AccuRadio Song Of The Day-Small Brown Bike

Artist:Small Brown Bike

Song:See You in Hell

Album:Dead Reckoning

Small Brown Bike is a post hardcore punk band who were active mostly from 1999-2004. They had modest success. Their music is not commercial. But there is an audience for this kind of music. Small Brown Bike is from the small town of Marshall, MI. They were formed in 1996 by Mike Reed on vocals and guitar, his brother Ben Reed on bass, Travis Dopp on guitar and Dan Jaquint on drums. They grew up together and one of the things they liked to do is work on their bicycles. So they called themselves Small Brown Bike. After self releasing a couple of singles and touring, the band signed with the indie label No Idea Records and released the 1999 album Our Own Wars. The band wrote and produced everything with the help of recording engineer Ed Rose at his Kansas City studio. Dopp left and was replaced by Scott Flaster. See You in Hell is from the 2002 album Dead Reckoning. This album is available as a digital download. After that album was released, Jaquint returned to school and was replaced by Jeff Gensterblum. Small Brown Bike released the 2003 album The River Bed on Lookout! Records. At this point, Small Brown Bike weren't getting anywhere so they split up in 2004. The thing that might have helped was if they had gotten positive reviews from the music press. But they got mixed reviews and the following they did have wasn't enough for them to make a living. The members went on to form other bands but nothing notable. After some 2007 benefit shows, Small Brown Bike reformed and released the 2011 album Fell & Found. When that went nowhere, Small Brown Bike split up for good. Travis Dopp died in 2023. Here's the video for See You in Hell by Small Brown Bike. 

AccuRadio Song Of The Day-Cynthia Erivo

Artist:Cynthia Erivo

Song:I'm Not That Girl

Album:Wicked: The Soundtrack

British actress Cynthia Erivo is already on her way to being one of the biggest stars on earth. The measuring stick used for this is EGOT meaning the performer has won an Emmy, a Grammy, an Oscar and a Tony. Cynthia has won all but an Oscar. And she has several films coming soon. She was born Jan. 8, 1987 in London, England. Her parents are Nigerian immigrants. Her parents separated and her mom worked as a nurse to support Cynthia and her sister. She attended a Catholic girls school and started appearing on TV as a teen. She attended the Royal Academy of Dramatic Art and graduated with a bachelor's degree in acting in 2010. Cynthia started out on TV. Then she started appearing in stage musicals. But the big one was as Celie Harris in the 2013 musical adaptation of The Color Purple. She also appeared in the 2015 Broadway production of The Color Purple and won a Best Actress Tony. Then the Color Purple cast won a Daytime Emmy for an appearance on The Today Show. I was just saying the other day that there are way too many Emmy awards. Then she started doing films. The big one was the 2019 film Harriet where she played abolitionist Harriet Tubman. Cynthia got Best Actress and Best Original Song Oscar nominations. Then she appeared in the 2020 HBO miniseries The Outsider. This was an adaptation of a Stephen King novel. And she started her own production company. Then she played Aretha Franklin in the third season of the National Geographic series Genius. She was nominated for an Emmy. And that brings us to Wicked. Of course both Wicked films were big hits and Cynthia was nominated for another Oscar. The soundtrack album is available as a budget CD. Defying Gravity was a top ten hit in England. So now she has to figure out what she will do next. She appeared in a couple of limited run stage shows. And she released the 2025 album I Forgive You on Verve Records. She recorded this during breaks in the Wicked filming schedule. Cynthia wrote and produced the album with keyboardist Will Wells. The main complaint I have heard about the album is it's too long at 60 minutes and it's not focused. She tries to do too many kinds of music. Well, she's not a musician so what do you expect? As I said at the top, Cynthia has several films in the works. The one that really stood out to me is The Road Home. I think it is currently filming in South Africa and no release date has been set. The film is produced by the French company STUDIOCANAL and directed by Dreamgirls director Bill Condon. The film is about the controversy in South Africa surrounding Paul Simon's 1980 album Graceland. Cynthia will play Miriam "Mama Africa" Makeba. John Legend will play Harry Belafonte. We'll see how that goes. Here's Cynthia Erivo performing I'm Not That Girl in the 2024 film Wicked. 

