AccuRadio Song Of The Day-Ibibio Sound Machine

Artist:Ibibio Sound Machine

Song:Let's Dance (Yak Inek Unek)

Album:Ibibio Sound Machine

Ibibio Sound Machine combines electronic dance music (EDM) with Afrobeat influences. The 2014 single Let's Dance was a hit in London clubs. They were formed in 2010 by British producers Max Grunhard, Leon Brichard and Benji Bouton. All three guys had worked with other dance music acts. They wanted the group to be influenced by 80s Afrobeat. They brought in singer Eno Williams who grew up in London but her parents are from Nigeria. She worked with Grunhard in the group Konkoma. The other key member is former Osibisa guitarist Alfred Bannerman. Their 2014 debut album was released on Soundway. When Let's Dance was a hit they were able to get a deal with the much larger Merge label. They have released two albums on Merge. The other two founding members left so Grunhard is the group leader now. Their music is different from the standard EDM so it may be worth checking out. Here's the video for Let's Dance (Yak Inek Unek) by Ibibio Sound Machine.

AccuRadio Song Of The Day-Big Maceo

Artist:Big Maceo

Song:Worried Life Blues

Album:The Bluebird Recordings 1941-1942

Though the piano style of Big Maceo Merriweather has been influential, it's likely he would have been more popular if he didn't die prematurely. Worried Life Blues is his best known song. He was born Major Merriweather Mar. 31, 1905 in Newman, GA. He moved to Detroit in the 20s and then to Chicago in 1941. He met Tampa Red who introduced him to Bluebird Records head Lester Melrose. Worried Life Blues was Big Maceo's first recording. It was a big enough hit that Maceo recorded for Bluebird until 1945. Then he suffered a stroke in 1946. He attempted to continue but he died on Feb. 23, 1953 at age 47. This CD has Big Maceo's early Bluebird recordings. Big Maceo was inducted into the Blues Hall of Fame in 2002. He would have been a much bigger deal if he hadn't suffered that stroke. Here's a video for Worried Life Blues by Big Maceo. 

AccuRadio Song Of The Day-The Treniers

Artist:The Treniers

Song:Say Hey (The Willie Mays Song)

Album:The Essential Treniers: The Okeh Years

Here's a great novelty song that generated interest when Ken Burns used it in his documentary series Baseball. The Treniers were an excellent R&B group that started out in the late 40s. They were led by twin brothers Cliff and Claude Trenier. They were born July 14, 1919 in Mobile, AL. Claude joined Jimmie Lunceford's band in 1943 followed by Cliff. They left the Lunceford band in 1947 and recorded for Mercury as The Trenier Twins. They were backed by Gene Gilbeaux on piano and Don Hill on alto sax. Older brother Buddy Trenier joined in 1949 and they called themselves The Rockin' Rollin' Treniers. I would describe their music as jump blues very similar to Louis Jordan. The Treniers were known for their lively stage show. Their biggest hit was Go! Go! Go! in 1951. It reached #10 on the hit parade. But Say Hey is probably their most memorable song today because it appeared in Ken Burns Baseball. You can get everything on this comp available as a digital download. The Treniers continued to perform. Cliff died in 1983 and Claude died in 2003. Here's a video for Say Hey (The Willie Mays Song) by The Trdniers.

Big Bad Blog Video Theater-Cortney Casey vs Liana Jojua

Here's the match video of Cortney Casey vs Liana Jojua from yesterday's UFC show in Las Vegas. This match is at Flyweight. Cortney has been in the UFC for a few years. She has had mixed results and may be on the chopping block. She trains at MMA lab in Phoenix. Liana is from Georgia in Russia. She is now training at Syndicate MMA in Las Vegas. She's 1-2 in the UFC and she missed weight for this fight. Cortney dominated round one to the point that it might have been a 10-8. She continued to dominate and won easily. It doesn't make me think Cortney can be a contender.

