Joanna Jedrzejczyk vs Valerie Letourneau added to Nov. 15 UFC show

At today's UFC Go Big press conference. UFC president Dana White announced that Joanna Jedrzejczyk will defend her UFC Strawweight Championship against Valerie Letourneau on UFC 193 Nov. 15 at Etihad Stadium in Melbourne, Australia. This will air in North America on Nov. 14. The original plan was for Claudia Gadelha to challenge Joanna on Jan. 2. When White moved Ronda Rousey vs Holly Holm to UFC 193, he still wanted Joanna to be on the same show as Ronda to get the rub from Ronda. Claudia broke her finger in her last fight. There's no way she would be ready in Nov. And though Claudia whined in the media about not getting the title shot claiming she would be ready, White said during the press conference that he spoke to Claudia and she admitted that she wouldn't be ready for UFC 193. The biggest problem with Valerie is I don't know if she can make weight. She missed it at her last fight. Besides that, Valerie is mainly a kickboxer so Joanna won't need to defend takedowns. Joanna is younger, quicker and she punches harder. Joanna also has superior footwork and positioning. Valerie just isn't in Joanna's class. I'm sure it will be quite the spectacle in that huge stadium but I don't see this as a competitive fight.

AccuRadio Song Of The Day-Ricky Skaggs and Kentucky Thunder

Artist:Ricky Skaggs and Kentucky Thunder
Song:Little Maggie
Album:Bluegrass Rules!





Ricky Skaggs was one of the biggest country music stars of the 80s. He had 12 #1 country hits. When country music changed in the 90s, the hits stopped coming. But Skaggs returned to his bluegrass roots and he continues to to that today. The 1997 CD Bluegrass Rules! was Skaggs first album with his current band Kentucky Thunder. Skaggs' final number one country hit was Lovin' Only Me in 1989. Ironically the album title was Kentucky Thunder. After one more album on Epic Records, they dropped him. Clearly country music was changing and Skaggs was going to have to change his sound to remain at the top of the charts. After two unsuccessful albums on Atlantic Records, Skaggs decided to form a new band Kentucky Thunder and start his own label Skaggs Family Records with Rounder Records distribution. Bluegrass Rules! was the first album with this new band in 1997. They are doing all bluegrass standards including the Ralph Stanley song Little Maggie. Musicians include veteran session guitarist Bryan Sutton, Bobby Hicks on fiddle, guitarist Dennis Parker, guitarist Paul Brewster, Marc Pruett on banjo and Mark Fain on bass. Brewster is the mainstay of this band as he is still in the band today. Jerry Douglas made a guest appearance on dobro. The album did very well and it even won a Best Bluegrass Album Grammy. So not only was Skaggs on the right track by returning to his bluegrass roots but it was the kind of music he preferred to perform anyway. Since then Skaggs has recorded several Kentucky Thunder albums. The latest was Music To My Ears in 2012. His latest CD Hearts Like Ours with Sharon White of The Whites was released last year. They have been married since 1981. Skaggs also published his autobiography Aug. 2015. He is currently on tour. So Ricky Skaggs may not be a mainstream country music star anymore. But I have a feeling Skaggs and his fans prefer his current bluegrass albums. Here's Ricky Skaggs and Kentucky Thunder performing Little Maggie on TNN's Prime Time Country 1997.

AccuRadio Song Of The Day-Billy Stewart

Artist:Billy Stewart
Song:Summertime
Album:One More Time: The Chess Years





Billy Stewart scored his only top ten pop hit with this scat influenced cover of the Gershwin standard Summertime. Sadly, Stewart died prematurely so he is mostly forgotten today. He was born Mar. 24, 1937 in Washington, DC. He started out singing with his mother's gospel group The Stewart Gospel Singers and also on local radio with his brothers as The 4 Stewart Brothers. Stewart was also a member of the doo wop group The Rainbows which also included future soul legends Don Covay and Marvin Gaye. In 1956, Bo Diddley spotted Stewart playing piano and he joined Diddley's band as a sideman. He moved to Chicago. Eventually Chess Records producer Billy Davis figured out that Stewart could be a star as a singer. After modest success with singles like Fat Boy, Reap What You Sow, I Do Love You and Sitting In The Park, Stewart recorded the 1966 album Unbelievable. It was his second album for Chess. Summertime was the first single from the album and it reached #10 on the Billboard Hot 100. It would turn out to be Stewart's biggest hit. He continued to record with modest chart success. You can get all of Stewart's hits on this budget comp. Stewart died on Jan. 17, 1970 at age 32 when he was crossing a bridge over the Neuse River in North Carolina and his car went out of control and plunged into the river. All four in the car died. Stewart had just bought the Ford Thunderbird a week before the accident. His widow sued Ford claiming mechanical failure. The suit was settled out of court. Stewart was already having diabetes problems due to his weight. But it's still sad to see a talented guy die prematurely. Here's Billy Stewart performing Summertime 1966.

