Friday, May 03, 2013

AccuRadio Song Of The Day-Lee Brice

Artist:Lee Brice
Song:I Drive Your Truck
Album:Hard 2 Love





After success as a songwriter and a false start as a recording artist, Lee Brice scored three top ten country hits from his latest CD Hard 2 Love including I Drive Your Truck. He was born June 30, 1980 in Sumter, SC. He learned to play piano as a child and won high school talent contests. Garth Brooks is his idol. But he also played quarterback on the high school football team and won a scholarship to Clemson. An arm injury ended his football career and Brice moved to Nashville and signed a publishing deal with Curb Records. His songs were recorded by Jason Aldean among others. Brice recorded the 2007 album Picture Of Me. After two singles were unsuccessful, Curb decided not to release the album. He went back to writing songs for others including the Adam Gregory hit Crazy Days. After Garth Brooks recorded the Brice song More Than A Memory on Ultimate Hits, Curb gave Brice another chance. Love Like Crazy reached #3 on the Country Singles chart. His second CD Hard 2 Love broke through in a big way. A Woman Like You was his first number one country hit in 2011. I Drive Your Truck was the third single and it reached #6. Though Brice writes a lot of his own songs, I Drive Your Truck was written by Jessi Alexander, Connie Harrington and Jimmy Yeary. Alexander and Yeary have both recorded solo but have had success as songwriters. Harrington got the idea for the song based on a real life incident where a man's son died in the military and he coped with the grief by driving his truck. Lee Brice is currently on tour opening for Brad Paisley. His brother Lewis Brice is also a singer and was a contestant on the CMT talent show Can You Duet?. Here's the video for I Drive Your Truck by Lee Brice.

Thursday, May 02, 2013

AccuRadio Song Of The Day-Jackie DeShannon

Artist:Jackie DeShannon
Song:Put A Little Love In Your Heart
Album:What The World Needs Now Is...Jackie DeShannon: The Definitive Collection




Jackie DeShannon is best known for two hit singles; What The World Needs Now Is Love and Put A Little Love In Your Heart. But she has had a long career as a songwriter and won a Grammy for the Kim Carnes hit Bette Davis Eyes. She was born Sharon Lee Myers Aug. 21, 1941 in Hazel, KY. As a child, she performed on local radio. Her family moved and Sharon went to high school in Batavia, IL. She hosted her own local radio show. In 1957 she signed with George Goldner's Gone label and recorded as Jackie Dee. Though her single was not a hit, she got the attention of Eddie Cochran and he introduced her to his girlfriend Sharon Sheeley. Jackie and Sharon wrote several songs together including Dum Dum for Brenda Lee. When Jackie signed with Liberty Records in 1960, she decided to call herself Jackie Dee Shannon which became Jackie DeShannon. Though she charted with her cover of Needles and Pins and her own song When You Walk In The Room, her early 60s recordings were mostly flops. Meanwhile, she dated Elvis Presley and appeared in the film Surf Party. Jackie opened for The Beatles' first US tour in 1964. Her song Don't Doubt Yourself Babe was recorded by The Byrds and she moved to England and wrote songs with Jimmy Page. They wrote the Marianne Faithful hit Come And Stay With Me. Jackie moved to New York to work with Randy Newman. Her recording of the Burt Bacharach and Hal David song What The World Needs Now is Love reached #7 on the Billboard Hot 100 in 1965. She also appeared in the 1967 film C'mon Let's Live a Little. She finally had another hit when Put A Little Love In Your Heart reached #4 on the Billboard Hot 100 in 1969. Jackie wrote the song with her brother Randy Myers and soul singer songwriter Jimmy Holiday. Holiday had a top ten R & B hit in 1963 with How Can I Forget and he co-wrote the Aretha Franklin hit Baby I Love You. Put A Little Love In Your Heart was a hit for Al Green and Annie Lennox in 1989. Both of Jackie's big hits are on this budget comp. She left Liberty for Atlantic in 1970. Jackie never had another hit but her songs were hits for others. Jackie wrote Bette Davis Eyes with Donna Weiss and recorded it in 1974. It became a monster hit when Kim Carnes recorded it in 1981. Jackie won the Song of the Year Grammy. When You Walk In the Room by Pam Tillis topped the country charts in 1994. So Jackie DeShannon's songs still surface occasionally. She currently appears on Breakfast With The Beatles broadcasts on Sirius XM Satellite Radio talking about touring with them. She has been married to film composer Randy Edelman since 1977. So there is much more to Jackie DeShannon than two hit singles. Songwriting talent sure goes a long way. Here's Jackie DeShannon performing Put A Little Love In Your Heart 1969.

