AccuRadio Song Of The Day-The Monterey Quartet

Artist:The Monterey Quartet
Song:Minotaur
Album:Live At The 2007 Monterey Jazz Festival




The Monterey Jazz Quartet is a jazz supergroup put together for the 2007 Monterey Jazz Festival and the album was released on the festival's label. The band is actually a version of legendary bassist Dave Holland's usual touring band. But because the album is not on Holland's usual label ECM, fans might overlook it. Of course Holland is one of the all time jazz greats best known for his days with Miles Davis in the early 70s. But he's been recording as a leader for ECM since 1972. Sax player Chris Potter records as a leader but he has toured and recorded with Holland for a long time. Drummer Eric Harland is mostly a sideman for Holland and plenty of others. I guess the wild card is Cuban pianist Gonzalo Rubalcaba. From what I can tell, this is the only time Rubalcaba has recorded with Holland. This band played the festival. The show was recorded and released on the Monterey Jazz Festival's label and you can get it as a digital download. The songs all seem to be written for this show. Potter wrote Minotaur but it doesn't appear on any of his albums. And it also looks like this band played some other jazz festivals. The Monterey Quartet was always supposed to be a one shot deal. And because it was branded with the Monterey name, it's easy for fans of the musicians to overlook it. You won't find it in Dave Holland's discography. Not surprisingly, the music is great. Here's The Monterey Quartet performing Minotaur at the 2007 Newport Jazz Festival.

Karolina Kowalkiewicz vs Jodie Esquibel added to Oct. 21 UFC show

Last night UFC Europe announced on Twitter that Karolina Kowalkiewicz vs Jodie Esquibel has been added to UFC Fight Night 118 Oct. 21 at Ergo Arena in Gdansk, Poland. This show will air on Fox Sports 1 in the US and TSN in Canada. Apparently this fight is supposed to be the co-main event but a main event hasn't been announced. I expect that announcement very soon so tickets can be sold. Regular readers of this blog will know that I hate points fighters. This fight features two of the most notorious points fighters in women's MMA. I guess Tecia Torres is the worst points fighter. Karolina is 31 years old from Lodz, Poland. Her record is 10-2. After she lost her title shot, a win over Claudia Gadelha could have got her back into the title picture. Claudia's win sends Karolina back to mid card where she belongs. I never thought she was that good anyway. She's a striker with no power or ground game. She doesn't finish fights. But neither does Jodie. She is 31 years old with a 6-2 record. She trains at Jackson Wink in New Mexico. Most fans will be familiar with Jodie from Invicta. And she was also on TUF 23 but she lost in the first round. Like Karolina, Jodie doesn't finish fights. She's a striker with no power or ground game. Jodie was supposed to fight on last week's Invicta show for a belt. Now we know why she pulled out. I see this fight as three rounds of light sparring with a possible split decision. If Karolina loses, it will be her third loss in a row. Will she take risks to avoid that? I dunno. I guess it depends how things go. But I have never seen either fighter go for a takedown. I don't expect fighters to change styles. Most do what works for them even if it's not very effective.

AccuRadio Song Of The Day-Virginia De Luce

Artist:Virginia De Luce
Song:He Takes Me Off His Income Tax
Album:Great Broadway Shows





Virginia De Luce was a 40s pin up girl who became a blond bombshell in the 50s. Her most significant role was in the Broadway show New Faces Of 1952. She also appeared in the 1954 film version and the 1960 TV show. Then she retired and went into real estate. She was born Virginia Wilson Mar. 25, 1921 in San Francisco. She started out as a model and then became a WWII pin up girl. She appeared in a couple of movies like Cover Girl in 1944. But her greatest success was in the Broadway show New Faces Of 1952. Producer Leonard Sillman had done these new performer showcases since the 30s. This show ran for a year on Broadway and then it was turned into a 1954 film with the same cast. Stars include Eartha Kitt, Paul Lynde, Alice Ghostly, Robert Clary, Carol Lawrence and Ronny Graham. There's no story. The show is mostly songs and skits. Virginia is the obligatory blonde bombshell who introduces all the acts. She sings this song He Takes Me Off His Income Tax several times through the show. RCA released an original cast album. You can get it on this 4CD box set of original Broadway shows from Avid Records. It's available at a budget price. Virginia appeared on a few episodes of The Phil Silvers Show and The Jack Paar Tonight Show. After that she moved to Massachusetts and went into real estate. I'm not sure when she died but she is deceased. Here's Virginia De Luce performing He Takes Me Off His Income Tax several times on the 1960 TV show New Faces Of 1952.

