Ishioka, HIROKO win at May 23 JEWELS show

Saori Ishioka mounts Mai Ichii

JEWELS had their latest show today at Shin-kiba 1st Ring. It was mostly leading up to the 115lb tournament in July. Except for one fight, things went pretty much as expected. The main event had Saori Ishioka returning from an ankle injury to face Mai Ichii. Ishioka came to the ring in black and wearing sunglasses. She wants to be known as Black Charisma. I dunno about this. Has she been watching wrestling matches with Yoshiko Tamura? This seems like gimmick infringement. But she's still a pretty good fighter and had no problem with Ichii. Ichii tried to keep her away with strikes but that didn't work and Ishioka took her down after a knee to the body. Ichii survived round one but Ishioka wasted no time in round two and after another knee to the body, Ishioka passed guard and won with an armbar at 2:41. The semi-main had HIROKO facing pro wrestler Atsuko Emoto. The match was never in doubt as HIROKO battered Emoto with knees and then took her to the ground and pounded her there. HIROKO had all the offence and won easily by unanimous decision. Afterwards, Emoto gave a brief retirement address. It wasn't clear before that she was retiring from MMA too. She actually had a very emotional retirement ceremony at Friday's Revolution Amandora show and Bullfight Sora's retirement will be on the May 30 WAVE show.

Celine punches Mika Nagano in the face

Prior to the semi-main, some special guests appeared to greet the fans. The teen Yuasa Utako will appear at the World Jiu Jitsu Championships in Los Angeles June 3-6. Hiroko Kitamura has a fight in Seattle June 5. Megumi Fujii will appear on the June 10 Bellator show in Florida. Hisae Watanabe joked about her possible return and teased Sumie Yamada about beating her eight years ago. So now we have Nika Nagano vs Celine. The fact is that Celine looked really bad in previous fights. She has physical skills but seemed to be beating herself. A couple of weeks ago, her boss Hellboy Hansen gave her a pep talk. It's certainly understandable that fans might expect the old Celine. Dan Herbertson of MMA Fighting said that on Twitter. But Celine came out much better in this fight. Nagano wasn't able to do anything with her and her takedown attempts were unsuccessful. Nagano did manage a couple of takedowns but Celine was much more active in this fight than in the past. She continued in round two with dominant mounts and won by unianimous decision. So good for her and I hope she can keep it up. Nagano was bawling before the decision. Shame is a big thing in Japan. Sometimes a loss can be a good thing but you never know.

Miyo Yoshida

The rest of the show had two Shoot Boxing matches I don't care about. I don't think JEWELS is getting a fair deal. You don't see any JEWELS matches on SB shows. Miyo Yoshida battered Yuko Kagoshima with punches until the ref stopped the match at 3:30 of round one. Kagoshima tried to push back but Yoshida landed plenty of punches. In the opener, Amiba beat HARUMI by armbar at 3:45 of round one. Amiba took her down and HARUMI reversed her position. But then Amiba grabbed her arm from below, completed the sweep and mounted her for the win. I think HARUMI is 0-14 but who's counting. Afterwards, JEWELS matchmaker Shigeru Saeki said he hasn't finalized the lineup for July's tournament. He did say that one fighter was coming from the US. I think that Mika Nagano's slot in the tournament is not a sure thing. He probably needs to talk to her. Maybe he should replace her with Celine. She should be rewarded for winning.

Jango Song Of The Day-The Palace Guard

Artist:The Palace Guard
Song:Falling Sugar
Album:Nuggets: Original Artyfacts From The First Psychedelic Era 1965-1968





The Palace Guard were another mid-60s band that never really made it but have been kept alive by the popularity of Rhino's Nuggets garage band comps. Falling Sugar is probably their best known song. The core of the group was brothers John, Dick & Don Beaudine along with Rick Moser, Chuck McLung, Mike Conley and Emmitt Rhodes. Don Agrati AKA Don Grady joined the band for a short time and they were called Don Grady and The Palace Guard. He would soon leave for Yellow Balloon but he's probably best known for playing Robbie Douglas on My Three Sons. Originally they were called The Emeralds. But then they started wearing Buckingham Palace guard uniforms on stage and became The Palace Guard. So their music was heavily influenced by the British Invasion and for a while they were the house band at the Hullabaloo club in Los Angeles. They released a few singles that went nowhere. Falling Sugar was picked up for national distribution by Verve Records but it never broke nationally. Then they released a few singles on Cameo/Parkway. The Palace Guard split up when Emmitt Rhodes left to join the much more successful group The Merry-Go-Rounds and later Rhodes had a brief solo career. All the Palace Guard recordings are available on one CD but I recommend the Nuggets 4CD box set instead. Here's The Palace Guard performing Falling Sugar on Where The Action Is.