AccuRadio Song Of The Day-Living Colour

Artist:Living Colour

Song:Cult of Personality

Album:Super Hits

The 1988 single Cult of Personality was a top twenty hit. It was the biggest chart hit for the band Living Colour. It was probably a bigger hit than that as the album Vivid was certified 2XPlatinum. But some radio stations want to avoid controversial records and they wouldn't play it. Living Colour is still around mostly because Cult of Personality is WWE wrestler CM Punk's theme song. The original band split up in 1995. For the most part, Living Colour is a metal band. The main difference between them and other metal bands is they are black. There are other influences but mostly, they are metal. Band leader, guitarist and main songwriter Vernon Reid was born in England but he grew up in New York City and attended New York University. He started out with avant garde jazz drummer Ronald Shannon Jackson's band The Decoding Society from 1980-86. He formed Living Colour in 1984 using the British spelling of "colour". He called it Vernon Reid's Living Colour. He experimented with different musicians and different styles of music including jazz. In 1986, he brought in actor Corey Glover to sing lead, bassist Muzz Skillings and drummer Will Calhoun. They started working on their music performing regularly at the New York club CBGB's. After Reid auditioned for Mick Jagger's album Primitive Cool, Jagger went to see Living Colour at CBGB's and produced two demos. This got Living Colour a deal at Epic Records a lot quicker than if Jagger didn't help them. Living Colour's debut album Vivid was released in May 1988. Things started to pick up when MTV started playing the video for Cult of Personality. The single reached #13 on the Billboard Hot 100 but the album Vivid reached #6 on the Billboard 200 and was certified 2XPlatinum. So the success was because of MTV. The album was produced by Ed Stasium who had worked with The Ramones and Talking Heads. Reid wrote most of the album songs. But Cult of Personality was credited to the entire band. Of course Living Colour's success was a fluke. What if Jagger doesn't get them a record deal? What if MTV doesn't play the video? So their other two albums didn't do that well. Skillings was replaced by Doug Wimbish in 1992. After three albums, Living Colour split up in 1995. This budget comp covers their Epic albums. But you might want to consider buying the remastered version of Vivid. Living Colour first reunited in 2000. They record occasionally and continue to perform. Reid says they will release a new album next year. The main thing that keeps Living Colour relevant today is that WWE wrestler CM Punk (Phil Brooks) uses Cult of Personality as his theme song. He's been using it since his pre-WWE Ring of Honor days. So who pays for the use of Cult of Personality? Of course the WWE pays for it. This is why most WWE themes are produced in house these days. It's a whole lot cheaper but the music is mostly terrible. It's one of several things that WWE fans lament about these days. I stopped watching WWE after this year's Wrestlemania was so bad, I stopped watching cold turkey. And I've watched wrestling since I was a little kid watching with my grandfather. Day 2 was really bad. My favorite wrestlers Asuka and Kairi Sane have gone home to Japan. There are still a couple of wrestlers that I may watch like former MMA fighter Lola Vice and IYO SKY. But the current booking is so bad, I can't watch pro wrestling anymore. Here's the video for Cult of Personality by Living Colour.

AccuRadio Song Of The Day-Carl Carlton

Artist:Carl Carlton

Song:She's a Bad Mama Jama (She's Built, She's Stacked)

Album:Everlasting: The Best of Carl Carlton

R&B singer Carl Carlton is best known for the 1974 top ten hit Everlasting Love. But you may not know that he scored a top five R&B hit with the 1981 single She's a Bad Mama Jama. What the two records have in common is that Carlton had terrible record company problems that killed his career. Despite that, he recorded two big hits though I would guess that many folks are familiar with She's a Bad Mama Jama, they may not know that Carlton recorded it. Of course the funny part is that both records are now owned by the same record company so you can get them on this comp. Carlton was an up and coming singer when he recorded for Back Beat Records in the late 60s. This label was owned by Don Robey who also owned Duke and Peacock. Carlton recorded an album for Back Beat. Then Robey sold everything to ABC Records in 1972. ABC picked up Carlton's contract and the 1974 single Everlasting Love reached #6 on the Billboard Hot 100. Everlasting Love was a cover of Robert Knight's 1967 hit single. What Carlton was concerned about was royalties for his Back Beat album. Rather than go to court, ABC froze Carlton out until his contract expired. That wasn't going to be for a year and a half. Remember Carlton just had a big hit. So he couldn't get a record deal until singer songwriter Leon Haywood threw him a lifeline and got Carlton a record deal with 20th Century Records in 1981. The single She's a Bad Mama Jama reached #2 on the R&B Singles chart and #22 on the Billboard Hot 100. It was also nominated for a Best R&B Vocal Performance, Male Grammy. Of course the song is memorable but I dunno if most folks know who recorded the song. Heywood produced the album, wrote She's a Bad Mama Jama and played keyboards on the album. So did George Duke and James Ingram and Ingram arranged the backup vocals. The problem was that 20th Century closed in 1982. And though Carlton recorded for RCA and Casablanca, his recording career was over in 1986. Both hits are owned by Universal so they are on this Hip-O Select comp. Carlton continued to perform live until he died on Dec. 12, 2025 at age 73. Here's Carl Carlton performing She's a Bad Mama Jama (She's Built, She's Stacked) on Solid Gold 1981. 

