AccuRadio Song Of The Day-Blaine Larsen

Artist:Blaine Larsen
Song:How Do You Get That Lonely
Album:Off To Join The World





In 2005, 18 year old Blaine Larsen looked like he was going to be the next big thing in country music when How Do You Get That Lonely reached the top 20 of the country charts. But it didn't work out and record company woes forced Larsen to leave the music business for the ministry. He was born Feb. 2, 1986 in Tacoma, WA. His family lived in California. But when his parents divorced, he moved with his mom back to Tacoma. Her new husband introduced him to country music and Larsen sang along with karaoke tapes and learned to play guitar. They took him to Nashville to record a demo. Rory Lee Feek heard the demo and signed Larsen to his Giantslayer label. Feek is best known as half of Joey + Rory. They released the 2004 CD In My High School. This led to a deal with the BMG Nashville owned label BNA. The 2005 CD Off To Join The World is a reworked version of In My High School. They re-recorded some songs and made a couple of changes. How Do You Get That Lonely reached #18 on the Country Singles chart. The song was written by Jamie Teachenor as a tribute to former Mount Pleasant, TN high school football player Lance Emmitt who committed suicide at age 19 on Nov. 11, 2003. It was Teachenor's first hit as a songwriter. He has had success writing for others and is attempting to launch a career as a performer. This song turned out to be Larsen's biggest hit as subsequent singles did not perform well. After the 2006 album Rockin' You Tonight, he left BNA. His management started Treehouse Records but they merged with Stroudavarious Records owned by former Giant Records president James Stroud. Larsen recorded an album and a couple of singles were released. But the CD was shelved when Stroud closed Stroudavarious and started the new label R & J Records in 2011. In 2012, Larsen announced on Youtube that he was leaving the music business to go into ministry. He describes himself on Twitter as a recovering country music artist. Here's the video for How Do You Get That Lonely by Blaine Larsen.

Marloes Coenen, Julia Budd sign with Bellator

Marloes Coenen, Julia Budd

On Monday a rumour surfaced on Twitter that Bellator had signed Marloes Coenen and Gina Carano. After some digging, I came to the conclusion that Marloes did sign with Bellator and Gina did not. And new Bellator president Scott Coker confirmed that they did not sign Gina. Today Bellator announced they have signed Marloes Coenen and Julia Budd and they will fight on an upcoming Bellator show. Of course they are heralding this as the next era of the women's division. Two fighters do not make a division. We'll see who else they sign. Both Marloes and Julia have most recently fought for Invicta. Marloes has been around since she won the 2000 World Remix Tournament in Tokyo. Things didn't go so well for her in Invicta. After breaking her hand during an unimpressive win over Romy Ruyssen, she got clobbered by Cris Cyborg. I favour her over Julia because Marloes is a more complete fighter. Julia is a kickboxer who has problems on the ground. She won all four of her Invicta fights but none of those opponents measure up to Marloes. I'm not surprised by this signing as Coker has always been a big Marloes Coenen fan. And unlike other 145lb fighters, Marloes isn't planning a drop to 135. And I doubt that Julia could drop to 135 even if she wanted to. And the biggest problem with a 145lb division is the depth. A lot of 145lb fighters including Cris Cyborg and Ediane Gomes want to drop to 135 to get into the UFC. Among the fighters to consider are Veronica Rothenhausler who will be on the next Invicta show, Amanda Bell who beat Ronda Rousey's BFF Marina Shafir a few days ago and of course the infamous Fallon Fox. And another name I will float because I know Coker likes her is Belgian Cindy Dandois. Cindy had a baby so she hasn't fought for three years. But last year she was training with Miesha Tate. Time for a comeback. As for Gina Carano, as I have said for months, I don't believe she will sign with anyone as there is no mention of the possibility of her fighting in any of her movie contracts and the film producer has to sign off on it. Some producers may not want her to fight. This fight will be on Spike TV. I'll let you know when a date is announced.

AccuRadio Song Of The Day-J.J. Johnson and Al Grey

Artist:J.J. Johnson and Al Grey
Song:Doncha Hear Me Callin' To Ya
Album:Things Are Getting Better All the Time





This is a 1983 album recorded by two legends of the jazz trombone. J.J. Johnson is considered by many to have popularized the jazz trombone especially in his long running band with Kai Winding. Al Grey is best known for his days with Count Basie. Johnson once played in the Basie band back in the 40s. But by the 70s, Johnson turned to Los Angeles studio work because he didn't want to move to Europe like many jazz musicians did just to get regular gigs. Johnson scored films like Across 110th Street, Cleopatra Jones and Willie Dynamite and for TV series like Starsky and Hutch and The Six Million Dollar Man. So he didn't tour much and he rarely recorded. Meanwhile, Al Grey finished his third stint with the Basie band in 1977 and went on the road with Jimmy Forrest. In 1983, Johnson recorded the album Jackson, Johnson, Brown and Company with Milt Jackson and Ray Brown. Then he recorded We'll Be Together Again with Joe Pass for Pablo Records. Brown asked Johnson if he had ever worked with Al Grey. Johnson thought that was a great idea. Brown played bass and produced Things Are Getting Better All Time. Other musicians were Kenny Barron on piano and Mickey Roker on drums. Doncha Hear Me Callin' To Ya is a traditional gospel song that was recorded in the 60s by Junior Mance. The album is available on CD and is recommended especially to jazz trombone fans. Johnson toured and recorded more frequently in the 80s until his wife got sick. But he returned in the 90s and worked a lot with trombonist Steve Turre. He died on Feb. 4, 2001 at age 77. Grey was active in the 90s until his death until his death in 2000. This album is the only time these giants of jazz worked together. Here's a video for Doncha Hear Me Callin' To Ya by J.J. Johnson and Al Grey.

AccuRadio Song Of The Day-Rockwell

Artist:Rockwell
Song:Somebody's Watching Me
Album:20th Century Masters: The Millennium Collection: 80's R&B




Somebody's Watching Me was a big hit in 1984 mainly because folks thought Michael Jackson recorded it under a pseudonym. He didn't but along with his brother Jermaine, that is him on background vocals. The problem was when Rockwell tried to do his own thing, nobody wanted to hear it and he had a very short music career. So how did this guy get Michael Jackson to record with him? That's easy. Rockwell was born Kennedy Gordy May 15, 1964 and he is the son of Motown Records founder Berry Gordy. To avoid accusations of nepotism, he secured a record contract with Motown without his father's knowledge. Motown execs decided to call him Rockwell because he...uh...rocked well. I can't make up stuff like this. After his dad kicked him out of the house, Rockwell went to live with Gordy's ex-wife Ray Singleton who was a producer at Motown. She hired him as a staff songwriter and heard him working on Somebody's Watching Me. She thought he should record it and convinced Motown house producer Curtis Anthony Nolen to work with him. It was Rockwell's idea to have Jackson sing background vocals. He picked up Jackson at his home and drove him to the studio. It must be nice to know people. When the record was finished, Singleton played it for Gordy. Gordy didn't recognize his son's voice but he was excited about Jackson's appearance on the record. And that's why Somebody's Watching Me reached #2 on the Billboard Hot 100 in 1984. Listeners thought it was a Michael Jackson record. After Rockwell's second single Obscene Phone Caller reached the top 40, Rockwell never charted again. After recording three albums, he left the music business. You can get Somebody's Watching Me on this various artists budget CD. The last time Rockwell was in the news was when TMZ reported his 2013 divorce. Here's the video for Somebody's Watching Me by Rockwell.

