Cris Cyborg vs Lina Lansberg added to Sept. 24 UFC show

Cris Cyborg, Lina Lansberg

The UFC confirmed today that Cris Cyborg vs Lina Lansberg will be the main event of UFC Fight Night 95 Sept. 24 at Ginasio Nilson Nelson in Brasilia, Brazil. This show will air on Fox Sports 1 in the US and TSN in Canada. This was first reported yesterday by the Brazilian network UOL but Lina hadn't signed the bout agreement. This fight will be at a catchweight of 140lb. Lina is from Malmo, Sweden. She trains at Redline Training Center with former UFC fighter Akira Corassani. Her background is very similar to Joanna Jedrzejczyk and Valentina Shevchenko. Lina started out in Muay Thai in 2003 and switched to MMA in 2012. Her record is 6-1 and she has fought for Cage Warriors. She is known as The Elbow Princess. The big difference between Lina and Joanna and Valentina is Lina is 34 years old so she was already in her 20s when she began fighting. The other two started out when they were teens. It doesn't matter because nothing can prepare Lina for Cris Cyborg. This also shows that the UFC still doesn't know what to do with Cyborg. I don't know how long they can do catchweight fights. That's a dead end street. Cris isn't dropping to 135. And there simply aren't enough decent fighters to stock a 145lb division. Look, they are bringing in a fighter who has never fought outside of Europe for a main event. That's not something the UFC would or should do. And I know they want Germaine De Randamie to fight Cyborg. But it looks like they will have to back up a Brinks truck to her house to get her to do it. I'm sure the Brazilian fans will be very happy to see Cyborg. But the what to do with Cyborg problem is still there.

Big Bad Blog Video Theater-Asuka vs Aliyah

Here's the match video of Asuka vs Aliyah from last night's episode of NXT. This is for the many Asuka fans who don't have the WWE Network. Asuka will defend the NXT Women's Championship against Bayley at the upcoming live NXT show in Brooklyn. This match is to set that up and turn Asuka heel. After Asuka won the title from Bayley, Asuka was booed in Full Sail. So they might as well turn her heel. And she's a great heel. If you're wondering where Asuka has been, after working the WWE Japan shows, she stayed an extra week in Tokyo. She did some interviews and got her hair done at her own hair salon. Bayley did a backstage interview and Asuka invited Bayley to come out and watch her match. Bayley comes out and sits at the announce table. Asuka's opponent Aliyah is making her third TV appearance. She is 21 year old Nhooph Al-Areebi from Toronto. She was trained by Rob Fuego at Squared Circle. Taylor Wilde and Angel Williams are among those trained by Fuego. She signed with the WWE in 2015 and she has been a regular on NXT's Florida house show circuit for the last year. She comes out to the ring like she's going to a tea party. She doesn't seem to have much of a personality yet. Asuka comes out like she usually does except she demands that Bayley come closer to watch her match. Of course the match is a squash which is what it should be. In particular, Asuka uses her ass to batter Aliyah. I saw her do this a lot in Japan especially to Hikaru Shida. She ties Aliyah up in the ropes and taunts Bayley. After a kick to the head, Asuka chooses not to pin Aliyah. Then she taps out Aliyah with the Asuka Lock. After she wouldn't release the hold, Bayley came in for the save. The heel turn is complete. Asuka continued to taunt Bayley and this will continue when the contract signing is done next week. Enjoy the video!
Aliyah vs. Asuka by therackattackvideos