Wednesday, May 01, 2013

Muscle Shoals review

Last night I went to the Hot Docs Festival at the Bloor Cinema in downtown Toronto to see the music documentary Muscle Shoals. Before I get into the film, I wanted to comment on accessibility at the Bloor Cinema. It is accessible but they have very limited space for wheelchairs. I was speaking to someone from the festival and apparently it's in the building code that wheelchair space has to be level and not on an incline. Old school cinemas like the Bloor are on an incline. The only space is in the front corner. Too close to the screen. Most powerchairs including mine don't slide around when turned off. The incline is not relevant. Maybe the building code is outdated. The festival is aware that their wheelchair space is inadequate. They will have to address this as you can't have wheelchairs in the aisle because of fire regulations. This documentary is about the great music that was produced in the sleepy town of Muscle Shoals, Alabama. We all know that Motown is in Detroit, STAX is in Memphis and The Wrecking Crew is in Los Angeles. But Muscle Shoals? Like Standing In the Shadows Of Motown, Muscle Shoals looks at the unsung heroes of popular music. The storytelling is fairly straightforward. FAME Studios in Muscle Shoals was founded by Rick Hall. He was the recording engineer. Musicians included Barry Beckett, Roger Hawkins, Jimmy Johnson, David Hood, David Briggs, Norbert Putnam, Jerry Carrigan, Earl "Peanut" Montgomery, Donnie Fritts, Spooner Oldham and Dan Penn. Most of these musicians appear in the film. Hall's big break came when he produced Percy Sledge's When A Man Loves A Woman in 1967. Atlantic Records producer Jerry Wexler was leaving STAX and decided to produce Wilson Pickett at FAME. When that was successful, he took Aretha Franklin there. Then the floodgates opened and everyone wanted to go there. The film also talks about the 1969 split when Beckett, Hawkins, Johnson and Hood left FAME to start their Muscle Shoals Sound Studio. Their big break came when The Rolling Stones recorded Sticky Fingers there. They were one of the most successful studios of the 70s. The whole point of the film is that all this great music was produced by these simple country boys in this little town. Among the famous artists who appear in the film are Mick Jagger, Keith Richards, Bono, Aretha Franklin, Wilson Pickett and many others. At the end of the film, Alicia Keys performs a song in the studio with the Muscle Shoals musicians. That's the only thing that bothered me. She has nothing to do with Muscle Shoals and it just seems like an excuse to put a celebrity in the film. I would have preferred a performance by David Hood's son Patterson Hood and his band Drive By Truckers. They have recorded at Muscle Shoals and that would have shown the continuation of the Muscle Shoals legacy. Other than that, Muscle Shoals gives a great musical history lesson and I will be adding it to my DVD collection. Unless the producers want to send me a copy. Hint, hint. Check out the trailer.

AccuRadio Song Of The Day-Goo Goo Dolls

Artist:Goo Goo Dolls
Song:Slide
Album:Greatest Hits Vol. 1: The Singles





The Goo Goo Dolls have been around since the 80s. But they really came into their own in the mid-90s. Slide is one of two top ten singles from the 1998 CD Dizzy Up The Girl. The band is still around but that was their peak. They were formed in 1986 in Buffalo by school chums Johnny Rzeznik and Robby Takac and drummer George Tutuska. At first they were called The Sex Maggots. But a local club owner told them to change their name if they wanted to get anywhere. Goo Goo Dolls came from a toy ad in True Detective magazine. They were influenced by The Replacements. At first Takac was lead singer but Rzeznik became lead singer in 1990. After a few albums, they signed with Metal Blade Records. They started to have success with songs like We Are The Normal. But they had financial issues. The band sued Metal Blade for non payment of royalties. And Tutuska complained that he was never paid for songs that he wrote. They fired him and replaced him with Mike Malinin. Warner Bros. took over Goo Goo Dolls contract and rewrote it. They distributed Metal Blade. The band's change to a more mainstream rock sound upset some long time fans. But when the song Iris appeared on the soundtrack of the 1998 film City Of Angels, it launched the Goo Goo Dolls to stardom. The 1998 CD Dizzy Up The Girl was their most successful album to date. Slide reached #8 on the Billboard Hot 100. You can get all their hits on this budget comp. The Goo Goo Dolls continue to tour and record today. They just aren't as popular as they once were. Their new CD Magnetic will be released in June. They are currently on a North American tour. Here's the video for Slide by Goo Goo Dolls.