AccuRadio Song Of The Day-Sunny & The Sunglows

Artist:Sunny & The Sunglows
Song:Talk To Me
Album:Hard To Find 45's on CD Volume 10 1960-1965




Though Talk To Me was their only significant chart hit, Sunny & The Sunglows were pioneers for Latinos in pop music. The band continued but not as a rock group. Sunny & The Sunglows were from San Antonio, TX led by lead singer Sunny Ozuna. They all went to school together. They played all kinds of music including R & B, blues, polka and mariachi. Ozuna started Sunglow Records in 1962 and released the single Golly Gee. The record was picked up for national distribution by OKeh Records. This got the attention of veteran producer Huey P. Meaux and he signed them to his Tear Drop label. Meaux was best known for producing Freddy Fender. Sunny & The Sunglows released Talk To Me and it reached #11 on the Billboard Hot 100 and #5 on the R & B Singles chart in 1963. Talk To Me was written by Joe Seneca who was better known as an actor but started out in music. It was recorded in 1958 by Little Willie John and hit the top twenty. Attempts to follow up Talk To Me with covers of Tony Bennett's Rags To Riches and The Five Keys' Out Of Sight Out Of Mind flopped. You can get Talk To Me on this Eric Records various artists CD. Ozuna disbanded the Sunglows, moved to Dallas and formed Sunny & The Sunliners. They were around for years playing and recording all kinds of music. They were a popular live act in Texas. They seem to be inactive. Ozuna's website came up empty. Obviously in the early 60s, there were very few Latino pop groups so Sunny & The Sunglows are influential. Here's a video for Talk To Me ny Sunny & The Sunglows.

AccuRadio Song Of The Day-Miles Davis

Artist:Miles Davis
Song:All Of You
Album:Miles In Tokyo





Miles Davis and John Coltrane had a very productive musical relationship in the late 50s that I am sure most jazz fans are aware of. When Coltrane left the Davis band to start his own classic quartet, Davis went through several sax players before he ultimately settled on Wayne Shorter in 1965. Among those who played with Davis in that period were Jimmy Heath, Sonny Stitt and Hank Mobley. Mobley was probably the most successful of those as he recorded in the studio with Davis. In 1963, Davis decided to form a new band with younger musicians. The rhythm section was Herbie Hancock on piano, Ron Carter on bass and Tony Williams on drums. Davis wanted Shorter but he was Art Blakey's musical director at the time. So instead he hired George Coleman from trombonist Slide Hampton's band. Coleman was in the Davis band for about a year. But ultimately it didn't work out. Davis still wanted Shorter. But Williams recommended Sam Rivers who he had jammed with in New York. Rivers was with the Davis band very briefly on a 1964 tour of Japan. And the only album ever released of that band is Miles In Tokyo. It was recorded at the Kohseinenkin Hall in Tokyo July 14, 1964. Columbia released the album in 1969 and it's available as a budget CD. It's a must for Davis and Sam Rivers fans. It didn't work out because Davis thought Rivers was too avant garde. Not long after, Wayne Shorter was finally brought in and that band turned out to be as successful as the Coltrane band. Here's Miles Davis with Wayne Shorter, Herbie Hancock, Ron Carter and Tony Williams performing All Of You in Italy 1965.

AccuRadio Song Of The Day-Bela Fleck

Artist:Bela Fleck f/Oumou Sangare
Song:Djorolen
Album:Throw Down Your Heart: Tales From The Acoustic Planet Vol. 3: Africa Sessions




Banjo whiz Bela Fleck is probably best known for leading his group The Flecktones. He started in bluegrass but he's one of those guys who likes to explore different musical cultures. This 2009 CD Throw Down Your Heart is the third in a series of musical explorations. Fleck went to Africa and took a film crew with him. Fleck was born July 10, 1958 in New York City. He started out as a member of the 80s bluegrass group New Grass Revival and then formed Bela Fleck and the Flecktones with bassist Victor Wooten in 1988. The Flecktones aren't active right now. But even when they were, Fleck recorded solo albums that didn't fit into what The Flecktones were doing. In 1995, he recorded the album Tales From The Acoustic Planet with his usual bluegrass crowd along with jazz musicians like Chick Corea and Branford Marsalis. The album was so successful that Fleck decided to turn it into a series of albums. Volume two was The Bluegrass Sessions in 1999. For volume three, Fleck went to Africa and took a film crew with him. The album and film are both titled Throw Down Your Heart. Fleck recorded in places like Tanzania and Uganda. But his main tour guide was the fabulous Mali singer songwriter Oumou Sangare who I have written about before. A lot of the film is told through her point of view. The album won two Grammys and the film is available on DVD. There is also a second volume of Africa Sessions available as a digital download through Fleck's website. These days Fleck performs a lot with his wife Abigail Washburn. And he records with all kinds of musicians. His latest CD The Imposter is a classical composition recorded with the Nashville Symphony Orchestra. So he's always doing something interesting. Here's Bela Fleck with Oumou Sangare performing Djorolen from the film Throw Down Your Heart.

MIZUKI likely UFC bound after DEEP JEWELS Lightweight Championship win

Today's DEEP JEWELS show at Shinjuku FACE was again broadcast live on UStream. Typical of the shows since DEEP took the company back, there were two matches of interest and the rest was potential filler including three grappling rules matches. There was one match on the show that exceeded expectations. But the rest of the show was what I expected. Knowing that the show was weak, DEEP JEWELS matchmaker Shigeru Saeki booked Shizuka Sugiyama in a match and even booked Saori Ishioka in a grappling rules match. But Sugiyama's opponent got injured the match was scratched. And though Ishioka won her grappling match over Yukiko Seki, she looked terrible and she seemed embarrassed after the match. Please, no more grappling matches for her. The main event was a rematch from February when MIZUKI missed weight and instead of cancelling the match, Saeki made it so MIZUKI couldn't win the title. This time MIZUKI made weight and at the weigh ins, she looked like she was going to steal opponent Emi Tomimatsu's lunch money. In a pre-match interview, Emi admitted that she would need to up her game to beat MIZUKI. MIZUKI won easily. Her striking was very crisp. Emi tried to take her down but got stuffed. And then in round three, MIZUKI won with an armbar. That someone like Emi Tomimatsu was even in this position shows how low the talent level is. I understand she plans to drop to 48kg like that solves all problems. And MIZUKI won't be in DEEP JEWELS much longer. The UFC is already interested in her and they plan to bring her over in 2015. Is she too young? MIZUKI may be 19 years old but she fights like a seasoned veteran. And she will only get better. The other big match saw Ayaka Hamasaki return after knee surgery at 48kg to face Sugi Rock. Ayaka won easily by TKO at the end of round one. I expect we will see her in Invicta in 2015. At 36 years old, Sugi Rock continues to slide and she should maybe consider retirement. The best match on the show had Yuko "Amiba" Oya win a unanimous decision over Sachiko Fujimori. Amiba is one of the most popular fighters in DEEP JEWELS because of her bubbly personality. But going into this fight, her record was 7-3 and she had never beaten a top level fighter. When DEEP recently closed their dojo, Amiba moved to AACC. Maybe training with Megumi Fujii and Ayaka Hamasaki has helped her. Fujimori is an older fighter but not that experienced. But she has shown a spark in her fights. The fight went back and forth but Amiba won by unanimous decision. The show was pretty blah at that point so it really needed a good fight and a nice surprise at that. Now they have to give Amiba better competition. In the other MMA matches on the show, Mina Kurobe improved to 3-0 with a unanimous decision win over veteran Masako Yoshida. A lot of stalling in this match. And the veteran MIYOKO won over Tamaki Usui by second round armbar. Neither fighter was very good. The next DEEP JEWELS show will be in November and it will be available on UStream iPPV. Be there or be square.