Big Bad Blog Video Theater-Andrea Lee vs Cynthia Calvillo

Here's the match video of Andrea Lee vs Cynthia Calvillo from yesterday's UFC show in Las Vegas. This fight is at Flyweight. Cynthia was a late replacement for Jessica Eye. She got hammered in her last fight. Andrea has been a lot better since training at Fortis MMA in Houston. Her boyfriend is UFC fighter Tony Kelley. He is helping her out and was in her corner. Andrea looked better in this fight than we have ever seen her. Cynthia's corner pulled the plug between round two and three. Don't know why but she was getting hammered. If Andrea keeps this up she could be a contender very soon. 

Big Bad Blog Video Theater-Felicia Spencer vs Leah Letson

Here's the match video of Felicia Spencer vs Leah Letson from yesterday's UFC show in Las Vegas. This fight is at Featherweight. Felicia is from Montreal but she trains at The Jungle in Orlando. She is on a three fight losing streak. Leah is from Milwaukee. She was in TUF 28 but due to injuries she hasn't fought since 2018. She was never able to get on track. Felicia got her in the clinch, hammered her with elbows until she got a late third round finish. Easy win for Felicia. 

AccuRadio Song of The Day-Saxophone Summit

Artist:Saxophone Summit

Song:Our Daily Bread

Album:Seraphic Lignt

Telarc Records put Saxophone Summit together as a John Coltrane tribute. The idea was to assemble four of the best sax players in jazz. When Saxophone Summit first played in Japan in 1997, the band was Joshua Redman, Mike Brecker, Dave Liebman and George Garzone filling in for Joe Lovano who had to cancel at the last minute. After a week long engagement at Birdland in New York City, there was a lot of demand for Saxophone Summit. And Telarc wanted an album. But these guys are so busy, it's difficult to assemble them. Finally they toured Europe and recorded the 2004 album Gathering of Spirits. By this time the band was Lovano, Leibman and Brecker. After Brecker's 2007 death, Lovano decided to keep Saxophone Summit together. For the 2008 album Seraphic Light, John Coltrane's son Ravi Coltrane was brought in which is appropriate because the group is a tribute to Coltrane. Lovano wrote Our Daily Bread. But as he said in the EPK, the song is based on Coltrane's Dear Lord. Lovano plays tenor sax. Coltrane plays soprano sax. Leibman plays flute. Other musicians are Phil Markowitz on piano, Cecil McBee on bass and Billy Hart on drums. The album is dedicated to Mike Brecker. His trumpeter brother Randy Brecker guests on a couple of tracks. Saxophone Summit has since recorded two albums. The 2019 album Street Talk is on Enja Records with Greg Osby replacing Coltrane. Here's the EPK for the Saxophone Summit album Seraphic Light. Lovano talks about how he wrote Our Daily Bread. 

AccuRadio Song Of The Day-Jason Miles Ingrid Jensen

Artist:Jason Miles Ingrid Jensen

Song:The Faction of Cool

Album:Kind of New

Jazz pianist Jason Miles started out as a sideman. He has recorded as a leader since the 90s. He has recorded a lot of tribute albums. On this 2015 album, he records with Canadian trumpeter Ingrid Jensen. They recorded three albums and toured. She is currently in the all female jazz group Artemis. Miles was born June 30, 1951 in Brooklyn, NY. He attended Indiana State University. Jazz fusion was very popular in the 70s. So Miles got into a lot of synthesizer work like on the 1986 Miles Davis album Tutu. He played keyboards on albums by Whitney Houston, Luther Vandross and Michael Jackson. Miles has recorded tribute albums to Weather Report, Ivan Lins, Grover Washington Jr., Miles Davis and Marvin Gaye. He has recorded for Telarc, Narada Jazz and Shanachie. The 2015 album Kind of New is on Whaling City Sound. Ingrid is billed as co-leader. The two write most of the songs together including The Faction of Cool. Musicians are Jay Rodriguez on sax, Amanda Ruzza on bass and Jim Wilson on drums. Wilson co-wrote The Faction of Cool. Miles recorded three albums with Ingrid. It looks like the pandemic put an end to their partnership. Miles has been working on an album with singer Rebecca Angel. Ingrid is in the all female jazz group Artemis. They released an album on Blue Note. Here's Jason Miles and Ingrid Jensen performing The Faction of Cool. The musicians are identified at the end of the video.

