Big Bad Blog Video Theater-Amanda Bobby Cooper vs Anna Elmose

Here's the match video of Amanda Bobby Cooper vs Anna Elmose from yesterday's UFC show in Ireland. Amanda was in TUF 23 and she lost in the final. She seems to have a loyal fan following. I've seen her a couple of times and I haven't been impressed with her. She's from Bath, MI. For this fight camp, she spent some time with Julianna Pena at Sik Jitsu in Spokane. Anna is from Denmark. she made her UFC debut as a Bantamweight and got splattered by Germaine De Randamie. She may be better as a Strawweight. The fight was reasonably entertaining and competitive. Round one was fairly even. Amanda scored with strikes and then Anna got a takedown near the end of the round and she probably stole the round. Amanda came back in round two and the fight was even. She continued to control Anna in round three. So I thought Amanda won 29-28 and the judges gave her a unanimous decision. This fight is worth a look. Enjoy the video!

Big Bad Blog Video Theater-Claudia Gadelha vs Cortney Casey

Here's the match video of Claudia Gadelha vs Cortney Casey from last night's UFC show in Sao Paulo, Brazil. After her loss to Joanna Jedrzejczyk, Claudia left her long time camp Nova Uniao. She opened her own gym in Philadelphia. For this match, she trained at Jackson Wink in New Mexico. Claudia is still one of the best Strawweights. But I need to see some improvement for her to get back in the title picture. Cortney is a decent fighter. But she's just not at Claudia's level. So it's one thing for Claudia to win this fight. But she needs to make a statement and she didn't really do that. Claudia won all three rounds easily. She could take Cortney down whenever she wanted. She outstruck her consistently. But she never came close to finishing the fight. And that's what I need to see from her. I don't think a unanimous decision win is a strong performance. Of course there was controversy when Claudia kicked Cortney in the head while she was down. I don't think it was deliberate. But she is known to be careless. The ref seemed confused and he probably should have taken a point from Claudia...but he didn't. It wouldn't have mattered as Claudia won 30-27 on all three scorecards. Enjoy the video!

AccuRadio Song Of The Day-Cher

Artist:Cher
Song:Gypsies, Tramps and Thieves
Album:Gold





One might think it was a no brainer to spin off Cher solo from Sonny & Cher. But nothing is ever that simple. Cher first recorded solo in 1964. Gypsies, Tramps and Thieves was her first number one hit in 1971. When Cher first met Sonny Bono, he wanted to produce her as a solo artist. But she suffered from stage fright and convinced him to perform with her. After a couple of failed singles as Caesar & Cleo, Cher signed with Imperial Records and All I Really Want To Do was a top 20 hit in 1965. Then Sonny & Cher signed with Atco Records and had a lot of success. Sonny attempted to keep Cher's solo career going and Bang Bang was a top five hit in 1966. But that was her only solo success. Then Sonny & Cher went into decline. Cher released the album Backstage in 1968. But it flopped and Imperial dropped her. Atco dropped Sonny & Cher but they signed Cher as a solo artist. They sent her to Muscle Shoals to record the 1969 album 3614 Jackson Highway. It flopped and Sonny hated the album. So it looked like they were through and they were having problems anyway. But then they put together a nightclub act where they bickered on stage. This got them the CBS variety show The Sonny & Cher Comedy Hour in 1971. It was very successful. Cher signed with Kapp Records. After her first single was unsuccessful, she was sent to Nashville to work with veteran producer Snuff Garrett. He produced Gypsies, Tramps and Thieves which topped the charts in 1971. The song was the biggest hit written by veteran recording engineer Bob Stone. This 2CD comp covers Cher's entire career. Of course everything came crashing down when Sonny and Cher divorced in 1974. And Cher would reinvent herself many times. Here's Cher performing Gypsies, Tramps and Thieves on a 1971 episode of The Sonny & Cher Comedy Hour.