AccuRadio Song Of The Day-The Mel Lewis Jazz Orchestra

Artist:The Mel Lewis Jazz Orchestra
Song:Little Pixie
Album:The Definitive Thad Jones: Live From The Village Vanguard




Most jazz fans should be familiar with The Thad Jones/Mel Lewis Orchestra. They were one of the top big bands of the 60s and 70s. But you may not know that Lewis had a long career as a sideman before he got together with Jones. And after Jones moved to Europe in 1978, Lewis continued to lead the band and played every Monday night at The Village Vanguard in New York. Lewis was born Melvin Sokoloff May 10, 1929 in Buffalo, NY. He began to play drums professionally at age 15 in bands led by Boyd Raeburn, Alvino Rey, Ray Anthony and Tex Beneke. In the 50s, Lewis had a three year run with Stan Kenton. Then he moved to Los Angeles in 1957 to be a session musician. He also played in big bands led by Terry Gibbs and Gerald Wilson. Lewis moved back to New York and toured with Gerry Mulligan, Dizzy Gillespie and Benny Goodman. He also recorded with Sonny Stitt, Gary McFarland and James Moody. The band with Thad Jones started with informal jam sessions at The Village Vanguard. But then they got a record deal with Solid State Records in 1966 and The Thad Jones/Mel Lewis Orchestra continued until Jones moved to Denmark for good in 1979. Lewis continued to lead the band every Monday night at the Village Vanguard. After Jones died in 1986, Lewis signed with Music Masters Jazz and decided to record a tribute to Jones at The Village Vanguard. The recordings were released as 2 single LPs. But Nimbus Records released them as a 2CD package in 2007. Like all the songs on the CD. Little Pixie was written by Jones and first recorded in 1966. Musicians are Glenn Drewes, Earl Gardner, Joe Mosello and Jim Powell on trumpet, Ralph Lalama and Joe Lovano on tenor sax, Ted Nash and Dick Oatts on alto sax, Gary Smulyan on baritone sax, Earl McIntyre, John Mosca and Douglas Purviance on trombone, Stephanie Fauber on french horn, Kenny Werner on piano and Dennis Irwin on bass. This band continued until Lewis died on Feb. 2, 1990 at age 60. And as a tribute, The Vanguard Jazz Orchestra still plays The Village Vanguard every Monday night. Mel Lewis may not have been flashy like Buddy Rich. But he sure knew how to drive a big band. Here's The Mel Lewis Jazz Orchestra performing Little Pixie in Jerusalem 1979. This is from the V.I.E.W. Video DVD Mel Lewis and his Big Band.

AccuRadio Song Of The Day-Frankie Ford

Artist:Frankie Ford
Song:Sea Cruise
Album:Sea Cruise and Other Hits





The 1959 top twenty hit Sea Cruise is one of the all time great one hit wonders. Frankie Ford may have never had another big hit but he's still around today. He was born Francis Guzzo Aug. 4, 1939 in Gretna, LA which is just across New Orleans divided by the Mississippi River. Ford performed as a child and appeared on the Ted Mack Amateur Hour in 1952. In high school he led The Syncopators. Ford says his musical influences include Clarence "Frogman" Henry, Huey "Piano" Smith and Fats Domino. He was approached by the New Orleans distributor for Ace Records about recording. So here's the weird thing about Sea Cruise. The song was written and originally recorded by New Orleans music legend Huey "Piano" Smith with Bobby Marchan on vocals. Producer Johnny Vincent decided to record Ford's vocals over the existing backing track. He also added foghorns and other sound effects. Sea Cruise reached #14 on the Billboard Hot 100 in 1959. Ford recorded a few more singles for Ace and then signed with Imperial Records in 1960. Despite working with legendary producer Dave Bartholomew, none of Ford's records clicked. And his career was interrupted when Ford enlisted in the US Army in 1962. You can get Sea Cruise and Ford's recordings of the era on this comp from Jasmine Records. Ford has recorded occasionally over the years and he has always performed with great energy. That's why he is called the New Orleans Dynamo. Here's Frankie Ford performing Sea Cruise on The Dick Clark Beech Nut Show Mar. 21, 1959.

AccuRadio Song Of The Day-The Young Generation

Artist:The Young Generation
Song:The Hideaway
Album:The Red Bird Girls: Very First Time In True Stereo 1964-1966




Here's a very interesting one off girl group single that wasn't a hit but featured a singer who would go on to be famous in the 70s. It is also an early recording by a top producer of the 70s. Red Bird Records was founded by the legendary songwriting and production team of Jerry Lieber and Mike Stoller in 1964. Red Bird's big hits were Chapel Of Love by The Dixie Cups and Leader of the Pack by The Shangri-Las. In 1965, veteran record promoter George Goldner was brought in and he took over Red Bird in 1966. He needed a producer so he hired Richard Perry. Perry would go on to be one of the top producers of the 70s working with Nilsson and The Pointer Sisters. In 1966 he had worked with Goldie & The Gingerbreads and songwriter Kenny Vance. The Young Generation were three fourteen year old girls from New York City. Perry wrote The Hideaway with the songwriting team of Bobby Lance and Fran Robins who wrote songs for Maxine Brown and Goldie & The Gingerbreads. Artie Butler wrote the arrangement. The lead singer of The Young Generation was Janis Siegel who would become famous in the 70s as a member of The Manhattan Transfer and then a solo artist. The other two girls were Dori Miles and Rona Rothenberg. The problem was that Goldner had a gambling problem and he eventually lost Red Bird due to gambling debts. They went out of business soon after. Richard Perry would soon produce Tiny Tim's Tiptoe Through The Tulips and become an in demand producer. The Young Generation recorded a second single on Kapp Records called It's Not Gonna Take Too Long as The Loved Ones which was also produced by Perry. There was already an Aussie group called The Loved Ones. Janis says the girls drifted towards folk music and changed the group name to Laurel Canyon. You can get The Hideaway on this various artists comp. It's hard to believe this was sung by fourteen year old girls. Here's a video for The Hideaway by The Young Generation.

Paige VanZant vs Kailin Curran added to Oct. 4 UFC show

Paige VanZant, Kailin Curran

Last night Hawaiian Strawweight Kailin Curran announced on Twitter that she has signed with the UFC. So not surprisingly, Ariel Helwani of MMA Fighting reported this morning that she will fight Paige VanZant on UFC Fight Night 54 Oct. 4 at the Halifax Metro Center in Halifax, NS. Paige VanZant was one of the Invicta contracts purchased by Zuffa for The Ultimate Fighter 20. But I guess they didn't realize that Paige is too young to appear on the show or they wouldn't have bought her contract. My opinion is both of these girls are very young and inexperienced and would probably be better off fighting on Invicta prelims where there is less pressure. Just another reason why Zuffa should have bought Invicta. Paige is 20 years old and she trains at Team Alpha Male. Her record is 3-1 Her one loss was a real drubbing at the hands of UFC Strawweight Championship hopeful Tecia Torres at the Jan. 5, 2013 Invicta show. Paige's three wins have been over low level regional fighters. Of course there are plenty of sexy pics of Paige on the internet. That sort of thing is part of the business so I am OK with it. But can she fight? Kailin Curran is also unproven. She's a 23 year old from Hawaii but she now trains at Reign MMA in California with guys like Mark Munoz. Her record is 3-0 but all her fights were for the PXC in Guam. Her competition level may have been marginally higher than Paige but not by much. Hopefully it will be a decent fight. But unlike someone like Claudia Gadelha who is already a high caliber fighter and isn't much older than these two, I don't think either are ready for the UFC. I would rather see them fight in Invicta.

