Todd recording of Chanson D'Amour in his 2013 film Trance. You can get it on this various artists comp from Era Records. Art & Dotty Todd never had another hit. But they continued to play clubs in Los Angeles and then Las Vegas until they moved to Honolulu in 1980 and opened their own club. Dotty Todd died on Dec. 12, 2000 at age 87 and Art Todd died on Oct. 10, 2007 at age 93. Here's a video of Chanson D'Amour by Art & Dotty Todd.

Julie Kedzie retires after split decision loss

Here's the match video of Julie Kedzie vs Bethe Correia from last night's UFC show in Brisbane, Australia. In addition to foreign fans who didn't get to see the show, there were transmission problems with Fox Sports 1 in the US. So I think a lot of fans didn't get to see the first half of the fight. Though Julie Kedzie is a women's MMA pioneer and a veteran fighter, she hasn't finished a fight in a long time. So I expected this to be a close fight. Round one was a very hard round to score because neither fighter did much. Bethe is stronger so Julie's strategy was to keep her on the outside. But she generated very little offense. And at least Bethe landed a couple of hard punches and then a takedown at the end of the round. So I scored it 10-9 for Bethe though one never knows how judges will score rounds like this. Julie was busier in round two and she was more effective. So I scored it 10-9 for Julie. Both corners are telling each fighter that she won the first two rounds. I don't know why they would do that. I think it was too close to tell them that. I thought Bethe won round three 10-9. She was more effective in that round. But I said right after the fight that I expected a split decision. Two judges scored it 29-28 for Bethe and one judge scored it 29-28 for Julie. Bethe Correia wins her UFC debut. I scored it 29-28 for Bethe but I don't think either fighter did enough to win decisively. After the fight, Julie Kedzie announced her retirement. I assume her UFC contract was up. She says the decision to retire was made before the fight. She will continue to work at Jackson's MMA. I'm glad she got to fight in the UFC as she can use that experience to help others. But the UFC probably wasn't going to renew her contract anyway. Check out the match video for yourself.

AccuRadio Song Of The Day-Darius Rucker

Artist:Darius Rucker
Song:Wagon Wheel
Album:True Believers





Darius Rucker seemed to disappear after Hootie and the Blowfish faded in the 90s. But he has found his calling in country music. Wagon Wheel is his biggest hit to date as a solo artist. Rucker was born May 13, 1966 in Charleston, SC and grew up singing in church. He became famous as lead singer of Hootie and the Blowfish. When the band faded, Rucker recorded an R & B album for the band's label Atlantic. When they decided not to release it, Rucker signed with Hidden Beach Recordings. They bought the masters and released it as Back To Then in 2002. The CD was produced by Vidal Davis who also produced Jill Scott who was on Hidden Beach at the time. After the CD didn't sell, Rucker seemed to disappear though you may recall seeing him in a 2005 Burger King commercial. He signed with Capitol Records in 2008. His producer is Frank Rogers who also produces Brad Paisley. Rucker's first single Don't Think I Don't Think About It was the first top 20 country hit for a black artist since Charley Pride in 1988. The CD Learn To Live was certified Gold and there were three number one country singles. Rucker won the 2009 CMA New Artist of the Year award. With his latest CD True Believers, Rucker has continued his success. Wagon Wheel is his biggest hit to date. It topped the Country Singles chart and reached #15 on the Billboard Hot 100. Bob Dylan wrote the chorus for Wagon Wheel while writing the music for the 1973 film Pat Garrett and Billy the Kid. He didn't finish the song and it was not released. But it did appear on bootleg LPs as Rock Me Mama. Ketch Secor of Old Crow Medicine Show wrote verses for the song and retitled it Wagon Wheel. Rucker knew the song and decided to record it after hearing it played by his daughter's high school band at a talent show. He announced Wagon Wheel's release at the Grand Ole Opry when he performed it with OCMS. He also performed it on the recent CMA Awards broadcast. Rucker will begin 2014 on tour to promote True Believers. Here's the video for Wagon Wheel by Darius Rucker. Appearing in the video are the cast of the popular reality show Duck Dynasty and Hillary Scott and Charles Kelley of Lady Antebellum who sing backup vocals on the record. And I think the band is Old Crow Medicine Show.

AccuRadio Song Of The Day-Barney Kessel

Artist:Barney Kessel
Song:St. Thomas
Album:The Concord Jazz Heritage Series





Fans of jazz guitar will be familiar with Barney Kessel. He started out as a sideman in the 40s and first recorded as a leader in the 50s. This CD represents recordings from the 70s and 80s with Concord Jazz. He was highly respected by fans and musicians. He was born Oct. 17, 1923 in Muskogee, OK. Kessel started out as a teen touring with local dance bands. His first major gig was in Chico Marx's band. Kessel moved to Los Angeles and was in the 1944 film Jammin' The Blues featuring Lester Young. He played with Charlie Parker in 1947. In 1952, he was the guitarist in Oscar Peterson's trio. Kessel left in 1953 and signed with Contemporary Records. Many of Kessel's 50s recordings were in a trio most frequently with Ray Brown on bass and Shelly Manne on drums. He also recorded and toured with singer Anita O'Day and recorded with Sonny Rollins. Kessel left Contemporary in 1961 and didn't record again as a leader until the late 60s. For most of the 60s, Kessel was a member of the famed Los Angeles studio musician group The Wrecking Crew. So he played on all kinds of recordings and in films. He also played a jazz guitarist in an episode of the Perry Mason TV series. Kessel signed with Concord Jazz in the mid-70s and recorded and toured as part of The Great Guitars with Herb Ellis and Charlie Byrd. This version of the Sonny Rollins classic St. Thomas is from his 1981 album Jellybeans with Bob Maize on bass and Jimmie Smith on drums. These two also played with Herb Ellis. This comp is a good intro to Kessel's Concord recordings. Barney Kessel retired from music in 1988 and moved to San Diego. he suffered a stroke in 1992 and was in ill health until his death on May 6, 2004 at age 80. Here's Barney Kessel performing St. Thomas in the 80s.