Shocking title change saves lackluster Invicta FC20

Last night's Invicta FC20 was in that mausoleum in Kansas City that only makes a lackluster show look worse. Then they opened the broadcast with self congratulatory bullshit when the truth is Invicta would have closed two years ago if it wasn't for UFC Fight Pass. They bungled away any kind of broadcast deal. But you know what they say. A pat on the back is 18 inches from a kick in the pants. There were two main events on this show. Tonya Evinger defending her Invicta Bantamweight Championship against Russian Yana Kunitskaya who had never fought outside Europe. Obviously she never should have gotten a title shot in the first place. This is a repetitive Invicta mistake. Stop giving unknown fighters title shots. So Tonya takes Yana down and it looks like the end is near for Yana. But then Tonya makes a rookie mistake and gets caught in an armbar. She steps on Yana's face to try and escape. Ref Mike England tells her not to do that which was an incorrect call and then she taps out. Your new champ is Yana Kunitskaya. Afterwards, Tonya blamed England. But it just shows you that even great fighters can make really dumb mistakes. I'm expecting a rematch. In the other title match, Angela Hill defended he Invicta Strawweight Championship against Kaline Medeiros, a Brazilian living in Boston. So the problem here was Alexa Grasso went to UFC. MIZUKI blew out her knee. Kaline won her two Invicta fights over mediocre competition. She's not an ideal title challenger. And that's the way the fight played out. Kaline wasn't good enough. She tried but it wasn't happening. Angela won an easy unanimous decision. On to the rest of the show. Former Invicta Atomweight Champion Herica Tiburcio won by unanimous decision over Simona Soukupova. Herica is a more energetic fighter. I've never liked Simona anyway. Ashley Yoder missed weight and then won over Amber Brown with a second round armbar. Amber is an Atomweight who should not fight at Strawweight. The size difference was the deciding factor. Pam Sorenson won by unanimous decision over Jessy Jess Clark. This was a terrible fight. JJ Aldrich won by unanimous decision over Lynn Alvarez. JJ was more aggressive. Alexa Connors won by split decision over overhyped Swiss fighter Stephanie Egger. The fight should have been stopped during round three. Alexa was hammering Stephanie when ref Mike England briefly stopped the fight because Stephanie lost her mouthpiece. We all thought the fight was over. Just a terrible blunder. And in the opener, Miranda Maverick won over Samantha Diaz by a first round rear naked choke. This fight was at Strawweight. Miranda missed weight and she should be a Flyweight. You learn nothing about a fighter from that kind of mismatch. On the whole I thought the show was lackluster.

AccuRadio Song Of The Day-Better Than Ezra

Artist:Better Than Ezra
Song:King Of New Orleans
Album:Greatest Hits




Better Than Ezra never had a big hit single. But they had success in the alternative rock market in the mid-90s. They may have got lost in the shuffle of similar bands. Better Than Ezra was formed in New Orleans in 1988. All four members were attending Louisiana State University. There was lead singer, guitarist and main songwriter Kevin Griffin, lead guitarist Joel Rundell, bassist Tom Drummond and drummer Cary Bonnecaze. They won't reveal the meaning of the band's name. Drummond once told a reporter the origin of the name is so lame you wouldn't want to print it. They released a demo on cassette in 1990. But then Rundell committed suicide on Aug. 8, 1990. Better Than Ezra continued as a trio. They released the CD Deluxe independently in 1993. That got them a record deal with Elektra. Elektra re-released Deluxe and the single Good topped the Modern Rock chart. It reached #30 on the Billboard Hot 100. It's probably their biggest hit single. Deluxe was certified Platinum. Bonnecaze left and he was replaced by Travis McNabb. King Of New Orleans was the first single from the 1996 album Friction, Baby. Both charted but weren't a successful as the first album. Better Than Ezra released three albums on Elektra. Then Elektra dropped them due to declining sales. This comp covers their Elektra recordings. Better Than Ezra signed with Beyond Records. But by the time their CD Closer was ready for release, Beyond was having financial problems and they closed. Better Than Ezra is still around. Their last CD was released in 2014. They tour and Griffin tours solo playing off his success as a songwriter. But I think it's fair to say that Better Than Ezra's mid-90s run was a little disappointing. Here's the video for King Of New Orleans by Better Than Ezra.