AccuRadio Song Of The Day-Margareth Menezes

Artist:Margareth Menezes
Song:Elegibo
Album:Elegibo





Margareth Menezes is a dynamic singer who has had success in Brazil. Here in North America, she is probably best known for Elegibo which appeared on the soundtrack of the 1990 film Wild Orchid. She was born Oct. 13, 1962 in Salvador, Bahia, Brazil. The Bahia region of Brazil has a rich musical tradition and Margareth's music is reflective of that tradition. She started to play in clubs as a teen and she won some local awards. This got her a record deal with Polygram and an album was released in 1987. It was around that time that the producers of Wild Orchid were looking for music for the film. The film starred Mickey Rourke, Jacqueline Bisset and Carre Otis and directed by Zalman King who specialized in erotic films. They hired Sire Records and producer Andy Paley to compile the soundtrack. The film was shot in Brazil so they wanted some Brazilian music. Paley called his buddy Talking Heads leader David Byrne as he's a world music expert. He suggested the song Eligibo which was on Margareth's album. She also appears on two other songs. Among those who appear on the soundtrack are Israeli Ofra Haza and Trinidadian David Rudder. This was one of those cases where the soundtrack was better than the film. The film made a few bucks but was universally hated. Island's Mango label combined Margareth's first two albums into 1990's Elegibo. The album topped Billboard's World Music chart. She also toured with Byrne. The Wild Orchid soundtrack is out of print. But the album Elegibo is still available on CD. Mango released two albums and I don't think any of her other albums have been released outside Brazil. Her latest CD was released in 2010. Fans of Brazilian music should check her out. Here's the video for Elegibo by Margareth Menezes. Sorry about the poor video quality. This is what is out there.

AccuRadio Song of The Day-Henry Mancini

Artist:Henry Mancini
Song:Love Theme From Romeo And Juliet
Album:Midnight, Moonlight & Magic: The Very Best Of Henry Mancini




Henry Mancini is one of the greatest film composers in history. Occasionally his music would chart. He had one number one hit in his entire career. Was it Peter Gunn? I don't think Mancini's recording was ever released as a single. Ray Anthony's version was a top ten hit. Was it Moon River? Mancini's recording reached #11 and of course it is Andy Williams' signature song. Was it The Pink Panther? That reached #31 on the Billboard Hot 100. Mancini's only #1 hit was his 1969 recording of A Time For Us or Love Theme From Romeo And Juliet. The unusual thing was Mancini didn't write this song. It was composed for Franco Zeffirelli's 1968 film Romeo and Juliet by Nino Rota. Rota is a legend to film music fans. He is best known for scoring The Godfather and The Godfather Part II. Though it was unusual for Mancini to record other composers, it was not unprecedented. He was under contract to RCA Records for over twenty years. He recorded all kinds of albums. Love Theme From Romeo And Juliet is from the 1969 album A Warm Shade Of Ivory. The album is supposed to feature Mancini's piano stylings with an orchestra and chorus. Most of the songs were written by others including Windmills Of Your Mind and By The Time I Get To Phoenix. Love Theme From Romeo And Juliet was released as a single. It started getting airplay on easy listening radio and then it crossed over to pop despite objections from radio station program directors who thought it was too soft. The record topped the Billboard Hot 100 June 1969 and it topped the easy listening chart for two months. I'm sure no one was more surprised than Henry Mancini. You can get it on this budget comp. Mancini's other hit after this was his 1971 recording of Francis Lai's theme from Love Story which reached #13. But for the most part, Mancini returned to scoring film and TV and recording albums for RCA. Any chart success was gravy. Here's a video for Love Theme From Romeo And Juliet by Henry Mancini.

Big Bad Blog Video Theater-Marion Reneau vs Talita Bernardo

Here's the match video of Marion Reneau vs Talita Bernardo from yesterday's UFC show in Rotterdam, The Netherlands. This aired on The Fight Network in Canada and UFC Fight Pass everywhere else. Talita came in on short notice after Germaine De Randamie backed out. I thought the UFC might drop this to the prelims but they didn't. Apparently Marion is the first 40 year old female fighter. Anyone who reads this blog knows I am not a fan of older fighters. I have no problem with elite fighters of any age. Marion has too many flaws to be an elite fighter. One of those flaws almost cost her this fight. She was fortunate that Talita came in on short notice and she didn't have much of a gas tank. Because Talita won round one. Marion's biggest flaw is she gets off to slow starts. This seems to happen in all her fights. Talita took her down. She wasn't able to get a submission and by the end of round one, Talita was out of gas. So I scored round one 10-9 Talita but I knew she was through. We saw Talita's other problem in round two. As good as her BJJ is, Talita's standup is terrible. She can get away with that on the Brazilian regional circuit but not in the UFC. Marion isn't a great striker but she's better than Talita. Marion continued to control the fight in round three before she got a TKO stoppage with six seconds left in the fight. I'd like to see Talita after a full camp. But she needs to improve her striking and her defense or she will have problems. Marion's slow starts are a mental problem. She even acknowledged the problem in her post fight interview. It can be fixed and I'm sure her coach Doug Marshall wants to fix it. She needs to begin fights better if she wants to get anywhere. That's why her age is a problem because it's tough to teach an old dog new tricks and she's had this problem for a while. Marion wants a top ten ranked opponent. But she also said she never turns fights down. I'm sure UFC matchmaker Sean Shelby is well aware of that. Enjoy the video!

