Jango Song Of The Day-The Bellamy Brothers

Artist:The Bellamy Brothers
Song:Sugar Daddy
Album:Number One Hits





The Bellamy Brothers are the most successful duo in the history of country music. The interesting thing is they had pop success first and then later had ten number one country hits including Sugar Daddy in 1980. They also like to incorporate other musical style into their music especially reggae. They are from Darby, FL. Howard Bellamy was born Feb. 2, 1946 and David Bellamy was born Sept. 16, 1950. Their dad was an amateur musician so they learned to play at an early age. They moved to Atlanta in 1968 and formed the group Jericho. But they were unsuccessful and moved back home. The Bellamy Brothers big break came when singer songwriter comedian Jim Stafford had a top five hit in 1973 with the David Bellamy song Spiders and Snakes. They made enough money to move to Los Angeles and tour with Stafford. So they signed with Curb Records in 1975 and their first two singles didn't click. But the third single Let Your Love Flow topped the pop charts and was a huge worldwide hit. But it only reached #21 on the country charts. As their pop stardom faded, they finally topped the country music charts with the 1979 song If I Said You Had A Beautiful Body Would You Hold It Against Me. Sugar Daddy was also a number one hit and was the first single from the 1980 album You Can Get Crazy. A lot of the success is credited to the double entendre and humour in many of David Bellamy's songs. They continued to have success in the country market after leaving Curb for Atlantic and then starting their own label and they still tour and record today. This comp is a good intro to their music. Here's The Bellamy Brothers performing Sugar Daddy 1980.

Jango Song Of The Day-Eddie Holman

Artist:Eddie Holman
Song:Hey There Lonely Girl
Album:Music For Groovin'





The 1970 top five hit Hey There Lonely Girl was the biggest hit for R & B singer Eddie Holman. It's perceived as a one hit wonder but some of his other songs charted so it's technically not a one hit wonder. It's certainly a Philly Soul classic though the source of the recording is somewhat surprising. He was born June 3, 1946 in Norfolk, VA and he grew up in New York City. At age 10, he won the famous Apollo Theatre Amateur Night. He studied at the Victoria School Of Music in Harlem and was first recorded in 1962. His family moved to Philadelphia and Holman graduated from Cheyney State University with a degree in music. He had some minor hits in the mid-60s but hit the jackpot when he signed with ABC Records and Hey There Lonely Girl reached #2 on the Billboard Hot 100 in 1970. The song was originally recorded by Ruby & The Romantics in 1963 and was written by the veteran songwriting team of Leon Carr & Earl Shuman. They usually wrote for movies and TV and Carr was the go to guy in the 60s for jingles like See The USA In Your Chevrolet. Hey There Lonely Girl was their biggest chart hit. So you might think that Hey There Lonely Girl was produced by a legendary Philly Soul producer like Gamble & Huff or Thom Bell. But no, the song was produced by Peter DeAngelis. He was the co-founder of Chancellor Records and produced Frankie Avalon and Fabian. How's that for a twist? It looks like Holman only recorded one album for ABC. The album is available on CD but you probably only want Hey There Lonely Girl and this various artists comp from Universal in England has plenty of 70s soul hits. Eddie Holman had some success on the R & B and dance charts when he recorded for Salsoul in 1977. But then he quit secular music and became a Baptist minister. He has his own company Agape Records and still tours and records occasionally. Here's Eddie Holman performing Hey There Lonely Girl on one of those PBS oldies shows. He still sounds great.

Carla Esparza new opponent for Megumi Fujii on Thursday's Bellator show

It was reported yesterday by MMA Rising that Angela Magana has been forced to drop out of Thursday's match against Megumi Fujii due to an "undisclosed injury". I have learned that Angela suffered a foot injury in training on Friday. But she did tell Bellator about the injury and I can only suggest that they were upset and chose to leave it open ended. Very unprofessional behaviour. Perhaps Angela's management should have issued a statement. Some promoters can't be trusted. Pending approval by the Florida athletic commission, the new opponent is Carla Esparza. Carla trains at Team Oyama in Irvine, CA which is also the home of Strikeforce heavyweight contender Shane Del Rosario. Her record is 3-0 and her last win was over Lacey Schuckman on July 16 at RMBB: Clash Of The Titans 8 at Castlerock, CO. Check out the video of the match right here on the blog. She has quite a bit of amateur grappling experience and was a two time All American at Menlo College. Florida can be a bit iffy about approving last minute replacements. But Carla looks like a very good fighter. It doesn't matter. Mega Megu will win anyway. BTW, Megumi Fujii is en route to Florida. According to her blog, she is currently in Chicago waiting for her connecting flight.