AccuRadio Song Of The Day-Shania Twain

Artist:Shania Twain f/Billy Currington
Song:Party For Two
Album:Greatest Hits





Shania Twain was one of the most popular country music artists of the 90s. And she also crossed over significantly to pop. Party For Two was released in 2004 just before she went on a long hiatus. And the odd thing was there were two versions of Party For Two recorded. There was a country music version with Billy Currington and a pop version with Sugar Ray lead singer Mark McGrath. Shania and husband Robert "Mutt" Lange moved to Switzerland and then she gave birth to their son Eja in 2001. After the success of the 2002 album Up!, I don't think it was her intention to never record another album. But it was decided that Mercury Records would release a 2004 Greatest Hits CD. Record companies like to have some new songs on Greatest Hits comps so the faithful fans will buy it. What was unusual was the decision to record two versions of Party For Two and release them separately. There were even two videos. The country version was recorded with Billy Currington. Currington had just released his debut CD on Mercury and he would go on to have a lot of success. The pop version was recorded with Sugar Ray lead singer Mark McGrath who hasn't had much success as a solo artist. The videos are pretty much the same. Lange gave the McGrath version a harder guitar riff. This was also the first time Shania had recorded a duet with anyone. The country version was more successful. It reached #7 on the Country Singles chart. The Greatest Hits CD was certified 6XPlatinum and it did very well internationally. Like I said, I don't think Shania ever intended to go over a decade without releasing a new CD. Of course she had problems with her marriage. She finally returned to live performing in 2012. She also released the live CD Still The One: Live From Vegas in Mar. 2015. She has been on tour this summer. She has said that after the tour, she will record new music with a planned release in the first half of 2016. I'm sure her fans will be waiting with bated breath. Here's the video for Party For Two by Shania Twain featuring Billy Currington.

AccuRadio Song Of The Day-Toni Braxton & Babyface

Artist:Toni Braxton & Babyface
Song:Hurt You
Album:Love, Marriage & Divorce





Here's a new album by two artists who were very successful in the 90s. Toni Braxton was one of the best selling female artists of the 90s with smash hits like Un-break My Heart. Her last big hit was He Wasn't Man Enough in 2000. She recorded for LaFace Records which was co-owned by Kenneth "Babyface" Edmonds. He produced a lot of her 90s recordings and had some hits of his own. Of course when an artist like Toni has been at the top and then fades, she desperately wants to get back to the top. Toni's decline was hastened by a 2002 pregnancy followed by conflict with Arista Records. She left Arista in 2003 for Blackground owned by her manager Barry Hankerson. She ended up suing him for fraud. In 2006, she began a residency at the Flamingo Hotel in Las Vegas and that kind of gig is usually an indication that an artist is over the hill. This wasn't as big of a deal for Babyface because he was still writing and producing and he may have preferred being out of the limelight. Toni recorded for Atlantic Records and appeared on Dancing With The Stars. She also appeared on the reality show Braxton Family Values with her sisters. She even announced her retirement from music on Feb. 7, 2013. She planned to concentrate on acting. She changed her mind. She toured in the summer of 2013. Then she announced plans to record the concept album Love, Marriage & Divorce with Babyface. The single Hurt You did very well on the R & B charts and so did the album. It was Toni Braxton's first successful album since 2000. It even won a Best R & B Album Grammy. Toni's memoir Unbreak My Heart:A Memoir was published May 2014. And recently she announced she is working on a new CD to be released in early 2016 on Motown. And to think Toni Braxton was going to retire. Here's the video for Hurt You by Toni Braxton & Babyface.

Tecia Torres vs Michelle Waterson added to Dec. 12 UFC show

The UFC announced this afternoon that Tecia Torres vs Michelle Waterson has been added to UFC 194 Dec. 12 at the MGM Grand Garden Arena. I expect this to air on the prelims on Fox Sports 1 and TSN. Both of these fighters are very popular with fans meaning both are overrated. Tecia is a one dimensional striker with no ground game. We saw this in the TUF 20 house. But she's officially undefeated because none of her opponents have ever tried to take her down. The exception was Randa Markos in the TUF house. Tecia is perceived as an exciting fighter. But her most recent win over Angela Hill was a stinker. Maybe it was the Mexican altitude. I dunno. At 115lb, Michelle is undersized. She was the 105lb champ in Invicta. She won her UFC debut over Angela Magana. But Tecia is a big step up in competition because she's ranked and a legit 115lb fighter. When Michelle came to the UFC, I predicted that her lack of size would be her undoing. I think Michelle's best shot for a win is to take Tecia down. But she might have trouble doing that. The UFC wants one of these fighters to step up, win impressively and become a top contender. My concern is we'll get one of those Greg Jackson conservative sparring exhibitions from Michelle and neither of them will look good. I want to see some aggression because that will get the winner closer to a title shot.