AccuRadio Song Of The Day-Robin Ward

Artist:Robin Ward
Song:Wonderful Summer
Album:The Best Of The Girl Groups Volume 2





Wonderful Summer was a top 20 hit in 1963. Dot Records tried to sell that the singer was a teen. But the singer was actually veteran session singer Jackie Ward. It's a long story. Jackie was born in Hawaii in 1941 and she grew up in Nebraska. Her dad was in the US Air Force. Jackie and her sisters sang together. After winning a talent contest, they moved to Los Angeles. She sang on KTLA's TV show Bandstand Revue and after that got into singing demos and that led to studio work. That was Jackie singing backup vocals on the 1962 Pat Boone hit Speedy Gonzales. Producer Perry Botkin Jr. had Jackie sing a demo of Wonderful Summer. Botkin wrote the song with Gil Garfield. Botkin liked Jackie's performance so much he decided to release it as a single. He added some sound effects and Jackie suggested releasing it as Robin Ward after her daughter so listeners would think the singer was a teen. The record reached #14 on the Billboard Hot 100. Robin Ward recorded an album but it didn't sell. It's available on CD but it's expensive. Most fans will only want Wonderful Summer and you can get it on this Rhino various artists comp. Jackie Ward had a long career as a studio singer. She sang on variety shows like Red Skelton and Danny Kaye. She was part of a group of singers led by Ron Hicklin who sang on hundreds of movies and TV shows. For example, they were the backup singers on The Partridge Family records. Also, she was a regular with Anita Kerr and Ray Coniff. And she dubbed her singing voice in movies for actresses like Natalie Wood, Janet Leigh and Linda Evans. So that studio work was Jackie's bread and butter. Wonderful Summer was a brief detour. Here's a video of Wonderful Summer by Robin Ward.

AccuRadio Song Of The Day-Jessy J

Artist:Jessy J
Song:The Tango Boy
Album:My One And Only One





Not to be confused with British pop singer Jessie J, this Jessy J is a sax player. She started out as a sideman and session musician and then she started recording as a leader a few years ago. She has had success in the Smooth Jazz market. My One And Only One is her latest album. She was born Jessica Arellano Dec. 20, 1982 in Portland, OR and she grew up in Hemet, CA. Her father is Mexican. She started out playing piano and as a teen, she took up the sax. She earned a degree in jazz studies at the University of Southern California. Then she started out as a studio musician and she toured with The Temptations, Jessica Simpson and Michael Bolton. She also starred in the touring company of the off-Broadway musical Blast!. So now she wants a record deal and one of her demos got the attention of Paul Brown. Brown is a Smooth Jazz guitarist himself. But he is mainly a producer. He took her on tour. Then he signed her to Concord's Peak label and he produced her 2008 album Tequila Moon. They decided to call her Jessy J. The J is foe Jazz. Brown continues to work with Jessy today. They write most of her songs and he plays guitar on her albums. Jessy now records for Shanachie. My One And Only One is her latest CD. A new Christmas CD California Christmas will be released next week. Jessy is currently on tour and I know she appears in Mexico frequently because she is half Mexican. I think Jessy has the talent to be a real jazz musician. But the Smooth Jazz market is very lucrative especially for an attractive girl like Jessy. Here's the video for The Tango Boy by Jessy J.

AccuRadio Song Of The Day-Florin Niculescu

Artist:Florin Niculescu
Song:Opportunity
Album:Florin Niculescu Plays Stephane Grappelli