Omuro vs Tamada to main event June 19 VALKYRIE show

Naoko Omuro

VALKYRIE held a press conference today to announce several matches for the June 19 Differ Ariake show. As in the past, this show will be in the afternoon and will be followed by a CAGE FORCE show. The main event will be the final of the VALKYRIE Flyweight Championship contracted for 45.4kg and scheduled for three five minute rounds between Naoko Omuro and Yasuko Tamada. This match was supposed to happen at the April VALKYRIE show but Omuro suffered an injury in training. She's ready to go now. Omuro trains at the WK dojo in Tokyo. Her record is 11-7-3 and her last match was a win over Yuko Takagi at the Feb. 10 VALKYRIE show. Tamada trains at AACC. Her record is 11-4-3 and her last fight was a win over Yukiko Seki at the Apr. 11 VALKYRIE show. These two fought to a draw on the Nov. 8, 2008 VALKYRIE show. In a match contracted for 56.7kg and scheduled for three three minute rounds, Mutsumi Kasai will face Aya. Kasai trains at Paraestora. Her record is 4-1 and her last match was a loss to Megumi Yabushita at the Apr. 11 VALKYRIE show. Aya trains at the RJW branch of WK. Her record is 0-1-1 and her last match was a draw against Sachiko Togashi at the Sept. 20, 2008 DEEP show. In a fight contract for 48.5kg and scheduled for three three minute rounds, Naho "Sugi Rock" Sugiyama will face Megumi Morioka. Sugiyama trains at the A3 branch of WK. She won her debut over ♂ha@THE♀ at the Oct. 24 VALKYRIE show. Morioka trains at the Iwate branch of WK. She won her debut over Mamiko Mizoguchi at the Feb. 11 VALKYRIE show. In a match contracted for 52.2kg and scheduled for two three minute rounds, sakura will face Butterfly Yuka (I think). sakura trains at WK. Her record is 0-2-1 and her last fight was a loss to Hiroko Kitamura at the Feb. 11 VALKYRIE show. Yuka trains at BLOWS Shooto and is making her MMA debut. This title match should be really good.

Roxanne Modafferi wins over Tara LaRosa by split decision

It's time once again for Big Bad Blog video theatre. This is the video for Roxanne Modafferi vs Tara LaRosa at last night's Moosin show in Boston. Tara beat Roxy in 2006 and Roxy has been after a rematch ever since. And Roxy got her retribution with a win by split decision. This was so close that it shows why fighters can't leave things to the judges. Believe it or not, one judge scored it 30-27 for Roxy. I don't know what he was watching but the other two split it at 29-28. That's how I would score it in Roxy's favour. The first two rounds were very even. Roxy may have got a bit of an edge at the end of round one and Tara may have got an edge at the end of round two. But the key moment in the fight was when Tara knocked Roxy down at the start of round three. Maybe she thought she hurt Roxy and Tara waded in to finish her. But instead Roxy controlled Tara from the bottom and I thought that gave Roxy the win. The camera angle was terrible and it didn't look like Roxy was close to a submission. But the fighter does score points for control and Roxy did a good job in that situation and it could have turned out much differently. Of course it was the match of the night on this train wreck of a show. Generally, this promotion needs to book better fights. Fans won't pay $30 for this crap forever. The announcing was horrible and they even messed up Roxy's intro. Morons! It would not surprise me if Roxy got a shot at Sarah Kaufman in Strikeforce. And Strikeforce should sign Tara and book a rubber match as a main event on a future Showtime show. A match like this on a high profile show would elevate women's MMA. But not in Moosin. Enjoy the video and thanks to Curtis for upping it.