AccuRadio Song Of The Day-Ronnie McDowell

Artist:Ronnie McDowell
Song:Older Women
Album:Greatest Hits





Ronnie McDowell started out as an Elvis Presley impersonator and struck gold with the 1977 hit The King Is Gone. But he was also a consistent country music hitmaker in the early 80s. Older Women was one of his two number one country hits. He was born Mar. 25, 1950 in Portland, TN. He started singing when he was in the US Navy in the Philippines. McDowell sounded so much like Elvis that he decided to record the Elvis tribute album The King Is Gone in 1977. The single The King Is Gone was a surprise top 20 pop hit. Remember this was around the time that Elvis died. So McDowell recorded three albums as an Elvis impersonator and contributed vocals to the 1979 TV movie Elvis starring Kurt Russell. But McDowell wanted to record his own music so he signed with Epic Records and veteran producer Buddy Killen. He had a string of top ten country hits in the early 80s. Older Women was his first number one country hit in 1981. He never crossed over to pop again but recording as himself gave him longevity. Older Women was written by Jamie O'Hara who went on to be one half of the 80s country group The O'Kanes. McDowell's other number one country hit was You're Gonna Ruin My Bad Reputation in 1983. McDowell continued to have success until he left Epic for Curb Records in 1986 on the advice of mentor Conway Twitty. The two recorded the top ten country hit It's Only Make Believe in 1987. But McDowell faded in the late 80s though he continued to record for Curb for many years. His latest CD was released on his own label in May and McDowell is currently on tour. I noticed his son Ronnie McDowell Jr. runs his website. This comp has his 80s hits. The King Is Gone is not on this CD. Here's Ronnie McDowell performing Older Women 1981.

AccuRadio Song Of The Day-James Marsden

Artist:James Marsden
Song:(It's) Hairspray
Album:Hairspray: Soundtrack To The Motion Picture




Actor James Marsden doesn't really sing but he has appeared in a couple of musicals. And he did very well as TV host Corny Collins in the 2007 film Hairspray. The song (It's) Hairspray is basically a commercial for the TV show's sponsor. Marsden started out in TV and became a star in the first X-Men film. He was born Sept. 18, 1973 in Stillwater, OK. He left Oklahoma State University after one year to move to Los Angeles to pursue an acting career. He did some modelling and then got his first major role in the Canadian sitcom Boogies Diner. Then he starred in the ABC TV series Second Noah. But what got him a lot of attention was when he was a regular on season five of Ally McBeal. He sang on that show. And of course his portrayal of Cyclops in the 2000 film X-Men made him a star. He also appeared in Superman Returns and The Notebook. My guess is the producers of Hairspray saw Marsden in Ally McBeal and cast him as Corny Collins. The film was a big hit and it led to Marsden appearing in the 2007 Disney musical Enchanted. Those two films made him a favourite with teens. Since then Marsden has appeared in films like Hop, 2 Guns and The Butler. And he also had a recurring role in the TV series 30 Rock. He was in Anchorman 2 and he is in Will Ferrell's next film Welcome To Me. But I have a feeling that when his career is over, Corny Collins will be Marsden's most memorable role. Here's James Marsden performing (It's) Hairspray from the 2007 film Hairspray.

AccuRadio Song Of The Day-Tears For Fears

Artist:Tears For Fears
Song:Everybody Wants To Rule The World
Album:Shout: The Very Best Of Tears For Fears




The British duo Tears For Fears had two number one hits in 1985. They were Shout and Everybody Wants To Rule The World. Of course nothing lasts forever in the music business. And four years without new music and internal bickering killed them by the early 90s. Roland Orzabal and Curt Smith met in high school in Bath, England and were part of the band Neon. The other half of Neon later became Naked Eyes. When Neon split up, Smith and Orzabal formed Graduate in 1979. Graduate recorded an album and had modest success with the single Elvis Should Play Ska. Orzabal and Smith left Graduate in 1981 and formed Tears For Fears. They decided to record as a duo and hire musicians to fill in when needed. Apparently even the band name was influenced by Orzabal's interest in primal therapy. He used music to release his anxiety. Too much angst in the music was one of the big complaints about Tears For Fears. Tears For Fears had success in England with their 1983 album The Hurting. Mad World was their biggest hit. But they wanted to break through in the US. They changed their sound somewhat with the 1985 CD Songs From The Big Chair. I'll sum it up in two words, fewer synthesizers. When Shout remained at the top of the British charts for most of 1985, they knew they had something. Shout and Everybody Wants To Rule The World both topped the Billboard Hot 100. Eveybody Wants To Rule The World was a song that Orzabal didn't like much and it wasn't going to be on the album. But producer Chris Hughes helped Orzabal rewrite the song. Of course Smith was lead vocalist. So now Tears for Fears were big stars partially because MTV played their videos to death. They would release their next CD The Seeds Of Love in 1989. It featured the hit Woman In Chains featuring soul singer Oleta Adams who was discovered by Orzabal. They toured but Smith and Orzabal weren't getting along. They split up in 1991 but Orzabal continued recording as Tears For Fears. Smith recorded a 1993 solo CD and then moved to New York and formed the band Mayfield. Orzabal recorded two more CDs as Tears For Fears and produced other artists. You can get all of Tears For Fears' 80s hits on this comp. Orzabal and Smith reunited for a 2005 CD. Tears For Fears have toured and they have been recording new music. A couple of singles have been released but a release date for the album has not been announced. Here's the video for Everybody Wants To Rule The World by Tears For Fears.

AccuRadio Song Of The Day-The Last Goodnight

Artist:The Last Goodnight
Song:Pictures Of You
Album:Now Vol. 26





Pictures Of You was a big enough hit that it turned up on a Now various artists CD. But subsequent singles didn't chart and The Last Goodnight split up after they were dropped by Virgin Records. The band was known as Renata when they formed in 1998 in Enfield, CT. Singer and pianist Kurtis John Henneberry saw guitarist Mike Nadeau playing at a party and they started jamming. Bassist Lief Christensen and guitarist Anton Yurack were also in the band. At first they were called Haze and then Renata. Renata recorded two CDs independently and toured. But they wanted a record deal so they moved to Los Angeles. They were discovered by producer Jeff Blue who was working for RCA at the time but would soon move to Virgin. Blue is best known for discovering Linkin Park. He changed the band's name to The Last Goodnight. Keyboard player Ely Rise was added and Larone "Skeeter" McMillan was brought in as the new drummer. The single Pictures Of You was released in June and then the CD Poison Kiss was released Aug. 2007. The single did OK mostly in the Adult Contemporary market. It reached #70 on the Billboard Hot 100. The band went on tour. But when subsequent singles didn't do well, Virgin dropped then and The Last Goodnight split up. The song did well enough to turn up on a Now comp CD. Poison Kiss is only available as an import CD. It appears that the band members all left the music business. Here's the video for Pictures Of You by The Last Goodnight.