AccuRadio Song Of The Day-Morgan James

Artist:Morgan James

Song:Call My Name

Album:Hunter: Bonus Tracks

Morgan James has appeared in several Broadway musicals. And she has recorded a few albums that I would describe as blue eyed soul. Epic Records had big plans for her. She now records for her own label. She was born Morgan Grunerud Nov. 21, 1981 in Boise, ID. Her parents were actors. So the family moved around a lot. She attended high school in Modesto, CA. Morgan earned a Bachelor in Voice at Juilliard. One of her instructors was the great Barbara Cook. Morgan appeared in the 2010 musical The Addams Family and the 2011 revival of Godspell. Then she played Teena Marie in Motown: The Musical. She started performing in clubs and decided to do that permanently. Morgan signed with Epic and released the 2012 album Morgan James Live: A Celebration of Nina Simone. Then she recorded the 2014 album Hunter. The album was produced by guitarist Doug Wamble. They married in 2016. Robert Glasper was among the special guests. After Prince gave Morgan permission to record Call My Name, Hunter was rereleased with Call My Name as one of three bonus tracks. Morgan has since released two albums on her own label. Not sure why she left Epic. Maybe they wanted more commercial music. Here's the video for Call My Name by Morgan James. 

The Big Topic In WMMA

UFC review and Bellator and UFC preview. 

AccuRadio Song Of The Day-Dick Gautier

Artist:Dick Gautier f/Susan Watson

Song:A Lot of Livin' To Do

Album:Bye Bye Birdie: Original Broadway Cast

Most fans should be familiar with Dick Gautier as a comic actor on TV and films. But he started out on Broadway and got a Tony nomination for playing Conrad Birdie in the 1960 musical Bye Bye Birdie. This was his only Broadway appearance and his only singing appearance. He was born Oct. 30, 1931 in Culver City, CA. Gautier started out as a nightclub comic and singer. After a stint in the US Navy, he was hired to play Conrad Birdie in the 1960 Broadway musical Bye Bye Birdie. This was written by Charles Strouse and Lee Adams. This was obviously influenced by the Elvis Presley craze especially when he was in the US Army. That idea came from director and choreographer Gower Champion. Gautier was in a supporting role. The star was Dick Van Dyke as Birdie's manager. It helped make Van Dyke a star as he filmed the pilot for The Dick Van Dyke Show while he was in Bye Bye Birdie. It didn't do that for Gautier. Though he sang a couple of songs and was nominated for a Tony, he did not appear in the film version. He did have success as Hymie the Robot in the TV series Get Smart. And he starred as Robin Hood in Mel Brooks' 1975 TV series When Things Were Rotten. He also starred in the 1967 series Mister Terrific. Both shows were short lived. In the 70s Gautier appeared frequently as a panelist on Match Game and other game shows. He was never asked to sing again. He went on to do a lot of voiceover work until his death on Jan. 13, 2017 at age 85. Here's a video of Dick Gautier and Susan Watson performing A Lot of Living To Do from the 1960 Broadway musical Bye Bye Birdie. Susan is a Tony nominated stage performer who I may feature at another time. 

Big Bad Blog Video Theater-Kay Lee Ray vs Sarray

Here's the match video of Kay Lee Ray vs Sarray from last night's episode of NXT. Kay Lee Ray is a former NXT UK Women's Champion. So you think they will job her out in NXT. Of course not. I expect her to get a title run. So this is a semi competitive squash. KLR hits her finisher on the floor. And then she hits it again in the ring for the win. The thing I did like is Sarray tweeted about how upset she was about the loss. That should lead to a change in attitude. As I have said before, they are working on things with her. Her ring skills are great. They are working on other things. 