Jango Song Of The Day-Janis Martin

Artist:Janis Martin
Song:My Boy Elvis
Album:The Female Elvis: Complete Recordings 1956-60





When she was a teenager back in the 50s, Janis Martin was headed for stardom as The Female Elvis. She even had a contract with RCA Records. But personal issues torpedoed her career and she never became a star. Female rockabilly singers were very unusual back then and I assume RCA felt they needed a gimmick to sell Janis. It's a good thing her music still sounds good. She was born Mar. 23, 1940 in Sutherlin, VA. Her dad was an amateur musician and her mom groomed her for stardom by having her perform as a child. By age 11 she was a regular on radio station WDVA in Virginia and was performing with country artists like Ernest Tubb and The Carter Family. Not surprisingly, the teen age Janis got tired of country music and started singing rock 'n' roll. One of her demos landed in the hands of RCA Records A & R head Steve Shoales and he signed her two months after signing Elvis Presley in 1955. She wrote her debut single Drugstore Rock 'N' Roll and Janis started making TV appearances and she was named Most Promising Female Vocalist by Billboard. But RCA decided to sell Janis as The Female Elvis and that probably wasn't the smartest long term career move for her as there was a backlash against her. She recorded My Boy Elvis upon RCA's insistence and it became her signature song later. But at the time, a woman performing rock music in an aggressive style wasn't accepted by the public or concert promoters. But Janis Martin could have figured out how to be a big star anyway except she was secretly married to a seviceman in 1956. He was stationed overseas and when she went on a European tour, she got pregnant. RCA dropped her like a bad habit. In 1960, she recorded for a European label. But her second husband forced her to retire and she started working the oldies circuit in the 70s. until her death on Sept. 3, 2007 at age 67. The talented singer Rosie Flores had announced plans to produce a new Janis Martin CD but Janis died before Rosie could do it. Too bad that didn't happen. Bear Family has compiled all of her recordings on this comp. So Janis Martin was clearly a talented performer who never fulfilled her potential. Here's Janis Martin performing My Boy Elvis at the 2006 Rockabilly Rave in England.

Jango Song Of The Day-Ma Rainey

Artist:Ma Rainey
Song:Ma Rainey's Black Bottom
Album:Ma Rainey





Ma Rainey was one of the earliest professional blues singers and was known as Mother Of The Blues. Obviously she was a pioneer and was a very big influence on Bessie Smith. She was born Gertrude Pridgett Apr. 26, 1886 in Columbus, GA. She started performing in tent shows as a teenager and started singing the blues when she heard another girl singing at a tent show in Missouri. In 1904 she married performer William "Pa" Rainey and started calling herself Madame Gertrude Rainey and later Ma Rainey. They toured together with the Rabbit Foot Mistrels and were billed as Rainey & Rainey. They wintered in New Orleans and became friends with Louis Armstrong and other musicians. She also met Bessie Smith and they worked together and became friends. By the early 20s Ma Rainey had become a featured performer on the Theatre Owners Booking Association vaudeville circuit and this led to a contract with Paramount Records in 1923. She made over a hundred recordings between 1923-1928 and among the musicians she worked with were Louis Armstrong, Fletcher Henderson and Coleman Hawkins. Ma Rainey's Black Bottom is about a dance called the black bottom and like a lot of black songs of that era it was about sex too. There are several Ma Rainey comps available but this Milestone one is reasonably priced. Paramount was notorious for poor quality mastering but Milestone has cleaned them up well. By the late 20s, Ma Rainey's style of music was not popular anymore and vaudeville died so Paramount dropped her. She moved back to Columbus and owned two theatres until her death of a heart attack on Dec. 22, 1939 at age 53. Ma Rainey was inducted into the Blues Foundation Hall Of Fame in 1983 and the Rock and Roll Hall Of Fame in 1990. Obviously there is no film footage of Ma Rainey so here's a video of Ma Rainey's Black Bottom by Ma Rainey. For some reason the video is six minutes long but the song is about three minutes long.