AccuRadio Song Of The Day-Frankie Ruiz

Artist:Frankie Ruiz
Song:Bailando
Album:12 Favoritas





Frankie Ruiz was one of the most popular Salsa singers of the 80s and 90s. Sadly he was addicted to drugs and alcohol and this led to his premature death in 1998. He was born Jose Antonio Torresola Ruiz Mar. 10, 1958 in Paterson, NJ. His parents were Puerto Rican immigrants. He sang as a child and worked local clubs as a teen in The Charlie Lopez Orchestra. After his parents divorced, he moved with his mom to Mayaguez, Puerto Rico in 1974. He became a fan of the local band La Solucion. His mom asked bandleader Roberto Rivera to give him an audition. Rivera refused until his singer didn't show up one night. Ruiz got his chance and he stayed with the band for three years. Then Ruiz joined Tommy Olivencia's band in 1982 and was very successful to the point that he left to go solo in 1985. Ruiz was much younger than most of the other salsa singers of that time and that helped to bring in younger fans. His style of singing was known as Salsa Romantica and was influential on other singers. Ruiz' nickname was El Papa de la Salsa (The Father of Salsa) despite his youth. He had big hits with songs like Tu Con El and La Cura. But his drug addiction landed him in jail. Ruiz said the death of his mom in 1975 influenced this. And as I said, Ruiz was in a Florida jail for three years. Upon his release, Ruiz recorded the 1992 album Mi Libertad which included the hit Bailando. Ruiz claimed to be reborn. But sadly he started abusing drugs again and it affected his voice when a tube was put down his throat. After a July 11, 1998 concert performance at Madison Square Garden in New York, Ruiz was hospitalized. He died of liver failure on Aug. 9, 1998 at age 40. A very sad end to a great singer. This budget comp is a good intro to his music. Here's Frankie Ruiz performing Bailando.

AccuRadio Song Of The Day-Aloe Blacc

Artist:Aloe Blacc
Song:The Man
Album:Lift Your Spirit





Aloe Blacc may seem like an overnight sensation. But he's actually been recording solo CDs since 2003. He started as a rapper and seems to be more of a singer now. Lift Your Spirit is his major label debut CD and The Man is his breakthrough hit. He was born Egbert Nathaniel Dawkins III Jan. 7, 1979 in Laguna Beach, CA. The name Aloe Blacc means nothing. He just wanted a smooth name. He learned to play trumpet as a child and credits rapper LL Cool J as a big influence. In 1995, he formed Emanon with hip hop DJ Aleksander "Exile" Manfredi. Blacc was a rapper at the time and was attending USC. He graduated in 2001 and left music for a while. He returned with a 2003 EP. Then he recorded two CDs for Stone's Throw Records. Blacc's 2010 single I Need A Dollar was a hit everywhere but the US. It reached #2 on the British singles chart. Then he sang lead on the 2013 top five hit Wake Me Up by the Swedish DJ Tim "Avicii" Bergling. This got him a deal with Interscope. Lift Your Spirit was released Jan. 2014 and The Man reached #8 on the Billboard Hot 100 and it was a worldwide hit. Lift Your Spirit was mostly produced by Eminem producer DJ Khalil. If you have heard The Man, you'll know that the song is based on the chorus of the Elton John and Bernie Taupin classic Your Song. There's no doubt that familiarity helped the single. For me, The Man depends on Your Song a little too much. Blacc, Khalil, jazz pianist Sam Barsh and bassist Daniel Seeff all get a songwriting credit. The record was used in commercials for Beats By Dre and promos for the Major League Baseball All Star Game. Blacc has been named an advisor on the upcoming season of The Voice. Can Blacc sustain this success? His singles since The Man have not charted. I'd like to see him have success with a more original song. This record uses a classic song too much for my liking. That is a hip hop pet peeve of mine. Even if Blacc's singing career doesn't take off, he has a bright future as a producer and songwriter. Here's the video for The Man by Aloe Blacc. The video has several civil rights and musician references including Marvin Gaye, Clifford Brown and Stevie Wonder.

AccuRadio Song Of The Day-Michael W. Smith

Artist:Michael W. Smith
Song:Place In This World
Album:The First Decade 1983-1993





Michael W. Smith is a very successful Contemporary Christian singer songwriter who had very brief pop crossover success with the 1991 top ten pop hit Place In This World. Christian artists need to be careful as with crossover success they risk alienating their core audience. He was born Oct. 7, 1957 in Kenova, WV. Smith learned to play piano as a child and sang in the church choir. He became a devout Christian at age 10. But he developed drug and alcohol problems when he was in college and this continued when he moved to Nashville in 1978. A 1979 nervous breakdown snapped Smith out of it and by 1981 he was a staff songwriter for Meadowgreen Music. His songs started getting attention and this led to Smith touring with Amy Grant who was very popular at the time. He also signed with her label Reunion Records owned by Grant's manager and brother-in-law. Smith became very successful in the CCM market and was headlining his own tours by the mid-80s. But Reunion saw pop crossover potential in Smith just as they had with Grant. So they made a deal with Geffen Records to promote Smith to mainstream radio. Smith's first CD under this agreement was Go West Young Man in 1990. Place In This World reached #6 on the Billboard Hot 100 in 1991. It was a surprise hit. Maybe listeners thought it was a new Richard Marx song. Smith wrote the song with long time songwriting partner Wayne Kirkpatrick and Amy Grant. The guitar solo is by Dann Huff. The only problem is his success did alienate the CCM audience and after two albums on Geffen, Smith ended his attempt to be a pop singer. Other than marketing, I'm not sure what the complaints were about. Place In This World is no different than Smith's CCM recordings. Reunion was sold to BMG in 1995. Smith continued with Reunion even after BMG was sold to Sony. He left in 2010 and now has his own label distributed through Sparrow/EMI. His latest CD Sovereign was released in May. This comp is a good intro to Smith's music. Here's the video for Place In This World by Michael W. Smith.

AccuRadio Song Of The Day-The Greyboy Allstars

Artist:The Greyboy Allstars
Song:Toys R Us
Album:Live





If you like your funk on the jazzy side, you will want to check out The Greyboy Allstars. These guys have been around for twenty years and all the musicians are accomplished jazz musicians. The Greyboy Allstars are from San Diego. Greyboy is DJ Greyboy. Sax player Karl Denson was touring with Lenny Kravitz in 1993. After working on DJ Greyboy's 1994 CD Freestylin', Denson decided to form a house band and call them The Greyboy Allstars. DJ Greyboy is not a musician so he isn't a member of the band. But he helps produce their CDs. Other band members are Robert Walter on keyboards, Michael Andrews AKA Elgin Park on guitar, Chris Stillwell on bass and Zak Najor on drums. The band released their debut CD in 1995. They record jazz and funk covers but also record original songs. Toys R Us was written by Denson and was on the 1997 CD A Town Called Earth. That CD is out of print but the song also appears on the 1999 CD Live. They also recorded in 2007 and their latest CD Inland Emperor was released in 2013. Zak Najor was replaced by Aaron Redfield. The band does perform live occasionally. But all have solo careers so I guess it's hard to coordinate schedules. Denson leads his band Karl Denson's Tiny Universe and records as a sideman. Stillwell is a member of Denson's band. Walter leads his band Robert Walter's 20th Congress and they released a CD last year. Michael Andrews is mainly a film composer best known for scoring the 2001 film Donnie Darko. He has also released a couple of solo CDs. The Greyboy Allstars are worth checking out. Here's The Greyboy Allstars performing Toys R Us at the 2012 Gathering of the Vibes Music and Art Festival Bridgeport, CT.