AccuRadio Song Of The Day-The Tonettes

Artist:The Tonettes
Song:Teardrop Sea
Album:Stax/Volt: The Complete Singles Vol. 2





There were three girl groups named the Tonettes. One was a doo wop group from the Bronx. They recorded Oh What A Baby in 1958. There was also a Jamaican group The Tonettes that recorded at Studio One. This girl group The Tonettes were the first girl group to record for Stax. Teardrop Sea was released on Volt in 1962. The trio were mainly backup singers and they also appeared as The Dixiebelles and The Charmels. The Tonettes were Shirley Thomas, Mary Hunt and Mildred Pratchett. Teardrop Sea was released on Volt in 1962. it was written and produced by Booker T & The MGs guitarist Steve Cropper. Their second single No Tears was released and then The Tonettes returned to studio work. You can get Teardrop Sea on this CD of Stax/Volt singles. In 1964, The Dixiebelles had a top ten hit with Down At Papa Joe's. The singers on the record were members of The Anita Kerr Singers. Producer Bill Justis needed a group to tour and he hired The Tonettes to tour as The Dixiebelles. Later on Shirley Thomas left The Tonettes. She was replaced by Eula Jean Rivers and Barbara McCoy and the group name was changed to The Charmels. They returned to Stax and recorded four singles produced by Isaac Hayes. Girl groups were usually backup singers at Stax. So it's not surprising attempts to record The Tonettes or The Charmels weren't successful. If you're wondering about the difference between the two groups, Shirley Thomas was lead singer of The Tonettes and Barbara McCoy was lead singer of The Charmels. So though the groups share personnel, they don't sound alike. Here's a video for Teardrop Sea by The Tonettes.

AccuRadio Song Of The Day-Innersouls

Artist:Innersouls
Song:Just Take Your Time
Album:Carolina Funk: First In Funk





Just Take Your Time was recorded in 1973. It wasn't a hit at the time because it was never distributed properly. The single became a collectors item and has resurfaced on this various artists CD from the British label Jazzman Records. Innersouls were from Asheville, NC led by sax player Otis Ware. Other members who were on this recording were Stanley Baird on sax, Leroy Posey on trumpet, Sammy Bowens on guitar, JC Martin on bass and Norris "Country" Duckett on drums. They were all students at Stephens-Lee High School in Asheville. They played local clubs. Stock car racer Dickie Plemmons hired Innersouls to play at his son's birthday party. And he liked them so much that he decided to manage them. In 1973, he took them to Harry Deal's recording studio in Taylorsville. According to Ware, Just Take Your Time was written in the studio and it was recorded live. There were no overdubs. It sounds pretty good for a bunch of high school students. Unfortunately, the single was never distributed. The band gave it away at shows. It was Innersouls' only recording. The song got buzz in recent years when British DJ Keb Darge started playing it. But of course it wasn't available on CD until UNC-Chapel Hill DJ Jason Perlmutter unearthed a copy and along with some other Carolina funk rarities released this CD on the British label Jazzman Records. Now-Again Records licenses Jazzman CDs in North America. In 1975, Ware and some other members of Innersouls formed Bite, Chew & Spit. They toured extensively on the east coast but were never able to get a record deal. By 1979, disco was more popular than funk and Ware says the band didn't want to play disco music so they split up. Otis Ware became a minister and leads the Solid Rock Missionary Baptist Church in Kenilworth, NC. Apparently he's one funky preacher. Stanley Baird and Norris "Country" Duckett went on to N.C.C.U. (New Central Connection Unlimited) and were on the 1977 album Super Trick released by United Artists. Baird still teaches music and plays in local jazz clubs. Here's a video for Just Take Your Time by Innersouls. Most of the Innersouls info is courtesy of a 2008 article by Jon Elliston of the Asheville Mountain Xpress.