Fans of legendary jazz violinist Stephane Grappelli may want to check out Romanian violinist Florin Niculescu. He has been part of a couple of Django Reinhardt tribute acts and now he has recorded a few albums as a leader. He was born Feb. 8, 1967 in Bucharest, Romania. His father taught him to play violin. Niculescu heard Grappelli at age 13, And since then he has tried to emulate Grappelli's style. In 1991, Niculescu moved to Paris hoping to meet Grappelli and establish his own career. He did attend school but his teachers told him he would be better off on stage. Then he met Grappelli in 1994. Grappelli was so impressed with Nicolescu that he wanted to record with him. But Nicolescu didn't think he was worthy. So he started working with guitarist Romane and his band New Quintet Du Hot Club De France and Bireli Lagrene's Gypsy Project. He has recorded a few CDs as a leader. Florin Niculescu Plays Stephane Grappell was released in 2008. Musicians include Peter Beets on piano, Darryl Hall on bass and Bruno Ziarelli on drums with guest guitarists Marc Fosset and Christian Escoude. Recently Niculescu has concentrated on session work. Here's Florin Niculescu with Thuryn Michell on piano, Samuel Hubert on bass and Bruno Ziarelli on drums performing Opportunity at the 2010 Queen Violin Festival in Moldavie.

Rin Nakai, Syuri get easy wins at PANCRASE 282

Rin Nakai and Syuri both appeared on Sunday's PANCRASE 282 at Differ Ariake. The show aired live on UFC Fight Pass. I did not watch the show live but I did watch both fights yesterday. Both fights suffered from the same problem. The original opponents pulled out and not surprisingly, the late replacements were terrible. Syuri's opponent was Sharma Debaia of The Philippines. She looked out of shape and out of her league. Syuri did so much stuff to her that the stoppage was probably late. I think Syuri has potential. But it's hard to tell against an opponent like this. Afterwards, Syuri applied the Cobra Twist on PANCRASE owner Masakazu Sakai as a gag. Syuri is very loyal to him as he started her in the business when he owned Hustle and she also worked for him when he owned SMASH. Obviously I would like to see her fight better opposition. When Rin's original opponent pulled out, she was replaced by Charlene Watt from New Zealand. Charlene usually works the Australian regional circuit. After Charlene tried a head kick, Rin took her down and pounded her until the ref stopped the fight midway through round two. It's what I expected. Afterwards, it was announced that Rin will fight Kanako Murata at the RIZIN New Year's Eve show. Kanako asked for the match after the last RIZIN show. She's probably not ready for Rin. And Kanako normally fights at Strawweight. This fight will be at Flyweight. If Rin can get off to a quick start, she should be able to overpower Kanako. Look at those arms. I like Kanako but I don't like the match.

AccuRadio Song Of The Day-Xscape

Artist:Xscape
Song:Who Can I Run To
Album:Super Hits





Though Xscape only recorded three albums, they scored a total of six top ten hits in the 90s including this cover of the 70s song Who Can I Run To. Xscape were from Atlanta. Sisters LaTocha and Tamika Scott grew up singing in their dad's church. They met the other members of Xscape at the Tri Cities performing arts high school. There was Kandi Burruss, Tamera Coggins-Wynn and Tameka "Tiny" Cottle. Tameka's dad and uncle were in The Tams. Tamera left the group. In 1991, Xscape were discovered by producer Jermaine Dupri while performing at a Martin Luther King festival. They signed with his So So Def label. Their 1993 debut album Hummin' Comin' At 'Cha was certified Platinum and the single Just Kickin' It reached #2 on the Billboard Hot 100. Who Can I Run To is from the 1995 album Off The Hook which was also certified Platinum. It reached #8 on the Billboard Hot 100. Who Can I Run To was recorded by The Jones Girls in 1979 but it was not a hit at the time. Xscape continued to have success with the 1997 album Traces Of My Lipstick. Then LaTocha Scott went solo and the rest of the group went on hiatus. An attempt to reform Xscape in 2005 was unsuccessful. You can get all their hits on this budget comp. Kandi Burruss has had a lot of success as a songwriter. She also stars on the reality show The Real Housewives Of Atlanta. The other three have had modest success at best. Here's the video for Who Can I Run To by Xscape.