AccuRadio Song Of The Day-Lonnie Smith

Artist:Lonnie Smith
Song:Spinnin' Wheel
Album:Good Juice: Hot Hammond and Cool Organ Cocktails




Organist Lonnie Smith emerged in the late 60s and recorded some successful albums on Blue Note. Because he was constantly confused with pianist Lonnie Liston Smith, Smith started wearing a turban and calling himself Dr. Lonnie Smith. He did this just so fans would know who he is. Smith is still recording and touring today. He was born July, 3, 1942 in the Buffalo suburb of Lackawanna, NY. He grew up singing in church and singing in his family gospel group on their radio show. Smith got interested in jazz and his mom encouraged him to find an instrument he liked. So he tried the trumpet and the sax. He grew up playing with sax player Grover Washington Jr. After hearing Jimmy Smith, Smith decided to play the Hammond B-3 organ. Of course he couldn't afford to buy one so he started hanging around a local music store. When the music store owner Art Kubera saw him hanging around and heard him play, he gave Smith the organ. Smith started playing local clubs. When organist Jack McDuff came to Buffalo, his guitarist George Benson saw Smith play and approached him about starting a band. Smith recorded two albums with Benson on Columbia and then recorded his solo debut Finger Lickin' Good on Columbia in 1967. Then Smith appeared on sax legend Lou Donaldson's 1967 album Alligator Boogaloo. This led to a contract with Blue Note. He recorded four albums for Blue Note. This version of the Blood Sweat & Tears hit Spinnin' Wheel was on the 1970 album Drives. Musicians are Ronnie Cuber on baritone sax who was in the Benson band, Dave Hubbard on tenor sax who played with Lonnie liston Smith, Larry McGee on guitar who is an R & B guy and Joe Dukes on drums from Jack McDuff's band. Drives is not available on CD. But you can get Spinnin' Wheel on this Blue Note various organists comp. It's a good intro for beginners. Though Smith's Blue Note albums sold well, Drives was his final album for Blue Note. In the 70s he recorded for Kudu, Groove Merchant, LRC, America and Chiaroscuro. And he started wearing the turban. In the 80s, Smith didn't record as a leader. But he did appear on albums by Dave Hubbard, Monty Guy, Jimmy Ponder, Eric Gale and Ron Carter and Joe Beck. In the 90s, Smith recorded a couple of Jimi Hendrix tribute albums for the Japanese label Venus. A session with sax player Javon Jackson got Smith a deal with Palmetto Records. He recorded four CDs for Palmetto and his latest CD The Healer is on his own label. Smith is currently on tour in Europe. He is worth checking out if you aren't familiar with him. Hip hop guys know him. They sample his music. Here's a video for Spinnin' Wheel by Lonnie Smith.

AccuRadio Song Of The Day-Phil Phillips

Artist:Phil Phillips
Song:Sea Of Love
Album:Great Men of Rock & Roll: The 50s





Sea Of Love is one of the all time great one hit wonders. It reached #2 on the Billboard Hot 100 in 1959 and Phil Phillips never charted again. He was born John Phillip Baptiste Mar. 14, 1928 in Lake Charles, LA. He started out in the gospel group The Gateway Quartet. he was working as a bellboy when he wrote Sea Of Love for a girl. He didn't get anywhere with her. But record store owner George Khoury liked the song and brought Baptiste into the studio. Pianist Ernest Jacobs of Cookie & The Cupcakes produced and arranged Sea Of Love and The Cupcakes sang backup. Khoury told Baptiste that his name was too French so he gave himself the name Phil Phillips and the record was released as Phil Phillips & The Twilights. When Sea Of Love became a regional hit, Mercury Records picked it up for national distribution. It topped the R & B chart and reached #2 on the Billboard Hot 100 in 1959. Unfortunately, Phillips was never paid for the record and never released an album. You can get Sea Of Love on this Collactables various artists comp. Mercury didn't seem to know what to do with Phillips and he never charted again. Sea Of Love charted in the 80s first by Del Shannon in 1982 and then Robert Plant's group The Honeydrippers in 1985. But Khoury's estate still owns the song and Phillips has never been paid a dime of royalties. Phillips performs occasionally. But he has been a DJ for years in  Louisiana. He was inducted into the Louisiana Music Hall of Fame in 2007. Here's a video for Sea Of Love by Phil Phillips.

Big Bad Blog Video Theater-Joanna Jedrzejczyk vs Juliana Lima

Here's the fight video of Joanna Jedrzejczyk vs Juliana Lima from last night's UFC show in San Jose. The fight aired on UFC Fight Pass so I know a lot of fans didn't see it. As I said when this fight was announced, I've seen Juliana before and was not impressed. I don't know why the UFC bought her contract from Invicta. And then they decided not to use her in The Ultimate Fighter. So they found an opponent for her. Both were Muay Thai fighters before MMA. But Joanna is much more accomplished. The story of this fight was Juliana's very poor strategy. She thought she could psyche Joanna out by mugging. I guess she thought Joanna would get the UFC jitters. But Joanna remained very calm and stuck to her game plan. She showed excellent takedown defense when Juliana tried to take her down and a couple of times they were stuck against the fence. Ref Mike Beltran was forced to break them up twice. All this did was empty Juliana's gas tank. And when Joanna got the separation she wanted, her striking was very effective. Joanna continued to outpunch Juliana in round two. And in round three, Juliana finally got a takedown but did nothing with it. She showed no urgency to finish. I guess she thought she was winning. Joanna was simply more effective. She took what was given to her and won the fight. I scored it 30-27 in Joanna's favour. Two of the judges scored the fight 30-27 for Joanna and the other scored it 29-28 for Joanna. Joanna Jedrzejczyk wins by unanimous decision. Juliana needs to rethink her strategy. When asked about Juliana's mugging afterwards Joanna said that Juliana wasn't nice to her at the weigh ins so she had to beat her up. She also said she has no emotion in the cage. She's all business and can really punch. Her likely next opponent is Claudia Gadelha and her high level BJJ could give Joanna trouble. That would be a very interesting fight. Both women are potential Strawweight Championship contenders. Enjoy the video! Unfortunately the video cuts off before the decision announcement. The other source I use for videos wasn't working properly.