Tuesday, April 30, 2013

AccuRadio Song Of The Day-Johnny Nash

Artist:Johnny Nash
Song:I Can See Clearly Now
Album:The Best Of Johnny Nash





Singer songwriter Johnny Nash is considered to be one of key figures to bring Jamaican music to the masses with his 1972 hit I Can See Clearly Now. But though Nash had recorded in Jamaica with Jamaican musicians, he was born Aug. 19, 1940 in Houston. He grew up singing in church and at age 16, he became a regular on The Arthur Godfrey Show. Nash signed with ABC-Paramount Records and his 1958 single The Ten Commandments with Paul Anka and George Hamilton IV was a top 30 hit. But ABC-Paramount's attempt to turn Nash into a Johnny Mathis clone didn't work out. Burt Lancaster saw Nash on the Godfrey show and cast him in the 1959 film Take A Giant Step. Nash also starred with Jeffrey Hunter and Dennis Hopper in the 1960 film Key Witness. By the mid-60s, Nash returned to music and started recording in Jamaica with Byron Lee and the Dragonaires. Hold Me Tight reached #5 on the Billboard Hot 100 in 1968. This was on Nash's own label JAD Records. After the label closed, Nash signed with Epic Records and returned to Jamaica where he met Bob Marley. Marley gave Nash Stir It Up and it reached #12 on the Billboard Hot 100 in 1972. I Can See Clearly Now was the next single and it topped the charts worldwide. Nash wrote the song and recorded it in London with the British reggae group The Fabulous Five. He was living in England at the time. It was his biggest hit and you can get it on this budget comp. Jimmy Cliff scored a top 20 hit when he recorded I Can See Clearly Now for the 1993 film Cool Runnings. Johnny Nash has never had another hit and he last recorded in 1986. In recent years, he has been working on transferring his analog recordings to digital. Here is Johnny Nash performing I Can See Clearly Now on The Midnight Special 1973.

Monday, April 29, 2013

Io Shirai is the new ace of STARDOM

Io Shirai
STARDOM had their big Sumo Hall show today with an announced attendance of 5,500. Yeah, right. I'm sure they filled the joint but we'll never know how many actually paid. The show ended with the retirement of bikini model Yuzuki Aikawa. But I won't spend much time mourning the departure of someone who was the product of a cold blooded business deal. If she really loved the wrestling business, she could have told her modelling agency to take a hike. But she is showing where her bread is really buttered and it ain't the joshi business. It's time to forget about her and name a new and more worthy ace for STARDOM. The bottom line on this show is it was a very bad day for the Monster heel stable. They came into this show holding the World of STARDOM championship and the Goddess of STARDOM tag team championships. And they lost both titles. German monster heel Alpha Female won the World of STARDOM belt from Nanae Takahashi last month. Instead of giving Takahashi a rematch, STARDOM gave the match to Io Shirai. Subsequently, Takahashi suffered a broken orbital bone and probably couldn't have done the match anyway. She was on the show in a six girl match. Obviously someone as large as Alpha Female looks unbeatable compared to Io but stranger things have happened. Io needed to use her quickness and athleticism because she can't handle Alpha Female's power. The turning point in the match was when Alpha Female attempted a lariat outside the ring and slammed into the ring post. This seemed to take a lot out of Alpha Female. And though she almost won with a Canadian backbreaker, Io escaped and used kicks to chop Alpha Female down and win in 12 minutes. Afterwards, Takahashi gave her blessing and congratulated her. Io Shirai has been in the joshi business for six years and this is her first title. Her wrestling has improved a lot over the last year and she is very charismatic. She will be 23 next week so I think she could be an excellent ace. In other title matches, Kairi Hojo and Natsumi Showzuki won the Goddess of STARDOM Tag Team Championships over Kyoko Kimura and Hailey Hatred. So I'm not sure about Monster's future but they had a bad day and were very pissed. Natsuki*Taiyo successfully defended the High Speed Championship over Yuhi. And we have a new Wonder of STARDOM champ. This was the title that Yuzuki Aikawa held. Sarah "Dark Angel" Stock won over Act Yasukawa. So congratulations to the Canadian. Io Shirai has been Sarah's tag team partner so a title match with those two could be really good.

AccuRadio Song Of The Day-Frank Sinatra & Ella Fitzgerald

Artist:Frank Sinatra & Ella Fitzgerald
Song:Can't We Be Friends
DVD:You're Invited To Spend the Afternoon at The Frank Sinatra Show




Though I don't believe that Frank Sinatra and Ella Fitzgerald ever recorded together, they did perform together on TV several times including this very charming performance of the old chestnut Can't We Be Friends complete with special lyrics. It is from a 1959 episode of The Frank Sinatra Show. And the great thing is you can get this episode in its entirety on DVD. Can't We Be Friends was written by the husband and wife team of Paul James and Kay Swift for the 1929 musical revue The Little Show. James was banker James Paul Warburg but Kay Swift was the first woman to score a musical with Fine And Dandy in 1930. Among those who recorded the song back then were Bing Crosby, Red Nichols and Ray Noble. Sinatra recorded it on his 1955 album In The Wee Small Hours arranged by Nelson Riddle. Ella recorded it with Louis Armstrong on the 1956 album Ella and Louis accompanied by The Oscar Peterson Quartet. Nelson Riddle was the orchestra leader on Sinatra's ABC variety show. So obviously they thought it would be a cute song for the two to perform. The show was recorded on Dec. 10, 1959 on a rainy day in Palm Springs. Other guests on this episode were Peter Lawford, The Hi-Los, Hermoine Gingold, Red Norvo and Sinatra's girlfriend at the time Juliet Prowse. They had just finished filming Can-Can. This episode is available on DVD complete with Timex commercials. On Amazon, search for The Frank Sinatra Show with Ella Fitzgerald. This clip is also available on a couple of other DVDs. But I like watching it within the context of the whole show. Frank Sinatra and Ella Fitzgerald performed together occasionally on TV in the 60s. But the first time is always the best. Here's Frank Sinatra & Ella Fitzgerald performing Can't We Be Friends on The Frank Sinatra Show Dec. 10, 1959.