Jango Song Of The Day-Edu Lobo

Artist:Edu Lobo
Song:Upa, Neguinho
Album:Novo Millennium





Eduardo de Goes "Edu" Lobo Has been one of Brazil's top singers and songwriters since the 60s. He was part of the second wave of Bossa Nova artists known as Musica Popular Brasileira (MPB). Other than an early 70s contract with A & M Records and association with Sergio Mendes, he's not known outside Brazil. He was born Aug. 29, 1943 in Rio de Janeiro. At 18 years of age, he formed his first trio with Dori Caymmi and Marcus Valle. Then he started writing songs with the famed lyricist Vinicius de Moraes. His debut album was released in 1963 and broke through in 1965 with the album Cinco Na Bossa with Nara Leao and the Tamba Trio. And he also won several songwriting awards in Brazil. Upa, Neguinho is from a 1966 album Lobo recorded with Maria Bethania called Edu & Maria. It's not a duet but he has performed the song as a duet in the past. Lobo met Sergio Mendes in 1969 and Lobo signed with A & M Records. He moved to Los Angeles and recorded the album From The Hot Afternoon with legendary sax player Paul Desmond. Lobo toured with Mendes and released Sergio Mendes Presents Lobo in 1971. He returned to Brazil and though he recorded occasional albums, he worked mostly on film and TV music and won Best Soundtrack award at the 1979 Gramada Film Festival for Barra Peseda. Edu Lobo continues to record occasionally and still composes a lot of music for films and stage shows. He has a new CD out called Tantes Mares. This 2005 comp is a good intro to his music. Check him out if you like Brazilian music. Here's Edu Lobo performing Upa, Neguinho in Germany 1966.

Sergio Cunha has big plans for Shana Olsen

Shana Olsen, Sergio Cunha

For many years, Sergio Cunha was Chute Boxe's top strike trainer. He still works with Chute Boxe but now spends most of his time training fighters at the Minnesota Fight Factory. Recently Tatame wanted to talk to Cunha about Mauricio "Shogun" Rua's UFC title win. But Cunha wanted to talk about Shana Olsen instead. He believes that in the next year Shana will be the best female MMA fighter in the world. She's his number one project right now. Cunha says he is very busy. Things are crazy. He has eight fighters working a show this Friday. Tatame asked Cunha about fighters he has trained like Brett Rogers, Rua and BJ Penn. But instead Cunha said that Shana Olsen wants to be the best. He was very happy with her recent win over Yoko Takahashi. She is now rated #8 in the 145lb rankings and God willing, she will be in Strikeforce fighting whoever has the belt in 2011. Cunha claims that among all the guys he is now training, Shana is the best. Of course he's asked about Cris Cyborg and he says Shana needs more experience and they already turned down an offer from Strikeforce. Well, not exactly. She was offered a fight with Erin Toughill in April but the fight didn't happen. He wants Shana to fight Gina Carano first and then by next year she'll be ready for the title. I don't expect Gina to return this year but either Marloes Coenen or Cindy Dandois would make a very interesting opponent for Shana Olsen. A couple of weeks ago I posted the Olsen/Takahashi match video so be sure to check that out.

Jango Song Of The Day-Bebel Gilberto & Cazuza

Artist:Bebel Gilberto & Cazuza
Song:Preciso Dizer Que Te Amo
Album:Red Hot + Rio: Pure Listening Pleasure





Bebel Gilberto put together this duet with her friend Cazuza for this AIDS benefit CD as a tribute to him. He died of AIDS in 1990. Of course Bebel Gilberto is Brazilian musical royalty. She was born May 12, 1966 in New York City and her father is the legendary Joao Gilberto. Of course folks assume that her mom must be Astrud Gilberto but no, her mom is the singer known as Miucha. She's the sister of Chico Buarque. Bebel first appeared on one of her mom's albums at age seven and the she performed at Carnegie Hall with Stan Getz and her mom. It was while she was a member of Circo Vaodor that she met Cazuza (born Agenor Neto Apr. 4, 1958 in Rio de Janeiro) and they would work together when Bebel launched her solo career in 1986. He was a very successful solo artist in Brazil but announced in 1989 that he had AIDS and died on July 7, 1990 at age 32. Meanwhile, Bebel moved to New York in 1991 and performed in clubs and worked on shows with Arto Lindsay. Of course Red Hot + Rio is one of a series of CDs produced to benefit AIDS. This is a contemporary tribute to Bossa Nova particularly the music of Antonio Carlos Jobim. Of Course Bebel wanted to appear on the CD and do this duet as a tribute to Cazuza. Others appearing on the CD include Jobim, Astrud Gilberto, Gilberto Gil along with David Byrne, Sting and George Michael. By 2000, Bebel Gilberto moved to London and released her CD Tanto Tempo. It sold a million copies and was nominated for two Latin Grammys. She continues to have a lot of success and her latest CD All In One was released last year. Here's Bebel Gilberto with Steve Sandberg on piano performing Preciso Dizer Que te Amo in Sao Paulo, Brazil 1994.