Review of Accessibility Innovation Showcase

The Sensimat cushion

For the last ten years, I have written about the annual People In Motion show. This year with the Parapan Am Games in Toronto, the Ontario Government produced the Accessibility Innovation Showcase Aug. 8-10 at MaRS at the corner of College and University. Just for the record, I took the bus and subway there. As regular readers are aware, I haven't used Wheeltrans for years. I prefer to take the regular TTC. There's a food court in the basement of the building so I had felafel for lunch. I wish there was an accessible felafel joint in South Etobicoke. The exhibitors at the show were a mixed bag. Several of the displayed products were in development and clearly not ready for the end user. Some are looking for financing and there were Export Development Corp. guys all over the place. There were other products that were not applicable and there was even science fiction stuff like exo-skeletons that are interesting but will never be affordable enough for most users. If some of these developmental products make it to market, I could write about them in the future. And to prove that, I'm going to tell you all about Sensimat. I first learned about Sensimat at the 2013 People In Motion show. That's when I first met Sensimat founders David Mravyan and Will Mann. At the time, Sensimat needed more testing and they raised funds on Indiegogo. Now they are ready for the end user and I am hoping that Sensimat will be a big success in the next couple of years. I liked Sensimat two years ago. It just wasn't ready. Sensimat is a cushion that goes on top of your existing seating. It automatically detects pressure points so the user can avoid pressure sores. I transfer in and out of my chair several times a day. So it's not a product that I would need. But it's a great product for quadriplegics who remain in the chair for long periods of time. There are other products that do this. But Sensimat is the first product of this type to use wireless and web technology. When you buy Sensimat, it comes with a mobile app in either iOS or Android and it comes with a webpage. The mobile app can be set to notify the user when there could be a potential pressure sore. When the alarm goes off, the user can shift position to avoid risk. This data is automatically compiled on the website so the user's physician can prescribe appropriate action. We all know that it can take a long time to recover from pressure sores. Sensimat is the best product I have seen to monitor pressure points and take preventative action. And Sensimat has been validated at the Toronto Rehabilitation Institute. They didn't have that two years ago. And they also hadn't developed the Android app. I spoke to David Mravyan at the show and they are in the process of getting approval from Ontario's Assistive Device Program. Once that is approved, it will be available through most wheelchair vendors. This is a big deal for quads who are on ODSP who can't get a custom made powerchair. Sensimat has the potential to save a lot of the cost of pressure sores. I am optimistic that it will be approved. If you can't wait and you need Sensimat now, you can go to their website www.sensimatsystems.com and buy it for $299. That's pretty cheap when you consider what it costs to heal pressure sores.

AccuRadio Song Of The Day-K'Jon

Artist:K'Jon
Song:On The Ocean
Album:I Get Around





R & B singer songwriter Kelvin "K'Jon" Johnson had chart success with his 2009 single On The Ocean and CD I Get Around. Then he had record company problems and he's back to being an independent artist. K'Jon is from Detroit. His 2001 single My Shorty got local airplay. But it was enough for his song Miami to appear on the soundtrack of the 2003 film 2 Fast 2 Furious. He wrote and produced for others including Shareefa whose 2006 CD Point Of No Return was on Ludicris' label Disturbing Tha Peace. K'Jon released the 2007 CD The Ballroom Xplosion independently. It got him a deal with Universal Republic. The CD I Get Around was released in 2009. The single On The Ocean reached #12 on the R & B Singles chart. I Get Around topped the R & B Album chart and reached #9 on the Billboard Hot 200. So K'Jon was off to a good start. He recorded a second album Oxygen but Universal Republic didn't like it. And when the 2011 single Good Morning didn't catch on, they shelved the album and K'Jon was dropped. Since then, K'Jon released the 2012 CD Moving On through Shanachie and then the 2013 CD Man through CD Baby on his own label. So K'Jon is back where he started before his major label deal. He's a talented guy but it could be his future is more as a writer and producer than as a singer. Here's the video for On The Ocean by K'Jon.