Sunday, April 28, 2013

Big Bad Blog Video Theater-Sara McMann vs Sheila Gaff

Here's the video of Sara Mcmann vs Sheila Gaff from last night's UFC show in Newark, New Jersey, eyepoke capital of the world. Sara was the favourite as she should be. Sheila's chance to win was to avoid Sara's wrestling. Sara tends not to be aggressive so that can be done. I told someone that Sheila will either KO Sara or get in trouble trying to KO Sara. The latter is what happened. Sometimes a fighter has to adjust her style to the opponent. I don't know what made Sheila think she could rush out and get a quick KO. That's the opposite to what she should have done. What she should have done was get Sara comfortable standing with her and then get more aggressive. So Sheila got taken down. And though she defended well and Sara didn't do anything, it gave Sara the confidence that she could take Sheila down and control her. The ref stood them up. Though Sheila landed a couple of knees in the clinch, she needed to separate and avoid the inevitable takedown. This time Sara got side control and started pounding and it was just a question of if Sheila could survive the round. Sara McMann wins by TKO at 4:44 of round one. She won the fight easily but she still wasn't aggressive enough. She used Sheila's aggression against her. That approach isn't going to work all the time especially against a smart fighter who understands her approach. Sheila Gaff is not a smart fighter. Enjoy the video!

AccuRadio Song Of The Day-Jesse Elder

Artist:Jesse Elder
Song:Solar Plexus
Album:The Winding Shell




Pianist Jesse Elder is currently a fixture on the New York jazz scene. He plays various clubs five nights a week and he is also a bandleader and sideman. Elder studied at Interlochen Arts Academy, Oberlin Conservatory and New School University. He has won the ASCAP Young Jazz Composers competition four times and performed at the 2011 ASCAP award ceremony at Lincoln Center. He has toured with Fishbone lead singer Angelo Moore and played on records by Billy Hart, Marcus Belgrave and Lonnie Plaxico. But mostly he plays New York clubs like Jazz Standard and Barge Music with his various bands. The Winding Shell was released in 2009 on the Belgian label Off Records. There are four, count 'em, four sax players on this CD. They are Logan Richardson, Gary Thomas, Chris Cheek and Jeremy Viner. Thomas has been around since the 80s and has played with Miles Davis and Jack DeJohnette. Cheek plays on a lot of sessions. Richardson and Viner are young guys. Chris Tordini plays bass and Tyshawn Sorey is on drums. He is a member of Dave Douglas & Nomad. Elder also plays a suite of twin piano compositions with Japanese composer Aya Nishina. To date this is the only CD Elder has released under his own name. But he also leads the bands 1in2 with violinist Blanca Cecilia and Foldersnacks. Both bands have released CDs. He has also played on CDs by Scott Tixier, Sara Elizabeth Charles and Jason Consolacion and is working on upcoming CDs by Matt Parker, Tony Middleton and Melody Sweets and the Candy Shop Boys. Jesse Elder will be of interest to progressive jazz fans. Here's Jesse Elder performing Solar Plexus at Barge Music Apr. 9, 2009.

Saturday, April 27, 2013

AccuRadio Song Of The Day-The Dixie Cups

Artist:The Dixie Cups
Song:Chapel Of Love
Album:The Complete Red Bird Recordings





Chapel Of Love was a number one hit in 1964 for the girl group The Dixie Cups. They had a few other hits especially Iko Iko but Chapel Of Love was their most memorable song. The Dixie Cups were from New Orleans with sisters Barbara Ann and Rosa Lee Hawkins and cousin Joan Marie Johnson. At first they were called The Meltones. They were discovered by Joe Jones who had a hit in 1960 with You Talk Too Much. He changed the group name to Little Miss and the Muffets and took them to New York to get them a record deal. Chapel Of Love was written for The Ronettes by Phil Spector, Jeff Barry and Ellie Greenwich. Spector had The Ronettes, The Crystals and Darlene Love record the song. He didn't like any of the recordings and didn't release them. Meanwhile, Ellie liked this new girl group from New Orleans and changed their name to The Dixie Cups. She had them rehearse Chapel Of Love and then audition for Jerry Lieber and Mike Stoller for their new label Red Bird Records. Supposedly Lieber hated Chapel Of Love but Ellie Greenwich was very persistent that it would be a hit. It topped the Billboard Hot 100 in 1964. The Dixie Cups also had a top 20 hit in 1965 with Iko Iko. You can get all their Red Bird hits on this Varese CD. The Dixie Cups left Red Bird for ABC-Paramount in 1966 but were unsuccessful. They moved back to New Orleans in 1969. The Hawkins sisters both became makeup artists but they continued The Dixie Cups. Joan Johnson found religion and was replaced by Dale Mickle. The Hawkins sisters moved to Florida after Hurricane Katrina. The Dixie Cups still tour the oldies circuit. Athelgra Neville is currently the third member. They were inducted into the Louisiana Music Hall of Fame in 2007. Here are The Dixie Cups performing Chapel Of Love on Hollywood-A-Go-Go Dec. 1965.