Jango Song Of The Day-Was (Not Was)

Artist:Was (Not Was)
Song:Spy In The House Of Love
Album:Pick Of The Litter 1980-2010





Spy In The House Of Love was one of two big hits for Was (Not Was) in the late 80s. Walk The Dinosaur was a bigger hit but I actually like this song better. The two guys behind the group were David Was (David Weiss) and Don Was (Don Fagenson). They grew up together in Detroit and they both wanted to be jazz musicians. When they had trouble making a living, they decided to start a band that would combine different types of music with eclectic lyrics. They started out recording for the ZE label in 1981 and were probably a little to diverse to be commercially successful. They found that there most popular songs featured singers Sweet Pea Atkinson and Sir Harry Bowens. So they decided to go in a more soulful direction to take advantage of those talents. Also Don Was started getting a lot of work as a record producer. So when Was (Not Was) returned in 1988 with a new contract with Chrysalis Records and a new album What Up, Dog?, the music was more focused and it did better commercially. Walk The Dinosaur and Spy In The House Of Love both reached #7 on the Billboard Hot 100. Atkinson's vocals were a big part of the group's appeal. Their 1990 follow up Are You Okay? didn't do nearly as well and Don Was became one of the hottest producers in music and the group simply faded away. They did return in 2008 with the album Boo!. This comp is a good intro to their music. Fagenson still does a lot of producing and Weiss does some too but is more of a writer these days. Just keep in mind that there's more to Was (Not Was) than Walk The Dinosaur. There are two videos for Spy In The House Of Love by Was (Not Was). I like this one that uses clips from what seems to be an old Superman cartoon and it's harder to find.

Was (Not Was) Spy in the House of Love
Uploaded by Celtiemama. - Music videos, artist interviews, concerts and more.

Jango Song Of The Day-Tex Ritter

Artist:Tex Ritter
Song:Rye Whiskey
Album:A Proper Introduction To Tex Ritter: Sing, Cowboy, Sing





I'm sure you're familiar with the late sitcom actor John Ritter from his days in Three's Company and other shows. But you may not know that his father Woodward Maurice "Tex" Ritter was a very popular singing cowboy in the 30s and 40s and a popular recording artist. Rye Whiskey is one of his early recordings and he sang it in his film debut. He was born Jan. 12, 1905 in Murvaul, TX and attended high school in Beaumont. While studying pre-law at the University Of Texas, he was bit by the acting bug and moved to New York City in 1928 after singing at a Houston radio station. Ritter appeared in several Broadway productions and radio shows like Tex Ritter's Campfire and Cowboy Tom's Roundup. He signed with Columbia Records country music producer Art Satherly in 1933 and recorded several songs including Rye Whiskey. At the time, singing cowboys were becoming popular in the movies. The fledgling B-movie studio Grand National Pictures was looking for their own Gene Autry and they liked Ritter's recordings. This comp from the British label Proper is a good intro to Ritter's early recordings. So they signed him up and Song Of The Gringo was his film debut in 1936 and Rye Whiskey was one of the songs he sang in the film. BTW, his co-star was Joan Woodbury. When Grand National started having financial problems in 1938, Ritter moved to Monogram Pictures and remained there for most of his film career. He also co-starred in several films with his wife Dorothy Fay. They married in 1941. Ritter left films in 1945 and concentrated on his recording career with Capitol Records. He had several hits but the biggest was probably the theme from the 1952 film High Noon which won a Best Song Oscar. Tex Ritter appeared frequently on TV in the 50s and moved to Nashville in 1965. He was one of the founding members of the Country Music Association and was named to the Country Music Hall Of Fame in 1964 and he worked for the Grand Ole Opry. After an unsuccessful 1970 Tennessee Senate run, he made his final recordings in 1973 and died of a heart attack on Jan. 2, 1974 at age 68. His son John Ritter was a very successful actor until his 2003 death and his grandson Jason Ritter is also an actor. Here's Tex Ritter performing Rye Whiskey in the 1936 film Song Of The Gringo.

Saori Ishioka to retire from MMA?