Jango Song Of The Day-Junior Brown

Artist:Junior Brown
Song:Highway Patrol
Album:Greatest Hits





Jamieson "Junior" Brown is a modern day country music artist in the grand Honky Tonk tradition of the legendary Hank Thompson. He is probably best known for inventing a double necked guitar known as guit-steel. He was probably a little too country to have much chart success in the 90s. He was born June 12, 1957 in Kirksville, IN and grew up in Cottonwood, AZ. He started out in the 60s in groups like The Last Mile Ramblers and Asleep At The Wheel. But in the 70s he taught at the Hank Thompson School Of Country Music at Rogers State University in Oklahoma alongside steel guitar legend Leon McAuliffe of Bob Wills & The Texas Playboys. In 1985 he invented this hybrid double necked guitar that combined a standard six string guitar with a steel guitar. He called it guit-steel. This allows him to play both styles without changing instruments. It's a very unique calling card that has served Brown well. And he's really good. Brown moved to Austin and was the house band at the Continental Club and Curb Records signed him to a contract. His debut CD 12 Shades Of Brown was released in 1993. This cover of the Red Simpson classic Highway Patrol is from his second CD Guit With It. And though Brown's modern twist on Honky Tonk got a lot of ctitical acclaim, he never had the chart success that Curb wanted. He left Curb for Telarc in 2001. This comp covers his Curb recordings. His most recent CD Live At The Continental Club: The Austin Experience was released in 2005. He was also the narrator in the 2005 film Dukes Of Hazzard. He shot a TV variety show pilot in 2008 but it doesn't look like it went anywhere. His wife Miss Tanya Rae plays guitar in his band and sings duets with him. Fans of traditional country music should check out Junior Brown. Here's the video for Highway Patrol by Junior Brown.

Tara's final TNA appearance

Here's the match video of the Knockouts match from last night's TNA PPV. I'm sure most fans are aware that Lisa Marie Varon is leaving TNA. You probably read about it on her MySpace. So obviously Madison Rayne retained her TNA Knockouts Championship. Like most of Tara's TNA run, this match is OK but uninspiring. Let's face it. Tara was poorly booked in TNA. Part of the problem with this match is though Madison Rayne is supposed to be a heel, she doesn't wrestle like a heel. Maybe she doesn't know how. And having her roll out of the ring after the Widow's Peak was really lame. I just thought the timing of the match was a little odd and the two didn't mesh well. So what's next for Lisa? I expect her to try to return to the WWE and with Beth Phoenix out for an extended time period, they could probably use her. If that happens, she can't do MMA. I follow her on Twitter so I'm sure we'll know her plans soon enough. Enjoy the match!

Jango Song Of The Day-Faron Young

Artist:Faron Young
Song:Live Fast, Love Hard, Die Young
Album:Live Fast, Love Hard: Original Capitol Recordings, 1952-1962





Faron Young's career spanned over four decades but it's his 50s hits on Capitol Records that you're going to want. Live Fast, Love Hard, Die Young was a #1 country hit in 1955. He was born Feb. 25, 1932 in Shreveport, LA the son of a dairy farmer. He was given a guitar as a child and joined the Louisiana Hayride radio program after graduating from high school. That's where he met Webb Pierce and they toured the south together. In 1951 he recorded a couple of singles for Gotham Records but Capitol liked them enough to buy out his contract. That was also when he was invited to be a regular at the Grand Ole Opry. After a two year stint in the Army, Young returned to Nashville. Live Fast, Love Hard, Die Young was his first #1 country hit in 1955. The song was written by veteran songwriter Joe Allison after watching John Derek play a juvenile delinquent in the 1949 film Knock On Any Door. Young said he hated the song and legendary Capitol producer Ken Nelson made him record it. He liked it a lot better after it became a hit. Young was already known as The Hillbilly Hearthrob but when he played a lawman in the 1956 film Hidden Guns, he became known as The Singing Sherriff. He appeared in all kinds of films and TV shows and continued to top the country charts. His one crossover to the pop charts was when Hello Walls reached #12 on the Billboard Hot 100 in 1962. That song was written by Willie Nelson. He left Capitol for Mercury in 1962 and remained a regular on the country charts though the music isn't as good. He was still a strong live draw into the 80s. Faron Young went into semi retirement in the 90s and depressed about his health due to emphysema, he shot himself in the head and died on Dec. 10, 1996 at age 64. This comp of his Capitol recordings from The Country Music Foundation is a perfect intro to this country music legend. Here's Faron Young performing Live Fast, Love Hard, Die Young on the Grand Ole Opry TV show early 60s.