Friday, April 26, 2013

AccuRadio Song Of The Day-Shirley Scott

Artist:Shirley Scott
Song:Blue Seven
Album:Blue Seven





Organist Shirley Scott was one of the few female jazz musicians recording as a leader in the 50s and 60s. She was known as Queen of the Organ. Her recordings on Prestige Records are particularly good. She was born Mar. 14, 1934 in Philadelphia. She played piano and trumpet but turned to the Hammond organ because she was a big Jimmy Smith fan. Shirley first was noticed playing in tenor sax legend Eddie "Lockjaw" Davis' band starting in 1957. Davis recorded for Prestige and label owner Bob Weinstock thought she would make a great solo artist. The organ was a very popular jazz instrument at the time and a woman leader was very unusual. Her first album Great Scott was released in 1958 and was recorded with George Duvivier on bass and Arthur Edgehill on drums. By 1960, Shirley left the Davis band to go solo. This version of the Sonny Rollins song Blue Seven was recorded in 1961 and released in 1965. That kind of delayed release was normal at jazz labels. They would stockpile recordings and space out the release. Musicians are Oliver Nelson on tenor sax, Joe Newman on trumpet, George Tucker on bass and Roy Brooks on drums. This album was released on CD in 2000 as part of the Original Jazz Classics series with a bonus track. It is available as a budget CD. Shirley married tenor sax legend Stanley Turrentine in 1960. They toured together and occasionally played on each other's albums. Shirley left Prestige in 1963 and recorded for Impulse!, Atlantic and Cadet. By the mid-70s, her recording career ended and Shirley turned to teaching. She was always a big part of the Philadelphia jazz scene. Shirley returned in the late 80s and recorded for Muse and a couple of piano albums for Candid. Shirley Scott won an $8M settlement after it was learned the diet drug phen-fen caused cardiac problems. She died on Mar. 10, 2002 at age 67. Here's a video for Blue Seven by Shirley Scott.

Thursday, April 25, 2013

Big Bad Blog Video Theater-Shine 8

Today's edition of Big Bad Blog Video Theater is the the complete Shine 8 iPPV that was broadcast Mar. 23 in Ybor City, FL. Maybe you haven't seen Shine and this might encourage you to buy one of their shows. Shine is somewhat similar to Shimmer but it has a bit of a lighter tone partially because Daffney is your host. Shimmer is serious wrestling. This isn't as serious though the matches are pretty good. The quality of the matches is always going to be hit and miss. The main event was an eight girl tag match with Rain, Ivelisse Velez, Allysin Kay and Taylor Made of the heel group Valkyrie vs Amazing Kong, Angelina Love, Mia Yim and Christina Von Eerie. I'm not crazy about that many wrestlers in a match. It's too hard to follow the action and the cameras couldn't follow it either. It was also the only tag match on the whole show. Valkyrie won but the payoff was afterwards when the faces hit their finishers on Ivelisse. So the heels got their punishment. Jessica Havok vs Reby Sky came with an interesting story where monster heel Jessica doesn't think Reby belongs in the wrestling business. So if Reby loses she has to leave Shine. If Jessica loses, she has to say she respects Reby. I always believe that these kind of stips have to be equal. These stips were a tipoff that Reby would win. And so she did. But it was a good match and Reby sure knows how to take a beating. The match preceding this was very similar with cutie Kimberly beating big bruiser Leva Bates in a Fans Bring Weapons and I Quit match. It was OK if you like that sort of thing. They did the start of this match at the broadcast location. But they didn't have lights set up there so you can't see anything. The ref stopped the match when Leva was KOd so she didn't actually quit. We all know what that sets up. For me, the best match on the show was Mercedes Martinez vs Nikki Roxx. Mercedes is one of my favourites because she hits hard. And unlike a lot of these girls, she knows how to throw a punch. Nothing fancy about this match, just good solid action from veteran pros. The other matches on the show featured wrestlers who aren't that experienced and it showed. Santana Garrett beat veteran Sojo Bolt. Santana is very pretty but she is not a wrestler yet. I have seen her before. Same thing with Jayme Jameson who beat veteran Brandi Wine with Malia Hosaka in her corner. Jayme has the fitness model look but she needs to work on her ring skills. Brandi looks better now than she looked several years ago. And Malia interfered from the outside. Su Yung beat Brittney Savage. Brittney is trying to be a heel but doesn't look much like a heel. Unlike Jayme Jameson, Su Yung doesn't even look like she works out. Again, I have seen her before and like Santana, she's not much of a wrestler. And in the opener, Nikki St. John beat veteran Luscious Latasha. Nikki wears glasses in the ring which is at least different. She is a bit better at being a heel than Brittney Savage. So check it out. I have the whole show for you.
by.wwe2day.com.Shine.8.wrestling-pt-1 by dm_50323cab1a60a
by.wwe2day.com.Shine.8.wrestling-pt-2 by dm_50323cab1a60a
by.wwe2day.com.Shine.8.wrestling-pt-3 by dm_50323cab1a60a
by.wwe2day.com.Shine.8.wrestling-pt-4 by dm_50323cab1a60a