Big Bad Blog Video Theater-Toxic Attraction vs Io Shirai, Kacy Catanzaro and Kayden Carter

Here's the match video of Toxic Attraction vs Io Shirai, Kacy Catanzaro and Kayden Carter from last night's episode of NXT. Last week the WWE ran an injury angle with Toxic Attraction attacking Zoey Stark. Zoey actually blew out her knee during the ladder match. She has had surgery and is expected to be out for six months. Of course this pissed off her tag team partner Io Shirai. Kayden and Kacy joined her for a six women tag match. The match is OK. The whole point is to build Toxic Attraction's momentum to War Games. Io did hit her moonsault. But Toxic Attraction broke up the pin. Even commentary said that should have been a DQ. Toxic Attraction looked so bad in the ladder match that I don't think they are ready for War Games. Expect Io to carry the freight in that match. And that is why Toxic Attraction's push is a double edged sword.

AccuRadio Song Of The Day-Reunion

Artist:Reunion

Song:Life Is A Rock (But the Radio Rolled Me)

Album:The Real '70s

Life Is A Rock was a top ten hit in 1974. It was the only hit for the very short lived group Reunion. I'm sure most folks have heard this song but know nothing about Reunion. It was a studio group that will remind you of the Kasenetz-Katz bubblegum music factory of the 60s. The guys behind this record were Norman Dolph and partner Paul DiFranco. Dolph was an executive at Columbia in the 60s. He produced the Velvet Underground demos that turned into the classic album Velvet Underground and Nico. By the early 70s Dolph was trying unsuccessfully to make a living as a songwriter. He and DiFranco wrote Life Is A Rock which had shoutouts to everyone in the music business. They decided to call themselves Reunion. After releasing a couple of unsuccessful singles for Bell Records, Joey Levine was brought in to see if he could do something with Life Is A Rock. Levine was a jingle singer best known as a singer for Kasenetz-Katz acts like Ohio Express, 1910 Fruitgum Company and Music Explosion. Levine not only helped Dolph and DiFranco finish the song but he sang lead on the record. It reached #8 on the Billboard Hot 100. Unfortunately Reunion was unable to follow it up. They released three singles on RCA. They didn't even record an album. Even Kasenetz-Katz acts released an album. You can get Life Is A Rock on this 2CD various artists budget comp. Considering Levine's history of one hit wonders, Reunion's short lived fate was not very surprising. Here's a video of Life Is A Rock (But the Radio Rolled Me) by Reunion. I have conveniently included the lyrics. 

AccuRadio Song Of The Day-Lewis Capaldi

Artist:Lewis Capaldi

Song:Someone You Loved

Album:Divinely Uninspired to a Hellish Extent

Singer songwriter Lewis Capaldi had success with his 2019 debut album Uninspired to a Hellish Extent in his native Scotland and England. Someone You Loved is his biggest hit to date. He was born Oct. 7, 1995 in Whitburn, Scotland. At age nine he was playing in local pubs. His manager heard him on an iPhone and came to England from the US to hear him live. His 2017 single Bruises reached 28M plays on Spotify. This led to a record deal with Universal's Vertigo label in Europe and Capitol in the US and Virgin in England. So he had a lot of hype before he recorded an album. He was the next big thing in England. After two EPs, Capaldi released the 2019 album Uninspired to a Hellish Extent. Someone You Loved topped the charts in England and the US and several other countries. Capaldi writes all of his songs usually with a co-writer who also produces. Someone You Loved was written with Romans and the production trio TMS. They also produced. They are Tom "Froe" Barnes, Benjamin Kohn and Pete "Merf" Kelleher. They have produced other artists but Someone You Loved is their biggest hit to date. Most of the album was produced by Nick Atkinson and Edd Holloway. The guy in the video is actor Peter Capaldi. He is a cousin of Lewis. Capaldi won a few awards and was nominated for a Song of the Year Grammy. He is currently working on his next album. He got off to a good start. We'll see how he follows that up. Here's the video for Someone You Loved by Lewis Capaldi. 