AccuRadio Song Of The Day-Soundgarden

Artist:Soundgarden
Song:Black Hole Sun
Album:Telephantasm: Deluxe Edition





Though today Soundgarden is considered to be one of the seminal bands of the grunge era, they had their greatest success in the mid-90s after the death of Nirvana's Kurt Cobain. Black Hole Sun is probably their signature song. Soundgarden was formed in Seattle in 1984 by lead singer and guitarist Chris Cornell, guitarist Kim Thayll and bassist Hiro Yamamoto. They named themselves after a sculpture. Originally Cornell played drums but a drummer was brought in so he could concentrate on vocals. Matt Cameron was the drummer for most of their run. They played local clubs and Soundgarden was a big part of the founding of Sub Pop Records as Sub Pop founder Bruce Pavitt was friends with Thayll and Yamamoto. Soundgarden released a couple of EPs on Sub Pop. They released the 1988 album Ultramega OK on SST Records. Though the album did well and Soundgarden toured to support it, they weren't happy with it and they signed with A&M Records and released the 1989 album Louder Than Love. As always seems to happen when popular cult bands sign with a major label, there was fan backlash over Soundgarden selling out to mainstream rock. And Yamamoto left just before the band's tour. He was unhappy because Cornell was writing most of the songs. A bassist was hired for the tour. Ben Shepherd was the permanent bassist as of the 1991 album Badmotorfinger. Soundgarden was doing OK but there's no question they took a back seat to Nirvana. The 1994 album Superunknown was released a month before Kurt Cobain's death. His death generated more interest in Soundgarden and Superunknown was certified 5XPlatinum. It would turn out to be their best selling album. Soundgarden was played mostly on rock radio. They never had a pop hit single. But Black Hole Sun is probably their most recognizable song. After this, Soundgarden seemed to burn out. They split up after the 1996 album Down on the Upside. This 2CD/1DVD comp covers their entire run and includes songs they recorded before signing with A&M. Cornell released a solo album in 1999 and then he formed Audioslave. Cameron joined Pearl Jam and he also led Wellwater Conspiracy which included Thayll and Shepherd. There were reunion rumours but Cornell said the band was discussing the release of Telephantasm. But Soundgarden did reunite in 2010. It was announced that Cameron would record with Soundgarden but tour with Pearl Jam. Soundgarden hired a drummer for touring. They are currently working on new music for a 2017 release. Here's the video for Black Hole Sun by Soundgarden.

Randa Markos vs Cortney Casey added to Aug. 20 UFC show

The UFC announced that Randa Markos vs Cortney Casey has been added to UFC 202 Aug. 20 at the T-Mobile Arena in Las Vegas. I expect this fight to air on the prelims. This is a late addition but I noticed there was an injury affecting one of the other fights so it might be replacing that fight. Both fighters are coming of a quick turnaround. Randa won over Jocelyn Jones-Lybarger a couple of months ago. She expressed interest in appearing on the upcoming Vancouver show. For her last fight, Randa returned to Michigan Top Team in Dearborn, MI and trainer Daron Cruikshank. She seems to be back on track. Randa lives in Windsor, ON. It was less than a month ago when Cortney got her first UFC win over Cristina Stanciu after two losses. She said after the fight that she would like to fight Carla Esparza. I think it's too soon for that. Cortney is from Hawaii and has fought a lot in Guam. Now that both fighters have wins over low level competition, let's see who wants to move up the ladder. Randa is a wrestler and Cortney is a striker.

AccuRadio Song Of The Day-Andrae Crouch and the Disciples

Artist:Andrae Crouch and the Disciples
Song:My Prayer (To God Be The Glory)
Album:Hall Of Fame





Andrae Crouch was a pioneer of contemporary gospel music. Many of his songs are now considered standards including My Prayer. He was born July 1, 1942 in San Francisco and he and his twin sister Sandra grew up in Los Angeles. Their parents owned a dry cleaners, a restaurant and a church. Crouch showed musical talent as a child and by the time he was a teen, he was writing songs and preaching. He started performing regularly in local churches in the late 60s. Crouch was introduced to Light Records owner Ralph Carmichael and Andrae Crouch and the Disciples released their debut album in 1968. At first they were a standard gospel group which included Sandra. My Prayer first appeared on the 1972 album Keep On Singin'. Crouch recorded this song many times and it has also been covered by many artists. For the 1975 album Take Me Back, Crouch expanded his band to include horns arranged by drummer Bill Maxwell. This new band got him a lot more mainstream attention. And by the late 70s, Crouch went solo and signed with Warner Bros. He was very successful in the 80s and many gospel artists credit Crouch with inventing contemporary gospel. This 2CD budget comp is a good intro to his music. Crouch also worked on the music for the film The Color Purple. He also discovered The Winans and Crouch produced their early albums. In the 90s, Crouch wasn't as active after his parents died. But occasionally he would surface as an elder statesman of gospel music. Andrae Crouch died on Jan. 8, 2015 at age 72. Here's the video for My Prayer (To God Be The Glory) by Andrae Crouch and an all star choir. This video was produced for the 1996 album Tribute: The Songs of Andrae Crouch.

Kelly Faszholz vs Ketlen Vieira added to Oct. 1 UFC show

Kelly Faszholz, Ketlen Vieira

The Brazilian network Globo reported yesterday that Kelly Faszholz vs Ketlen Vieira has been added to UFC Fight Night 96 Oct. 1 at the Moda Center in Portland, OR. This show will air on Fox Sports 1 in the US and TSN in Canada. I expect this match to air on the prelims. Kelly lost her UFC debut to Lauren Murphy in February. But I thought she looked pretty good considering that she came in on short notice. She should be much better with a full camp. Kelly is from Santa Rosa, CA. Ketlen signed with the UFC in June. She is from Manaus, Amazonas, Brazil. Her record is 6-0. Most of her fights have been for her home town fed Mr. Cage. So she hasn't even fought for any of the better known Brazilian companies. And there is no decent video footage of her. So it's hard to tell if she's good because the competition level is low. No matter what anyone tries to tell you, the UFC jitters are real. And you can't tell me that a fighter who has only fought in her home town and has never fought on TV isn't going to get the UFC jitters. Shouldn't she have to prove herself in Invicta first? She has finished five of her six fights so that's something. The UFC has had mixed results with unproven Brazilian fighters so it's a bit of a crap shoot.