Miesha Tate vs Liz Carmouche added to July 27 UFC show

Liz Carmouche, Miesha Tate
Fox Sports announced last night that Miesha Tate vs Liz Carmouche has been added to UFC on Fox 8 July 27 at the Key Arena in Seattle. This will be the first women's match to appear on the main card of a UFC on Fox show. Julie Kedzie vs Germaine De Randamie will be on the prelims. Miesha vs Liz was first rumoured on Tuesday but many fans thought that Miesha was on a six month medical suspension after her recent loss to Cat Zingano. So I'm going to explain why she can fight because no one else will explain it. Yes, the Nevada State Athletic Commission announced that Miesha is on a six month medical suspension. For one thing, that is only for Nevada. It doesn't mean anything in Washington though in many cases, the UFC will have fighters sit out the length of the suspension anyway. A doctor can overrule the suspension. I guess it was assumed that Miesha broke her nose. But watching her over the years, she bleeds easily from the nose. It doesn't mean it's broken. Miesha wants to be on the Seattle show because she's from Tacoma. And for that reason, she's a draw there. Is she coming back too soon? Probably but the UFC wouldn't let her fight if she wasn't medically cleared. She is also stubborn which gets her into trouble sometimes. And that could happen against Liz Carmouche. Liz likes to come out aggressively and win early. But she has proven to be mistake prone and lose by submission. Miesha wins a lot of fights after her opponents make mistakes. I expect a good scrap. I know what you're thinking. If all it takes is a doctor's note to override a medical suspension, why do athletic commissions issue them in the first place? That would normally be a question for my buddy Zach Arnold at Fight Opinion. But I'll answer it. Athletic commissions are bureaucracies first and they do a lot of things just to show that they are doing something. Does anything a bureaucracy does make sense to anyone? You just answered your own question.

AccuRadio Song Of The Day-Waylon Jennings & Willie Nelson

Artist:Waylon Jennings & Willie Nelson
Song:Mammas Don't Let Your Babies Grow Up To Be Cowboys
Album:16 Biggest Hits




Willie Nelson had been successful in Nashville in the 60s as a songwriter. He didn't have much success as a singer until he got involved in the Outlaw Country movement of the 70s. The man behind that movement was Waylon Jennings. Though Jennings' 1972 album Ladies Love Outlaws was a success, Jennings was tired of RCA Records executives telling him what to do. He told them that if they didn't let him record the way he wanted to record, he would leave. Atlantic Records had been sniffing around. So RCA gave Jennings a new deal and creative control. Jennings also had a new manager who was also Willie Nelson's manager. They had toured together so now they wanted to record together. The 1976 album Wanted! The Outlaws featured Jennings, his wife Jessie Colter, Nelson and Tompall Glaser. Jennings and Nelson recorded two songs together including Good Hearted Woman which was Nelson's first number one country hit. Then they recorded another successful duet on the 1977 album Ol' Waylon. That was Luckenbach, Texas. So they decided to record a whole album together. Waylon & Willie topped the Country Album chart for ten weeks and reached #12 on the Billboard Hot 100. It was certified 2XPlatinum. Mamas Don't Let Your Babies Grow Up To Be Cowboys topped the Country Singles chart for four weeks and it's become a signature song for both guys. The song was written and originally recorded by Ed Bruce in 1976. And it won the 1979 Grammy for Best Country Performance By a Duo or Group with Vocal. Nelson's duets with Jennings launched him into the mainstream and he became the duet king in the 80s. The two recorded two more albums together in the 80s and a fourth in 1991. This budget comp is a good selection of their duets. Of course Nelson is still around and I think he owes a lot to Jennings and the Outlaw Country movement. Here is Waylon Jennings & Willie Nelson performing Mamas Don't Let Your Babies Grow Up To Be Cowboys at Farmaid July 4, 1986.

Wednesday, April 24, 2013

AccuRadio Song Of The Day-Eldar

Artist:Eldar
Song:Insensitive
Album:Virtue





Eldar Djangirov is a jazz pianist from the former Soviet Union. He moved to the US as a child and had a record deal with Sony as a teen. His technique is very impressive. He was born Jan. 28, 1987 in Bishkek in what is now known as Kyrgyzstan. His mother is a piano teacher and started teaching him at age five. At age nine, Eldar played at a jazz festival in Novosibirsk, Russia. Visiting American jazz fan Charles McWhorter was so impressed with Eldar that he offered to move his family to the US. They settled in Kansas City and later they moved to San Diego. Eldar studied at USC in Los Angeles. After recording two independent CDs, Eldar signed with Sony Classical. His 2005 debut CD Eldar included guest appearances by John Patitucci and Michael Brecker. On his 2009 CD Virtue, Eldar is now working with his regular trio of former Arturo Sandoval bassist Armando Gola and former Spyro Gyra drummer Ludwig Alfonso. Sax player Felipe Lamoglia plays on four tracks and sax player Joshua Redman and trumpeter Nicholas Payton appear on one track each. The guy can definitely play. He is now recording under his full name Eldar Djangirov. He released the solo piano CD Three Stories in 2011. And now he has left Sony for the jazz label Motema Music and Breakthrough was released a couple of weeks ago. Jazz fans need to check him out. Here's Eldar Djangirov and his trio performing Insensitive Vienna, Austria July 2009.