There's no question that Saori Ishioka was very disappointed by her loss to Sakura Nomura at last week's JEWELS show. I was not surprised that she lost as in pre-match interviews, she seemed to be looking past Nomura and talked about fighting Ham Seo Hee. That was a big mistake. Today she posted on her blog that at the very least she is taking a break from MMA and may retire. She's only 23 years old. She's going to leave her job at a Tokyo convenience store and return home to Hiroshima and her mom. Right now she's calling it a vacation but she is acknowledging that she may not return to Tokyo and could retire from MMA. She feels she let a lot of people down. She thanked her trainers at Zendokai and thanked Yasuko Mogi, Naoko Omuro and WINDY Tomomi for helping her when she first arrived in Tokyo three years ago. Saori says she is a big fan of Shinya Aoki and Takanori Gomi and would like to fight overseas as they have. But for now, she has lost the desire to compete in MMA and she doesn't know if she can get that desire back. She's a young kid with talent and it would be very sad if she doesn't return to MMA.

Jango Song Of The Day-Steve Forbert

Artist:Steve Forbert
Song:Romeo's Tune
Album:The Best Of Steve Forbert: What Kinda Guy?





Back in the 70s, it seemed like every other singer songwriter was labelled "the next Bob Dylan". Most of these guys, including Steve Forbert, survived this unfair comparison. And Forbert even had a top 20 pop hit with Romeo's Tune. And he's still around today. He was born Dec. 11, 1954 in Meridian, MS. He played in local bands as a teen until he moved to New York City at age 21. He signed with Nemperor Records in 1978. Nemperor owner Nat Weiss started out as Brian Epstein's partner in the 60s and turned Nemperor into a record company in 1974 with a Columbia Records distribution deal. The Bob Dylan comparisons started when Forbert released his 1978 debut album Alive On Arrival. It was critically acclaimed but didn't sell. And BTW, Forbert sounds nothing like Dylan. It was very unfair. Romeo's Tune is from his 1979 album Jackrabbit Slim. It reached #11 on the Billboard Hot 100. The liner notes state that Romeo's Tune was dedicated to the memory of Florence Ballard of The Supremes. Forbert says the song is actually about a girl from his hometown but he also dedicated it to Ballard because she was poorly treated by the music business. His subsequent albums didn't sell and he left Nemperor in 1984 when they shelved his new album. This comp covers the Nemperor years. Forbert also recorded for Geffen Records and Giant Records. And he's had a lot of success as a songwriter. He still tours and currently records on his own label 429 Records. Here's Steve Forbert performing Romeo's Tune 1979.

Noriyo Tateno announces retirement

Noriyo Tateno

After 30 years in joshi puroresu, Noriyo Tateno announced her retirement today. Noriyo has had health problems in recent years and is retiring due to peritonitis. No details yet but her retirement show will be in October. Noriyo debuted in All Japan Women on July 12, 1981 and is probably best known as one half of the Jumping Bomb Angels tag team with Itzuki Yamazaki. They held the WWWA Tag Team Titles from Jan. 5, 1986 when they defeated Bull Nakano & Condor Saito until Mar. 20, 1986 when they lost to the Crush Gals (Chigusa Nagayo & Lioness Asuka). At the time, the WWF was looking to bring an AJW team over and looked at the Crush Gals and Dump Matsumoto & Bull Nakano. But they eventually settled on the Jumping Bomb Angels and they made their first appearances in the summer of 1987. JBA was a top house show attraction but the WWF didn't use them enough on TV. They did get put over big time on the very first Survivor Series in 1987 and then won the WWF Women's Tag Team Titles from Leilani Kai & Judy Martin at the very first Royal Rumble in Hamilton, ON Jan. 24, 1988. It says they lost the titles in June but I think JBA went home to Japan and the titles were discontinued. Of course in those days, AJW had a forced retirement at age 26. So Noriyo retired in 1991 to become a broadcaster with AJW but soon became bored and came out of retirement when Ladies Legend Pro Wrestling started in 1992. She's been working there ever since. The one cool thing she did was talk Itzuki Yamazaki out of retirement and the Jumping Bomb Angels reunited at the 2008  Daily Sports shows. That was a nice piece of nostalgia. LLPW has been a bad company for years but that's at least one recent positive in Noriyo's career. She deserves a gala retirement ceremony.