Korean Kim Ji Yeon wins DEEP JEWELS Bantamweight Championship

Kim Ji Yeon, Takayo Hashi

In case you didn't know, DEEP JEWELS ran a very brief show at Differ Ariake yesterday. They sandwiched it between two DEEP shows so it didn't have to draw on its own merits. If they're going to do that, I don't know why they don't just fold DEEP JEWELS into DEEP. Matchmaker Shigeru Saeki thinks that there needs to be a separate brand for women's MMA. And he acknowledges that DEEP JEWELS is losing money. He's wrong but Japanese promoters are notoriously stubborn even in the face of bankruptcy. This show had two title matches, a retirement ceremony, a third MMA match and a grappling match. That's it folks. The main event had MIZUKI defending her DEEP JEWELS Strawweight Championship against Emi Fujino. DEEP JEWELS title matches are three five minute rounds, not five. The match went as one would expect as MIZUKI has beaten Emi before. MIZUKI won easily but I don't think she was as dominant as she wanted to be as she expressed disappointment in her performance. She still has potential but something is missing and she doesn't know what the problem is. If she can figure that out, MIZUKI can be an elite fighter again. She isn't one right now. The other title match had veteran Takayo Hashi defending her DEEP JEWELS Bantamweight Championship against Korean Kim Ji Yeon. These two fought to a draw in Korea. Because she is mainly a kickboxer, Kim is a very good striker. And she used her quickness to win a unanimous decision to win the title. There has been talk that the UFC wants Kim on the upcoming Korea show. I hope she is on that show because then we can see if she's any good. It's hard to tell against someone like Hashi who is 37 years old and has been slowed down by knee surgery. And the only other Bantamweight in Japan is Shizuka Sugiyama and she's really terrible. So it's perceived as a big win for Kim but the weight class is very shallow so it probably means nothing in the bigger picture. Kim is also champ of Gladiator, the promotion owned by her management CMA Korea. She might as well have got that out of a box of Cracker Jack. There was a retirement ceremony for MIYOKO who retires with a record of 5-9. Though not much of a fighter, I understand she is very well liked by the other girls. Emi Tomimatsu was supposed to fight Tomo Maesawa. But when Maesawa pulled out due to injury, she was replaced by newcomer Natsuki Shimomakise. Tomimatsu won with a first round armbar. The grappling match was notable because the winner, Natsumi Makai, could make her MMA debut on the next DEEP JEWELS show. After competing as an amateur wrestler in high school, Makai planned to compete in MMA. But marriage and a baby derailed that and now she plans to resume her MMA career. She won her grappling match over Megumi Sugimoto with an armbar. That's it. They charged money for that.

AccuRadio Song Of The Day-Love Unlimited

Artist:Love Unlimited
Song:Walkin' In The Rain With The One I Love
Album:The Best Of Love Unlimited





The girl group Love Unlimited are best known as the backup singers for legendary R & B crooner and maestro Barry White. But they also had chart success especially with this 1972 top 20 hit Walkin' In The Rain With The One I Love. This was a hit before White became famous. Love Unlimited was a family group with sisters Glodean and Linda James and cousin Diane Taylor. Glodean married White after she was introduced to him by a mutual friend. White started working with the girls who had no professional singing experience. Walkin' In The Rain With The One I Love was inspired by White's relationship with Glodean. And that's him on the record on the telephone. It was Barry White's first appearance on record. One of White's friends took the record to UNI Records head Russ Regan and he signed Love Unlimited. UNI was owned by MCA. Walkin' In The Rain With The One I Loved reached #14 on the Billboard Hot 100 and #6 on the R & B Singles chart. Not long after, Regan left UNI to become president of 20th Century Records. White's relationship with UNI soured. While trying to get Love Unlimited out of their contract, White recorded a couple of demos and he was convinced to take them to Regan. He signed with 20th Century and the rest is history. Eventually Love Unlimited recorded for 20th Century. The 1974 single I Belong To You topped the R & B Singles chart. Love Unlimited recorded occasionally but mostly they backed up White. You can get all their hits on this budget comp. Love Unlimited's final album was in 1979. And Glodean and White recorded a 1981 album together. Diane Taylor died in 1989. Glodean continued to appear on White's recordings until his 2003 death. Here's Love Unlimited performing Walkin' In The Rain With The One I Love on Soul Train 1972.

Ronda Rousey vs Holly Holm moved to Nov. 15 UFC show

UFC President Dana White announced last night on ESPN SportsCenter that Ronda Rousey's defense of her UFC Women's Bantamweight Championship against Holly Holm has been moved up to UFC 193 Nov. 15 at Etihad Stadium in Melbourne, Australia. It will air in North America on Nov. 14. Robbie Lawlor has pulled out of the original main event due to a thumb injury. Ronda vs Holly was originally scheduled for UFC 195 Jan. 2 in Las Vegas. The arena in Melbourne has a capacity of 90,000 so obviously White wants to set a new attendance record. Who better to set that record than Ronda? So how did White talk Ronda into moving the fight? He told Kevin Iole of Yahoo Sports that he didn't have to. He called her on the phone and said "Hypothetically speaking...". She interrupted him and asked him what he needs. She immediately agreed to moving the fight up. Because of how Ronda prepares for a fight, I don't think the change makes any difference. The only thing she will need to do differently is go to Australia earlier in the week because of the time zone change. It's not a big deal as Ronda has fought in judo tournaments worldwide. White's original plan was to have Joanna Jedrzejczyk defend her UFC Strawweight Championship against Claudia Gadelha as a co-main event on Jan. 2. That fight was tentatively announced pending Claudia's recovery from a broken finger. He told Iole that Claudia will not be ready for Jan. 2 and Valerie Letourneau was going to get the title shot. He wanted to move that match to UFC 193 too. But he told Iole that Valerie would not be ready for Nov. 15. So he has to find a different challenger for UFC 193 or leave Joanna vs Valerie on UFC 195. When he decides what he wants to do, I will let you know.