Tuesday, April 23, 2013

AccuRadio Song Of The Day-Boz Scaggs

Artist:Boz Scaggs
Song:Lowdown
Album:Hits!





William Royce "Boz" Scaggs has been around since the 60s. But he had his biggest success with the 1976 album Silk Degrees and the smash hit Lowdown. Today he's more of a jazz artist. He was born June 8, 1944 in Canton, OH. His father was a traveling salesman so the family moved a lot. But they settled in Plano, TX near Dallas. Boz is a childhood nickname that stuck. Scaggs met Steve Miller in school and they played together in bands while attending the University Of Wisconsin in Madison. Scaggs moved to Europe for a couple of years and recorded an album in Sweden in 1965. He moved to San Francisco to join The Steve Miller Band in 1967. Scaggs appeared on the albums Children of the Future and Sailor. Then he left to go solo and signed with Atlantic Records. Jann Wenner of Rolling Stone Magazine produced his 1969 debut album. It was recorded at Muscle Shoals with guys like Barry Beckett and Duane Allman. It was critically acclaimed but it didn't sell. So Scaggs left Atlantic for Columbia. His first few albums for Columbia didn't sell either. But then Silk Degrees became a huge hit. He recorded Silk Degrees with Los Angeles session musicians David Paich, Jeff Porcaro, Steve Porcaro and David Hungate who would become Toto. Lowdown became a hit when a Cleveland DJ started playing it off the album. Columbia released it as a single and it reached #3 on the Billboard Hot 100. Silk Degrees was certified 5XPlatinum. Scaggs had some other hits like Lido Shuffle, Look What You've Done To Me and Miss Sun. But by 1980, Scaggs was burnt out and quit recording. Columbia first released Hits! in 1980. In 2006, they rereleased it with a new cover and five extra tracks. It's available as a budget CD. Scaggs opened the San Francisco club Slim's in 1988. After the 1988 album Other Roads, Scaggs left Columbia and toured with Donald Fagen's Rock and Soul Revue. He recorded for Virgin in the 90s and more recently for Decca. He's more of a jazz artist now. His latest CD Memphis was released last month on 429 Records. It is a tribute to legendary producer Willie Mitchell. He was on last year's Dukes Of September tour with Donald Fagen and Michael McDonald and he is currently touring to support his new CD. Here's Boz Scaggs performing Lowdown on Saturday Night Live 1976.
Boz Scaggs - Lowdown (Live on SNL - 1976) by uselesslandline

Monday, April 22, 2013

AccuRadio Song Of The Day-Joydrop

Artist:Joydrop
Song:Sometimes Wanna Die
Album:Women & Songs 6





The Canadian band Joydrop had an opportunity to be big mostly due to the beauty and strong vocals of Tara Slone. But it just didn't work out and they split up in 2001 after two CDs. Tara was studying music at Concordia University in Montreal and decided to move to Toronto to get into acting and music. She formed Joydrop in 1996 with guitarist Thomas Payne, bassist Tom McKay and drummer Tony Rabalao. Joydrop signed with Tommy Boy Records and released the CD Metasexual in 1998. It was moderately successful in Canada. Sometimes Wanna Die is from the 2001 CD Viberete. The video got some attention because it featured Tommy Lee of Motley Crue. The band also performed on the UPN TV series Special Unit 2. Sometimes Wanna Die was banned from some radio stations after the Sept. 11, 2001 attacks. Then more bad luck. Tommy Boy had been co-owned by Warner Music since 1990. Warners was butting heads with Tommy Boy owner Tom Silverman over CD sales. Silverman bought Tommy Boy back from Warners and some artists were moved to other Warners labels. Some like Joydrop were dropped. The Joydrop CDs are out of print. But you can get Sometimes Wanna Die from this various artists comp from Warner Canada. Slone, McKay and Rabalao continued to work together. Rabalao released a CD as Leh-Lo in 2006. McKay and Slone appeared on it. Tara Slone was a contestant on the 2005 talent show Rock Star: INXS. She released the CD Just Look Pretty and Sing in 2007. Rabalao and McKay appeared on it. Tara Slone is currently the co-host of Breakfast Television at City TV Calgary. She has done some acting as well. Joydrop had potential but it wasn't meant to be. Here's the video for Sometimes Wanna Die by Joydrop.