AccuRadio Song Of The Day-Paper Lace

Artist:Paper Lace
Song:The Night Chicago Died
Album:Super Hits of the 70s: Have A Nice Day Vol. 13




The Night Chicago Died topped the charts in 1974. It was the only big hit in North America for the British group Paper Lace. They are perceived as a one hit wonder but some of their other songs charted. Paper Lace are from Nottingham, England. Supposedly they are the only band from Nottingham to ever have a hit single. They started out in 1967 as Music Box and changed their name to Paper Lace in 1969. It looks like the leader of Paper Lace was drummer and lead singer Phil Wright. Other members were Mick Vaughan on lead guitar, Cliff Fish on bass, Chris Morris on guitar and Carlo Paul Santanna on guitar. They played local clubs and released the 1972 album First Edition on Polydor. Paper Lace's big break came when they appeared on the ITV talent show Opportunity Knocks and they were spotted by the production and songwriting team of Peter Callander and Mitch Murray. Murray wrote the Gerry and the Pacemakers hit How Do You Do It?. And as a team, Murray and Callander wrote and produced The Ballad of Bonnie and Clyde by Georgie Fame and Hitchin' A Ride by Vanity Fare. They signed Paper Lace to their Bus Stop label with Philips distribution. The first single was Billy, Don't Be A Hero. It topped the British charts. But by the time Mercury released it in the US, Bo Donaldson and the Heywoods covered the song and that version was a hit in the US. The Night Chicago Died was the next single and it did top the US charts in 1974. Of course there were complaints about the historical accuracy of the song. Murray has apologized for this and joked that he and Callander had never been to Chicago and did research for the song by watching old gangster movies. Unfortunately, Paper Lace were unable to tour America to support the single and the band split up soon after. Wright and Fish attempted to continue and a version of the band led by Santanna still plays occasional gigs. You can get The Night Chicago Died on this Rhino various artists comp. Here's Paper Lace performing The Night Chicago Died 1974.

AccuRadio Song Of The Day-The Eleventh House with Larry Coryell

Artist:The Eleventh House with Larry Coryell
Song:Low-Lee-Tah
Album:Introducing The Eleventh House with Larry Coryell




Guitarist Larry Coryell was already well known when the jazz fusion band The Eleventh House was built around him. This was in 1973 around the time Weather Report and The Mahavishnu Orchestra were very successful. Though the success of The Eleventh House was curtailed by personnel changes and they were ultimately unsuccessful, the 1974 album Introducing is a must for fusion fans. Coryell started out in the mid-60s with Chico Hamilton and then Gary Burton. Then he signed with Vanguard Records and began recording as a leader. His best known album from this period was the 1970 album Spaces featuring fusion heavyweights John McLaughlin, Chick Corea, Miroslav Vitous and Billy Cobham. Coryell and pianist Mike Mandel grew up together in Yakima, WA and Mandel had played on a couple of Coryell's albums. Fusion music was hot so they decided to form The Eleventh House. They brought in trumpeter Randy Brecker who was a fusion pioneer himself, bassist Danny Trifan and drummer Alphonse Mouzon from Weather Report. Introducing was released in 1974 and today it is considered to be a classic of fusion music. It's available as a budget CD so it's worth getting. Then things began to fall apart. Brecker left first to tour with Billy Cobham and then to form The Brecker Brothers with his sax player brother Mike Brecker. Brecker did agree to produce the next Eleventh House album. He was replaced by Michael Lawrence. Trifan was replaced by John Lee. The 1975 album Level One wasn't as successful as the first album. Then Mouzon left and he was replaced by Lee's buddy Gerry Brown. The Eleventh House split up after the 1976 album Aspects didn't sell. Of course Coryell went back to his solo career. He formed a new band with Alphonse Mouzon called Coryell/Mouzon. They released the 1977 album Back Together Again on Atlantic. John Lee was in that band along with guitarist Philip Catherine who would be a frequent Coryell collaborator. The Eleventh House with Coryell, Mouzon, Brecker and Lee reunited for a 1999 tour but they didn't record. So The Eleventh House had a spotty history but Introducing is a must for fusion fans. Here's The Eleventh House performing Low-Lee-Tah in France 1974.