Cris Cybrorg to defend Strikeforce title against Jan Finney

Cris Cyborg

Last night Strikeforce CEO Scott Coker confirmed that Cris "Cyborg" Santos will defend her Strikeforce 145lb Women's Championship against veteran fighter Jan Finney on the June 26 show in San Jose. I can certainly understand why Jan would take this fight but it's not a good matchup for her and really not worthy of a title fight. The biggest problem is that Jan normally fights at 135lb and in fact was scheduled to fight Shayna Baszler in the final of the Freestyle Cage Fighting 135lb tournament on June 10. The winner of that tournament gets a Strikeforce contract. Adrienne Jenkins will fill in at that show. She lost to Jan in the semi finals. No doubt Coker threw plenty of cash at FCF to let Jan out of her contract. The tournament seems even more pointless than before. Cyborg is tough for legit 145 pounders to handle. Jan's record is 8-7. She's won her last four matches but two of them were against newcomers and the other two were in the FCF tournament. She did fight and lose to Erin Toughill at 145lb in Nov. 2008. Fans may also recall that Jan was supposed to fight Gina Carano a few years ago in EliteXC but Gina got sick and the fight was cancelled. Jan deserves credit for stepping up but this ain't gonna be pretty. The bottom line is that Coker had very few options because of their mishandling of Erin Toughill. The original plan was for Erin to challenge for the title at this show. That's what he said in January. But the poor communication between Strikeforce and Erin derailed that. Coker said last night that Erin will fight this summer and will then fight Cyborg in the fall. What about other 145lb fighters? The truth is there aren't many to begin with and most of them have less experience than Jan. His options were limited at best. He said they were looking at a European fighter (probably Upcoming Glory tournament winner Romy Ruyssen) but it probably doesn't matter much as Erin is perceived as the one real challenger to Cyborg's title. I don't expect this fight to last long.

Jango Song Of The Day-The Samples

Artist:The Samples
Song:Feel Us Shaking
Album:Very Best Of The Samples 1989-1994





The Samples built a following mostly as a touring band in the tradition of The Grateful Dead in the college circuit. They have flirted with major labels but have had strong record sales on an independent label. The lead singer, guitarist and primary songwriter of The Samples is Sean Kelly. Kelly met guitarist Charles Hambleton in Burlington, VT in 1985 and formed the band Secret City. Then they moved to Boulder, CO and met bassist Andy Sheldon and keyboard player Al Laughlin. They called themselves The Samples because they lived off of food samples from a local grocery store. They released their debut CD The Samples independently and then signed with Arista and then Arista released the album in May 1989. But things didn't go well at Arista and the contract was terminated and Hambleton left The Samples in 1991. They signed with the independent label What Are Records in 1992 and have become a million selling band based on constant touring of college campuses with Blues Traveler and Phish. They tried the major label route again with MCA Records in 1996 but their album Outpost was yanked from release and the contract terminated. By this time Kelly was the only original member left. The Samples continued to record until Kelly retired them in 2008. They still play occasional gigs. Feel Us Shaking is probably their best known song. It's about the environment and was originally on their 1989 debut album. It was also on their 1997 live CD Transmissions From The Sea Of Tranquility. You can get both versions on this CD/DVD comp. Here's the video for Feel Us Shaking by The Samples.