Nanae Takahashi's SHOOT BOXING opponent is...Fuuka

Nanae Takahashi training

SHOOT BOXING held a press conference today to announce the opponent for veteran pro wrestler Nanae Takahashi on the August 29 Crystal Palace show. For those who don't know, Takahashi has been a pro wrestler for 14 years and is one of today's top joshi puroresu stars. But she's never done any MMA or kickboxing or anything like that. Takahashi is doing Shoot Boxing mainly to promote her friend Fuuka's new dojo. Of course Fuuka retired from joshi in March and retired from Shoot Boxing in February. SHOOT BOXING did not announce an opponent for Takahashi last week. I thought it might be JEWELS fighter HIROKO because she is scheduled to be on the show and it's a decent size matchup. SHOOT BOXING claims that they were in negotiations to bring in undefeated Dutch kickboxer Germaine de Randamie. She's known as The Iron Lady and her kickboxing record is 37-0. But when that fell through, Fuuka agreed to step in as Takahashi's opponent. Of course there's a big size difference so it's only going to be an exhibition match. As you can see in the pic, Takahashi is training. But these two are pals so don't expect a serious match. Of course rumours have been flying about Fuuka possibly returning to joshi puroresu and no doubt this will feed those rumours. And she hasn't denied those rumours.

Jango Song Of The Day-The Beautiful South

Artist:The Beautiful South
Song:You Keep It All In
Album:The Best Of The Beautiful South: Carry On Up The Charts





Like Paul Heaton's previous group The Housemartins, The Beautiful South were very successful in England but had limited success in the US. You Keep It All In was probably their best known song in the US. It was never clear why Heaton broke up The Housemartins in 1988 but he inmmediately started The Beautiful South with Housemartins drummer Dave Hemingway as co-lead vocalist. Bassist Sean Welch was a Housemartins roadie. Guitarist Dave Rotheray was with The Velvetones and drummer Dave Stead was with Vicious Circle. Singer Briana Corrigan was in The Anthill Runaways. Heaton and Rotheray wrote all the songs together. It seems that Heaton was looking to match his working class viewpoint with a more adult oriented R & B influenced sound and that's what Rotheray provided. Like The Housemartins, The Beautiful South were on Go! Discs. Their 1989 debut Welcome to the Beautiful South was produced by recording engineer Mike Hedges. The album reached #2 on the British charts and went platinum. The first single Song For Whoever reached #2 on the British charts and the second single You Keep It All In reached #8 but it actually got airplay in the US College market and reached #19 on the Modern Rock Tracks chart. Like a lot of Heaton's songs, it's a jaunty little number with cynical lyrics about abuse. Subsequent albums and singles didn't do as well in England until this comp was released in 1994 and topped the British album charts. It's actually their best selling album and a good intro to their music. Briana Corrigan left in 1992 because she wasn't impressed with some of Heaton's songs and was replaced by Jacqui Abbot. Corrigan released a solo album in 1996. Abbot left in 2000 and was replaced by Alison Wheeler. The Beautiful South split up in 2007 and Hemingway, Stead & Wheeler formed The New Beautiful South which is now called The South. Heaton released a solo album and Rotheray leads the band Homespun. The Beatiful South are worth checking out if you missed out on them back in the 90s. Here's the video for You Keep It All In by The Beautiful South.

Jango Song Of The Day-Hopeton Lewis

Artist:Hopeton Lewis
Song:Take It Easy
Album:Let's Do Rocksteady: The Story Of Rocksteady






Because it is considered to be the song that established the Rocksteady style of Jamaican music, Hopeton Lewis' 1966 hit Take It Easy is a landmark song. Lewis isn't as well known as he should be because he turned to gospel nusic in the 70s. He was born Oct. 3, 1947 in Kingston, Jamaica. His mother died when he was two so he lived with various relatives and grew up singing in church. By age 15, he had formed his first group The Regals. By 1966 he was recording for Ken Khouri at Federal Studios. Take It Easy became a big hit in Jamaica and by 1967 the style of music was labelled as Rocksteady. It still sounds great today. Lewis won the 1970 Festival Song competition with Boom Shacka Lacka and then he became lead singer of Byron Lee & The Dragonaires. But he left in 1973 and has been producing and recording gospel music ever since and still does that on his own label today. Lewis recorded Take It Easy twice and the original 1966 version is mostly on box sets including this 2CD comp from Sanctuary Records. I like it because it looks specifically at the Rocksteady style of Jamaican music. And it has the original 1966 version of Take it Easy. Here's Hopeton Lewis performing Take It Easy at Club Soca in Brooklyn, NY 1990 followed by an interview.