AccuRadio Song Of The Day-Natalie MacMaster

Artist:Natalie MacMaster

Song:Catharsis

Album:No Boundaries

Canadian fiddler Natalie MacMaster had chart success in Canada partially because of her looks. But mostly because the CRTC's Canadian Content (CanCon) regulations force broadcasters to play a percentage of CanCon. And they have to pay employees to keep track of it. Natalie was born June 13, 1972 in Troy, Nova Scotia on Cape Breton Island which has a long musical history. So she comes from a musical family including her uncle Buddy MacMaster. She took fiddle lessons with her cousin Ashley MacIsaac. She started performing at age nine. After self releasing a couple of albums, Natalie signed with Rounder Records in the US and Warner Bros. in Canada. Of course Rounder is a roots music label so they know how to sell this kind of music. But in Canada, Warners was counting on CanCon to get Natalie radio play and have her videos played on MuchMusic and CMT. Catharsis is from Natalie's 1997 album No Boundaries. It was her third album on Rounder/Warners. It was released as a single and as you can see, there's a video for the song paid for by VideoFACT which was funded by MuchMusic's parent company. The album was produced by recording engineer Chad Irschick meaning that Natalie produced it. Most of the songs including Catharsis are traditional. The musicians on that song are Ray Parker on keyboards, Michael Francis on guitar, Tom Szczesniak on bass and Brian Leonard on drums. Francis, Szczesniak and Leonard are all session musicians and they play on about half of the album. Guest vocalists include Runrig lead singer Bruce Guthro and Cookie Rankin from The Rankin Family. This album is available as a budget CD. Natalie has won two Juno awards and was named East Coast Music Association Artist of the Year several times. She is a member of the Order of Canada and was inducted into the Canadian Fiddle Hall of Honor in 2023. Natalie married fiddler Donnell Leahy of The Leahy Family in 2002 and they moved to Lakefield, ON which is near Peterborough. They have seven children and they record and tour together. They released a 2023 album on their own label distributed by Linus Entertainment. Here's the video for Catharsis by Natalie MacMaster.

 

AccuRadio Song Of The Day-Celso Fonseca

Artist:Celso Fonseca

Song:Slow Motion Bossa Nova

Album:Juventude/Slow Motion Bossa Nova

Singer songwriter Celso Fonseca has been a significant player in the post Bossa Nova era in Brazil since the 80s. At first he was an accompanist and a songwriter. He started recording as a solo act in the 90s. Slow Motion Bossa Nova from the 2002 album Juventude/Slow Motion Bossa Nova. At the time he was writing a lot of songs with Ronaldo Bastos. That's why Bastos' name appears on the cover despite the fact that he doesn't appear on the album. But he does own the record label Dubas Musica so he's executive producer of the album. Fonseca was born Nov. 16, 1956 in Rio de Janeiro, Brazil. He started playing guitar at age 12. His main influence was Baden Powell. Fonseca joined Gilberto Gil's band in 1981. For the next few years he recorded and toured with Chico Buarque, Milton Nascimento and many others. And he produced Vinicius Cantuaria, Gilberto Gil and others. He recorded his first solo album in 1986. He started writing songs with Bastos in 1983. They wrote so many songs together that it took up three albums including the 2002 album Juventude/Slow Motion Bossa Nova. They wrote all the songs together and Fonseca produced the album. As I said, it is on Bastos' label Dubas Musica with Universal distribution. It's available as a digital download. Slow Motion Bossa Nova is probably Fonseca's best known song. So you should be able to find it on various artists collections of Brazilian music. Fonseca is still around. His 2015 album Like Nice was nominated for three Latin Grammys. That was his final album for Universal. He released the 2021 CD Nossa Musica on Joia Moderna. He still performs live in Brazil. Here's the video for Slow Motion Bossa Nova by Celso Fonseca.

 

AccuRadio Song Of The Day-Melissa Manchester

Artist:Melissa Manchester

Song:Skylark

Album:Too Marvelous for Words: The Songs of Johnny Mercer: A Public Television Special

Of course Johnny Mercer is one of the all time great songwriters. Melissa Manchester's performance of Skylark is from the 1997 PBS TV special Too Marvelous for Words: The Songs of Johnny Mercer. This was released on VHS by MPI Home Video and they also released it on CD. The entire show can be streamed on YouTube. The show was produced and directed by Bob Marty who also produced Victor Borge shows. I think he worked a lot with PBS. The musical direction was by Peter Nero who also appears in the show. Among the performers are Johnny Mathis, Melissa Manchester, Margaret Whiting, The John Pizzarelli Trio and Peter Nero and His Trio. All perform multiple songs in different combinations except for Nero who led the band. The musicians are not identified so I don't know who played the trombone solo. Mercer wrote Skylark with legendary songwriter, pianist and actor Hoagy Carmichael. Mercer wrote the lyrics after his affair with Judy Garland. Carmichael based the melody on a Bix Beiderbecke cornet improvisation Bix Licks. There were plans at the time to turn the novel Young Man with a Horn into a Broadway musical. When that project failed, Carmichael contacted Mercer to write the lyrics. It took a while for Mercer to write the lyrics. Carmichael kept reminding him. He got the title Skylark from a billboard. Of course the lyrics are about Judy Garland. As tended to happen in those days, several artists recorded Skylark. Dinah Shore scored the biggest hit when her 1942 recording reached #5 on the Billboard pop charts. Other charted recordings were by Harry James with Helen Forrest on vocals, Glenn Miller with vocals by Ray Eberle and Bing Crosby. Today Skylark is a jazz standard. Carmichael recorded it on his 1956 album Hoagy Sings Carmichael. Art Blakey & the Jazz Messengers recorded it on his 1962 album Caravan featuring Freddie Hubbard on trumpet and Carmen McRae recorded it on her 1958 album Birds of a Feather. Here's Melissa Manchester performing Skylark on the 1997 TV special Too Marvelous for Words. 