Jango Song Of The Day-Allison Moorer

Artist:Allison Moorer f/Shelby Lynne
Song:Is Heaven Good Enough For You
Album:The Definitive Collection





Allison Moorer is an outstanding singer songwriter best known as the younger sister of another great singer Shelby Lynne. Allison has gotten plenty of critical acclaim but it didn't translate into record sales when she was on Universal South. She was born June 21, 1972 in Mobile, AL and was raised by Shelby Lynne after their father committed a murder suicide of their mother in 1986. They lived with their aunt and uncle. After earning a degree in public relations at the University Of South Alabama, Allison followed her sister to Nashville and became a backup singer. Her big break came when she met musician Doyle "Butch" Primm and they started writing songs together and then got married. A June 1996 performance at the Ryman Auditorium in Nashville got the attention of MCA Nashville producer Tony Brown. Is Heaven Good Enough For You appeared on her 1998 debut CD Alabama Song. A Soft Place To Fall appeared in the 1998 film The Horse Whisperer and it was nominated for an Oscar. But she didn't get the radio play or record sales she needed to become a star. Things didn't change much when she went with Brown to Universal South in 2002. This version of Is Heaven Good Enough For You is from the 2003 live CD/DVD release Show and you can get it on this comp. She left Universal for Sugar Hill in 2004 and then divorced Primm. She is now married to Steve Earle and recently gave birth to their first child. Allison is now recording for Rykodisc and her latest CD Crows was released in Feb. 2010. Alt country fans should check out Allison Moorer. Here's Allison Moorer and Shelby Lynne performing Is Heaven Good Enough For You from the 2003 DVD Show in Nashville.

Jango Song Of The Day-The Flamin' Groovies

Artist:The Flamin' Groovies
Song:Slow Death
Album:Groovies' Greatest Grooves





On the surface, The Flamin' Groovies seem like a minor cult band lost in the psychedelic era of the late 60s. But their influence was greater than their fame and in retrospect they were a bridge between psychedelic of the 60s and the punk of the 70s. And their music holds up very well today. The Flamin' Groovies started out in San Francisco in 1965 led by guitarist Cyril Jordan (born Aug. 31, 1948 in San Francisco) and lead singer Roy Loney (born Apr. 13, 1946 in San Francisco). They wrote all the songs. They released an EP in 1968 that earned them a contract with Epic. But their 1969 debut album Supersnazz didn't sell and they were quickly dropped. They signed with the Buddah Records label Kama Sutra and released two great albums Flamingo and Teenage Head. Not only did the albums not sell but Jordan and Loney weren't getting along. Apparently Jordan wanted Loney to soften his vocal style and Loney wanted to rock. So Loney left to go solo and was replaced by Chris Wilson (born Sept. 10, 1952 in Waltham, MA) and they moved to England. Working with legendary British rocker Dave Edmunds produced a more roots rock sound. Slow Death was an anti drug song that was released as a single in 1972. The Groovies signed with Sire Records and and had their best success with the 1976 album Shake Some Action. You can get all their songs on this comp. Shake Some Action was used in the 1995 film Clueless. The Flamin' Groovies split up in 1979 after a couple of uninspired albums but Cyril Jordan has continued to lead various versions of the band. Chris Wilson had a band called The Barracudas and Roy Loney has had success with The Phantom Movers. Jordan and Loney reunited for a tour in 2008. Here's The Flamin' Groovies performing Slow Death 1972.

Jango Song Of The Day-Shane MacGowan and the Popes

Artist:Shane MacGowan and the Popes
Song:Paddy Rolling Stone
Album:The Rare Oul' Stuff





Shane MacGowan is best known as the lead singer of The Pogues. The Popes was the group he started after he was thrown out of The Pogues for bad behaviour. This CD is a comp of the two albums he recorded with The Popes. MacGowan's music is a mix of Irish folk and punk rock and his behaviour seems to be part of his allure. He was born Dec. 25, 1957 in Kent, England to Irish parents. His mom was a singer and dancer so he grew up immersed in traditional Irish music. He was expelled from school for drug possession and by 1976 was heavily into the punk music scene and even had a short lived band called The Nipple Erectors. He formed The Pogues in 1982 and they had a very successful run especially with the 1987 hit Fairytale In New York. MacGowan was thrown out of The Pogues in 1991 for a long history of unreliability. They never knew if he was going to show up for gigs. He formed Shane MacGowan and the Popes and their 1994 debut CD The Snake featured guest appearances from Johnny Depp and Sinead O'Connor. Paddy Rolling Stone is from their 1997 CD The Crock Of Gold. MacGowan left the group and they continued as The Electric Popes. This comp is a mix of the two CDs. He has occasionally reunited with The Pogues and continues to have substance abuse issues. He has made some guest appearances on some recordings but hasn't recorded any new music in years. He has talent and a lot of problems. Here's Shane MacGowan and the Popes performing Paddy Rolling Stone in Poland Oct. 16, 1998.