AccuRadio Song Of The Day-Sarah Jaffe

Artist:Sarah Jaffe
Song:Vulnerable
Album:Suburban Nature





Folk music fans are going to want to check out singer songwriter Sarah Jaffe. She generated some interest touring with Midlake and Norah Jones. And she also showed some versatility appearing on Eminem's latest CD. She was born Jan. 28, 1986 in Red Oak, TX and grew up in Denton. An appearance at the 2008 Austin City Limits Festival and a 2008 EP led to a record deal with Kirtland Records. Suburban Nature was her full length debut CD in 2010. It was produced by veteran producer John Congleton from the band The Paper Chase. Kris Youmans from that band is also on the album along with singer songwriter Robert Gomez. Sarah toured with Midlake who are also from Denton and she opened for Norah Jones. She released her second CD The Body Wins in 2012 and appeared on Jimmy Kimmel Live. But she was exposed to a larger audience when she appeared on Bad Guy from Eminem's 2013 CD The Marshall Mathers LP 2. It's a two part song and the first part was produced by rapper producer Larry "S1" Griffin. He and Sarah are in the band The Dividends. He sent Sarah the backing track for Bad Guy and she wrote the lyrics. Eminem liked it and thought of getting Dido to record the female vocal. But S1 convinced him to use Sarah instead. I doubt she ever met Eminem as he lives in Detroit. And she isn't credited. So that leads to a lot of "Who's the girl". And when fans listen to Sarah, they will like what they hear. She did get a songwriting credit so she's getting royalty cheques. Sarah also provided vocals for the 2013 Pixar short The Blue Umbrella which was shown before Monsters University. So I think Sarah Jaffe is on the cusp of stardom. Check her out before the big crowd finds out about her. She was on tour with The Polyphonic Spree and this fall she will tour with Astronautalis. Here's Sarah Jaffe performing Vulnerable on KGSR Discovery Sept. 2010.

AccuRadio Song Of The Day-Tyrese

Artist:Tyrese
Song:Sweet Lady
Album:Super Hits





R & B singer songwriter Tyrese Gibson made a big splash with his 1998 debut CD Tyrese. Sweet Lady was his biggest hit from that album. When his music career faded, Tyrese turned to acting and he is more active in films today than he is in music. He was born Dec. 30, 1978 in Los Angeles. He performed in local talent shows as a teen. An appearance in a 1994 Coca-Cola commercial led to a modelling career. But he still wanted to sing and he signed with RCA in 1998. His debut CD Tyrese was certified Platinum. The singles Nobody Else and Lately both charted. But the third single Sweet Lady is probably Tyrese's best known song to date. It reached #9 on the R & B Singles chart and #12 on the Billboard Hot 100. Sweet Lady was produced and written by the Characters and Johnte Austin. Austin went on to record as a solo artist. The Characters are the team of Troy Taylor and Charles Farrar. Sweet Lady was their biggest hit when they were a team. They split up in 2000 and Taylor has written several hits for Trey Songz. Tyrese's next two CDs did OK but not as well as the first one. And though his 2003 single How You Gonna Act Like That charted higher than Sweet Lady, Sweet Lady is better known because the CD was more popular. By 2003, RCA was closed and Tyrese moved to J Records. But he was also getting into acting. He got a lot of attention for his performance in John Singleton's 2001 film Baby Boy. And this led to roles in The Transformers series and the Fast & Furious series. Tyrese left J in 2006 and started his own label Voltron with EMI distribution. You can get all his RCA hits on this budget comp. He released a CD in 2011 and has a new one scheduled for a 2014 release. He is also a member of TGT with Ginuwine and Tank. They released a CD on Atlantic in 2013. Tyrese has been laying low since his best friend and Fast & Furious costar Paul Walker died last year. But he'll be back. Here's the video for Sweet Lady by Tyrese. The girl in the video is actress Maia Campbell from the NBC/UPN sitcom In The House.

AccuRadio Song Of The Day-Laid Back

Artist:Laid Back
Song:White Horse
Album:Mega Hits Dance Classics Volume 7





The Danish electropop duo Laid Back have been successful in Europe for many years and are still around today. White Horse was their only US hit in 1983. It topped the dance chart and was a top 30 pop hit. Laid Back are from Copenhagen, Denmark. Guitarist John Guldberg and keyboard player Tim Stahl were in The Starbox Band in the mid-70s. The band split up but the two continued to work together in Guldberg's studio. They started experimenting with electronic music and had a number one hit in Denmark in 1981 with Maybe I'm Crazy. Sunshine Reggae was also a number one hit in Denmark and other European countries. This got Laid Back a US record deal with Sire Records. But radio stations didn't like Sunshine Reggae. They preferred the B side White Horse. It got significant airplay in dance clubs and topped the dance chart. It also reached #26 on the Billboard Hot 100. Supposedly one reason for the song's popularity was that White Horse is slang for heroin. Attempts to follow up White Horse didn't chart. You can get White Horse on this Priority Records various artists budget comp. White Horse has been frequently sampled by hip hop guys, most notably on Monifah's 1998 hit Touch It. Laid Back still record together. They occasionally chart in Europe and have also scored films. Their latest CD Uptimistic Music was released in 2013 on their own label. Here in North America they are a one hit wonder. Here's the video for White Horse by Laid Back.

AccuRadio Song Of The Day-Mary Bridget Davies

Artist:Mary Bridget Davies
Song:Piece Of My Heart
Album:A Night With Janis Joplin: Original Broadway Cast Recording




Mary Bridget Davies is mainly known for channeling Janis Joplin. She was nominated for a Tony award for her performance in the Broadway musical A Night With Janis Joplin. She has also recorded her own music. She was born Aug. 30, 1978 in Cleveland. She was involved in theater and music in high school and while attending Bowling Green University. She was singing in local clubs. In 2001, she saw a performance of the off Broadway musical Love, Janis. When she got home, she sent the producers her picture. The musical director of Love, Janis was Big Brother and the Holding Company guitarist Sam Andrew. He told her the band was coming to Cleveland and she should be there. Mary performed with them. Then when Andrew was casting the road company of Love, Janis in 2005, he hired Mary to play Janis. She has also toured with Big Brother and the Holding Company. And she has also recorded two CDs with her own band. The jukebox musical A Night With Janis Joplin was heading for Broadway in 2012. While still previewing on the road, original star Cat Stephani left the show while they were in Cleveland. Mary was immediately hired to replace her and remained with the show through its Broadway run from Sept. 2013 to Feb. 2014. She was nominated for a Tony. Mary is currently touring with her own band. She will try to transcend the Janis Joplin comparisons. But it's hard when someone is closely identified with a role. Here's Mary Bridget Davies performing Piece Of My Heart, Cry Baby and Me and Bobby McGee from the musical A Night With Janis Joplin. This video is not on Youtube.

Rin Nakai "woe is me" blog post was much ado about nothing

So as we all know, Rin Nakai will face Miesha Tate on the UFC in Japan show Sept. 20 at the Saitama Super Arena. While she was in Tokyo for the press conference, she said she was looking for training partners. That wouldn't be a problem if she lived in Tokyo or Osaka. But she lives in the northern Japan island of Shikoku. And as I said to someone recently, she might as well be living in Outer Mongolia. It is astonishing that an elite fighter could come from someplace like that. And it's astonishing that she hasn't moved to Tokyo if only for better facilities. So she wrote on her blog on Sunday that she is just a hick from the sticks. She's training in a dilapidated gym and she can't get anyone to train with her. My question is who would pay to bring anyone to Shikoku. She doesn't have the money or sponsorship. She also questioned whether she could fight at a UFC level and that she even considered retirement. None of these "problems" are new. And my interpretation of her comments is she was having a bad day and she would get over it. Unfortunately, a friend of mine posted a translation on his blog and everyone overreacted...except me. I told him her comments were nonsense. Everyone has ups and downs and I would have waited a couple of days for a follow up post on Rin's blog. Sure enough, everything was better when Rin posted on her blog yesterday. She thanked fans for their support and now she is going to train hard and she's on a mission. So the uproar was much ado about nothing and I still look forward to seeing Rin Nakai fight in the UFC.