AccuRadio Song Of The Day-David Soul

Artist:David Soul
Song:Don't Give Up On Us
Album:Don't Give Up On Us: The Very Best Of David Soul



David Soul is best known as the star of the 70s TV series Starsky & Hutch. But he also topped the charts here and in England with Don't Give Up On Us in 1976. It was his only hit here but he did better in England and Soul moved there in the 90s. Soul started out as a singer. He was born David Solberg Aug. 28, 1943 in Chicago. His father was a Lutheran minister and the family moved around a lot to places like Germany and Mexico. He could have been a baseball player. Soul turned down a contract with the Chicago White Sox to study political science at the University of the Americas in Mexico City. But then he got the music bug and moved back to the US. He got some notoriety appearing on The Merv Griffin Show as The Covered Man. He sang while wearing a mask. He released a couple of singles on MGM. The gimmick didn't help. But Soul signed with Columbia Pictures and he starred in the TV series' Here Comes The Brides and Owen Marshall, Counselor At Law. Then he starred in Starsky & Hutch and I think everyone knows him from that. But he still wanted to sing. So he signed with Private Stock Records. His 1976 album David Soul didn't sell. But then for his second album Playing To An Audence Of One, he went to England to work with legendary producer Tony Macaulay. Macaulay wrote and produced hits for groups like The Foundations and Edison Lighthouse. He wrote and produced Don't Give Up On Us and it topped the charts. It turned out to be his only hit in the US. Some of his other songs were hits in England. Soul continued to appear on TV. But he was never able to repeat the success of Starsky & Hutch. In the 90s, Soul moved to England and mostly appeared in live theater. He still turns up on TV occasionally. This 2CD budget comp covers Soul's 70s recordings. Here's the video for Don't Give Up On Us by David Soul.

Big Bad Blog Video Theater-Lix Carnouche vs Katlyn Chookagian

Here's the match video of Liz Carnouche vs Katlyn Chookagian from last night's UFC show. Remember when Liz was on the main event of UFC 157. It's quite a drop to UFC Fight Pass. And she has been off for a while with injuries. Katlyn is from New Jersey. So this is like a home game for her. She won her UFC debut over Lauren Murphy. Or I guess she didn't lose. Neither fighter was very good. For the first two rounds of this fight, Katlyn does very little. Liz is able to take her down and sit on her. It was enough to win the first two rounds. Finally she wakes up in round three and nails Liz. But she needs a finish and doesn't get it. I scored the fight 29-28 for Liz. The judges gave the win to Liz by split decision. Both of them tried to give the fight away and it wasn't very good. Enjoy the video!

Big Bad Blog Vdeo Theater-Raquel Pennington vs Miesha Tate

Here's the match video of Raquel Pennington vs Miesha Tate from last night's UFC show. Miesha is looking for a win to get her back into the title picture. Raquel has won her last two fights and is looking to get into the title picture. Miesha just seemed off during this fight. It was like she was a step behind Raquel through all three rounds. Raquel never came close to a finish. But she won an easy unanimous decision. And then Miesha announced her retirement. I guess she decided before the match that she would only continue if she won. I suggested last night that she probably doesn't want to be a gatekeeper. I think it's a great decision. Too many fighters hang on too long to fading careers. She accomplished a lot, including holding the UFC Bantamweight Championship, and now she wants to move on. Good luck to her. Enjoy the video!

Big Bad Blog Video Theater-Joanna Jedrzejczyk vs Karolina Kowalkiewicz

Here's the match video of Joanna Jedrzejczyk defending her UFC Strawweight Championship against fellow Pole Karolina Kowalkiewicz. The big news leading up to this fight is that Joanna moced from her home in Poland to American Top Team in Coconut Creek, FL. Joanna has wanted to move to the US for a while mostly to get better endorsement opportunities. I'm not exactly sure what Mike Brown can do to improve her fighting style. Karolina is a striker similar to Joanna but she's just not at the same level. I thought Joanna would win easily. And it was except for one moment in round four when Karolina staggered Joanna with a punch straight in the mush. I've seen several of Karolina's fights and I've never seen her land a punch that hard. Even a blind squirrel finds a nut sometimes. It was enough for me to give her that round. But other than that, she couldn't do much with Joanna. So I scored the fight 49-46 for Joanna. Joanna outclassed her in all areas. So who's next for Joanna? I'm looking at you, Jessica Andrade. They actually used to train together and they had the same manager. But Joanna has distanced herself from Jessica since Jessica moved to Strawweight expecting to fight her down the road. One more win for Jessica and we might see this fight. Enjoy the video!