AccuRadio Song Of The Day-The Charlie Daniels Band

Artist:The Charlie Daniels Band
Song:The Devil Went Down To Georgia
Album:The Essential Charlie Daniels Band





The Devil Went Down To Georgia was the biggest hit and signature song for Charlie Daniels in 1979. Daniels started out as a session musician and became a solo artist in 1970. He was born Oct. 28, 1936 in Leland, NC. He learned to play the fiddle as a child and played in local bands as a teen. Then he had a an instrumental band called The Jaguars. They recorded a single in 1959 with producer Bob Johnson. A decade later when Johnson became a Columbia Records house producer working with Bob Dylan, Daniels was brought to Nashville to play on Dylan's album Nashville Skyline. He also toured with Leonard Cohen. Daniels first recorded solo in 1970 on Capitol. But then he formed The Charlie Daniels Band heavily influenced by the Southern Rock of The Allman Brothers Band but also heavily influenced by country and bluegrass. Other band members were Don Murray on guitar, Joe DiGregorio on keyboards, Charlie Hayward on bass and James Marshall on drums. They signed with Kama Sutra Records and scored a top ten pop hit with Uneasy Rider in 1973. The 1974 album Fire On The Mountain was certified Platinum. The band moved to Epic Records in 1975. And though they continued to have success as a touring draw and album act, they just couldn't seem to get that big hit single until The Devil Went Down To Georgia in 1979. The song topped the country music chart and it reached #3 on the Billboard Hot 100. The album Million Mile Reflections was certified 3XPlatinum. The lyrics are a morality play similar to The Devil and Daniel Webster. The melody is based on an old Vassar Clements song Lonesome Fiddle Blues. Legendary fiddler Clements was a big influence on Daniels. The song was featured in the 1980 film Urban Cowboy. Daniels said to choreographer Patsy Swayze "How fast can you dance it?" and her response was "How fast can you play it?". Though Daniels has never had another big hit, he continues to record and tour regularly. This budget comp is a good intro to his music. He is currently on tour and he released a Bob Dylan tribute CD last year. Here's The Charlie Daniels Band performing The Devil Went Down To Georgia on The Midnight Special 1979.

Kana signs with the WWE

So I was watching Saturday's NXT Takeover show on the WWE Network when suddenly my favourite joshi wrestler Kana was shown sitting in the audience with Ric Flair and Sgt. Slaughter. She was mentioned on air as KANNA with no other frame of reference. I don't know why she was brought in for that. But obviously she signed with the WWE or she wouldn't be there in the first place. Dave Meltzer confirmed her signing yesterday. If you're wondering how the WWE knew about Kana, assistant trainer Sara Amato and Kana go way back. They both lived in the A To Z dojo in 2003 where Kana first trained. Sara was there for three months as a guest gaijin. They also worked together in SHIMMER. Head trainer Matt Bloom lived in Japan for several years so I'm sure he knew about Kana too. If you're not familiar with Kana, there are plenty of her matches on Youtube. Unlike a lot of Japanese wrestlers, Kana doesn't do much high flying. She seemed to come into her own after working for the now defunct Battlearts wrestling company in 2009. Battlearts incorporated submission moves and ground wrestling into the usual pro wrestling repertoire. It was also in Battlearts that Kana started wrestling barefoot. After Battlearts closed in 2010, Kana probably had her best run in Tajiri's company Smash in 2011 as one of the top heels in the company. When Smash closed in 2012, Kana worked for Tajiri's new company WNC. But things didn't go well there and Kana left over money in late 2012. Since then, Kana has freelanced for REINA and JWP and she also revived her own part time promotion Kana Pro. Last month, Kana announced she was going on hiatus from joshi puroresu and she will make her final appearance on the Sept. 15 Kana Pro show at Korakuen Hall. Until then she is still freelancing for REINA and JWP. At the press conference, she wouldn't give a reason for the hiatus except that she is taking "the next step". Well, we now know what that next step is. She works very stiff, as Sara Amato knows all too well, so I expect she will have to tone down her style. And I don't know if the WWE will allow her to work barefoot. She owns two businesses in Tokyo. She has owned a graphic design business for the last decade. Kana is a major league video gamer and she has designed video games. Her look when she first started in pro wrestling was based on a character in the popular joshi puroresu video game Rumble Roses. She also owns a beauty salon. I doubt she will keep those. By the time she comes to the WWE, Kana will be 34 years old. Her birthday is Sept. 26. There is also talk that the WWE has signed Sarah Stock who announced she is leaving CMLL in Mexico after working there for ten years. Down there she was known as Dark Angel and she was also Sarita in TNA and she has worked for Stardom in Japan. Sarah is a Winnipeg native. She is 36 years old but you wouldn't know it by looking at her. She has won bodybuilding contests in Mexico. Obviously she is a lucha expert and she has been a guest trainer at the WWE Performance Center. There is also talk the WWE is bringing in SHIMMER veteran Athena (Adrienne Reese). She was trained by Booker T. Obviously if they are going to improve the women's division, they not only need girls who can work but can also carry greenhorns to good matches. All three of these women are capable of doing just about anything that can be done in a ring. And they look good doing it. I can't wait to see Kana on RAW every week.