AccuRadio Song Of The Day-Black Sabbath

Artist:Black Sabbath
Song:War Pigs
Album:Greatest Hits 1970-1978




Black Sabbath are hard rock pioneers and one of the more durable of hard rock bands. But I think even their biggest fans will admit that the band wasn't the same after Ozzy Osbourne left in 1977. War Pigs is from the 1970 classic album Paranoid. The leader of Black Sabbath is guitarist Tony Iommi. After the band Mythology split up, Iommi and drummer Bill Ward formed the Polka Tulk Blues Band in 1968 with singer Ozzy Osbourne and bassist Geezer Butler. They added two guys and changed the name to Earth. When things weren't working out, Iommi split up the band and briefly joined Jethro Tull. When he didn't like that, he reformed Earth. But there was already a band called Earth. So they named themselves after the 1963 horror film Black Sabbath. The name change was a key thing because it evoked a certain image and the band wrote songs that reflected that. They signed with Philips who put them on Vertigo Records. After Black Sabbath appeared on John Peel's Top Gear radio show, they recorded the 1970 album Black Sabbath and signed with Warner Bros. in the US. Though it was panned by critics, the album reached #23 on the Billboard 200. They returned to the studio and recorded their next album. They wanted to call it War Pigs but Warners changed it to Paranoid. War Pigs turned out to be a very popular song. It mixes the band's usual satanism with anti war sentiment. Warners delayed the release until Jan. 1971 because the first album was still on the charts. Paranoid turned out to be their biggest selling album. And that was without any radio play or hit singles. From there, Black Sabbath continued to be successful until Osbourne left in 1977. He was not very happy and needed a change. He was eventually replaced by former Rainbow lead singer Ronnie James Dio. And I think most Black Sabbath fans would agree they were never the same after that. This Rhino budget comp covers the 70s. Black Sabbath continued for years until Iommi disbanded them for good in Mar. 2017. But it's their 70s albums that were influential on other hard rock bands. Here's Black Sabbath performing War Pigs at the Olympia Theater in Paris Dec. 22, 1970.

Big Bad Blog Video Theater-Lauren Mueller vs Kelly Velasco

Here's the match video of Lauren Mueller vs Kelly Velasco from this week's Dana White Tuesday Night Contender Series. This aired on UFC Fight Pass. Just a reminder these fighters are not only fighting each other but competing with the other fighters on the show for a UFC contract. This was the final show of this year's series. Kelly was supposed to fight Aussie Janay Harding. But she pulled out and Lauren came in with a week's notice. Lauren is 25 years old. She trains at Alliance in San Diego. Her record is 3-0. All her fights were for Gladiator Challenge. Kelly is from Oakdale, CA with a 2-1 record. She was supposed to fight at last night's Invicta show. Her husband trains her. Kelly is much taller than Lauren. But I thought Lauren looked in better shape. Her last fight was in July. And she was much quicker than Kelly. I thought Lauren gave a great performance. The only thing she didn't get was a finish. But she did get that UFC contract. I liked her and I look forward to seeing her in the Bantamweight division. Enjoy the fight!

AccuRadio Song Of The Day-Foxy

Artist:Foxy
Song:Get Off
Album:Get Off: The Best Of Foxy





Get Off was a top ten hit in 1978. This was at the end of the disco era. Foxy was the TK Records house band. But they also toured and that's how Get Off was born. The lead singer and guitarist of Foxy was Ish Ledesma. He was born Oct. 2, 1952 in Cuba but her grew up in Miami. Ledesma was a session guitarist at TK Records. That's him playing guitar on Gwen McRae's Rockin' Chair. But he wanted to form a band. And he convinced TK owner Henry Stone to let them record. Foxy's debut album was released in 1976. Other members were Kracker lead singer Carl Driggs, Charlie Murciano on keyboards, Arnold Paseiro on bass, Joe Galdo on drums and Richie Puente on percussion. He is the son of the legendary Tito Puente. All were TK session musicians. Foxy was playing a gig in Ocean City, MD. The band started chanting "Get Off" which of course has sexual overtones. The crowd joined in. But the club owner tried to get them to stop. Instead Ledesma and Driggs wrote Get Off and performed it the next night. They were thrown out of the club. But when Ledesma returned to Miami, he told Stone that Get Off could be a hit. So they recorded it. The background vocals are by the group Wildflower. And Ledesma does a lot of the talk box vocals which were popularized by Peter Frampton. Get Off topped the R&B Singles chart and reached #9 on the Billboard Hot 100. Their next single Hot Numbers was also a hit. By 1980 disco was starting to fade and Foxy disbanded. You can get all their hits on this comp. Ledesma released a solo album and got into production. He also led OXO who had the hit Whirly Girl in 1983 and Company B who had the hit Fascinated in 1987. He is still active in the Miami studio scene. Here's the video for Get Off by Foxy.