AKA Doc Pomus review

A couple of months ago I heard that this documentary about legendary songwriter Doc Pomus was going to get a theatrical release. I missed it when it was on the festival circuit a couple of years ago. So when it opened this week at the Yonge Dundas Cineplex in downtown Toronto, I wanted to check it out. Most music fans won't know anything about Doc Pomus. I know about him because I'm one of those nuts that actually reads credits and liner notes. Pomus wrote some of the greatest songs of the early 60s. His career stalled when the British Invasion took over in the mid-60s. But he continued to write great songs even as his health failed him in the 80s. He was born Jerome Felder in New York City. His brother is the famous lawyer Raoul Felder. Jerome Felder suffered from polio as a child and he couldn't walk. He became a big black music fan and he idolized the great blues singer Big Joe Turner. So Felder decided he was going to be a blues singer too. He performed in New York clubs as Doc Pomus as he thought the Jerry Felder name was too Jewish for a blues singer. He recorded unsuccessfully. And then he started writing songs and sold a few including the Ray Charles hit Lonely Avenue to Atlantic Records. He wrote the song Young Blood and producers Jerry Leiber and Mike Stoller rewrote the song and The Coasters had a hit with it. But they gave Pomus a songwriting credit. When he got his first royalty check in the mail, he figured he could make a living as a songwriter as long as he held on to ownership of the song. Usually Pomus wrote lyrics. He asked his cousin's friend Mort Shuman to help him and they set up an office in the Brill Building. Among the songs that came out of this partnership were A Teenager In Love, Save The Last Dance For Me and This Magic Moment. When one looks at Pomus, he's this big burly Jewish guy and yet he wrote these romantic songs. Obviously looks are deceiving and this film looks at that contradiction. He wrote most of these songs in the early 60s. And though that was his prime, he continued to write later on with Dr. John and Mink Deville leader Willy Deville among others. Doc Pomus is not someone who the average music fan would know. But songwriters and musicians knew him and they would try and pick his brain. You might be surprised who would seek him out. Doc Pomus was a life long smoker. And though he quit later in life, the damage was done and he died of cancer in 1991. This film was produced by his daughter Sharyn Felder and it lovingly tells the story of this forgotten legend of music. Check out the trailer.

AccuRadio Song Of The Day-Medeski Scofield Martin & Wood

Artist:Medeski Scofield Martin & Wood
Song:Hottentot
Album:In Case The World Changes Its Mind





Jazz fusion fans are going to want to check out this collaboration between guitarist John Scofield and the popular band Medeski Martin & Wood. Scofield has been around since the 70s but he has recorded as a leader since the 80s. Like a lot of jazz musicians, he likes to change things up and record with all kinds of musicians. He first recorded with Medeski Martin & Wood on the 1998 album A Go Go. Pianist John Medeski, drummer Billy Martin and bassist Chris Wood first got together in the early 90s. They were introduced to each other by veteran drummer Bob Moses. He was teaching Martin and knew Medeski and Wood from New York City clubs. They recorded for Gramavision in the 90s and were getting popular. Scofield liked what he heard and recorded his 1998 CD A Go Go with Medeski Martin & Wood. Hottentot was one of the songs on that album. Soon after that MMW signed with Blue Note. They got back together in 2006 to record the CD Out Louder on MMW's Indirecto label. On this CD, they were billed as Medeski Scofield Martin & Wood. Chris Wood said the big difference was on A Go Go, MMW were just sidemen and Out Louder was an equal collaboration. They toured Europe and recorded some of the live shows. They released some of them on a bonus CD for Out Louder and then in 2011 they released a new CD of previously unreleased recordings from the European tour. Fans of both artists should check it out. Scofield and MMW played a few gigs this past summer. I wouldn't be surprised to see them record another CD together. Medeski Martin & Wood released a live CD last year and are currently touring Europe. John Scofield's lastest CD Uberjam Deux was released in July and he just finished touring Europe. Here's Medeski Scofield Martin & Wood performing Hottentot at the 2007 Northsea Jazz Festival in The Netherlands.

Review of WWE Total Divas episode 12

After the stupidity overload of last week's episode of WWE Total Divas, I was hoping this week's episode would be less stupid so my head wouldn't hurt. For the most part, they did that. Only one storyline was really dumb and even it had redeeming qualities. The episode begins with Brie Bella losing a match to Tamina Snuka on RAW. And yes, Tamina is Jimmy Snuka's daughter. Brie says she misses her currently injured sister. Cut to John Cena's house in Tampa. Nikki Bella is all moved in and talks about redecorating the house. If she's going to live there, she wants to personalize it. Cena is strangely resistant to this. And I don't think he's just a neat freak though that is suggested. I guess he doesn't want the house to look like anyone lives there. There's no food in the house. They never eat at home. Next we go to Los Angeles where Ariane of The Funkadactyls is in a recording studio. The song she is recording is terrible. She talks nonsense about extending her brand and then she convinces her boyfriend Vincent to try out for the WWE. Vincent agrees to do this to make Ariane happy. But his body language says he knows this is a bad idea. Vincent lifts weights but he isn't an athlete. I suspect this storyline was made up for the show but it becomes comic gold at the gym. Trinity of The Funkadacyls is driving with fianceè Jon Fatu when she get a call from her musician father Shawn McCray. He's coming to town and she invites him to stay at their apartment. Jon thinks this is a bad idea because the apartment is too small. But Trinity insists. Ariane and Vincent go to the WWE Performance Center for Vincent's tryout with head trainer Bill DeMott. It becomes obvious that Vincent has no cardio. He is tired in two minutes and then gets sick. They come back the next day and he's even worse. But the segment is funny because of DeMott's yelling at him. So even someone as stupid as Ariane realizes that she went too far and she apologizes to Vincent. I know what she was thinking but it shows how stupid she is. They also have a couple of segments showing Cena's weird behavior regarding the house. Nikki even goes out to buy food so she can cook dinner for him. He doesn't like that. He thinks his pristine house will be ruined. Trinity and Jon butt heads about her dad staying with them. He's in the bed and they're sleeping in on the couch. The last straw is when they have a party at the apartment after the band's gig. Jon wants to sleep as he has to get up in the morning. Fortunately, Trinity get the message and talks to her dad about moving to a hotel. Fortunately, he's a nice guy and he likes Jon. Crisis is over. When someone is as rich and famous as John Cena, everyone wants to be your friend. But when Cena has a real problem, he goes to his best friend Rob McIntyre to get the truth. They play some chess at Rob's gym and Cena explains the problem. Basically, Rob tells him to stop being silly. And when Nikki comes home, she finds some items representing the decision to allow Nikki to give the woman's touch to the house. All's well that ends well. Enjoy the video!
WWE Totol Divas Episode 12 by mrlog45