AccuRadio Song Of The Day-Martin Briley

Artist:Martin Briley

Song:The Salt in My Tears

Album:The Mercury Years

Occasionally, a record charts because it sounds like a big star. I call it "soundalike". British musician Martin Briley is mainly a studio musician. But in the early 80s, Briley recorded a couple of solo albums and scored a top 40 hit with the 1983 single The Salt in My Tears because it sounded like Phil Collins. It ain't just me. In his review of Briley's 1983 album One Night with a Stranger, Allmusic's William Ruhlmann said that Briley sounded like either Phil Collins or Sting. And that could be why Briley's attempt at a solo career failed. Briley was born Aug. 17, 1949 in London, England. He started playing and writing music when he was ten years old. He formed the band Mandrake and they signed with Parlaphone/EMI. But they only released two singles. Legendary producer George Martin hired Briley to work at his AIR Studio in London and Briley became an in demand session guitarist. Briley joined the progressive rock band Greenslade for two years. They recorded four albums for Warner Bros. and split up in 1976. Then Briley moved to New York and became a session and touring guitarist. The most notable act he toured with was Meat Loaf when the album Bat Out of Hell was hot. Then he signed a solo record deal with Mercury Records. He recorded three albums for Mercury. One Night with a Stranger was the second album in 1983. Briley sang, played guitar and wrote all the songs. Peter Coleman is credited as producer. But he's a recording engineer. So I assume that Briley produced the album too. The Salt in My Tears reached #36 on the Billboard Hot 100 mainly because MTV played the music video featuring actress Marie-Elise Grepne to death. She had recently appeared in the James Bond film Octopussy. Why didn't it chart higher? I think some thought it was a Phil Collins song. And when they found out it wasn't a Phil Collins song, they didn't want to here it anymore. The album One Night with a Stranger is out of print. You can get The Salt of My Tears on this comp which is available as a digital download. After his Mercury albums, Briley returned to songwriting and session work and he still does that today. I don't think he was distinctive enough to be successful as a solo act. The only reason this song charted is MTV liked the video. Here's the video for The Salt in My Tears by Martin Briley. 

 

 

AccuRadio Song Of The Day-Jay Goede

Artist:Jay Goede f/Mark Linn-Baker

Song:Alone

Album:A Year with Frog and Toad: Original Cast Recording

Actor Jay Goede is probably best known as the voice of Mewtwo in the 1998 animated film Pokemon: The First Movie. He has also appeared in several Broadway musicals including the 2003 Tony nominated musical A Year with Frog and Toad. These days he teaches and seems to appear on a lot of fan conventions. Remember actors get paid to appear on them and also can make money on the side. He was born Nov. 2,1963 in Mound, MN. He liked to draw and he saved up enough to buy the book The Art of Walt Disney. He wanted to be an animator. So he attended the University as an art major. Then he switched to costume and set design. He started auditioning for plays during college. After earning a Bachelor of Fine Arts, Goede went to Yale School of Fine Arts and earned a Master of Fine Arts. Goede first appeared on Broadway in the 1993 play Angels in America. This was followed by the 1995 plays Sex and Longing and The Play's the Thing. He was looking to get into films. So he appeared in the 1998 film 54. And then he got the role of Mewtwo in the 1998 film Pokemon: The First Movie. He used the alias Philip Bartlett probably because the job was non union. That was not unusual in those days. It was rumored for years that the real Philip Bartlett died in 2001. But after fans contacted Goede, He confirmed using the alias. Then he appeared in the 2003 Broadway musical A Year with Frog and Toad. This was based on the children's books written and illustrated by Arnold Lobel. His daughter Adrienne Lobel wanted to turn it into a musical. Her husband is actor Mark Linn-Baker who is best known for the 1982 film My Favorite Year and the sitcom Perfect Strangers. He wrote the script and appeared as Toad in the musical while Goede played Frog. The songs were written by Robert and Willie Reale. There was only five in the cast which is very small for a Broadway musical. It only ran on Broadway for two months. But it was enough to get the show a Tony nomination for Best Musical. The original cast album is available on CD. A national tour of the show was produced in 2007. Goede has done other Broadway shows like Miracle Brothers (2005). But these days he appears on a lot of Pokemon fan conventions. So I guess Mewtwo is his claim to fame. Here's Jay Goede with Mark Linn-Baker performing Alone on the 2003 Tony Awards broadcast. 