Big Bad Blog Video Theater-Karolina Kowalkiewicz vs Rose Namajunas

Here's the match video of Karolina Kowalkiewicz vs Rose Namajunas from last night's UFC show in Atlanta. The winner of this match gets a shot at Joanna Jedrzejczyk's UFC Strawweight Championship. The big mistake Rose made is she seemed content to counterpunch with Karolina. I would have never expected her to utilize that strategy. She needed to be more aggressive because she played right into Karolina's usual strategy. So nothing much happened in round one. There was just a lot of dancing around. I expected that from Karolina because she always fights like that. But that's not how Rose usually fights. So round one could have been scored 9-9. But judges don't usually score tie rounds. With that in mind, Rose marginally won round one 10-9. I also thought round two was much closer than people think. Though Karolina was effective with knees in the clinch, Rose scored with some significant strikes. So I scored it a 10-10 tie. But the tide had turned and Rose had lost steam. I can't say why Rose fought like that but that's why she lost. Karolina clearly won round three. So if one were to score the fight as a whole the way it was done in PRIDE, Karolina won the fight. But here fights are scored by the round. And that's why the fight was much closer than the perception I saw on Twitter last night. The first two rounds were close enough that Rose could have got the decision. So the split decision win for Karolina didn't surprise me. But I didn't think she won the fight. I thought Rose lost the fight. She beat herself with terrible strategy. Karolina get the title shot. But something tells me she will need to do more than she did in this fight to beat Joanna. Enjoy the video!

AccuRadio Song Of The Day-David Steinberg

Artist:David Steinberg
Song:Booga, Booga
Album:Comedy Classics





These days David Steinberg is probably best known as a sitcom director. But in the 70s he had some success as a standup comic and he hosted his own variety show and he even recorded a couple of albums. Booga, Booga is his best known routine. He was born Aug. 9, 1942 in Winnipeg. His father was a Romanian born Rabbi so Steinberg grew up in a strict Orthodox Jewish household. While studying English Literature at the University of Chicago, Steinberg was inspired by Lenny Bruce to get into comedy. He joined Second City in 1964. He became known for his satirical sermons on The Smothers Brothers Comedy Hour and this led to comedy albums for UNI and Elektra. Then in 1972 he hosted The David Steinberg Show for CBS as a summer replacement. Then he released the 1974 album Booga, Booga on Columbia Records. On the album, he performs Booga, Booga as a standup comic. But then he turned it into a sketch for his 1976 show The David Steinberg Show for the Canadian network CTV. I think the routine works better as a sketch. You'll note that Joe Flaherty of SCTV plays his patient. SCTV's John Candy, Dave Thomas and Martin Short were also regulars on the show. The CD Comedy Classics seems to be a reworking of the album Booga, Booga from The Orchard. Sony did reissue Booga, Booga on CD but it is out of print. Since the 80s, Steinberg has mostly written, produced and directed sitcoms. He directed many episodes of Newhart, Designing Women and Mad About You and he has also directed episodes of Seinfeld and Curb Your Enthusiasm. He has won a couple of Emmys and other awards. Steinberg currently hosts the Showtime series Inside Comedy. But it all started with Booga, Booga. Here's David Steinberg with Joe Flaherty performing Booga, Booga on The David Steinberg Show 1976.