AccuRadio Song Of The Day-Dave "Baby" Cortez

Artist:Dave "Baby" Cortez
Song:The Happy Organ
Album:The Cruisin' Story 1959




Dave "Baby" Cortez topped the charts in 1959 with the instrumental classic The Happy Organ. A few of his other songs charted but this was his biggest hit. He was born David Cortez Clowney Aug. 13, 1938 in Detroit. His father played piano and he encouraged Cortez to play. In 1956 he released a single as David Clowney and he was also a member of The Pearls. Then he signed with Clock Records. The story goes that Cortez was supposed to record a vocal track but he lost his voice. So instead he played an organ riff clearly based on the song Shortnin' Bread. They came up with this in the studio and the title of the song came later. Cortez wrote The Happy Organ with James Kriegsmann who was famous for his photographs of black celebrities. But he also wrote a few songs. The guitar solo is by legendary session musician Wild Jimmy Spruill who also played on Wilbert Harrison's Kansas City. The Happy Organ topped the Billboard Hot 100 in 1959. At the time, Cortez was touring with Little Anthony & The Imperials. Clock licensed The Happy Organ to RCA for national distribution. After a couple more singles and an album, Cortez left Clock for Chess and scored a top ten hit with Rinky Dink in 1962. The problem is you can't get both hits on the same CD because they are on different labels. So I suggest this 2CD various artists budget comp from the British label One Day Music. In the 60s, Cortez recorded for Roulette and in the 70s for The Isley Brothers' label T-Neck and All Platinum. In 2011, Cortez recorded his first album in years with veteran sax player Lonnie Youngblood. Here's a video for The Happy Organ by Dave "Baby" Cortez.

AccuRadio Song Of The Day-Fleetwood Mac

Artist:Fleetwood Mac
Song:Don't Stop
Album:Rumours





The Fleetwood Mac most music fans are familiar with is much different than the original blues rock band led by guitarist Peter Green that they probably should have changed the band name. But they didn't change the name and the 1977 album Rumours was one of the biggest selling albums in history. After Green left Fleetwood Mac in 1970, there was a five year period of aimlessness. In the early 70s, Bob Welch attempted to revive the band but was ultimately unsuccessful. The band's manager even made plans to tour a fake Fleetwood Mac in 1974 but he abandoned the plan after one show. Welch finally left Fleetwood Mac in 1975 to go solo. Mick Fleetwood started looking for a replacement. Recording engineer Keith Olsen played Fleetwood a song from the album Buckingham Nicks and then Fleetwood was introduced to Lindsey Buckingham. Buckingham agreed to join Fleetwood Mac on the condition that his musical partner and girlfriend Stevie Nicks comes with him. Fleetwood agreed to this. The 1975 album Fleetwood Mac was a huge success with hits like Rhiannon. The album was certified 5XPlatinum. While recording the 1977 album Rumours, John and Christine McVie were divorcing and Buckingham and Nicks were having problems too. Those problems fed the songs on Rumours. The album was certified 12XPlatinum. Dreams which was written and sung by Nicks was Fleetwood Mac's first number one pop hit. Don't Stop was written by Christine McVie about her divorce and sung by Christine and Buckingham. It reached #3 on the Billboard Hot 100. Today the song is best known for it's use in Bill Clinton's 1992 presidential campaign. He was even able to get Fleetwood Mac to reform to perform Don't Stop live. The original album Rumours is available as a budget CD. But last year Warner Bros. released a 3CD enhanced version with all kinds of extras. Their success continued until Buckingham and Nicks left in 1987. In recent years they have reformed to tour. Buckingham says that after their current tour and a new album, they may disband for good. We'll see about that. Here's Fleetwood Mac performing Don't Stop 1977.