Yana Kunitskaya is the new Invicta Bantamweight Champion

Last night's Invicta FC 25 was at Tachi Palace in LeMoore, CA. Well, at least it wasn't in Kansas City. When Tonya Evinger left Invicta for the UFC, they decided to make Yana Kunitskaya vs Raquel Pa'aluhi for the vacant title. I don't have a big problem with it except I don't think either is an elite fighter. And remember Yana just lost a title match. I don't know what other choices there were. Raquel's history is she is a good but not great fighter. And she tends to come up short in big matches. Not surprisingly, that's what happened here. Yana pitched a shutout. She won 50-45 battering Raquel on the febce. Raquel was never a threat. The semi-main was supposed to be Livia Renata Sousa vs Jodie Esquibel for the vacant Strawweight title. But Jodie pulled out due to injury and Brazilian Janaisa Morandin was brought in for a non title match. Janaisa is 9-0. She was supposed to fight for Invicta a few months ago. But she missed weight and the match was cancelled. She is mostly a striker. But Livia is a BJJ whiz so I expected her to win easily and she did. She just didn't get a finish. In a Bantamweight match, German Katharina Lehner beat Alexa Connors by first round TKO. The only thing is that Katharina missed weight. In a Strawweight bout, wrestling whiz Sharon Jacobson was on top of Kali Robbins when Kali caught Sharon in an armbar at 42 seconds of round one. This is what makes MMA fun sometimes. In an Atomweight bout, Shino VanHoose beat Alyse Anderson by split decision. I missed most of this match as my wireless went down. I was watching on my HDTV via Roku. By the time it came back, the match was over. Based on what I saw, I don't think I missed anything. In a Bantamweight match, Sarah Kleczka beat Amberlynn Orr by split decision. It could have gone either way. I think I scored it 29-28 for Amberlynn. In a Welterweight match, Yaya Rincon beat Courtney King by second round TKO. Yaya comes from the same camp as Aspen Ladd. She has potential. In a Flyweight bout, Cheri Muraski beat Tracy Cortez by second round guillotine. Tracy started out OK but she was tired by the end of round one and that led to the finish. Cheri looks like a soccer mom. And in the opening match, Jillian DeCoursey beat Ashley Medina by split decision. I scored it 30-27 for Jillian. Ashley looked baffled at times. It may have been the jitters. So congratulations to the new Invicta Bantamweight Champion Yana Kunitskaya.

The Mae Young classic episode 4

Here's the video for episode 4 of The Mae Young Classic. The first match is Candice LaRae vs Renee Michelle. Candice is 31 years old. I remember seeing her when she was young and she wasn't very good. But she's improved a lot and she has a great babyface charisma. She's married to NXT's Johnny Gargano. Candice has worked all over the world. She isn't under contract but I would love to see her in NXT because she's a strong performer. Renee is 23 years old from Washington. She seems to work a lot for Maryland Championship Wrestling. She had a WWE tryout a few months ago. I wouldn't sign her based on this match. She seems tentative to me. Fortunately Candice more than made up for that. The match was fine and Candice won with her flying neckbreaker. Next is Lacey Evans vs Taynara Conti. You've probably heard about Lacey's military background. Eventually it will make a good story. To date she has been an NXT jobber. Taynara is from Brazil. And again the WWE believes Brazil is an emerging market so they sign local talent. Taynara trained in BJJ and she was supposed to fight MMA a few years ago but the fight was cancelled. She appeared on NXT TV once in a battle royal in May as Taynara Melo. Her real name is Taynara Carvalho. The match was OK. It was a good idea to keep it basic. It was the first time I have seen Lacey win. I could see her getting a push on NXT in the near future. Next is Nicole Savoy vs Reina Gonzales. Nicole is from Sacramento. She is mainly known for her work in SHIMMER. She is just returning from knee surgery. She's wearing a brace on her right knee. They sell her as the queen of suplexes. Reina is from Texas. Her father is Ricky Gonzales and she was trained by Rudy Boy Gonzales. She signed with the WWE last year and she also appeared in the May battle royal. She is a big girl. My impression of this match is Nicole came back too soon and you can see her knee is bothering her. So Reina is winning and Nicole pulls an armbar out of nowhere. The final match is the long awaited debut of Kairi Sane vs Tessa Blanchard. Of course Tessa is a third generation wrestler. She knows Kairi as Tessa has worked for STARDOM. But they never had a match. Kairi has become a tremendous performer. She wasn't very good when she first came to STARDOM through her modelling agency. That's when I first saw her. My only concern about her is she's suffered three concussions including one at these tapings. The crowd reaction to Kairi is similar to Asuka because they've watched her on video and everyone has seen the elbow drop. The match is great. It's the one first round match that you must watch. But Kairi's concussion history bothers me. She's the smallest girl in this tournament but there's no question she's a star. The next four episodes will air next week. Enjoy the video!
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Angela Magana vs Amanda Bobby Cooper added to Dec. 2 UFC show