AccuRadio Song Of The Day-Gene Nelson

Artist:Gene Nelson w/Gloria Grahame
Song:All Er Nuthin'
Album:Oklahoma! Original Motion Picture Soundtrack




Gene Nelson was a dancer somewhat similar to Gene Kelly. But Nelson was never a star and in the 60s he worked behind the scenes. His role as Will Parker in Oklahoma was probably his most memorable role. He was born Leander Eugene Berg Mar. 24, 1920 in Astoria, OR and he grew up in Seattle and went to high school in Los Angeles. He attended the Fanchon and Marco dancing school. After graduating high school, he toured with figure skater Sonia Henie and appeared in a couple of her films. While in the US Signal Corps during WWII, Nelson appeared in Irving Berlin's all star extravaganza This Is The Army. He made his Broadway debut in the 149 show Lend An Ear. Then he signed with Warner Bros. and starred with Doris Day in the 1951 musical Lullaby On Broadway. I guess Warners didn't like him much and they dropped him in 1955. So Nelson turned to TV. Meanwhile he was cast as Will Parker in Oklahoma. All Er Nuthin' is one of Nelson's two big numbers. He returned to TV. But a horse riding accident forced Nelson to the sidelines and he became a director. He directed a few films like the Elvis Presley films Kissin' Cousins and Harum Scarum. But mostly he worked on TV. He returned to Broadway for the 1971 show Follies. Then he returned to TV. It looks like he retired in the 80s to teach at San Francisco State University. Gene Nelson died on Sept. 16, 1996 at age 76. Here's Gene Nelson with Gloria Grahame performing All Er Nuthin' from the 1956 film Oklahoma.

AccuRadio Song Of The Day-Brian Courtney Wison

Artist:Brian Courtney Wilson
Song:All I Need
Album:Just Love: Deluxe Edition





Brian Courtney Wilson gave up a secure job as a pharmaceutical salesman for a career in gospel music. All I Need was his first hit in 2009. And since then he has done well. He was born in Chicago and grew up singing at the Rock of Ages Baptist Church. After graduating from the University of Illinois, Wilson worked for Johnson & Johnson as a pharmaceutical salesman while singing on the side. Wilson moved to Houston and he was introduced to Matthew Knowles. That's right, Beyonce's dad. Knowles owns Music World Music and he was signing mostly gospel artists. Knowles listened to Wilson and signed him. His 2009 debut CD Just Love was produced by Stan Jones who has produced The Canton Spirituals. Jones also wrote All I Need which was Wilson's breakthrough single. You can get Just Love in a Deluxe Edition with bonus DVD. It's available as a budget CD. Wilson went on to release a 2012 CD So Proud and he was also part of the United Tenors with Fred Hammond, Dave Hollister and Eric Roberson. Wilson left Music World for Motown Gospel and his latest CD Worth Fighting For was released Jan. 2015. He is still working with Stan Jones. All of Wilson's albums have done well on the Gospel charts and gospel fans should check him out. Here's the video for All I Need by Brian Courtney Wilson.

AccuRadio Song Of The Day-The Four Seasons

Artist:The Four Seasons
Song:December, 1963 (Oh, What A Night)
Album:The Very Best Of Frankie Valli and The Four Seasons




The British Invasion killed most doo wop influenced vocal groups in the mid-60s. But it didn't affect The Four Seasons much as they continued to score plenty of hits. The late 60s change to socially conscious lyrics and psychedelia is what killed them. Bob Gaudio didn't seem to know what to do. The 1967 Frankie Valli solo hit Can't Take My Eyes Off You should have pointed Gaudio in the right direction. But he was reluctant to abandon The Four Seasons for Valli as a solo act and chart success was drying up. Gaudio even tried a concept album with The Genuine Imitation Life Gazette. But it didn't work and The Four Seasons left Philips in 1970. They signed with Motown's new Mowest label for the 1972 album Chameleon. But it didn't sell and Motown refused to release their second album. So they signed two new record deals. Valli signed with Private Stock Records and had success with My Eyes Adored You. The Four Seasons signed with Curb Records distributed by Warner Bros. They scored hits with the disco influenced Who Loves You which reached #3 on the Billboard Hot 100 and then December, 1963 which topped the charts in 1975. Bob Gaudio wrote the song with wife Judy Parker. The lead vocals were by drummer Gerry Polci and bassist Don Ciccone. Valli sang the bridge. Though The Four Seasons would continue to record in the 80s, December, 1963 was their final number one hit. Here's the video for December, 1963 (Oh, What A Night) by The Four Seasons.