AccuRadio Song Of The Day-Aaron Diehl

Artist:Aaron Diehl
Song:Moonlight In Vermont
Album:The Bespoke Man's Narrative





Aaron Diehl is an outstanding young jazz pianist. The Bespoke Man's Narrative was his 2013 major label debut. He was born Sept. 22, 1985 in Columbus, OH. His grandfather was local jazz pianist Arthur Baskerville. Diehl began classical piano lessons at age seven. He attended the Interlochen Summer Camp where he met Russian jazz piano prodigy Eldar Djangirov who got Diehl to listen to Oscar Peterson and Art Tatum. As a teen, Diehl performed with the Columbus Youth Jazz Orchestra. He was a finalist in the 2002 Jazz at Lincoln Center Essentially Ellington competition. Then he toured with Wynton Marsalis while studying at Juilliard with Kenny Barron and Eric Reed. After releasing a couple of CDs independently, he appeared on the 2013 debut CD by singer Cecile McLorin Salvant. Diehl signed with Mack Avenue Records and the Bespoke Man's Narrative was released in 2013. Musicians are Warren Wolf on vibes, David Wong on bass and Rodney Green on drums. Moonlight In Vermont is a jazz standard written by John Blackburn and Karl Suessdorf and popularized by Margaret Whiting in 1944. Diehl's new CD Space Time Continuum was released in June and features a guest appearance by sax legend Benny Golson. Diehl is currently on tour and he's worth checking out if he's coming your way. Here's Aaron Diehl performing Moonlight In Vermont at Dizzy's Club Coca Cola in New York City 2011.

Why the WWE Divas Revolution has fallen flat

Sasha Banks

It was about a month ago that Stephanie McMahon trumpeted the WWE Divas Revolution. Everything would change and fans will love it. Of course it hasn't really turned out that way. It's been booked very poorly and fans have turned on it. Can it be fixed? That's what I'm going to talk about. This all started a few months ago after a pointless 30 second Divas match on RAW. The hashtag Give Divas A Chance was born. But the WWE didn't do anything immediately. That was their first mistake as positive reaction to Give Divas A Chance would have in turn gotten a positive response from fans. Fans want to influence positive change. Instead they had Stephanie come out to take all the credit. Fans don't react well to having an angle rammed down their throats. Since then, the WWE Divas Revolution has been booked in the worst possible way and fans at TV tapings have turned on it. To be fair, HHH wants to make women wrestlers a bigger part of the show because of the positive results at NXT. But as we saw this weekend, the Divas in NXT got a much different reaction than the WWE Divas on SummerSlam and RAW. Of course the difference is Vince McMahon isn't in charge of NXT but is in charge of the main roster. He's never been a women's wrestling fan so he may not care if the Divas Revolution gets over. And right now it's booked to fail. The other big problem is The Bella Twins. I believe that until they leave the WWE for other activities, they will remain on top because they have a lot of power. There's a rumour out there that the original plan was to have Charlotte win the WWE Divas Championship from Nikki Bella on that first episode of RAW when Stephanie introduced the angle. Supposedly, Nikki asked her boyfriend John Cena to ask Vince not to do that. And they didn't. As we have seen on WWE Total Divas, The Bella Twins are very selfish even if it hurts the business. Nikki must think she's the Fabulous Moolah who held her title for 28 years. I don't know if I would have had Nikki drop the belt immediately but I certainly would have made it the focus of the angle. Instead they have been put into three factions in random tag team matches. They have been given more ring time but fans aren't reacting well. The first sign of a real problem was on a Smackdown tag team match that went to hell in a handbasket. It's gotten worse since then. On last week's RAW during Nikki vs Sasha Banks, fans started chanting for Brock Lesnar. Then they had Sasha win by a stupid distraction finish. Then after Sasha vs Bayley rocked Saturday's NXT show, the fans in the same building shit on the SummerSlam and RAW Divas matches. They were even chanting for Sasha last night so she should have been used. The question isn't can this be fixed but does the WWE want to fix it? The first thing they need to do is have the Bella Twins go full blown heel. They seem to be reluctant to do that. They are babyfaces when facing Sasha's team and heel when facing Paige's team. That won't work. Because Sasha is the most over of any of these girls, I'd have her join up with The Bella Twins and then turn on them later. She could "injure" Brie and then go after the title. She's a great heel and I think she could turn the fans around herself. The others could be part of the mix but the factions have to go because they aren't working. Of course the WWE would like Charlotte to be champ. But her lack of experience has been obvious during the last month. But Sasha can carry any of these girls to a good match. So can Becky but I think Sasha is more over right now. I would build the whole Divas division around Sasha Banks. She can make the others better. That's probably too radical for the WWE.