Last night the UFC confirmed that Angela Magana vs Amanda Bobby Cooper has been added to UFC 218 Dec. 2 at Little Caesars Arena in Detroit. I think Amanda announced this match on Instagram. I expect this match to air on the UFC Fight Pass prelims. The fan reaction to this on Twitter is fans can't believe that Angela still works for the UFC. She hasn't won a fight since 2011. These days she's better known for posting inappropriate things on Twitter and incurring Cris Cyborg's wrath leading Cris punching Angela at the UFC fighter retreat in Las Vegas. Angela went to the police but it doesn't look like there will be assault charges laid. Angela has been around a long time. Her record is 11-8. She lives and trains in Thailand. But I think injuries slowed her down before she was part of TUF 20. I guess her over the top personality got her into the UFC. But her UFC record is 0-3. The last time we saw her she lost to Michelle Waterson July 2015. Amanda isn't much better. She's a Michigan native. Her record is 2-3 and she's 1-2 in the UFC. She has a fan following because of her looks. But I don't think she's a very good fighter. I didn't like her when she was in Invicta. Amanda lost to Tatiana Suarez in the TUF 23 final. Then she beat Anna Elmose who was promptly released. And then Amanda was choked out by the debuting Cynthia Calvillo in the first round. So both fighters could be on the chopping block.

AccuRadio Song Of The Day-The Sadies

Artist:The Sadies
Song:Pretty Polly
Album:Precious Moments





If you're a fan of roots music, you will want to check out The Sadies who are not only very versatile performers but they are frequently used as a backup band. They are also a second generation family band. The Sadies are from Toronto led by brothers Dallas and Travis Good. Their dad is Bruce Good who led The Good Brothers with brothers Brian and Larry Good. I saw them live back in the 70s. Other members of The Sadies are Sean Dean on bass and Mike Belitsky on drums. The Sadies were formed in 1994. They have toured extensively with Neko Case and The Mekons. They have also worked with Blue Rodeo, Gord Downie of The Tragically Hip and Bloodshot Records owner Jon Langford. So he gave them a record deal. Pretty Polly is from their 1998 debut album Precious Moments. Pretty Polly is a traditional English folk song that was popularized in bluegrass by Ralph Stanley and The Stanley Brothers. For the most part, The Sadies write their own songs but they also perform traditional folk and country songs. So they are very versatile which is why they are in demand as a backup band and they turn up in places you wouldn't expect. After a few albums for Bloodshot, The Sadies moved to Yep Roc and their latest CD Northern Passages was released in 2017. They also recorded an album with Gord Downie in 2014 and and an album with The Good Brothers in 2013. The Sadies are touring Western Canada in September. Check them out if they are coming your way. Here's The Sadies performing Pretty Polly and Sunset To Dawn in the City TV series The Neighbors Dog.

The Mae Young Classic episode 3

Here's the video for The Mae Young Classic episode 3. The first round continues and we begin with Toni Storm vs Ayesha Raymond. Toni is 21 years old. She is billed from Australia. She was born there but she lives in  Liverpool, England. She's worked for STARDOM the last couple of years so I have seen quite a few of her matches. For 21 years old, she's a very mature performer. She can go in the ring and she has natural charisma. She has "it", whatever that is. She is signed to the WWE but her STARDOM contract ends in October. She's in Japan now. Ayesha is 27 years old from England. She's 6 feet tall and she calls herself The Deadlift Diva. She was trained by Ricky Knight (Paige's dad) and she's been a wrestler since 2008. I hadn't seen her before but I didn't like her. As we'll see later in this show, size doesn't necessarily mean slow. And Ayesha is slow. Toni is very quick so that doesn't do Ayesha any favours. She heels it up and misses a top rope splash. Toni rolls her up for the win. Next up is Dakota Kai vs Kavita Devi. Dakota is from New Zealand and fans may have seen her as Evie in SHIMMER. She has that girl next door look. She signed with the WWE last year and this was her TV debut. Kavita is a powerlifter from India. This is more tokenism but this girl has no business being in the ring. Dakota tried to make her look good but it didn't work. Dakota won with a top rope double foot stomp. Next up is Bianca Belair vs Sage Beckett. When the WWE signs guys, they are looking for great athletes that can be taught to wrestle. That's why they go after college football players etc. It's a lot tougher with women which is why they sign a lot of dancers and cheerleaders. Bianca was a track star at the University of Tennessee. She's a great athlete. And she seems to be picking up wrestling. And I love the hair whip because that sets her apart. Sage is the wrestler formerly known as Rosie Lottalove. She trained at Team 3D. She retired in 2012 and returned in 2014 after losing over 100lbs. She signed with the WWE last year. I didn't like her. She's more experienced than Bianca but you wouldn't know that by watching this match. Bianca also has a lot of charisma. She could be a great heel. Bianca won with the hair whip followed by the spear. The final match is Piper Niven vs Santana Garrett. Piper is the Scottish wrestler better known as Viper. I've seen her in STARDOM. She moves well for her size. I'm not a big fan of this kind of wrestler because there's only so much that can be done with her. Santana grew up in wrestling. Her dad was a wrestler. I've seen her several times over the years. She worked for TNA and has also worked enhancement in NXT. She's OK but I don't like that she poses and flips her hair between moves. A woman wrestler once told me "Some wrestlers would rather look good than have a good match". That's Santana Garrett. The match is fine but I never thought Santana could win which is why she was chosen for this match. Piper finished with a senton and a Michinoku driver which was good. As I said, I saw her in STARDOM so I know she's versatile. I'll have episode four tomorrow. Enjoy the video!
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AccuRadio Song Of The Day-MFSB