Inept matchmaking results in Invicta FC 18 mismatches

So there were several problems with last night's Invicta show. Though they tried to hide it, it was clear that the building was half empty. I hope this is their final show in Kansas City. But the real problem was that Cris Cyborg was unable to fight on this show due to a spider bite. So there was no real main event. Just because a fight is called a main event doesn't make it so. Then they hired three unproven foreign fighters for the main card. First, they didn't belong on the main card. And then none of them could make the show due to visa problems. Well, that's just inept management. The main event had Alexa Grasso vs Jodie Esquibel. I think Alexa has potential to be a main event fighter. But after a two year injury layoff, she's not there yet. And Jodie is one of those dreaded points fighters that I dislike. So if Alexa is the same fighter that she was a couple of years ago, I expected her to win easily. And so she did. So I have no problem with the match itself but it never should have been a main event. Now Alexa will get a shot at Angela Hill's Invicta Strawweight Championship and then on to the UFC. Agnieszka Niedzwiedz was supposed to fight a Brazilian fighter with a padded record. Christine Stanley stepped up after visa problems. Christine was clearly out of shape and Agnieszka won easily. Either way, it was a prelim fight at best. Agnieszka seems like a pretty good fighter. But it's hard to tell against a subpar opponent. And I don't blame Christine. I blame Invicta for putting her in that position. Irene Aldana was supposed to be on this show. But her opponent had visa problems and that fight was scrapped. Lynn Alvarez was supposed to fight someone from India. But when she had visa problems, Mizuki was the replacement. So it was nice to see Mizuki but having seen Lynn before, I knew this was a mismatch and Mizuki dominated before a second round armbar got her the finish. I'd like to see Mizuki in the UFC. Cindy Dandois and Jessamyn Duke both have serious flaws. The question is who is more inept. We got that answer when Cindy took Jessamyn down and finished her with an scarf hold and armlock combo. Jessamyn has now lost five in a row. Last night I was asked what happened to her. Even when she was winning, I thought she was overrated because of her looks. She became popular because of her mom's shrewd marketing. The truth is she is very tall and awkward with limited striking skills and no ground skills. And she seems to be getting worse. Cindy's problem is she folds like a cheap suitcase when she is punched in the face. Jessamyn didn't land any punches last night. Then we have Megan Anderson vs Peggy Morgan. Megan is an Aussie who has improved a lot since moving to UFC fighter James Krause's camp in Missouri. Peggy was on TUF but I didn't like her on the show. And I still don't like her. I think they should stop booking her. As expected, Megan won easily by TKO. She gave Peggy a big lump on her face and the ref was a little slow in stopping the fight. So now of course fans are talking about feeding her to Cris Cyborg. I guess that's up to Krause. Some night say Megan isn't ready for Cyborg. But will she ever be ready? Tessa Simpson finally made her Invicta debut after some injury problems. Simona Soukoupova is from England. I've seen her before. She's nothing special and she's 39 years old. For that reason, I wouldn't book her in the first place. Tessa won the first two rounds and then she ran out of gas. Simona almost finished her in round three. But it wasn't enough and Tessa won by unanimous decision. There were some who thought round three should have been 10-8 and the fight scored a draw. The judges scored it 10-9 and so did I. Aspen Ladd missed weight but she still won easily by TKO over newcomer Jessica Hoy. It's time to give Aspen better competition. And in the opener, Sijara Eubanks won by TKO over the debuting Amberlynn Orr. Both fights were mismatches but I don't mind that in early prelims. But I do have a problem with mismatches higher up on the card and there were too many on this show.

AccuRadio Song Of The Day-Wilson Phillips

Artist:Wilson Phillips
Song:Hold On
Album:The Best Of Wilson Phillips





Hold On was the first of three number one hits for Wilson Phillips. Unfortunately, all three singles were on their 1990 debut CD. And when their second CD didn't do well, they quickly split up. Of course Carnie and Wendy Wilson are the daughters of Beach Boys leader Brian Wilson. And Chynna Phillips is the daughter of John and Michelle Phillips of The Mamas and the Papas. So they knew each other growing up in Los Angeles. Chynna appeared in films like Some Kind Of Wonderful and Say Anything. Her biggest role was as Roxanne Pulitzer in the 1989 TV movie Roxanne: The Prize Pulitzer. Inspired by Band Aid, Chynna approached Carnie and Wendy about recording a charity single by children of famous musicians. That fell through but the three started writing songs and Wilson Phillips signed with Capitol's SBK label. Their 1990 debut album Wilson Phillips was written and produced with Glen Ballard. He worked with Michael Jackson and later would have a lot of success with Alanis Morissette. Hold On was the first single and it topped the charts. Release Me and You're In Love also topped the charts. Though Wilson Phillips was criticized for being overly sappy and sugary, record buyers liked it and the album was certified 5XPlatinum. They were also nominated for several Grammys and Hold On was named Single of the Year by Billboard. It was the best selling album of all time by a female group. Of course when a debut album is that big, it's impossible to follow up on it. For their 1992 album Shadows and Light, Wilson Phillips took a more serious tone. They still wrote and produced the album with Ballard. But it just didn't catch on with listeners. You Won't See Me Cry was the highest charting single at #20. And that was it. Chynna Phillips went solo and Wilson Phillips split up. This budget comp covers both albums. Chynna's 1995 solo album Naked and Scared went nowhere. Carnie Wilson went on to host a talk show. She recorded an album in 2003 that was never released. Wilson Phillips reunited for an album of covers in 2004. They reunited again in 2012 to release the CD Dedicated and star in the TV Guide Network reality show Wilson Phillips: Still Holding On. Wilson Phillips recently appeared on the ABC series Greatest Hits but I don't think they tour or plan to record regularly. Here's the video for Hold On by Wilson Phillips.