AccuRadio Song Of The Day-Cachao

Artist:Cachao

Song:Mambo

Album:Master Sessions Volume 1

Israel "Cachao" Lopez was a legendary Cuban bassist who is best known as the co-creator of the mambo and a master of the improvised jam sessions known in Cuba as descargo. After moving to the US in the 50s, he was mostly a studio musician until Cuban American actor Andy Garcia produced a documentary and got Lopez a record deal with a major label. This 1994 album was the first album of that deal. He was born Israel Lopez Valdez Sept. 14, 1918 in Havana, Cuba. He was from a musical family. His older brother Orestes "Macho" Lopez taught him to play bass and together they created the mambo. Lopez started out playing music for silent films and played bass with the Orquestra Filarmonica de La Habana. Then he joined the danzon band Arcano y sus Maraviillas and helped compose many danzone songs including the song Mambo. They wrote plenty of songs and also played standards like Somewhere Over the Rainbow. This band was very popular on radio in the 40s. But Lopez got tired of writing sheet music for every band member and left in 1949. He joined the orchestra for the Broadway style theater Blanquita Theater. In 1957, Lopez was part of an all night recording studio jam called descargas. This was the start of Cuban jazz and the resulting albums were very successful. But this was the height of Fidel Castro's Cuban Revolution. Lopez' wife moved to New Jersey in 1958 and Lopez went to Madrid, Spain in 1962. After performing with Perez Prado, Lopez reunited with his wife in 1963 in New York and became an in demand sideman playing with Tito Puente and others. After a decade in New York, Lopez moved to Las Vegas and played in clubs. After releasing a couple of 1977 albums as a leader on Salsoul Records, Lopez moved to Miami and recorded with pianist Paquito Hechevarria. Then at the 1989 San Francisco Jazz Festival, Lopez was playing with Carlos Santana when Cuban American actor Andy Garcia asked him if he was interested in a tribute concert and a documentary. The concert was held on July 31, 1992 in Miami and the documentary Cachao...como su ritmo no hay dos was released in 1993. You can watch it on YouTube. Garcia directed the documentary and he contacted Miami Sound Machine leader Emilio Estefan Jr. and got him a record deal with Estefan's Crescent Moon label with Epic Records distribution. And that's when this 1994 album was released. Garcia produced the album but Lopez was musical director. All kinds of musicians played on the album including Paquito D'Rivera, Chocolate Armenteros and Jimmy Bosch. Volume 2 was released in 1995. Lopez recorded a couple more albums and received Grammy and Hall of Fame awards. He appeared with Bebo Valdes in Fernando Trueba's 2000 concert film Calle 54. That can be streamed on the Russian website ok.ru. Lopez' final appearance was on Gloria Estefan's 2007 album 90 Millas. Lopez died of kidney failure on Mar. 22, 2008 at age 89. His final concert was in Miami in 2007 and Sony released it as The Last Mambo in 2011. Here's the video for Mambo by Cachao. 

AccuRadio Song Of The Day-Madness

Artist:Madness

Song:Our House

Album:Our House: The Best of Madness

The 1982 Madness single Our House was a top ten hit. It was the biggest hit in the US for the late 70s British Ska revival. It's probably more pop than many of the songs of that movement. The Specials were more successful in England but not elsewhere. Both are great bands. And for the record, I don't consider UB40 to be part of the Ska revival. They were straight Reggae. Madness was called The North London Invaders when they formed in 1976. They are from the North London area of Camden Town. The main band was Mike Barson on keyboards, Chris Foreman on guitar and Lee Thompson on sax. They added John Hasler on drums, Cathal "Chas Smash" Smyth on bass and Dikran Tulane on lead vocals. Graham "Suggs" McPherson took over as lead singer after seeing the band perform. Smyth left after arguing with Barson. McPherson was fired for watching soccer instead of rehearsing. Thompson left after Barson criticized his sax playing. Thompson and McPherson returned. Bassist Mark Bedford and drummer Dan Woodgate were added. They changed the band name to Morris and the Minors. Then it was changed to Madness as a tribute to Jamaican music legend Prince Buster. Then Chas Smash rejoined as a backup vocalist and dancer. Madness started playing London clubs and they released the single The Prince on 2 Tone Records owned by Jerry Dammers of the Ska band The Specials. After touring with The Specials and The Selecter, Madness released their 1979 album One Step Beyond on the New Wave label Stiff Records. They scored three top ten hits on the British charts and the album did well too. Stiff owner Dave Robinson got them to record an EP followed by the 1980 album Absolutely. The single Baggy Trousers reached #3 on the British Singles chart. Though they were successful, Madness thought that if they changed to a more pop direction, they could be more successful. And though they were criticized for that, the 1981 single It Must Be Love reached #33 on the Billboard Hot 100. Up to this point, Stiff released Madness albums in the US. But when the 1982 album The Rise and Fall... did not get a US release and the single Our House reached #5 on the British Singles chart, Geffen Records signed Madness for the US and released the comp Madness. Our House was on that album and it reached #7 on the Billboard Hot 100. Our House was written by Foreman and Chas Smash. McPherson sang lead. Clive Langer and Alan Winstanley were the producers. The horn and string arrangements were by David Bedford who had previously worked with Kevin Ayers and Mike Oldfield. You can get Our House on this comp. The decline of Madness started after Barson left in 1983. He was living with his wife in Amsterdam and had become reclusive from the band. Though he went along with Madness' changes at the time, he didn't like them any more than the critics. Barson was replaced by James Mackie and he appeared with Madness on a 1984 episode of Saturday Night Live. Then Madness left Stiff for Virgin and they just weren't as successful after that. They split up in 1986. McPherson led a regrouping of Madness. But it was unsuccessful and they split up again in 1988. Madness reunited throughout the 90s. There was even a jukebox musical called Our House which ran at London's Cambridge Theatre from Oct. 2002-Aug. 2003. They started performing as The Dangermen in 2004 and released an album in 2005. Then Madness started their own label in 2007. They currently have a distribution deal with BMG and they released their latest album in 2023. Madness still tours but they are a nostalgia act at this point. Here's the video for Our House by Madness. 