Artist:MFSB f/The Three Degrees
Song:TSOP (The Sound Of Philadelphia)
Album:Love Is The Message: The Best Of MFSB




TSOP is probably best known as the theme for Soul Train. And the song topped the charts in 1974. MFSB was the Philadelphia International (PI) house band. They backed up everyone that recorded at Sigma Studios in Philadelphia. The name MFSB was Mother Father Sister Brother reflecting the spiritual beliefs of PI owners Kenny Gamble and Leon Huff. The album MFSB was released in 1972. It was mostly instrumental covers. A cover of Family Affair was released as a single but I don't think Gamble and Huff had any illusions about MFSB having a hit single. But then Don Cornelius approached Gamble about a new theme for Soul Train. And that was TSOP. You might wonder why there is no mention of Soul Train in the song. Cornelius later admitted that was his mistake and Soul Train was later added to the version that played on the show. The song was arranged and conducted by Bobby Martin who worked on many PI hits. The Three Degrees sing the vocals. Musicians are Leon Huff, Lenny Pakula, Eddie Green and Harold "Ivory" Williams on keyboards, Bobby Eli, Norman Harris, Reggie Lucas, Roland Chambers and TJ Tindall on guitar, Vincent Montana Jr. on vibes, Zach Zachary and Tony Williams on sax, Anthony Jackson and Ron Baker on bass, Earl Young, Karl Chambers and Norman Farrington on drums, Larry Washington on percussion and the Don Renaldo strings and horns. TSOP topped the Billboard Hot 100 in 1974. MFSB never had another big hit but some songs charted. You can get them all on this budget comp. Several of the musicians led by Earl Young left PI over money and went to Salsoul Records where they became The Salsoul Orchestra. Gamble and Huff simply replaced them and MFSB continued to record until 1980. Philadelphia International faded until closing in 1987. Here's MFSB featuring The Three Degrees performing TSOP (The Sound Of Philadelphia) on the 2008 PBS special The Sound Of Philadelphia Concert.

The Mae Young Classic episode 2

Here's the video for episode 2 of The Mae Young Classic as we continue with first round matches. The first match is Mercedes Martinez vs Xia Li. Mercedes is one of the most experienced and accomplished veterans in this tournament. She is mostly known for her long term association with SHIMMER but she's been everywhere. I'm glad she got into this tournament. Her opponent is Xia Li. The WWE has spent a lot of time in China recently. They just signed a new TV deal there. They had tryouts and Xia Li was one of the signees. She has a background in martial arts and she owns a fitness studio. She's a good athlete but new to pro wrestling. And this is her first TV appearance. So Mercedes is the perfect opponent for her. I think the match went well. Mercedes let Xia do a few things and then Mercedes put her away. That should show everyone what a real pro does. It's why I have been a big Mercedes Martinez fan for years. The second match on this show didn't go so well. It was Rachel Evers vs Marti Belle. Of course Rachel is Paul Ellering's daughter. She's appeared on NXT TV before. She's an OK wrestler. I didn't think she looked in great shape. Marti is best known for her days in TNA Impact but she's worked all over. I didn't think much of her when she worked for TNA. The reason she was in this tournament is she is billed from the Dominican Republic though she grew up in New York. And the WWE wants to make a big deal about this tournament having wrestlers from 13 countries. Based on this match, booking Marti was a big mistake. She's terrible. And she's been a pro wrestler since 2008. So it's not like she's inexperienced. In the past, there have been women wrestlers who get by on their looks and they never try to improve their ring skills. That's Marti Belle. Promoters will still hire her for her sex appeal. Velvet Sky is very similar to her. The rumour is Marti was supposed to win but that was changed during the match. I don't think Rachel knew Marti was that bad. Someone in management should have known. Next was Rhea Ripley vs Miranda Salinas. Rhea is 20 years old from Adelaide, Australia where she wrestled as Demi Bennett. She's tall (5'8"), she's athletic and she has a girl next door look. She also toured Japan in 2015. She worked mostly for Pro Wrestling Diana. She is under WWE contract. Miranda is from Houston. She trained at Booker T's Reality Of Wrestling. She had a WWE tryout a few months ago but I don't think she is signed. They must have thought she needed seasoning and based on this match, she still does. Rhea won in four minutes and she looked great. I look forward to seeing more of her. And the final match had Mia Yim vs Sarah Logan. Both are very experienced pro wrestlers. Mia has worked for just about everyone including several tours of Japan. She is probably best known as Jade in TNA Impact. She made the best of a bad situation. Mia has gotten a lot of publicity for speaking out about domestic abuse. That could get her a WWE contract. I have always liked her so that would be fine with me. Sarah is the wrestler best known as Crazy Mary Dobson. She's also been everywhere. She even trained in Japan with K-Dojo owner Taka Michinoku. She signed with the WWE last year. And at first she worked NXT under her real name Sarah Bridges. Now they have renamed her and given her this horrible Kentucky hillbilly gimmick. I hate, hate, hate this gimmick. I half expect Eric Weissberg's Dueling Banjos from Deliverance to play when she comes out. But she is a good wrestler. And so the match is very good and both wrestlers look good. Mia wins with the Eat Defeat. Stay tuned for episode three tomorrow enjoy the video!
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AccuRadio Song Of The Day-Rita Coolidge