AccuRadio Song Of The Day-Novalima

Artist:Novalima
Song:Coba Guarango
Album:Coba Coba





Novalima mixes the traditional music of Peru with contemporary music and their music has become very popular with DJs probably because their producer is a DJ. Their music is AfroPeruvian which is similar to AfroCuban. The members of Novalima were friends in high school in Lima, Peru. There is Carlos Li-Carrillo on keyboards and bass, Grimaldo Del Solar on guitar and keyboards, Rafael Morales on guitar and Ramon Perez-Prieto on keyboards. They add other musicians but that's the core group. The other key figure is producer Toni Economides. He's very well known for his remixes. The members of Novalima lived in different locations but they decided to converge in 2002. They released the CD Novalima independently in 2003. And then they met Economides and he got their 2005 CD Afro released on the British label Mr. Bongo. This got them a deal with the US label Cumbancha owned by Vermont based musicologist Jacob Edgar. He specializes in world music. Coba Coba was released in 2008. Several new members were added including singer Milagros Guerrero. The album did so well that there was even an album of remixes. The album was nominated for a Latin Grammy. One of their songs appeared in the 2010 Robert Rodriguez film Machete. For their latest CD Planetario, Novalima and producer Economides switched to Wonderwheel. Novalima is currently on tour in Europe. Fans of Latin music should check them out. Here's Novalima performing Coba Guarango on Plus TV Jammin Sessions 2012. There is a video for Coba Guarango but I like this performance clip better.

Danielle Taylor replaces Justine Kish on Aug. 6 UFC show

Last week the UFC announced that Maryna Moroz will face Justine Kish on UFC Fight Night 92 Aug. 6 at Vivint Smart Home Arena in Salt Lake City. Almost immediately, Justine tweeted an xray of a broken hand suffered during training. Today the UFC announced they have found a pretty good replacement. Danielle Taylor is from Palmdale, CA. She trains at Saekson Muay Thai which has several locations in Southern California. It looks like her trainer is WSOF fighter Keenan Lewis at the Palmdale location. Danielle's record is 7-1. Her only loss was to Jamie Colleen in Aug. 2015. But Danielle avenged that loss in her latest fight in March. She has fought her entire pro career for King Of The Cage. She sounds pretty good for a late replacement.

AccuRadio Song Of The Day-Bill Lee

Artist:Bill Lee w/Charmian Carr
Song:Edelweiss
Album:The Sound Of Music: 50th Anniversary Edition



When Marni Nixon died the other day, the subject of dubbing in movie musicals came up. It was much more common than you might think. And in those days, it was a big secret. You weren't supposed to know the vocals were dubbed and it was never credited. So when you watched the 1965 film The Sound Of Music, you thought Christopher Plummer was singing Edelweiss. We now know that Bill Lee dubbed Plummer's singing voice. Lee was born Aug. 21, 1916 in Johnson, NE but he grew up in Des Moines, IA. Lee started out playing the trombone but he started singing in college. After serving in the US Navy during WWII, Lee moved to Hollywood. He was a member of The Mellomen led by Thurl Ravenscroft (voice of Tony The Tiger). The Mellomen mostly worked for Walt Disney. Lee never recorded under his own name. And most of his film work was dubbing his voice for actors who didn't sing. He also recorded plenty of jingles. Lee's singing voice is heard on many Disney films including Alice In Wonderland and Lady and the Tramp. But his voice also appeared in Seven Brides for Seven Brothers, South Pacific, Hey, There! It's Yogi Bear, Mary Poppins and of course The Sound of Music. Plummer was cast as Captain Von Trapp in The Sound of Music after director Robert Wise saw him on Broadway. Plummer has said many time he hated making the film. He says he was spoiled by all the meaty roles he did on Broadway. Plummer says the plan was for him to do his own singing. But Wise and musical director Irwin Kostal decided Plummer would sound better if his vocals were augmented. So they brought in Lee and Plummer admits that it is mostly Lee that you hear in the film. There was an art to the kind of singing that Lee and Marni Nixon did. Lee had to sound like Plummer. So it's Lee's voice that you hear on the 50th anniversary edition of The Sound of Music soundtrack. The other singer in the clip Charmian Carr was discovered by Wise. She left the entertainment industry to own an interior design business. For Bill Lee, The Sound of Music was just another job in an anonymous career. His singing voice appeared in The Jungle Book, Thoroughly Modern Millie and many other films and TV shows. He died on Nov. 15, 1980 at age 64. Here's Bill Lee with Charmian Carr performing Edelweiss in the 1965 film The Sound of Music.