Atsuko Emoto retiring from pro wrestling

Atsuko Emoto

So there's been some confusion about this for the last couple of days but it now looks like Atsuko Emoto AKA Bullfight Sora is retiring from pro wrestling on May 30. At yesterday's Pro Wrestling WAVE show, they did what appeared ro be a goofy comedy angle where Bullfight Sora announced that she would retire from WAVE. Apparently fans in attendance didn't believe her because the character was supposed to be retired a couple of years ago and WAVE owner GAMI is notorious for goofy comedy angles. Emoto got angry, grabbed the mic and said that she was retiring for real. WAVE has booked May 30 as her retirement show. Apparently like a lot of the wrestlers, Emoto was very upset by last week's events at the NEO show when the company announced that they are closing. And to add insult to injury, she lost a loser leaves NEO match to Mima Shimoda. So it seems she made this decision in the last week. I haven't seen anything about her MMA future. She has a match on the May 23 JEWELS show against HIROKO and she works at the DEEP dojo. So it wouldn't surprise me if she takes MMA more seriously in the future. Also, Kyoko Kimura announced that she will take an extended break after the May 21 Revolution Amandora show to recover from nagging injuries. But she says she will return and RA will continue.

Jango Song Of The Day-Junior Murvin

Artist:Junior Murvin
Song:Police & Thieves
Album:Police & Thieves





Police & Thieves was the biggest hit for Junior Murvin in 1976. Normally I would recommend a various artists comp but the album is such an essential part of the career of producer Lee "Scratch" Perry that this remastered edition of the album is highly recommended. Junior Murvin was born Murvin Junior Smith in Port Antonio, Jamaica 1949. As a child, he sang along with Nat King Cole and Billy Eckstine records and later Sam Cooke and Curtis Mayfield. He began performing publicly after his family moved to Montego Bay. He moved to Kingston and after an unsuccessful audtion for producer Coxsone Dodd, he recorded for Derrick Harriott's Crystal label. He had some minor hits but by 1976 Murvin had become dissatisfied with his level of success. Legendary producer Lee "Scratch" Perry sat in on that original audtion. But now he had his own label and Perry and Murvin immediately wrote and recorded Police & Thieves. The song was a big hit in Jamaica and England and became even bigger in England when The Clash covered the song in 1977. The album is also considered to be one of Perry's greatest productions. It's available in a remastered version on CD with bonus tracks and also in a 2CD deluxe edition. Junior Murvin has continued to perform and record occasionally. But he never recorded with Lee "Scratch" Perry again. Police & Thieves was truly lightning in a bottle. Here's Junior Murvin performing Police & Thieves on Top Of The Pops 1976.

Jango Song Of The Day-Mary Gauthier

Artist:Mary Gauthier
Song:Mercy Now
Album:Mercy Now





Mary Gauthier's introspective songs have been compared favourably with the legendary Townes Van Zandt. But she's actually very similar to Lucinda Williams. Mary had a very rough early life and didn't become a musician until her mid-30s. The 2005 CD Mercy Now was her major label debut and she has a new CD coming out next week. She was born Mar. 8, 1962 in New Orleans and was adopted by a couple in Thibodaux. By age 15, she ran away from home, stole her parents car and became addicted to drugs and homeless. She spent her 18th birthday in jail. After a successful rehab, she went to culinary school and co-owned a a successful restaurant called Dixie Kitchen in Boston. Then she started writing songs and sold her share in the restaurant to finance her music. She released three CDs independently and started building a fanbase by touring the folk festival circuit. Her third CD Filth & Fire was produced by veteran producer Gurf Morlix. He is best known for his work with Lucinda Williams. Mary signed with Universal's Lost Highway label and moved to Nashville. Mercy Now was her debut CD and several of her songs have been hits for others. Joe Henry produced her 2007 CD Between Daylight and Dark. She has moved to Razor & Tie and her new CD The Foundling will be released next week. It was produced by Mike Timmons of The Cowboy Junkies. Though Mary Gauthier isn't ever going to be a pop star, if you're an alt country fan you should check her out. She's a very strong songwriter. Here's the video for Mercy Now by Mary Gauthier.