AccuRadio Song Of The Day-The Murlocs

Artist:The Murlocs

Song:Adolescence

Album:Young Blindness

The Australian band The Murlocs is a spinoff of King Gizzard & the Lizard Wizard. Ambrose Kenny-Smith is the lead singer of both bands. They alternate tours but sometimes they tour together. Kenny-Smith started The Murlocs in 2010 as an informal jam band. Murlocs is from the video game World of Warcraft. Cook Craig of King Gizzard is also bassist for The Morlocs. After self releasing a couple of 2012 EPs, The Murlocs signed with the Australian indie label Flightless Records. They released their debut album Loopholes in 2014. They toured with King Gizzard and appeared on their annual music festival. Adolescence is from the 2015 album Young Blindness. Kenny-Smith writes and produces everything. But the band is credited with the songs so they split the royalties evenly. This album is available as a digital download. As The Murlocs became more popular in Australia, there was interest in them elsewhere. Dave Matthews' ATO Records picked up The Murlocs in North America and signed them worldwide in 2022. The Murlocs last released a studio album in 2023. And they released a live album in 2024. They aren't on tour right now. But there are social media rumblings that The Murlocs are heading to the recording studio to record a new album after King Gizzard & the Lizard Wizard are finished touring in Australia in October. Here's the video for Adolescence by The Murlocs. Yes, the video is amateurish. I believe this was deliberate. 

 

AccuRadio Song Of The Day-New Politics

Artist:New Politics

Song:Harlem

Album:A Bad Girl in Harlem

The Danish band New Politics moved to Brooklyn, NY when they signed with RCA Records in 2009. They had success in the Alternative Rock market but they tried to crossover to pop and were unsuccessful. David Boyd is lead singer. Soren Hansen plays keyboards. Poul Amaliel plays drums. They are from Copenhagen, Denmark. Boyd and Hansen were writing songs together for possible solo albums. When they weren't getting anywhere, Boyd convinced Hansen to enter a couple of songs in Danish National Radio P3's Karriere Kanonen (Career Cannon) competition. When they were chosen to perform, there was no band. They brought in a drummer, were one of the four winners of the contest and performed at a music festival. They quickly called themselves New Politics. When RCA heard about them, New Politics signed and they moved to Brooklyn. After recording the 2010 album New Politics, they played the South by Southwest festival in Mar. 2010. The album was released in July and the single Yeah Yeah Yeah reached #16 on the Alternative Rock chart. The album was criticized for sounding too much other similar pop punk bands. Of course the band toured. After the tour, Amaliel returned to Denmark and was replaced by Louis Vecchio. For the 2013 album A Bad Girl in Harlem, New Politics decided they needed to be more commercial so they could have a hit single. The single Harlem reached #4 on the Alternative Rock chart and #10 on Billboard's Bubbling Under chart. These are for songs that are getting radio play and might jump to the Billboard Hot 100. But Harlem never made the Billboard Hot 100. This was despite the fact that the song appeared in several TV commercials, the trailer for the film Frozen and video games like NHL 14. The record was produced by Jake Sinclair who produced other similar bands. This album is available on CD. There were industry complaints about Harlem being too slick. And that was the problem with New Politics. They weren't distinctive enough and were too similar to other more successful bands. New Politics toured with Fall Out Boy and became friends with that band's leader Pete Wentz. Wentz signed New Politics to his label DCD2 Records with Warner Bros. distribution. After releasing two unsuccessful albums, New Politics went on what seems to be a permanent hiatus. A formal split was never announced. Hansen has released a couple of solo albums. Boyd has a family now so that keeps him busy. He's released a couple of singles and is working on an album. It looks like New Politics is on a permanent hiatus. Here's the video for Harlem by New Politics.

 

AccuRadio Song Of The Day-Michele Lee

Artist:Michele Lee

Song:I Believe in You

Album:How To Succeed in Business Without Really Trying: Original Motion Picture Soundtrack

Actress Michele Lee is best known for appearing in every episode of the prime time soap Knots Landing. But she got her start in the 1967 film How To Succeed in Business Without Trying. She was born Michelle Lee Dusick June 24, 1943 in Los Angeles. Her father was Hollywood makeup artist Jack Dusick. Michele performed as a child and made her TV debut in a 1961 episode of the sitcom The Many Loves of Dobie Gillis. Then she appeared on variety shows like The Red Skelton Show and The Danny Kaye Show. She was a replacement in the 1962 Broadway musical version of How to Succeed in Business Without Really Trying. She is not on the original cast album. After appearing in the Broadway musical Bravo Giovanni, United Artists paid a million dollars for the film rights of How to Succeed in Business Without Really Trying. Director David Swift cast Michele as female lead Rosemary Pilkington. Apparently, several of Michele's songs were cut from the film but she gave great performance of the song I Believe in You. Rykodisc released the original cast album on CD in 2006. Michele recorded two albums for Columbia but they didn't sell. Her other big film at the time was the 1969 film The Love Bug. Michele decided to take time off after the birth of her son. She was Tony nominated for the 1974 musical Seesaw. CBS shot a pilot for the 1974 sitcom The Michele Lee Show. It was not picked up. Michele did TV guest shots until she got the role of Karen Fairgate in the Dallas spinoff Knots Landing. That show ran from 1979-93 and Michele was on every episode. She became very popular with soap fans. And Knots Landing was a big part of Michele's career. After Knots Landing, Michele appeared in TV movies. She even directed one for Lifetime. She returned to Broadway and was Tony nominated for the 2000 play The Tale of the Allergist's Wife. She played Ben Stiller's mother in the 2004 film Along Came Polly. She returned to Broadway to play Madame Morrible in the 2015 revival of the musical Wicked. Currently, Michele and her Knots Landing costars Joan Van Ark and Donna Mills do a podcast We're Knot Done Yet. There are 64 episodes which can be viewed on YouTube. Here's Michele Lee performing I Believe in You from the 1967 film How To Succeed in Business without Really Trying. 