AccuRadio Song Of The Day-The Style Council

Artist:The Style Council

Song:Walls Come Tumbling Down

Album:Gold

In 1982, Paul Weller disbanded the very popular punk band The Jam and formed a new band The Style Council. He hated the Jam's music and The Style Council was more soul based. His main collaborator in The Style Council was former Dexys Midnight Runners keyboard player Mick Talbot. The rest of the band was fluid including Weller's girlfriend at the time Dee C. Lee on vocals and Steve White on drums. The Style Council had seven top ten hits in England but they weren't successful in the US. Their first single Speak Like A Child reached #4 on the British Singles chart and it went from there. They were on Polydor in England and Geffen in the US. Walls Come Tumbling Down is from the 1985 album Our Favourite Shop. Geffen changed the title to Internationalists. Walls Come Tumbling Down reached #6 on the British Singles chart. Like most of Weller's songs, it reflects his leftist political views which is one of the reasons the band was a tough sell in the US. The Style Council released four albums from 1984-88. This 2CD comp is a good intro to their music. Weller disbanded The Style Council in 1989. He said he should have done that a couple of years earlier. He said they made a couple of good albums and the quality fell off. They reunited for a 2019 recording session that is documented in the 2020 documentary Long Hot Summers: The Story of the Style Council. Here's the video foe Wall Come Tumbling Down by The Style Council.

Big Bad Blog Video Theater-Rose Namajunas vs Zhang Weili

Here the match video of Rose Namajunas defending her UFC Strawweight Championship against Zhang Weili from last night's UFC show in New York City. This was a rematch from April. The big news is that Zhang and her camp moved to Fight Ready in Scottsdale, AZ. Head coach is Eric Alberracin along the one and only Henry Cejudo. This move was long overdue. Here's the bottom line. I thought Zhang won the fight and got jobbed out by poor judging. Rose acknowledged afterwards that she did not give a great performance. I scored the first three rounds for Zhang. Round two was close enough that it could have been scored the other way. So that was the key round. Judge Michael Bell scored it the same as me. So 48-47 for Zhang. Judge Doug Crosby scored round two for Rose. So 48-47 for Rose. Eric Colon not only gave round two to Rose but also round three. He scored it 49-46 for Rose. He's the only one in the building who thought Rose won round three. And Rose even resorted to lay and pray in round five. But if the fight had been properly scored, that wouldn't have mattered. Because of the scoring, I expect a third fight after Carla Esparza gets her title shot. There is talk that Zhang could move to Flyweight. Here's the video. Check it out for yourself. 