Jango Song Of The Day-Roy Rogers

Artist:Roy Rogers
Song:Don't Fence Me In
Album:King Of The Cowboys





Of course Roy Rogers was one of the most popular singing cowboys especially in the 40s and into the 50s on TV. Many of my generation grew up watching him with wife Dale Evans and horse Trigger. You just have to remember that he was a Hollywood cowboy. It's funny that the Cole Porter song Don't Fence Me In was one of his biggest hits. He was born Leonard Slye Nov. 5, 1911 in Cincinnati. His family played music so he learned to play guitar and mandolin and by age 19, he moved to California to persue a singing career. He won an amateur singing contest and joined The Rocky Mountaineers. That's where he met future Sons Of The Pioneers partner Bob Nolan. But Nolan left and was replaced by Tim Spencer. Slye and Spencer formed their own group and in 1933 Nolan joined to form The Pioneer Trio. They were renamed The Sons of the Pioneers when a radio announcer mistakenly introduced them by that name. They became very popular radio and concert performers. Meanwhile, Slye started hanging around Republic Pictures doing bits as Dick Weston. When Republic had a contract dispute with singing cowboy star Gene Autry in 1938, Slye managed to wrangle a screen test and signed a contract. The Sons Of The Pioneers had just signed with Columbia Pictures so he had to leave the group. The studio named him Roy Rogers and he would soon surpass Autry and become Republic's biggest star. He was even able to acquire the rights to the Roy Rogers name. I always thought it was funny that Rogers usually played characters named Roy Rogers in his movies. That was probably part of his appeal. And of course Trigger was The Smartest Horse In The Movies. So by 1944, Rogers was a big enough star that Warner Bros. had him appear in the 1944 all star extravaganza Hollywood Canteen. And Rogers performed the Cole Porter song Don't Fence Me In. It became one of his most popular songs and Republic produced the 1945 film Don't Fence Me In. Cole Porter? Porter wrote the song in 1934 for a musical that was never produced. The words were from a poem by Robert Fletcher. The song sat around until Kate Smith performed it on her 1944 radio show. Bing Crosby & The Andrews Sisters also had a hit with it. And Warners had Rogers sing it in the film. Rogers' version is probably the most memorable. Of course as we all know, Rogers met Dale Evans in 1944 and they married and of course they were huge stars for many years especially in the early days of TV. There are a lot of Roy Rogers comps and they're all the same. But this one from Synergy Distribution has a bonus DVD with the 1948 film Bells Of San Angelo. But you have to look for the CD/DVD triangle in the bottom left hand corner as there is an import version of this CD with the same cover but no DVD. Roy Rogers continued to remain very popular later in life and was inducted into the Country Music Hall Of Fame in 1988. He died on July 6, 1998 at age 86. Here's Roy Rogers and Trigger performing Don't Fence Me In in the 1944 film Hollywood Canteen.

Jango Song Of The Day-Mable John

Artist:Mable John
Song:Running Out
Album:Stay Out of the Kitchen





Mable John is a very underrated 60s soul singer who was one of the few singers who recorded for both Motown and Stax. This comp of her late 60s Stax recordings is well worth your time. She was born Nov. 3, 1930 in Bastrop, LA. She was the oldest of several siblings including R & B legend Little Willie John. The family first moved to Arkansas and then Detroit and that's where she went to high school. Mable worked for an insurance agency owneed by Bertha Gordy. She's Berry Gordy's mother. So eventually Mable became the first woman signed to Motown. Gordy was attempting to record some blues artists at the time. She released a few singles in 1961 but they didn't catch on. And when Motown went in a pop direction, Mable was dropped. She worked as one of Ray Charles' Raelettes until she signed with Stax in 1966. Her first single Your Good Thing Is About To End was her biggest hit and reached #6 on the R & B Singles chart. None of her other singles caught on but they're great songs. Running Out was her final single before she left Stax in 1968. The song was written by Nick Ashford & Valerie Simpson which is interesting because they were working for Motown at the time. They wrote it pre-Motown as it was first recorded by Vernon Garrett in 1966. You can get all her Stax recordings on this comp. Mable went back to The Raelettes after leaving Stax and left secular music in 1973. She still runs her ministry today and recorded a gospel album in 1993. Here's a video for Running Out by Mable John.