AccuRadio Song Of The Day-Erasure

Artist:Erasure

Song:Oh L'amour

Album:Pop! First 20 Hits

The synth pop duo Erasure have had success mostly in their native England and on the dance charts. Oh L'amour is one of their most popular songs. Andy Bell is the lead singer. Vince Clarke plays keyboards. They write most of the songs together. Clarke was in Depeche Mode and he wrote their big hit Just Can't Get Enough. Clarke left Depeche Mode because he didn't like fame, touring and the band wasn't getting along. He formed Yazoo with Alison Moyet. After releasing two successful albums, they split up because they weren't getting along. Clarke formed The Assembly with recording engineer Eric Radcliffe. Their one single Never Never featuring Feargal Sharkey was a top five hit in England. The plan was to use guest singers on each song. Clarke decided not to continue and he placed an ad in the music paper Melody Maker. Andy Bell answered the ad and Erasure was born. They signed with the British indie label Mute Records and released three singles including Oh L'amour followed by the 1986 album Wonderland. Clarke and Bell wrote the songs. The album was produced by Mute house producer Mark "Flood" Ellis. L'amour wasn't a hit at first. But it reached #10 on the British Singles chart when a remix was on the 2003 comp Hits! The Very Best of Erasure. That comp is out of print but you can get L'amour on Pop! First 20 Hits. As I said, Erasure has had success mostly in England and in the dance market. Erasure released their 19th album in 2022. Clarke recently announced in an interview with NME that Erasure is retiring from touring. So they may continue to record. Clarke currently leads the band Doublespeak and an album was released in May. Here's the video for L'amour by Erasure.

 

AccuRadio Song Of The Day-Rushlow

Artist:Rushlow

Song:I Can't Be Your Friend

Album:Right Now

When the country band Little Texas split up in 1997, lead singer Tim Rushlow recorded solo at first. He signed with Atlantic Records and released a 2001 album. He scored a top ten country hit with the single She Misses Him. After Atlantic closed their Nashville office, Rushlow said that he was uncomfortable as a solo artist. He would rather front a band as he did with Little Texas. He got together with his cousin Doni Harris and they kept an eye out for possible band members. Harris played guitar on Rushlow's solo album. They spotted guitarist Kurt Allison at a club and he brought in bassist Tully Kennedy and drummer Rich Redmond. They were roommates backing up a singer. Keyboardist Billy Welch was brought in to round out the band. They signed with Disney owned Lyric Street Records on the condition that the band is called Rushlow. The 2003 album Right Now was released and the single I Can't Be Your Friend reached #16 on the Country Singles chart. Rushlow wrote three of the songs on the album. I Can't Be Your Friend was written by veteran songwriter Rodney Clawson and Brad Crisler. Christy DiNapoli produced. The album is available as a digital download. It appears that neither the band or Lyric Street was happy with the album. So the members of Rushlow left and joined Jason Aldean's band. Rushlow and Harris formed Rushlow Harris and signed with Toby Keith's label Show Dog. After releasing two singles they split up. In 2017, Rushlow recorded a couple of albums as Tim Rushlow & His Big Band. In 2017, Rushlow formed The Frontmen with former Restless Heart lead singer Larry Stewart and former Lonestar lead singer Richie McDonald. They turned it into a full time band in 2021 and released a 2024 album on BBR Music Group. They take turns singing lead and are currently on tour. Here's the video for I Can't Be Your Friend by Rushlow.

 

AccuRadio Song Of The Day-Blotto

Artist:Blotto

Song:I Wanna Be a Lifeguard

Album:Collected Works

The band Blotto were an early MTV success story when their video for the song I Wanna Be a Lifeguard was played on MTV's first day. It was never a radio hit because in those days radio stations refused to play MTV hits. Blotto is from Albany, NY. Blotto was called The Star Spangled Washboard Band when they formed in the mid 70s. They appeared on The Mike Douglas Show and the New York Times described them as a mix of Earl Scruggs and The Three Stooges. After the band split up, four of the members stayed together and named themselves Blotto after a 1931 Thorne Smith novel. Influenced by The Ramones, all the members took the surname Blotto. The leader of Blotto is Bill Polchinski on guitar. He wrote all the songs. The other members were Paul Jossman on guitar, Keith Stephenson on bass, Helena Binder on keyboards, Paul Rapp on drums and Greg Haymes on percussion. He also was the graphic designer. Blotto played local clubs and released the single I Wanna Be a Lifeguard. New York radio station WNEW DJ Vin Scelsa started playing it and I Wanna Be a Lifeguard became the theme for the Jones Beach lifeguards. Dr. Demento played the record. Blotto toured the Northeast US and self released a couple of EPs. Then with the help of students at SUNY Albany, a music video for I Wanna Be a Lifeguard was produced. Blotto sent the video to MTV and it was played on their first day broadcasting. It was the first MTV hit. Blotto released the album Combo Akimbo on the children's record label Peter Pan Records. They released two more videos which Sony released on VHS. Buck Dharma of Blue Oyster Cult appeared in the video for Metalhead. But despite a level of fame, Blotto still couldn't get a record deal. They were going to sign with Boardwalk Records but they closed. And they talked with Atlantic Records and couldn't make a deal. Record labels viewed Blotto as a novelty act that would have limited success. So they split up in 1984 and went on to other things. Paul Rapp became a lawyer. The reissue label One Way Records released this comp in 2005. It is available as a digital download. Keith Stephenson died in 1999. Greg Haymes died in 2019. Blotto reunites occasionally for special occasions. A documentary called Hello! My Name Is Blotto: The Movie. It played at last year's Susquehanna Film Festival in Williamsport, PA. It is not streaming but you can buy a DVD on Blotto's website. Here's the video for I Wanna Be a Lifeguard by Blotto. 