AccuRadio Song Of The Day-Tom T. Hall

Artist:Tom T. Hall
Song:I Love
Album:The Definitive Collection





Tom T. Hall was a very successful country music singer songwriter mostly in the 70s. He had seven number one country hits including I Love in 1973. He was born May 25, 1936 in Olive Hill, KY. As a teen, he led The Kentucky Travelers in local clubs. While in the US Army, he performed on the Armed Forces Radio Network. He was a DJ in West Virginia. When Jimmy C. Newman recorded Hall's song DJ For A Day in 1963, Hall moved to Nashville and many of his song were recorded by others. He became known as The Storyteller. His biggest hit in the 60s was the Jeannie C. Riley hit Harper Valley PTA. The song was a big hit and Hall won a Grammy and a CMA award. Hall signed with Mercury Records in 1969. He had a string of hits in the 70s. Number one country hits include A Week In A Country Jail in 1969, The Year Clayton Delaney Died in 1971, (Old Dogs, Children and) Watermelon Wine in 1972, Country Is and I Care in 1974and Faster Horses in 1975. The 1973 hit I Love was Hall's only pop crossover hit in 1973. It reached #12 on the Billboard Hot 100. The song's sentimentality struck a chord with listeners. You can get all his hits on this comp. Hall left Mercury for RCA in 1978. He continued to be successful on the country charts. He returned to Mercury in 1983. Hall hosted the TV show Pop Goes The Country from 1980-82. Hall retired from recording in the 90s. He does resurface occasionally. He's written a few novels and was inducted into the Country Music Hall of Fame in 2008. Many of his songs are country music standards. Here's a video for I Love by Tom T. Hall.

Julianna Pena wins The Ultimate Fighter 18

I have three match videos from last night's The Ultimate Fighter 18 finale in Las Vegas. The one thing that these fights confirmed is there should not have been any fighters over 30 on TUF. They aren't prospects anymore. They are suspects. All three fighters who lost were over 30. Julianna Pena faced Jessica Rakoczy in the TUF final. Julianna Pena is bigger and stronger. I thought that unless Julianna beat herself, she would overpower Jessica. And that's what she did. Halfway through round one, Julianna took Jessica down and beat on her until ref Mario Yamasaki stopped the fight at 4:59 of round one. I suppose he could have let it go and give Jessica another chance in round two. I doubt it would have made any difference. And Yamasaki did warn Jessica for the last minute of the round. It's very subjective. Some refs would not have stopped the fight. So congratulations to Julianna Pena. But remember it doesn't get any easier and she's got a target on her back. Jessamyn Duke won by unanimous decision over Peggy Morgan. Jessamyn has moved out to Los Angeles. She is living with Ronda Rousey and is training with Edmond Tarverdyan. He was in her corner. She has improved already. She dominated Peggy for the first two rounds. Then she made a mistake in round three and Peggy took her back for a possible rear naked choke. But it looked worse than it was and when Peggy lost that position, she did nothing with top position and ref Kim Winslow stood them up. Again I don't think that mattered as Peggy needed a finish and she wasn't going to get it. And Raquel Pennington beat Roxanne Modafferi by unanimous decision. Raquel is more powerful than Roxy. But she has this bad habit of not starting fights aggressively. I've seen this in several of her fights. And though Roxy has no punching power, she was busier in round one and I scored round one 10-9 for Roxy. Between rounds, Raquel's corner told her to be more aggressive. She actually did what she was told and won the last two rounds easily. But she needs to break the habit of starting slowly as it will cost her fights. Hell, it cost her a chance in the TUF final. So, check out the videos. BTW, the girl in the yellow t-shirt sitting next to Miesha Tate is European fighter Cindy Dandois who has been training with Miesha. Don't be surprised if we see her in Invicta or the UFC.

AccuRadio Song Of The Day-Tyler Farr

Artist:Tyler Farr
Song:Redneck Crazy
Album:Redneck Crazy





Country singer songwriter Tyler Farr struck Platinum with his debut CD and single Redneck Crazy. He was born Aug. 1, 1984 in Garden City, MO. His stepfather played lead guitar with George Jones. And after spending a summer on tour as a teen, he decided to move to Nashville and pursue a career in music. Farr was a bouncer at Tootsie's Orchid Lounge. They let him sing and he played the club four nights a week in addition to handling security. Farr's big break came when he met singer songwriter Rhett Akins. Both are avid outdoorsmen. Akins decided to work with Farr and this led to a songwriting contract with Sony ATV/ Monument Publishing and then a record deal with Sony's BNA label. After writing songs for Colt Ford and Joe Nichols, Farr released an EP in 2010. He moved to Columbia when Sony closed BNA. Farr finally released his full length debut CD Redneck Crazy Sept. 2013. The album was produced by Sony Nashville A & R VP Jim Catino and recording engineer turned producer Julian King. The single Redneck Crazy reached #2 on the Country Singles chart. It was hailed as the single of the summer of 2013. Though Farr wrote several songs on the album including a couple with Akins, Redneck Crazy was written by veteran songwriters Josh Kear, Mark Irwin and Chris Tompkins. Kear co-wrote the Lady Antebellum hit Need You Now and Kear and Tompkins have written several songs for Carrie Underwood including Before He Cheats. Redneck Crazy is available as a budget CD. Tyler Farr is currently on tour. He's off to a good start in his career and we'll see how he does in the future. Here's the video for Redneck Crazy by Tyler Farr.