AccuRadio Song Of The Day-Morris Albert

Artist:Morris Albert
Song:Feelings
Album:Best Love Songs Vol. 2





Feelings is one of the kitschiest schlockiest hit singles of all time. It was a top ten hit in 1976. And then Morris Albert quickly faded into obscurity. He was born Mauricio Alberto Kaisermann Sept. 7, 1951 in Sao Paulo, Brazil. Before Feelings he was a member of The Hangmen. They were a garage band and they recorded an album in 1967. In the early 70s, he got into production with groups like The Light Reflections. He wrote and recorded Feelings and he thought if he could get airplay in the US, it could be a big hit. So he changed his name to Morris Albert. After Feelings became a hit in Latin America, RCA picked it up for distribution and it reached #6 on the Billboard Hot 100 in 1976. Albert never had another hit and of course Feelings is constantly mocked as one of the worst hit singles of all time. These days Albert lives in Italy and you might think that at least he is wealthy from Feelings royalties. But he was sued by French composer Louis "Loulou" Gaste. It seems that Albert based Feelings on the 1957 Gaste song Pour Toi. But he didn't give him a songwriting credit. So now Albert doesn't even get that. You can get Feelings on this various artists budget comp. Albert is still around. He lives in Italy and he last recorded in 2011. But he will forever be remembered for Feelings. Here's Morris Albert performing Feelings 1976.

Big Bad Blog Video Theater-Sasha Banks vs Charlotte

So the good news is that Sasha Banks finally won the WWE Women's Championship from Charlotte. So the questions from this is what took them so long and why now instead of SummerSlam. I can't answer the first question because I would have to get inside of Vince McMahon's head. Look, I wouldn't have put the belt on Charlotte in the first place. She's green and the title hasn't really improved her wrestling or some of her promos. The reason they did the title change now instead of SummerSlam is the same reason Finn Balor won big in his debut. They wanted to make a big splash with the roster split. This was Charlotte's best match to date mostly carried by Sasha. But they need to get her to work on some of her problems. Please don't let Charlotte go to the top rope anymore. She always muffs those moves. It happened twice last night. I would also avoid having her try to catch anyone outside the ring. It looked like Sasha fell awkwardly on a dive to the floor. She actually got her hands out but I don't think most fans saw that. But Charlotte didn't catch her properly anyway. And it's not the first time. So maybe if Charlotte doesn't have the belt, they can get her to work on correcting these things. The match was decent. The most important thing is the fans were into it. And when Sasha won, it meant something. I actually prefer Sasha as a heel but fans won't boo her now. I expect Charlotte to regroup and I wonder if an alliance with Nia Jax is in her future. Dana Brooke proved to be useless. And I loved the Eddy Guerrero spot that Sasha borrowed to get rid of Dana. That was hilarious. Check out the video for yourself.

AccuRadio Song Of The Day-Wham!

Artist:Wham!
Song:Wake Me Up Before You Go Go
Album:Make It Big





Though in the end, Wham! was a footnote in launching George Michael to a successful solo career, Wake Me Up Before You Go Go was a huge hit and I don't know if Michael is a successful solo artist without it. Michael and Wham! partner Andrew Ridgeley were schoolmates in Bushey, England. At first they were in a ska band called The Executive. But when that split up, they formed Wham! and signed with Innervision Records with CBS distribution. The problem was they were so eager to be successful, they signed a terrible contract and they would have to sue Innervision to get out of it. So Michael was the lead singer and he wrote all the songs. Clearly it was inevitable that he would be a solo artist. They scored some top ten hits in England like Young Guns (Go For It), Wham Rap!, Bad Boys and Club Tropicana that Epic in the US expressed interest in releasing Wham! in the US. For one thing, teen girls went nuts over Wham!. But they had to get out of their Innervision contract. They closed in 1985. So now that Wham! were on Epic worldwide, Wake Me Up Before You Go Go blitzed the world and made Wham! pop stars. It was a worldwide chart topper and the album Make It Big was certified 6XPlatinum. Michael got the idea for the song from a note Ridgely wrote to his parents. He says he just wanted it to be an upbeat pop song. The next single Careless Whispers was sold more as a Michael solo record and it was also a huge hit. The interesting thing is Ridgeley co-wrote Careless Whispers so that song made him wealthy. From there, things started to fall apart. Wham! went to China in 1985 with much hoopla. Lindsay Anderson was supposed to make a documentary about the tour. But the film was not released. A re-edited version was released on DVD in 2006. The split was coming so Wham! released a final album in 1986 which was a rehash of previously released material. Then Michael went solo and we all know how successful he was. Ridgeley moved to Monaco and tried auto racing. Then he moved to Los Angeles to try acting. After returning to England, Epic agreed to release the 1990 album Son Of Albert. It didn't sell and Ridgeley quit the music business. He lives off of the Careless Whispers royalties. He rarely appears in public. Wham! was supposed to reunite in 2005 but Ridgeley backed out. So of course Wham! had the potential to be much bigger if they had stayed together. It just wasn't in the cards. Here's the video for Wake Me Up Before You Go Go by Wham!.