AccuRadio Song Of The Day-Santino Fontana and Laura Osnes

Artist:Santino Fontana and Laura Osnes
Song:Ten Minutes Ago
Album:Rodgers & Hammerstein's Cinderella: Original Broadway Cast Recording




Santino Fontana and Laura Osnes both got Tony nominations for starring in the 2013 Broadway production of Cinderella. This was the first time this show was ever produced for Broadway. Remember it was a TV show. Laura Osnes was hired to play Cinderella. She was born Nov. 19, 1985 in Burnsville, MN. Laura moved to New York in 2008. She starred as Bonnie Parker in the 2011 musical Bonnie & Clyde. She has also appeared in South Pacific and Anything Goes. Cinderella was her biggest role to date and she was nominated for a Tony. She also has recorded a couple of albums. In 2017, Laura will return to Broadway with the new musical The Bandstand. It is currently in previews in New Jersey. Fontana was born Mar. 21, 1982 in Stockton, CA. On Broadway, he appeared in Billy Elliot and then he was hired to play Prince Topher in Cinderella. He was nominated for a Tony. Fontana also played Prince Hans in the 2013 Disney animated film Frozen. He is currently a regular on the CW series Crazy Ex-Girlfriend. He had a recurring role on the NBC series Shades Of Blue. So it looks like he is moving away from the stage to films & TV. Here's Santino Fontana and Laura Osnes performing Ten Minutes Ago in Central Park in New York for The New York Times June 2013.

New opponent named for Rin Nakai's Nov. 13 fight.

Rin Nakai, Charlene Watt

On this Sunday's PANCRASE show at Differ Ariake, Rin Nakai was supposed to face Brazilian Priscila de Souza. Last week I heard that Priscila was forced to pull out due to injury. Today PANCRASE announced that New Zealander Charlene Watt will take her place. Charlene is 29 years old from Hamilton, New Zealand. Her record is 6-2 in the Australian regional circuit. She is the XFC Australia Flyweight Champion. In her last fight, she lost to Faith Van Duin on the June 17 BRACE show in New Zealand. This was her first fight at Bantamweight. It didn't say in PANCRASE's press release what weight class this fight will be in. It probably doesn't matter much. This is a big step up in competition for Charlene. It will be her first fight outside the Australian regional circuit and the competition level is very low. Rin shouldn't have any trouble with her.

AccuRadio Song Of The Day-Lord Invader

Artist:Lord Invader
Song:New York Subway
Album:Calypso In New York





I think many have heard some calypso music but know very little about the artists. Lord Invader was a pioneer of calypso. He started out in the 30s and then moved to New York in the 40s. He was born Rupert Westmore Grant Dec. 13, 1914 in San Fernando, Trinidad. He first recorded for Bluebird and Decca in the late 30s. He first went to New York in 1941. Probably Lord Invader's best known song was Rum and Coca Cola. Comedian Morey Amsterdam heard the song while he was on a USO tour and he took credit for writing it and it was a smash it for The Andrews Sisters in 1945. Lord Invader moved to New York so he could sue Amsterdam. He won the lawsuit and he remained in New York. And that's why a lot of his songs talk about being a fish out of water in New York City. On the 1958 recording New York Subway, he talks about getting lost on the subway. Everyone can relate to that. He maintained a residence in Trinidad and he owned a club there. In the 50s, Lord Invader recorded for Smithsonian Folkways. And they have released this comp. it's worth checking out. Lord Invader died on Oct. 15, 1961 at age 56. Here's a video for New York Subway by Lord Invader.