AccuRadio Song Of The Day-Conway Twitty and Loretta Lynn

Artist:Conway Twitty and Loretta Lynn
Song:Louisiana Woman, Mississippi Man
Album:The Definitive Collection





Conway Twitty and Loretta Lynn are country music legends and were very successful solo artists. But in 1971 they were paired up as a duo and has a strong run in the 70s with five number one country music hits including Louisiana Woman, Mississippi Man in 1973. In 1970, Twitty had just had his biggest hit with Hello Darlin'. And Loretta topped the country charts with Coal Miner's Daughter in 1970. Decca Records house producer Owen Bradley produced both of them so he decided to pair them up. When their first single After The Fire Is Gone topped the Country Singles chart and won a Grammy, they decided to continue recording together. They also continued to record solo. Louisiana Woman, Mississippi Man is the title of their third album and it was also the first single from the album. It topped the Country Singles chart in 1973. It's probably their most memorable song. The song was written by Jim Owen and Becki Bluefield. Owen has produced several Hank Williams tribute shows on radio, TV and film and also plays him on stage at his theater in Branson, MO. Other number one hits for this duo were Lead Me On, As Soon As I Hang Up The Phone and Feelins. From 1971 to 1981, Conway Twitty and Loretta Lynn recorded nine albums together. They are probably the most successful country music duet in history and you can get all their hits on this comp. They won several awards. They stopped recording together when Twitty left MCA for Elektra and then Warner Bros. in 1982. He returned to MCA in 1987 and the two recorded a final album together in 1988. Here's Conway Twitty and Loretta Lynn performing Louisiana Woman, Mississippi Man 1973.

AccuRadio Song Of The Day-Coko

Artist:Coko
Song:Sunshine
Album:Hot Coko





R & B and gospel singer Cheryl "Coko" Gamble is best known as a member of the successful 90s girl group SWV. She went solo after they split up and had some success with the 1999 single Sunshine. When R & B didn't work out for her, she turned to gospel and was very successful in that market. She has reunited with SWV and they released a CD last year. Cheryl was born June 13, 1970 in South Bronx, NY. She grew up singing in church and was in Hezekiah Walker's Love Fellowship Tabernacle Choir. She formed SWV in 1991 with friends Tamara "Taj" Johnson and Leanne "Lelee" Lyons. SWV recorded four albums between 1992 and 1997 and had several hits including the 1993 number one hit Weak. Coko left SWV in 1998. She says she wasn't getting along with the other two girls. She also had solo success with the theme from the film Men In Black. She signed with RCA and released the CD Hot Coko in 1999. Sunshine reached #19 on the R & B Singles chart. Several songs on the album including Sunshine were produced by hotshot producer Rodney "Darkchild" Jerkins. Coko wrote Sunshine with Jerkins and his frequent collaborator LaShawn Daniels. Coko wrote the song for her son. Hot Coko did OK but while Coko was recording her next CD Music Doll, RCA closed their black music division, shelved the album and dropped Coko. Hot Coko is available as a budget CD. Then she got more into gospel. She married Israel and New Breed drummer Mike "Big Mike" Clemmons and they have a child together. After singing on albums by Brent Jones & TP Mobb and Youthful Praise, Coko signed with the gospel label Light Records and has released three gospel CDs. The most recent was in 2009. SWV first reunited in 2005 and didn't record at first. But they released the CD I Missed Us Apr. 2012. It did well and SWV is currently working on a reality show to air on We TV in 2014. Here's the video for Sunshine by Coko.

It's official. Julianna Pena is a moron...but could be a good fighter

Immediately after last night's episode of The Ultimate Fighter 18, finalists Julianna Pena and Jessica Rakoczy appeared on Fox Sports Live on Fox Sports 1. Many fans outside the US don't get Fox Sports 1 and wouldn't get to see this interview. I had heard about it this morning and got the video so you all can watch it. If you've been watching TUF 18, you'll know that Julianna has pulled off a couple of major upsets. But she also comes off a little crazy and she admitted a in one episode that she doesn't understand why everyone in the house is annoyed with her. As viewers, we know why they are annoyed with her so why doesn't she know? After this interview, you'll know that the reason she doesn't know is she's a moron. Look, I have no problem with fighters talking smack if the fighter is good at it. Chael Sonnen is a great smack talker and so is Ronda Rousey. And Ronda doesn't always talk smack. She only does that with opponents she really hates. She didn't talk smack about Sarah Kaufman or Liz Carmouche. But for Julianna to talk smack just to do it makes her look foolish. First she says that Ronda is a spoiled rich brat. So Julianna, where's your Olympic medal? That's just an ignorant thing to say. Then she says that she wasn't the most annoying person in the house. She claims that Shayna Bazsler and Anthony Gutierrez were the most annoying. But what made Julianna look even worse was Jessica Rakozcy's reaction was typically Canadian. She laughed and said nothing. Of course she could have torn a strip off Julianna. But this was more effective anyway. I don't think Jessica would say anything bad about anyone. It's not her style. We'll see what happens on Saturday. I like Julianna because she fights with urgency. She showed a lot of fear before her TUF fights. Dana White said she wanted to go home before the Shayna Bazsler fight. But fear can be a great motivator. I think it's doubtful Julianna understands that because she hasn't shown insight about anything else. That fear could make her a star. Enjoy the video!