Rin Nakai, Syuri win at PANCRASE 279

Rin Nakai and Syuri returned at PANCRASE 279 Sunday at Differ Ariake. The show aired on UFC Fight Pass so I did watch the fights. Rin Nakai returns to PANCRASE after her two fight stint in the UFC. She plans to fight at Flyweight and what a lot of fans don't know is she began her fight career at Flyweight. There has been talk that she might try Strawweight but I doubt she can make 115. Her opponent here is Emiko Raika who retired from boxing and then decided to try MMA. She is now 40 years old. I've seen her before. She should have stayed retired. So this is really just a workout for Rin. But then we see the same problems Rin had in the UFC and long before that. She just isn't aggressive at the start of fights to the point where the ref tells both fighters to step it up. This is exactly why Rin lost in the UFC. Once Rin gets going, she is beating Raika easily. Unfortunately, the TKO stoppage was terrible. It was way too soon. Rin would have won anyway so she didn't need the ref's help. I didn't see anything new from Rin. She has skills especially on the ground. But this problem she has at the start of fights is easy to fix. I don't know why her trainer Wild Usami hasn't done that. And part of her problem is she trains in very primitive conditions and she can't even get sparring partners because of where she lives. As a result, Rin Nakai has regressed. In the other women's fight, veteran pro wrestler and kickboxing champ Syuri picked up her second win over 19 year old Brazilian Nicolle Caliari. This was a lot better than Syuri's first fight as it was set for three five minute rounds. So we got a better idea of where Syuri is in her MMA development. I thought she looked good. When Nicolle couldn't compete with Syuri standing, she took it to the fence and she couldn't compete with her on the ground either. A lot of the fight was on the fence even when it was on the ground. So it was going to be tough for Syuri to get a finish. But she got an easy unanimous decision win. Maybe next time PANCRASE will bring in someone more experienced. Nicolle was brought in for her looks and Syuri even mentioned that in her post match interview. Her goal is to get to the UFC and I think she has a good shot.

AccuRadio Song Of The Day-Guns N' Roses

Artist:Guns N' Roses
Song:Sweet Child O' Mine
Album:Appetite For Destruction





Guns N' Roses had a strong run in the late 80s. Sweet Child O' Mine was their only number one hit. They were pretty big anyway but it's likely they could have been much bigger without all the internal bickering. Guns N' Roses was a merger of two bands. Guitarist Izzy Stradlin of Hollywood Rose formed the band with Tracii Guns of L.A. Guns. L.A. Guns were looking for a new lead singer and Stradlin suggested Axl Rose. The members of L.A. Guns were replaced by bassist Duff McKagan, guitarist Slash and drummer Steven Adler. All these guys knew each other from other bands. After making their mark on the Los Angeles club scene, Guns N' Roses signed with Geffen Records. Their debut album Appetite For Destruction was released July 1987 produced by recording engineer Mike Clink. The album sold 30 million copies worldwide even after the album cover was changed because some stores refused to stock the album. Sweet Child O' Mine was the first single and it topped the charts. The main thing the song has going for it is a great guitar riff. The song was written at a jam session. Rose wrote the lyrics after listening to the band play the song. He was inspired by then girlfriend Erin Everly (Don Everly's daughter). She's in the video. Welcome To The Jungle and Paradise City were also top ten hits. Appetite For Destruction is available as a budget CD. Their 1988 album G N' R Lies wasn't as successful. Patience was the only top ten hit from the album. They took a shortcut by including songs from a 1986 EP. We also started hearing about bad behaviour on tour mostly by Rose. Steven Adler was fired for heroin use but was rehired when he agreed to quit taking drugs. He wasn't able to stick to that and he was fired again. Adler went on to sue for back royalties. He was replaced by Matt Sorum of The Cult. The band was very close to splitting up. But instead they released Use Your Illusion 1 and Use Your Illusion 2 in 1991. Both albums did very well and November Rain was Guns N' Roses final top five hit. There were continuing problems with Rose' behaviour while on tour. Stradlin quit and was replaced by Gilby Clarke. After the 1993 album of covers The Spaghetti Incident? was poorly received, Guns N' Roses went on hiatus. They started working on an album in 1996 but Rose didn't think it was good enough and it was scrapped. Geffen got so frustrated with them that a Greatest Hits CD followed by a live CD was released. Rose sued Geffen. The album Chinese Democracy was supposed to be released in 2000. But it wasn't released until 2008. Rose continued to use the Guns N' Roses name when he probably should have just gone solo. He hired musicians for Guns N' Roses tours. They reunited for their 2012 induction into the Rock N' Roll Hall Of Fame. Rose, Slash and McKagan are part of the current touring Guns N' Roses. It doesn't look like they plan to record right now. It's amazing that Guns N' Roses are still around. Here's the video for Sweet Child O' Mine by Guns N' Roses.