Monica Lovato to face WINDY Tomomi on Sept. 5 PANCRASE show

WINDY Tomomi holding a pic of Monica Lovato

It's been quite a while since PANCRASE had a women's match on one of their shows. So it was a bit surprising when suddenly they held a press conference to announce that WINDY Tomomi will appear on their Sept. 5 Differ Ariake show. WINDY has trained at PANCRASE for years. Her record is 14-12-1 and her last match was a win over Beth Tavares on the May 9 XC-1 show in Italy. And the weird thing is they're bringing in a gaijin fighter and PANCRASE has never done that before. Monica Lovato trains at FIT NHB in New Mexico. She started out as a boxer and compiled a 12-1 record before switching to MMA in 2008. She held boxing titles in the NABF and the IBA. Her MMA record is 5-1 and her last fight was a win over Alyx Hess on the June 4 King Of The Cage show in New Mexico. The match is contracted for 52.5kg and is scheduled for two five minute rounds. Five minute rounds are new for PANCRASE and was requested by WINDY. They've always had three minute rounds in the past. They have also added legal unlimited ground and pound. I don't think they'll need that. WINDY is more kickboxer than MMA fighter and is very vulnerable on the ground. And with Monica a former championship boxer, I think we can expect a slugfest. WINDY says it's been almost two years since she fought in PANCRASE, she thought they forgot about her. PANCRASE said they have been trying to put together a fight for her for a while and said they should do more with female fighting anyway. WINDY is currently the only female fighter in PANCRASE.

Sakura Nomura upsets Saori Ishioka on July 31 JEWELS show

Sakura Nomura, Saori Ishioka

The first round of the JEWELS Lightweight Tournament was held at the July 31 Shinjuku FACE show. The main event of the show was the tournament match between JEWELS poster girl Saori Ishioka and Sakura Nomura. Of course Ishioka was the favourite mainly because a lot of fans aren't familiar with the 2-0 Nomura. But you should remember that she has trained with former DEEP Lightweight Champ MIKU. Also, I thought that Ishioka was looking past her and was talking about avenging her loss to Ham Seo Hee a couple of years ago. Nomura's judo expertise was the key in this fight. She seemed to be able to throw Ishioka at will and followed it up with superior ground work. Ishioka didn't seem to have an answer for that. She would land an occasional blow but needed to do more in round two. But it didn't happen. Nomura landed strikes and followed with a takedown and several submission attempts. She wasn't able to finish Ishioka off and Ishioka had some offense at the end. But it wasn't enough and Nomura won by unanimous decision. It was an upset but I wasn't surprised as Ishioka seemed to underestimate Nomura so I thought we might see an upset. JEWELS matchmaker Shigeru Saeki was very impressed with Nomura.

Ham Seo Hee, Mai Ichii

The semi main event had Korean Ham Seo Hee against pro wrestler Mai Ichii. Ichii has punching power. She did very well in the M-1 kickboxing fed a couple of years ago. But she doesn't have Ham's skills. So not surprisingly Ham started out the match with striking. Then when Ichii tried to take her down, Ham turned the tables and attempted a sleeper hold.Ham continued to control round one including some ground and pound. Ichii landed some punches at the start of round two. But Ham kept her composure and took Ichii down again. She didn't finish her but wore her out and won a unanimous decision. Ham said in a post match interview that she doesn't really practice much jiu jitsu or wrestling at home in Korea. Fans need to remember that she only does MMA in Japan and does strictly kickboxing at home. And the funny part is she could win this tournament.

Mika Nagano, Celine

Those were the only matches on the show to go the distance. In one tournament match, Mika Nagano got a rematch with Celine. Celine won in May and I guess some thought she could win again. But fans have a bad habit of underestimating redemption as a motivator especially in Japan where shame is such a big deal. Sometimes a fighter needs to lose to learn to be a better fighter. So Celine came out swinging like she did in May. But Nagano's defense was better and then she took Celine down and attempted an arm bar. Celine escaped but Nagano regained the position and this time got the armbar for the submission at 1:52 of round one. In the other tournament match, Ayaka Hamazaki faced Korean kickboxer Han Sol Lee. Hamazaki trains at AACC and her boss Megumi Fujii was in her corner. And though this was only her second pro bout, she has an extensive amateur background and won the 2009 All Japan amateur Shooto Bantamweight championship. Hamazaki wasted no time taking Han down and submitted her with an armbar in 48 seconds of round one. Mika Nagano jokingly said afterwards that she would rather face either Nomura or Hamazaki because Ham scares her a bit. And Saeki said he was very impressed with Hamazaki.