Review of The Ultimate Fighter 18 episode 13

This is the final episode of The Ultimate Fighter 18. The finals will be this Saturday at Mandalay Bay in Las Vegas. The men's final is Chris Holdsworth of Team Tate vs Davey Grant of Team Rousey. Holdsworth should be the favourite. Jessica Rakozcy of Team Rousey will face Raquel Pennington of Team Tate to decide who will face Julianna Pena in the final. Both fighters have nagging injuries. Jessica is still having shoulder problems. Raquel seems to hurt her forearm while training with Louis Fisette. Raquel believes that because Jessica is a pro boxer, she plans to take Jessica down and beat her that way. Jessica plans to keep it standing. Raquel is larger than Jessica and probably stronger. But she admits after the fight that she psyched herself out and didn't do anything that she said she would do. The first round is close but it's a bad sign when Raquel doesn't attempt a takedown until the end of the round. In round two, Jessica executes her game plan to outpunch Raquel. And Raquel is ineffective for the final two rounds. So Jessica Rakozcy will face Julianna Pena in this Saturday's TUF. I'll have more on these two in a separate post coming immediately after I finish this one. There will be two other women's fights on the show. Jessamyn Duke will face Peggy Morgan and Raquel Pennington will face Roxanne Modafferi. Shayna Bazsler and Sarah Moras are out with injuries. Enjoy the video!
E10c74EW44MVRZ7UK1rL by spudgland

AccuRadio Song Of The Day-Neville Grant

Artist:Neville Grant
Song:Sick and Tired
Album:The Big Beat: The Dave Bartholomew Songbook




Neville Grant was a Jamaican session drummer who recorded a few singles in the 70s. The best known of these singles was his 1973 cover of the 1958 Fats Domino classic Sick and Tired. In the 70s, Grant worked with legendary producer Lee "Scratch" Perry and later on he worked with Junior Delgado, Dennis Brown and Joe Gibbs. He also worked a lot with keyboard player Ansel Collins. Grant recorded the single Black Man's Time in 1972. This was on Lee "Scratch" Perry's Upsetter label. Perry liked it so he had Grant record a cover of the Mac Davis hit Baby, Don't Get Hooked On Me and then Sick and Tired. Sick and Tired was written by Fats Domino, Chris Kenner and Dave Bartholomew and Domino recorded it in 1958. After that Grant went back to working as a session drummer for all kinds of artists including Jimmy Cliff, Dennis Brown, Junior Delgado and he worked for producer Joe Gibbs for many years. Sick and Tired is obscure but it has turned up on a few various artists comps including this Dave Bartholomew comp from Ace Records. Grant may seem out of place with some of the 50s artists like Elvis Presley and Buddy Holly but it's an interesting CD. Here's a video for Sick and Tired by Neville Grant.

AccuRadio Song Of The Day-The Bobbettes

Artist:The Bobbettes
Song:Mr. Lee
Album:Atlantic R&B 1957-1960 Vol. 4





The 1957 top ten hit Mr. Lee is one of the all time classics of doo wop. The Bobbettes had some other chart hits but nothing to match Mr. Lee. A version of the group still tours the oldies circuit. The Bobbettes were Jannie Pought, Emma Pought, Reather Dixon, Laura Webb and Helen Gathers. They sang together in the glee club at PS 109 in the Spanish Harlem section of New York City. They met record producer James Dailey and he became their manager. They performed at amateur night at the Apollo Theater and that got them a record deal with Atlantic Records. In Mr. Lee, the singer has a crush on her teacher. The girls actually hated this teacher and the song was intended to be a put down. But Atlantic had them change the song. Mr. Lee topped the R & B Singles chart for four weeks and it reached #6 on the Billboard pop singles chart in 1957. Follow up singles didn't chart and the Bobbettes left Atlantic for Triple X in 1960. They charted with I Shot Mr. Lee in 1960. You can get Mr. Lee on this Atlantic various artists budget CD. The Bobbettes continued to record without much success in the 60s. Helen Gathers left in 1962. Jannie Pought was murdered in 1980. Laura Webb died in 2001. Emma Pought and Reather Dixon continue to lead The Bobbettes on the oldies circuit. Here's a video for Mr. Lee by The Bobbettes.