AccuRadio Song Of The Day-Stan Getz Quartet

Artist:Stan Getz Quartet
Song:O Grande Amor
Album:Baubles, Bangles and Beads





Of course the career of sax legend Stan Getz spanned decades. But he is probably best known for popularizing Brazilian music when he recorded with Joao Gilberto, Astrud Gilberto and Antonio Carlos Jobim in 1964. The Girl From Ipanema was a huge hit and O Grande Amor was one of the songs they recorded. When Getz' love affair with Astrud ended that alliance, he formed a new band with vibraphonist Gary Burton. Burton had toured with George Shearing but he was fairly new on the scene. Other band members were long time Burton collaborator bassist Steve Swallow and legendary drummer Roy Haynes. The 1964 album Nobody Else But Me was a return to jazz featuring Burton. But Verve Records refused to release it. They wanted Getz to continue recording Bossa Nova. Typical record company. This album remained unreleased until 1994. The Burton band was Getz' touring band until Burton left to go solo in 1967. Though the band performed O Grande Amor in concert, it doesn't look like they recorded it. But the Italian reissue label Get Back Records has released a live version on CD. The first part of Baubles, Bangles and Beads is from the 1961 Newport Jazz Festival with Steve Kuhn on piano, Scott Lafaro on bass and Roy Haynes on drums. The second part is from a 1966 Berlin concert with Gary Burton on vibes, Chuck Israel on bass and Roy Haynes on drums. I am told the recording quality of Get Back CDs can be sketchy. But that's not unusual for labels using live jazz recordings from strange sources. I think it's the only live recording of the Getz-Burton group on CD. And you get to watch this great video clip. Here's Stan Getz with Gary Burton, Steve Swallow and Roy Haynes performing O Grande Amor at the BBC 1966.

Elizabeth Phillips vs Milana Dudieva added to Aug. 23 UFC show in Macau

Milana Dudieva

Fighter manager Anton Linder announced on his Twitter this morning that his fighter Milana Dudieva will face Elizabeth Phillips on the Aug. 23 UFC show in Macau, China. This show will air on UFC Fight Pass. It's ironic because Milana was supposed to face Valerie Letourneau on UFC 174 on June 14 but had to back out due to reported visa problems. Elizabeth replaced her. She lost to Valerie by split decision. But considering she took the fight with a week's notice, I thought she did well. We'll see what she is like with a full camp. I expect her endurance to be a lot better just because she will have the proper preparation time. Elizabeth is 4-2 and trains at Sikjitsu in Spokane, WA. UFC fighter Michael Chiesa was in her corner last time. Milana is 10-3 and trains at Peresvet FT in Russia. I would describe her as unproven as I don't believe she beaten a high level fighter yet. She has lost to current UFC fighter Jessica Andrade and Swedish fighter Pannie Kianzad who maybe should be in the UFC or at least Invicta. So I have seen Milana and I need to be convinced that she deserves to be in the UFC. Until Milana shows me something, I like Elizabeth to win this fight.

AccuRadio Song Of The Day-Lipps Inc.

Artist:Lipps Inc.
Song:Funkytown
Album:Funkyworld: The Best Of Lipps Inc.





So I'm sure you're familiar with Funkytown which topped the charts in 1980. And you probably think it's Euro Disco. But Lipps Inc. was important in establishing Minneapolis as a black music power led by Prince and Jimmy Jam and Terry Lewis. Lipps Inc. was not a real group. They were studio musicians led by producer Steven Greenberg and singer Cynthia Johnson. Greenberg had tried for several years to get a record deal and he finally got the attention of Casablanca Records with the disco song Rock It. Though the single was not a hit, Casablanca liked it enough to ask Greenberg for a full album. Casablanca was known for disco music in those days. So he gathered some of his studio musician buddies including guitarist David Rivkin who was a member of Prince's band. But the biggest thing was he hired singer Cynthia Johnson. Cynthia was the 1976 Miss Black Minnesota and she was lead singer of Flyte Tyme led by Jimmy Jam and Terry Lewis. After Cynthia left, Flyte Tyme would become The Time and Jam and Lewis became world renowned producers. Cynthia was working as a secretary at the police department and she approached Greenberg and wanted to work with him. Lipps Inc. released the 1979 album Mouth To Mouth. Funkytown topped the Billboard Hot 100 for four weeks in 1980. It was a worldwide hit and a huge dance hit. Subsequent singles were not hits and today Lipps Inc. is perceived as a one hit wonder though several songs were dance hits. After three albums, Cynthia left Lipps Inc. and was replaced by background singer Melanie Rosales. After one more album, Greenberg disbanded Lipps Inc. in 1985. You can get all their hits on this comp. The Aussie group Pseudo Echo had a hit with their cover of Funkytown in 1987. Steven Greenberg owns a web design company. Cynthia Johnson has been a studio singer in the Minneapolis music scene for years. And she is a member of the popular gospel group The Sounds of Blackness. She still works a lot with Jam and Lewis and does a lot of jingles. Cynthia released her debut solo CD All That I Am in 2013 and is currently working on a new CD. Here's Cynthia Johnson performing Funkytown on the French TV show Les Annee Bonheur Jan. 11, 2014.

AccuRadio Song Of The Day-Slim Gaillard

Artist:Slim Gaillard
Song:Poppity Pop
Album:Laughing In Rhythm





Bulee "Slim" Gaillard was a jazz eccentric similar but not as well known as Cab Calloway and Louis Jordan. Gaillard even created his own language called Vout. But there was real musical talent underneath the silliness or guys like Dizzy Gillespie wouldn't have played with him as he did on this 1945 recording of Boppity Bop. Gaillard was born Jan. 4, 1916 in Santa Clara, Cuba and he grew up in Detroit. His father worked on cruise ships and would take Gaillard on voyages. He once accidentally left him on the island of Crete. Gaillard was a boxer, a mortician and a rum runner. But then he got into vaudeville and formed Slim and Slam with bassist Slam Stewart in 1936. Their song Flat Foot Floogie was a big hit and was covered by Benny Goodman. This is Gaillard's signature song. Slim and Slam recorded similar records and appeared in the 1941 Olsen & Johnson film Hellzapoppin. After serving in the US Air Force during World War II, Gaillard moved to Los Angeles and scored another hit with Cement Mixer. His band at the time was Bam Brown on bass, Dodo Maramarosa on piano and Zutty Singleton on drums. In 1945, he recorded with Dizzy Gillespie, Charlie Parker and Jack McVea for Savoy. Gillespie has a trumpet solo on Poppity Pop. So Gaillard may be eccentric but he was a good enough musician to hang with Gillespie. You can get Poppity Pop on this Proper Records 4CD box set. In the 50s, Gaillard recorded for Verve and toured with Jazz At The Philharmonic and was a member of Stan Kenton's band. He left the music business in the 60s. And then he moved to Los Angeles in the 70s and acted on several TV shows. Gillespie got him back into music in the 80s. Gaillard moved to London and toured the festival circuit until his death on Feb. 26, 1991 at age 75. Gaillard's daughter was once married to Marvin Gaye. So actress Nona Gaye is the daughter of Marvin Gaye and granddaughter of Slim Gaillard. Here's Slim Gaillard performing Cement Mixer, Poppity Pop and Flat Foot Floogie in The Flip Wilson Show 1969.