AccuRadio Song Of The Day-Cyrille Aimee

Artist:Cyrille Aimee
Song:Nuit Blanche
Album:It's A Good Day





Cyrille Aimee is a French jazz singer who had success on the jazz charts with her Mack Avenue Records debut CD It's A Good Day. She was born 1984 in Fountainbleu, France. She got interested in jazz after attending a local Django Reinhardt festival. After graduating high school, she moved to New York City to study jazz composition at SUNY Purchase. She also got a weekly gig at a local club. After graduating in 2007, she won the International Vocal Competition at the 2007 Montreux Jazz Festival. She released her debut CD on her own label in 2009. She also recorded a couple of albums with guitarist Diego Figuereido and a 2010 live CD featuring trumpeter Roy Hargrove. She was also a finalist in the 2010 Thelonious Monk Vocal Competition and she won the 2012 Sarah Vaughan International Vocal Competition. This led to a deal with Mack Avenue Records and her 2014 CD It's A Good Day. The album is mostly jazz standards though Cyrille wrote Nuit Blanche. Her band is led by guitarist and arranger Michael Valeanu along with her usual band of bassist Sam Anning and drummer Rajiv Jayaweera. Guests are guitarists Adrien Moignard and Guilherme Monteiro. The album did very well on the Jazz Album chart. Cyrille will be on tour with her band in September and then she is touring Europe. She also likes to experiment singing with a loop box to give her music a bigger sound. I could see her recording a full album using that technology. Jazz vocal fans should check out Cyrille Aimee. Here's Cyrille Aimee performing Nuit Blanche on the French TV network TV5's Les Talents Acoustic 2011.

Aisling Daly vs Ericka Almeida added to Oct. 24 UFC show

Aisling Daly

The UFC announced today that Aisling Daly vs Ericka Almeida has been added to UFC Fight Night 76 Oct. 24 in Dublin, Ireland. Aisling is Irish so I expected her to be on this show. She trains at the same team as current UFC It Boy Conor McGregor. I've watched her for several years and her main problem is she has no ground game. When she was on TUF 20, I thought she was overrated and somehow got ranked as the number six Strawweight. That's way too high for me. She was favoured going into her fight with Randa Markos in Montreal and Aisling had her moments especially in round two. But when Randa took her down, she could do nothing. Aisling needs to work on her grappling to improve but I don't see her doing that. Ericka is a former Jungle Fight champ from Brazil. She's an aggressive fighter who likes to finish. But that aggression got her into trouble in her UFC debut when Juliana Lima sat on her for three rounds. The ref was way too lenient with Juliana. And as Juliana was allowed to lay and pray, Ericka lost her aggression. We'll see if she does better in hostile territory. That crowd in Dublin will be very loud.

Big Bad Blog Video Theater-Valerie Letourneau vs Maryna Moroz

Here's the video for Valerie Letourneau vs Maryna Moroz from last night's UFC show in Saskatoon. Valerie is a veteran fighter from Montreal who has fought mostly at a heavier weight but is trying 115. She trains now at American Top Team in Florida. Maryna is from the Ukraine and trains with her boxer husband. In her UFC debut, she beat Joanne Calderwood with an armbar from bottom position. She has won several fights using this move. So what happens if she can't get an armbar from the bottom. Because you can be sure that Valerie's trainers at ATT scouted this. In round one, Maryna is quicker but Valerie is bigger. Both are landing punches and neither has KO power. Maryna kicks but she isn't very good at it. Valerie drops her with a punch and then jumps on her. Of course Valerie needs to be conservative because of Maryna's rep of hooking an armbar from bottom position. So for Valerie this becomes a lay and pray strategy and sometimes that can work if the ref is lenient which Yves Lavigne was in this fight. Maryna was still going after the arm. But at some point she needed to get out of there because she's losing the round. Then they get tangled up and neither could do anything. I don't know why Lavigne didn't stand them up then. Valerie wins round one 10-9. Round two is mostly even but Maryna hurts Valerie with a punch with about a minute left in the round. So what does Maryna do? She goes for a flying armbar. Are you kidding me? Of course when that failed it let Valerie off the hook. Maybe if Maryna followed up with more strikes, she could have finished. That's just terrible strategy. I gave Maryna round two 10-9. In round three, Valerie knocked her down and sat on her again. She was just stalling knowing if she held Maryna down, she gets the win. Again I don't know why Lavigne didn't stand them up. He never even warned Valerie. Maryna tries for a kimura and then a triangle choke but she's still losing because she's on the bottom. When she starts making progress with the triangle, Valerie gets out of there. I scored the fight 29-28 for Valerie. The judges scored it 29-28, 29-28, 30-27. Maryna needs to learn that when your usual strategy doesn't work, you need to adjust. She didn't do that. Valerie has trouble making 115. She missed weight on the first pass. A lot of fighters use IV fluids to rehydrate after a tough cut. As of Oct. 1, the UFC won't allow fighters to use IVs anymore. Valerie is one of several fighters who may be forced to move up in weight because of that. Enjoy the video!