Review of WWE Total Divas episode 11

On this week's episode of WWE Total Divas, we get an overload of stupidity about the romantic adventures of these women. After last week's cliffhanger of John Cena presenting girlfriend Nikki Bella with a co-habitation agreement, she's not happy about it and moves to a hotel to figure out if she wants to sign it. She claims she doesn't know why Cena wants her to sign this agreement. This is hard to believe because most WWE fans know that Cena went through a bad divorce and it isn't surprising that a multi-millionaire would want to protect himself from financial ruin in any relationship. So shouldn't Nikki know that? This stupidity is hard to fathom. Her sister Brie is equally stupid so she's no help. But mom explains it all to Nikki when they talk on the phone. Of course she is still upset about it. You may recall that Ariane of The Funkadactyls was having abdominal pains and there might be something wrong with her. Apparently she is experiencing pain during sex with her boyfriend Vincent. She thinks his...ahem...member is too big. She tells Trinity and Trinity agrees with viewers that this is too much information. So Ariane goes to a gynecologist and there's nothing wrong with her. Then Ariane and Vincent go to a sex therapist. Not surprisingly, the sex therapist suggests that Ariane is uptight about sex and recommends vibrators and other sex toys. I think Ariane is uptight about a lot of things. Vincent thinks buying sex toys will solve the problem. That's doubtful but at least these two comedians are still together. Oh, you mean this isn't supposed to be funny? Coulda fooled me. Diva in training Eva Marie makes the mistake of training with Nattie Neidhart's husband TJ Wilson. I understand she wants to learn wrestling moves but she would be better off training with anyone but TJ because Nattie is very insecure and not surprisingly goes bonkers. One good thing in this segment is an appearance by former WCW wrestler Norman Smiley who is a WWE trainer. So Nattie tries to make TJ jealous by training with Fandango and then she yells at Eva Marie. Nattie makes up with TJ and realizes her overreaction. This seems to be a regular habit for her. I'm not really buying this storyline. With Bryan Danielson's increased schedule due to John Cena's injury, Brie Bella complains about not spending enough time with him. He tells her that it comes with the territory and even Nikki tells Brie she is too needy. One would think Brie would have some insight into the time commitments for a big WWE star like Daniel Bryan. She doesn't. More stupidity. Finally Nikki has dinner with Cena to discuss the co-habitation agreement. Cena admits he should have given it to her before she moved in. If he had done that, we wouldn't have had all this drama on the show. Oh, wait. He explains that he needs to protect himself as he supports his family in Boston. Nikki seems to accept that explanation. They don't show her signing the document but I assume she did. Unless this whole thing was made up for the show. I could say that about this whole episode. Check out the video for yourself.
WWE - Total Divas - Season 01 - Episode 11 by wwetotaldivas

AccuRadio Song Of The Day-Reginald Milton & The Soul Jets

Artist:Reginald Milton & The Soul Jets
Song:Clap Your Hands
Album:Funk Spectrum





Here's an oddity that years after it was recorded generated some interest in the funk community and was released on CD by the well known DJ Shadow. Reginald Milton recorded two singles in the 70s. He was 13 years old when he recorded Clap Your Hands. Milton is from San Antonio, TX. He met Houston based producer Jay Fletcher and he brought Milton into the recording studio. Fletcher now lives in Germany. Milton wrote Clap Your Hands and released it on his own label. He gained some fans locally in Texas but in the end nothing came of it. I don't know what happened to Milton but I guess he didn't remain in the music business. Clap Your Hands became a cult item in the 90s. The single became a collectors item for funk fans. The only person who seemed to have a copy of the single was Josh "DJ Shadow" Davis. Like a lot of DJs and remix masters, Davis started out as a record collector. Record collectors can be very obsessive. I speak from experience. He noticed some interest in funk rarities like Clap Your Hands and began the Funk Spectrum series of CDs in 1999 so that fans could own these rarities. He compiled the CD with another DJ Keb Darge. Davis has released several Funk Spectrum CDs and this one is available as a budget CD. Those interested in that sort of thing will want to check it out. Here's a video for Clap Your Hands by Reginald Milton & The Soul Jets.

Big Bad Blog Video Theater-Io Shirai vs Nanae Takahashi

Here's the match video of Io Shirai defending her World Of Stardom Championship against Nanae Takahashi on the Nov. 4 STARDOM show at Korakuen Hall. Apparently this was STARDOM's 100th show. Takahashi won the title shot by winning the 5 Star GP. Takahashi is a veteran wrestler and is part of STARDOM management. So she could pull rank if she wanted and get the title back that she previously held. And she might have done that if Shirai wasn't cutting it as champ. But Shirai is a great champ and Takahashi is not selfish. Two years ago I wouldn't have thought that Shirai could hang with Takahashi and deliver a great match. But she's improved so much she can have a great match with anyone. The only problem with this match is they are both babyfaces so there is no real conflict. It's a great match. Both are very athletic and the match is very quickly paced for the entire 30 minutes. Shirai does a moonsault from the balcony and plenty of other high flying moves. And Takahashi uses her size advantage and power to knock Shirai down to size. Shirai wins the match at 29:59 of the 30 minute time limit. Unfortunately, she messed up the finish. She set up Takahashi too far away from the corner and she didn't properly execute her diving moonsault footstomp finisher properly twice. But time was running out and they wanted a finish. Io Shirai is still the World of Stardom Champion. Her next challenger is JWP Open Weight Champion Arisa Nakajima who came to the ring after the match. That should be good. Enjoy the video!