Sunday, April 21, 2013

AccuRadio Song Of The Day-Edwin McCain

Artist:Edwin McCain
Song:I'll Be
Album:The Best Of Edwin McCain





Edwin McCain got a record deal through his close association with Hootie & The Blowfish. He had his biggest success with the 1998 top five hit I'll Be. He continues to tour today. He was born Jan. 20, 1970 in Greenville, SC. McCain played local clubs and released two independent CDs in the early 90s. He went on tour with close friends Hootie & The Blowfish and when they became popular, McCain was able to get a record deal from the same label, Atlantic Records. He was assigned to Lava Records. I'll Be is from McCain's second CD Misguided Roses produced by Atlantic house producer Matt Serletic. It reached #5 on the Billboard Hot 100 in 1998. It has been his only big commercial success. I'll Be is a very popular wedding song though McCain says he wrote it as a prayer. McCain recorded two more albums for Lava and left in 2001. This Time Life comp is a good intro to his music. Since he left Lava, McCain has recorded for ATC, DRT, Vanguard and Saguaro Road. His latest CD Mercy Bound was released Aug. 2011 on 429 Records. Edwin McCain and his band still tour regularly. They are making a living from one big hit. Here's the video for I'll Be by Edwin McCain.

Saturday, April 20, 2013

RENA successfully returns on Apr. 20 SHOOT BOXING show

SHOOT BOXING glamour girl RENA returned after surgery to remove pins from her foot on today's show at Korakuen Hall. SHOOT BOXING owner Takeshi Caesar is already trying to set things up for the Girls S-Cup in August. So he brought in Dutch kickboxer Lorena Klijn. You may recall that she beat Erika Kamimura at the 2012 Girls S-Cup and then lost to VV Mei. Against Erika, she got away with some questionable tactics. The problem with bringing over any gaijin kickboxer is they don't know the SHOOT BOXING rules, especially the throws. Look, Caesar is the only one who knows the rules. So the potential for corruption is high. What Caesar wants to do is sell Lorena as a good old fashioned gaijin monster heel threatening his top babyface. That's pro wrestling booking 101. Back in the 70s, every US wrestler who came to All Japan Women was evil. And of course long time fans will remember the 1978 arrival in Japan of Calgary native Rhonda "Monster Ripper" Sing. She was the very first gaijin monster heel and was very successful. RIP Rhonda. So this kind of booking is nothing new. So at yesterday's press conference, Lorena screamed at RENA in English. RENA pretended to not understand her. In pro wrestling, we would call that a no sell. RENA did her talking in the ring. Her opponent was Taiwanese kickboxer To Pui-ling. She's supposed to be a decent kickboxer. But RENA dominated her. She scored with throws and strikes for the first two rounds. And she nailed her with a back drop suplex. That has to discombobulate a kickboxer. In round three, RENA hooked a standing choke and it was over at 1:12. They don't have standing chokes in kickboxing either. Meanwhile, Lorena Klijn's opponent was Miyo Yoshida. I know what Caesar wanted Lorena to do. It didn't happen. Lorena had trouble with Miyo and won a very tight decision. One judge scored it a draw and the other two scored it for Lorena. Maybe she's not that good. Well, she trains with Andy Souwer. I'm sure he can straighten her out. As a pathetic timewaster, Caesar is running another 48kg schoolgirl tournament to push "RENA's little sister" MIO. Psst, they aren't really sisters. MIO won over Fuko Yoshino by unanimous decision and Kira*Yuuki won over Yusa Tachi by unanimous decision. They will do two more matches in June and the semi finals and final will be on the big August show.

AccuRadio Song Of The Day-Black:Guayaba

Artist:Black:Guayaba
Song:Lejos
Album:Lo Demas Es Plastico V2.0





When most music fans think of Puerto Rican music, they think of salsa or jazz. So when the Puerto Rican rock group Black:Guayaba surfaced a few years ago, they were a big sensation there. They won a Grammy in 2007. Black:Guayaba was formed in 2000 by lead singer Gustavo Gonzalez, guitarist Javier Morales, bassist Carlos "Toro" Ortiz, keyboard player Carlos Colon and drummer Gabriel Calero. After playing local clubs for a few years, they signed with the Mexican label Ole Records. Their 2005 debut CD Lo Demas Es Plastico was produced by Bob St. John. He is a veteran recording engineer and producer who has worked with Ricky Martin, Duran Duran and Collective Soul among others. Lejos was one of several hit singles that came from the album. For their 2007 CD No Hay Espacio, Black:Guayaba signed with Universal's Machete label. That album won a Grammy for Best Latin Rock/Alternative Album. And when they signed with Machete, Black:Guayaba released an expanded version of Lo Demas Es Plastico with three extra tracks. That version is available on CD. After releasing a live CD in 2008, they took a break and released La Conexion Apr. 2012. An expanded version will be released next month. Black:Guayaba continues to have success in Puerto Rico and other Latin American countries. They are staples on Billboard's Latin music charts. Here's the video for Lejos by Black:Guayaba.