Super Benkei, Esui

The match on the rest of the show of most interest to readers of this blog is the MMA debut of former Ibuki pro wrestler Esui. She was supposed to face Shizuka Sugiyama in a Shoot Boxing match. But Sugiyama suffered a seperated shoulder and broken collarbone in training. So veteran fighter Super Benkei was brought in and it was changed to an MMA match. Esui went for a flying kick but Benkei took her down. They were stood up when Esui was warned for grabbing the rope. Benkei took her down again and won with an armbar at 4:34 of round one. In other matches, Misaki Takimoto knocked British fighter Lisa Newton down and then put her to sleep at 2:10 of round one. In a Shoot Boxing match, Ai Takahashi won over Emi NFC by TKO at 3:19 of round one. Yukiko Seki won over MIYOKO with a sleeper at 50 seconds of round two. Amiba won over Fuuka Misaki with an armbar at 2:27 of round two. And Emi Murata won her MMA debut over Harumi with an armbar at 1:08 of round one. HARUMI is now 0-15 (!). The semi finals will be on Oct. 10 and the final will be at the big Korakuen Hall show in December. Who's the favourite? I like Ham Seo Hee but it's not a sure thing.

Jango Song Of The Day-The Monitors

Artist:The Monitors
Song:Greetings (This Is Uncle Sam)
Album:Hitsville USA, Vol. 1: The Motown Singles Collection 1959-1971





The Monitors are a very minor Motown group who had their only chart hit with Greetings. They are closely associated with The Temptations. Monitors lead singer Richard Street went to high school with future Temptations Otis Williams and Melvin Franklin and was a member of The Distants. When The Distants merged with The Primes and became The Temptations, Street continued as Richard Street & The Distants. They recorded a couple of singles but their label folded and Street joined The Peps. In 1965, Street formed The Monitors with Warren Harris and John & Sandra Fagin. They were originally called The Majestics but had to change the name. They released several singles on Motown's VIP label but Greetings was the only song that charted. It reached #21 on the R & B Singles chart in 1966. Though people associate the song with the Vietnam War, The song was originally recorded by The Valadiers and released by Motown in 1962. The Monitors even released an album in 1968 on Soul but it went nowhere. This Hitsville USA box set has Greetings and plenty of other Motown hits. Motown rereleased it last year with new packaging. Street worked in Motown's quality control department. Motown sent Street on the road with The Temptations in 1969 when Paul Williams started having health problems. Williams lipsynced to Street's offstage vocals. Street replaced Williams in 1971 and remained with The Temptations until 1993. He still performs today. The Monitors reformed in the late 80s with lead singer Darrell Littlejohn replacing Street and recorded for Ian Levine's Motorcity Records. Here's a video for Greetings (This Is Uncle Sam) by The Monitors.

Jango Song Of The Day-The Hombres

Artist:The Hombres
Song:Let It Out (Let It All Hang Out)
Album:Dick Bartley's Rock & Roll Oldies Show: One Hit Wonders of the 60s, Vol. 2





Let It Out is one of the goofiest top 20 hits in pop history. The Hombres were a group that were mostly behind the scenes guys and after their brief fame, they went back to that. The Hombres were from Memphis and started out as the road band for Ronny & The Daytonas. Remember G.T.O.? Guitarist Gary McEwen, organist B.B. Cunningham Jr. and drummer John Hunter went to high school together. McEwen and Cunningham wrote Let It Out and attempted to shop the song to record companies. Meanwhile Little Rock, AR native Jerry Masters joined on bass. Legendary record company owner Shelby Singleton liked the song and brought in producer Huey P. Meaux and the record was licensed to Verve Forecast Records. The group originally called themselves The Bandits and then settled on The Hombres. Let It Out reached #12 on the Billboard Hot 100 in 1967. Cunningham says the song was a goof on Bob Dylan's Subterranean Homesick Blues and the opening preaching was based on Red Ingle's 1947 classic Cigarettes, Whiskey & Wild Wild Women. The Hombres recorded an album but it went nowhere and a classic one hit wonder is born. And you can get it on this Dick Bartley comp from Rhino. The Nails successfully covered Let It Out in the 80s and Cameron Crowe used it in his film Elizabethtown. John Hunter died in 1976 but Jerry Masters and B.B. Cunningham Jr. became recording engineers and still do that today as far as I know. Here's a video for Let It Out (Let It All Hang Out) by The Hombres.