Artist:Rita Coolidge
Song:All Time High
Album:The Collection





Rita Coolidge had some big hits in the 70s like her 1977 cover of the Jackie Wilson classic Higher and Higher. But I was not aware that All Time High was the theme for the 1983 James Bond film Octopussy. And if I don't know it maybe James Bond fans don't know it either. And there are collectors of anything James Bond. By 1983 Rita was at the end of her run. She left her long time label A&M in 1984 and she has rarely recorded since then. So if you think she was an odd choice for a Bond theme, you would be correct. The 1983 film Octopussy marked the return of long time Bond composer John Barry after Bill Conti scored the 1981 film For Your Eyes Only. Barry brought in Tim Rice to write the lyrics. They weren't planning to use the film's title in the theme song. Rice gave Barry six title choices and he chose All Time High. Rice was given a script and he watched some film footage to help him write the song. The original choice to sing the theme was British singer Mari Wilson. She had some success in England but she was unknown in the US so Bond producer Cubby Broccoli nixed her. Broccoli stated in Jan. 1983 that he was trying to get Laura Branigan who was popular at the time. Barry and Rice liked that choice. But then in March Broccoli announced that Rita Coolidge would sing the theme. Barry and Rice were surprised as they knew Rita was past her peak. But Broccoli's daughter Barbara Broccoli really liked Rita and she chose her. All Time High reached #36 on the Billboard Hot 100 and it did poorly in England. So it was not one of the more successful Bond themes. You can get it on this Rita Coolidge budget comp. But the Octopussy soundtrack is available on CD and it turns up on some James Bond music comps. Here's the video for All Time High by Rita Coolidge. Supposedly this was the first music video ever produced for a James Bond theme.

Viviane Pereira vs Tatiana Suarez added to Nov. 11 UFC show

It was reported today that Viviane Pereira vs Tatiana Suarez has been added to UFC Fight Night 120 Nov. 11 at the Ted Constant Convocation Center in Norfolk, VA. This show will air on Fox Sports 1 in the US and TSN in Canada. I expect this match to air on the prelims. Viviane is 24 years old from Fortaleza, Brazil. Her record is 13-0. She's 2-0 in the UFC but she hasn't been very impressive in either fight. Before she came to the UFC she was an XFC champ. Tatiana is 26 years old from Rancho Cucamonga, CA. Her record is 4-0. She won TUF 23. She was supposed to face Juliana Lima last Dec. but she dropped out due to injury. So we haven't seen her for a while. She was the only fighter from TUF 23 that I liked. The rest weren't very good. So I would expect Tatiana to win.