AccuRadio Song Of The Day-Dumas

Artist:Dumas
Song:Linoleum
Album:Compilation




Singer songwriter Steve Dumas is popular in his native Quebec but is virtually unknown elsewhere. Linoleum is from his 2003 CD Les Cours Des Jours which is his most popular CD to date. He was born July 4, 1979 in Victoriaville, QC. He won the 1999 Festival de la Chanson de Granby and this led to Dumas working with producer Carl Bastien. Bastien was a pianist for Jean Leloup. And though he has released a couple of CDs of his own music, he has concentrated on producing artists like Dumas and the popular singer Daniel Belanger. Dumas signed with Tacca Musique in 2001. Linoleum is from his 2003 CD Les Cours Des Jours and it got him fans in Quebec. Marie-Annick Lepine of Les Cowboys Fringants appeared on the album and Dumas toured France with them in 2005. Dumas and Bastien wrote the music for the 2004 film Les Aiments. They won a Jutra award and a Felix award for the music from the film. A Jutra is an award for films in Quebec and the Felix is an award for music in Quebec. For the 2008 CD Nord, Dumas split with Bastien and also moved to Les Cowboys Fringants label La Tribu. After his 2009 CD Traces, he disappeared for a couple of years until he released the CD L'heure et L'endroit in 2011. This comp CD is a good intro to his music and it comes with a bonus DVD. It remains to be seen if Dumas can regain his fanbase in Quebec but he is currently on tour. Here's the video for Linoleum by Dumas.

AccuRadio Song Of The Day-Kellie Pickler

Artist:Kellie Pickler
Song:I Wonder
Album:Small Town Girl





Country singer Kellie Pickler is best known for finishing sixth on season five of American Idol and later she won season 16 of Dancing With The Stars. She has had modest success in her recording career but she wasn't successful enough to stay with a major label. Her 2006 debut CD Small Town Girl is her biggest seller to date. She was born June 28, 1986 in Albemarle, NC which is near Charlotte. She was raised by her grandparents as her mom left the family and disappeared and her dad has served a couple of prison stretches. She was a cheerleader and beauty queen in high school and competed in the 2004 Miss North Carolina beauty pageant. She auditioned for American Idol in Greensboro, NC and finished sixth in the 2006 season. AI judge Simon Cowell said he preferred Kellie to the previous season's winner Carrie Underwood. The big difference between the two is Carrie was a seasoned performer before AI and Kellie had never performed in front of an audience before AI. This was the year Taylor Hicks won and his career went nowhere and he's singing on cruise ships. The producers liked Kellie enough to sign her to their label 19 Recordings and she recorded her debut CD while on the 2006 American Idols Live tour. Small Town Girl was produced by Sony Nashville exec Scott Chancey and released Oct. 2006. it was certified Gold and is Kellie's best selling CD to date. I Wonder was her second single and it reached #14 on the Country Singles chart. Kellie wrote I Wonder about her relationship with her mom with Chris Lindsey, his wife Aimee Mayo and Karyn Rochelle. Kellie has written several songs with this group. Kellie toured with Brad Paisley. Her 2008 CD Kellie Pickler sold half of what her first CD sold. The single Best Days Of Your Life reached #9 on the Country Singles chart but that was probably because Kellie wrote it with Taylor Swift and Taylor appeared on the record. Kellie's 2011 CD 100 Proof sold less than previous CDs. Her Sony contract was over and they chose not to renew it. She signed with the small label Black River Entertainment and her new CD The Woman I Am was released Nov. 11, 2013. Along with partner Derek Hough, Kellie was winner of season 16 of Dancing With The Stars May 2013. She is married to songwriter Kyle Jacobs and they write songs together. It remains to be seen how she will do on a small label but the pressure to sell CDs isn't as great. I've always said that American Idol is a double edged sword. It has created stars but some singers aren't meant to be stars and sometimes the show creates a false impression of stardom. That seems to be what happened to Kellie Pickler. But the show's effect is enough to allow her to record and tour. Here's the video for I Wonder by Kellie Pickler.

Wayne Shorter Quartet concert review

Last night I went to Massey Hall in downtown Toronto to see sax player Wayne Shorter on his 80th birthday tour. Shorter is best known for his days with Art Blakey, Miles Davis, Weather Report and many solo recordings. He recorded for Blue Note in the 60s and his new CD Without A Net marks his return to Blue Note after over 40 years recording elsewhere. And the great thing is I was almost as excited about the opening act as I was about seeing Shorter. The opening act had the nondescript name ACS. But there was nothing nondescript about their music. ACS is the all female trio of Geri Allen on piano, Terri Lyne Carrington on drums and Esperanza Spalding on bass. I am always asked about women in jazz. I guess there are folks who believe only men can play jazz and women should only sing. I don't care much about gender. I only care if women can play. And this trio can sure as hell play. Mostly they played Wayne Shorter songs as a tribute to out headliner. Of course Esperanza is more famous than the other two. But fame hasn't made her lazy. She attacks that big ol' bass as ferociously as anyone in jazz. They played for an hour and I could have listened for another hour. These girls are badass. The audience sang Happy Birthday to Wayne Shorter when he came out. He is touring with his regular band since 2000. They are Danilo Perez on piano, John Pattitucci on bass and Brian Blade on drums. All of these guys are top notch musicians and their familiarity with Shorter seems to help him a lot. They mostly played songs from Shorter's catalog. Shorter seemed to have trouble with his tenor sax. He switched to alto sax and things seemed to go a lot smoother after that. So they got off to a slow start but finished very strongly. They played for ninety minutes but it didn't seem that long. That's always a good sign. The show was as good as I expected and I was glad I got to see Wayne Shorter on his 80th birthday tour.