AccuRadio Song Of The Day-The Replacements

Artist:The Replacements

Song:I'll Be You

Album:Don't You Know Who You Think I Was?: The Best of the Replacements

The Replacements were successful in punk and early alt rock in the 80s. But they wanted commercial success so they signed with a major label. They had some success but ultimately it didn't work out and they split up. The Replacements are from Minneapolis. Guitarist Bob Stinson gave his brother Tommy Stinson a bass guitar to give him something to do. Chris Mars was brought in to play drums. They called themselves Dogbreath. Paul Westerberg heard the band while he was walking home from work. He was invited to join. It's unlikely that Dogbreath would have survived without Westerberg. He made himself lead singer and wrote all the songs. He convinced the others to take music more seriously. A demo was given to Twin/Tone Records owner Peter Jesperson. The Replacements recorded three albums for Twin/Tone. And though the albums were critically acclaimed, their success was limited because Twin/Tone didn't have the money to promote them. And the band was touring but were unable to recoup expenses. So they signed with much larger Sire Records distributed by Warner Bros. Sire owner Seymour Stein brought in Tommy Ramone of The Ramones to produce the 1985 album Tim. The Replacements appeared on the Jan. 18, 1986 edition of Saturday Night Live. Of course this was a big opportunity. But they screwed it up by drinking backstage and delivering a profanity laced live performance. Drug and alcohol abuse was an ongoing problem. Bob Stinson was fired and replaced by Slim Dunlap. Stinson didn't like Westerberg's more commercial music. I'll Be You is from the 1989 album Don't Tell a Soul. It did well on the alternative rock chart mostly because MTV was playing the video in heavy rotation. It was their most successful album to date. But there was still conflict in The Replacements about musical direction. And after Westerberg recorded the 1990 album All Shook Down with session musicians, the band split up. This comp is a good intro to their music. It's available as a digital download. Westerberg went on to a successful solo career. The Replacements reunited to tour in 2013 and they released an EP of new music. They split up for good in 2015. Westerberg was unhappy with the EP. Here's the video for I'll Be You by The Replacements.

AccuRadio Song Of The Day-Frank Sinatra and Peggy Lee

Artist:Frank Sinatra and Peggy Lee

Song:Nice Work If You Can Get It

Album:Classic Duets

Though Frank Sinatra and Peggy Lee never recorded together, they performed as a duo on this 1957 episode of Sinatra's TV show. They also performed a couple of times with Bing Crosby. Many of Sinatra's classic duets are on this 2002 CD released by Capitol. There are two tracks featuring Peggy Lee. Others include Louis Armstrong, Ella Fitzgerald, Dean Martin, Sammy Davis Jr. and others. From what I could tell, most of these are audio tracks lifted from Sinatra's TV shows. Nice Work If You Can Get It was written by George and Ira Gershwin and popularized by Fred Astaire in the 1937 film Damsel in Distress co-starring Joan Fontaine and Burns & Allen. This duet was on the debut episode of The Frank Sinatra Show broadcast Oct. 18, 1957. This show was a mix of variety and drama episodes. At the time Sinatra was so big he could get any deal he wanted. This video clip appears on the DVD Frank Sinatra & Friends Together On Stage. Take your pick, audio or video. Here's Frank Sinatra and Peggy Lee performing Nice Work If You Can Get It on The Frank Sinatra Show Oct. 18, 1957.

AccuRadio Song Of The Day-Burl Ives

Artist:Burl Ives

Song:A Holly Jolly Christmas

Album:20th Century Masters: The Christmas Collection: The Best of Burl Ives

Burl Ives performed A Holly Jolly Christmas in the 1964 TV special Rudolph the Red Nosed Reindeer.  It was a top five hit and has become a best selling Christmas perennial. Ives was already famous for his music and acting. So he didn't really need another hit. But A Holly Jolly Christmas has turned out to be his most enduring recording. Rudolph the Red Nosed Reindeer was produced by Arthur Rankin Jr. and Jules Bass. They produced TV commercials through their company Videocraft. The two created a stop motion animation called Animagic. This was all executed by Tadahito Mochinaga. NBC hired Rankin/Bass to produce a holiday Christmas special. Of course Rudolph the Red Nosed Reindeer is based on the Gene Autry hit written by Johnny Marks. He also wrote a couple of new songs including A Holly Jolly Christmas. The voices were recorded in Toronto under the supervision of Bernard Cowan and Paul Soles. You know those mid 60s Spiderman cartoons? They did those too and plenty of others. Originally the voice of Sam the Snowman was supposed to be played by Canadian actor Larry D. Mann. But NBC suggested Ives because of his fame. And it paid off. The TV special was very successful which of course led to more TV specials. And Ives' recording of A Holly Jolly Christmas reached #4 on the Billboard Hot 100. The recording and the TV special are now beloved Christmas perennials. This Burl Ives Christmas album is available as a budget CD. Here's the video for A Holly Jolly Christmas by Burl Ives. Universal produced this animated video in 2019.