Jango Song Of The Day-The Other Half

Artist:The Other Half
Song:Mr. Pharmacist
Album:Nuggets: Original Artyfacts From The First Psychedelic Era 1965-1968





Here is another psychedelic obscurity from the 60s that has been kept alive by Rhino's 4CD Nuggets comp. Also, Mr. Pharmacist was covered by the British punk band The Fall. The Other Half only recorded one album and Mr. Pharmacist is probably the only song that will interest anyone. The Other Half featured guitarist Randy Holden, one of the great cult figures of psychedelic music. He's best known for his short stint with the late 60s band Blue Cheer. He seemed to bounce around a lot of bands. He started out with a surf music band called Fender IV. They released two singles and changed their name to Sons Of Adam. They were more of a British Invasion influenced band. They only released one single but they opened for The Rolling Stones in Long Beach. Word about Holden reached Keith Relf and he asked Holden to replace Jeff Beck in The Yardbirds. But instead Holden joined The Other Half. Jeff Nolan was lead singer along with Geoff Westen on guitar, Larry Brown on bass and Danny Woody on drums. They moved to San Francisco and recorded a few singles including Mr. Pharmacist. But Holden was unhappy and left after they recorded their only album in 1968. The album is available on CD but Mr. Pharmacist is on the Nuggets box set. Mr. Pharmacist was covered by the British punk band The Fall. Holden replaced Leigh Stephens in Blue Cheer but left after appearing on their 1969 album New! Improved! Blue Cheer. He then attempted to start his own band Population II but the album was never released. Holden declared bankruptcy and quit the music business. He returned in the 90s and currently records on his own label. Here's a video for Mr. Pharmacist by The Other Half.

Chikara Pro's Manami Toyota promo video is deceptive

As you may have heard already, joshi puroresu legend Manami Toyota is coming to the US for the first time for Chikara Pro. She will be working the Sept. 18 Baltimore show and the Sept. 19 Brooklyn show. I understand the fanboy worship reaction to this. But it certainly would have meant a lot more fifteen years ago. It's not such a big deal today. My problem is that Chikara Pro is using fifteen year old video clips to promote her. Of course joshi fans know that Toyota isn't 25 anymore. She's 40. She doesn't look like that anymore. She's heavier. And she doesn't do the same things anymore. So the clips are deceptive because there are fans who aren't familiar with her and expect to see the Manami Toyota in these clips. They will be disappointed. Manami is still a good wrestler but she's not who she used to be. It's not fair to her to use fifteen year old clips when there is plenty of recent video footage out there that more accurately portrays her current performance. Chikara should change the clips. Check it out for yourself.

Jango Song Of The Day-Joan Armatrading

Artist:Joan Armatrading
Song:Down To Zero
Album:Greatest Hits





Singer songwriter Joan Armatrading was a much bigger star in her native England than she ever was in North America. Her music is a mix of various styles but she seems to be most effective when she bases her music in folk styles. She loses her way when she tries to expand that. I prefer her music from the 70s. She was born Dec. 9, 1950 in Basseterre, Saint Kitts and moved with her family to Birmingham, England at the age of 8. She started writing songs as a teen and moved to London in the early 70s to perform in a repertory production of the stage musical Hair. It was here that she met lyricist Pam Nestor and the two started writing together. They recorded the album Whatever's For Us for Cube Records in 1972 but the label decided that Joan had star potential and released it as a Joan Armatrading album. This caused the two to split. Joan signed with A & M Records in 1975 and released Back To The Night. On that album, she worked with singer Elkie Brooks and her producer husband Pete Gage. When it didn't chart, A & M assigned her to legendary producer Glyn Johns and the 1976 album Joan Armatrading went Gold in the UK and the single Love And Affection reached #10 on the singles chart. Many of the songs from that album including Down To Zero have become staples in Joan's live show. And as I said, she never had the same success in the US but that album reached #67 on the Billboard Hot 200. She had her biggest chart success in 1980 with the more pop oriented album Me Myself I and she continued to have success through the 80s especially in England. But in the early 90s, she faded and left A & M for RCA. She recorded one album in 1995 and didn't return until 2003. She currently records for Savoy Jazz and released This Charming Life in Mar. 2010. This 1996 comp is a good intro to her music. Joan Armatrading was awarded the Ivor Novello award in 1996 for her body of work. Here's the video for Down To Zero by Joan Armatrading.