The Mae Young Classic episode 1

Here's the video of episode 1 of The Mae Young Classic. Because the WWE Network is on cable in Canada, this episode aired last night after RAW and the second episode will air tonight after 205 Live. I prefer to watch it this way on my HDTV. Before I get into this episode, I wanted to talk about the announcing. When they announced that Jim Ross and Lita would be the announcers, I thought it was a safe move and maybe they could have gone outside the box. Using JR seems to be a crutch at this point. Look, he's a legend but he doesn't know these wrestlers and he's going off of notes that are given to him. And I understand using a woman on this show but Lita just isn't very good and she had never done colour commentary before. So it didn't surprise me when JR said last week that they had to redo half of the commentary in Stamford. My preference would have been to have Renee Young do PBP. I have no problem with a woman broadcaster. I just don't think Lita is any good. And on colour, SHIMMER owner Dave Prazak was there. He knows all the wrestlers. Most of them have worked for him. He's an expert. Of course the problem is the WWE Women's Revolution should be called Women's Tokenism. Too bad the WWE doesn't know the difference. And I expect we'll see plenty of tokenism in this tournament. The first match is Kay Lee Ray vs Princesa Sugehit. Kay Lee is 25 years old from Scotland. Most fans have probably seen her in SHIMMER or SHINE. She's been all over the world. She is currently in Japan working for STARDOM. I don't think she is under WWE contract. She likes to do high flying even when it's not such a good idea. One problem is her accent is so thick she needs subtitles. Sugehit has been around for 20 years. And I guess this is an example of tokenism. Most Mexicans are under contract to CMLL or AAA. Sugehit is freelance and works for everyone. I'm sure Sarah Stock knows her well. She's an OK wrestler. I'm not as big on lucha libre as some. The match was fine but it wasn't anything special. Sugehit won with an armbar. I would have had Kay Lee win. The second match was Serena Deeb vs Vanessa Borne. Of course Serena left the WWE in 2010 for bad behaviour. So her appearance here is about redemption. After she left the WWE, Serena worked a program with Asuka for Smash in 2011. And then she retired in 2015 due to concussions and she now owns a yoga studio in Richmond, VA. I expect this to be her swan song. I don't think she wants to work a full schedule anyway. Vanessa has been on NXT first under her real name Daniele Kamela. They darkened her look and changed her name so she could work heel. She's a former Arizona Cardinals cheerleader. She can certainly talk. But as we see in this match, she's very rough in the ring. And Serena had ring rust. So the match is not that good and Serena wins with a spear. Next is Shayna Baszler vs Zeda. I think this was Zeda's first TV appearance. Her real name is Julia Ho. She was a model but she trained in BJJ and has a 2-0 amateur MMA record. Fortunately, Shayna is good enough to carry anyone. And the match was short. Of course Shayna is an MMA pioneer but she has really picked up pro wrestling. Of course she's pals with Ronda Rousey and we know this will lead somewhere. I don't know what she calls it but Shayna's finisher is pretty slick. And she is under contract as she is working house shows. The final match is Jazzy Gabert vs Abbey Laith. Of course Jazzy is the real name of the veteran German wrestler known as Alpha Female. The bottom line is she is a big girl. She's worked everywhere including a title run in STARDOM a couple of years ago. Apparently the WWE hasn't signed her to a contract. To be fair, she may not want to move to the US. Abbey is the wrestler formerly known as Kimber Lee. This is her first appearance with a new gimmick playing off her ballet training. I don't like the gimmick or her look at all. The booking is boneheaded. Supposedly Abbey was given Mae Young's finishing pin the Alligator Clutch. So they had her win with that despite Jazzy tossing her around like a sack of potatoes for most of the match. Ugh! The ending ruined the match. I have a feeling this may not be the last booking decision to piss me off. Stay tuned for episode two tomorrow. Enjoy the video!
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AccuRadio Song Of The Day-Mike Stern

Artist:Mike Stern
Song:Wing And A Prayer
Album:Between The Lines





Jazz guitarist Mike Stern started out as a sideman and he began to record as a leader in the 80s. He had a pretty good run on Atlantic including this 1996 album Between The Lines. He is respected by his peers for his technique. He recently had serious health problems due to a fall. But he has returned and is currently on tour. He was born Michael Sedgwick Jan. 10, 1953 in Boston. His cousin is actress Kyra Sedgwick so he's less than six degrees from Kevin Bacon. Stern grew up in Washington and attended Berklee. After graduation, he joined Blood, Sweat and Tears from 1976-78. Then he joined Billy Cobham's band in 1979. In 1981 he joined Miles Davis' band until John Scofield replaced him in 1983. Apparently Stern was drinking heavily and was addicted to heroin. Davis told him to go to rehab or leave. He worked with Jaco Pastorius when both guys were heavy drug users. Stern finally got clean with Michael Brecker's help. Stern signed a record deal with Atlantic and toured and recorded with Brecker in the late 80s. Stern recorded for Atlantic from 1986-2001 so he had a good run there. Wing And A Prayer is from Stern's 1996 album Between The Lines with his touring trio of Jeff Andrews on bass and Dave Weckl on drums. On sax is Bob Malach from the Bob Mintzer Big Band and Jim Beard played keyboards and produced the album. It was one of several Stern albums that was Grammy nominated. It's available as a budget CD. Since leaving Atlantic, he has recorded mostly for Heads Up Records. In 2012 Guitar Player Magazine gave Stern a Certified Legend award. On July 3, 2016, Stern tripped and fell while hailing a cab. He broke both arms and suffered nerve damage in his right hand. After two surgeries, he was able to play guitar again. He has to glue the guitar pick to his hand. Stern has been touring with trumpeter Randy Brecker and his new album Trip will be released Sept. 8. Those who are guitar technique fans will want to check out Mike Stern. Here's Mike Stern with Jeff Andrews and Dave Weckl performing Wing And A Prayer at the 1996 Nancy Jazz Festival in France.