AccuRadio Song Of The Day-Georgia Brown

Artist:Georgia Brown

Song:As Long As He Needs Me

Album:Lionel Bart's Oliver!: The Original Broadway Cast Recording

British singer and actress Georgia Brown had her greatest success when she played Nancy in the 1960 London production of the musical Oliver!. She played the same role in the 1963 Broadway production and was nominated for a Tony. She also recorded and appeared in films and TV. But I don't think anything else she did was memorable. She was born Lilian Claire Klot Oct. 21, 1933 in Whitechapel, London, England. She is Jewish of Russian descent. Her father worked in a textile factory. During the London Blitz, Georgia was evacuated to Wales. When she started out as a nightclub singer, she took the stage name Georgia Brown after the song Sweet Georgia Brown. She signed with Decca Records and released a couple of songs including Sweet Georgia Brown in 1951. She played local clubs to promote them. Georgia lived with singer Annie Ross and was a member of the jazz vocal group that became Lambert, Hendricks & Ross. Georgia appeared on the BBC show Variety Parade in 1955. Then she got the role of Lucy in the 1956 London revival of Kurt Weill's musical The Threepenny Opera. She also appeared in the 1957 off Broadway production. Then she got her big break when she was cast in Lionel Bart's musical Oliver! which was an adaptation of the Charles Dickens novel Oliver Twist. She got lucky. Bart was a childhood neighbor and greeted her as "Lily". Georgia auditioned and won the role. Bart said that he hoped to cast Alma Cogan as Nancy. But after Georgia auditioned, he wrote the song As Long As He Needs Me for her. Georgia also appeared in the 1963 Broadway production of Oliver! and was nominated for a Tony. The cast album is available on CD. If you are wondering about the 1969 film Oliver!. Nancy was played by Shani Wallis. They knew each other and were the same age. Supposedly director Carol Reed saw Shani on The Ed Sullivan Show and preferred her voice. Georgia returned to England and appeared in films like A Study in Terror (1965), The Fixer (1968). She also appeared in the 1970 BBC series The Roads to Freedom. Georgia returned to Broadway in 1977 and appeared in the revue Side by Side by Sondheim. Georgia got another Tony nomination for appearing in the 1989 revival of The Threepenny Opera. After that, she made concert appearances and TV guest shots on shows like Murder, She Wrote and as Carla Tortelli's spiritual advisor Madame Lazora in a 1990 episode of Cheers. That got her an Emmy nomination. She appeared in a couple of episodes of Star Trek: The Next Generation. Georgia lived in Los Angeles. She went to London to appear on a Sammy Davis Jr. tribute show. While there, Georgia underwent emergency surgery for an intestinal obstruction and died on July 5, 1992 at age 58. Here's Georgia Brown performing As Long As He Needs Me on The Ed Sullivan Show Jan. 20, 1963.

  

AccuRadio Song Of The Day-DJ Sammy

Artist:DJ Sammy w/Yanou f/Do

Song:Heaven

Album:Heaven

Spanish DJ Samuel "DJ Sammy" Bouriah scored a top ten hit with this 2002 disco cover of the Bryan Adams song Heaven. It topped the British charts. Here he is a one hit wonder. But he's had chart success in Europe but not lately. He was born Oct. 19, 1969 in Mallorca, Spain. He started performing in local clubs in 1984. Bouriah studied as a sound technician at the Mallorca Music College. He met Dutch dancer and singer Loona in 1991. They started performing together. Bouriah released his first single Life Is Just a Game featuring Loona in 1995. It was a top ten hit in Spain. He has also had chart success in Germany. He released his debut album Life Is Just a Game in 1998. Then he started his own label and released the 2002 album Heaven. When The single Heaven started to chart across Europe, the dance label Robbins Entertainment picked it up in North America. They are distributed by Sony. The single Heaven reached #8 on the Billboard Hot 100 and it topped the British charts. The album was certified Gold in England. Though there are a couple of covers on the album, Bouriah wrote and produced most of the album with co-writers. For Heaven, the co-producer is German DJ Yann "Yanou" Peifer. The singer is Dutch singer Dominique Rijpma van Hulst. She goes by the stage name Do. She is unknown outside The Netherlands and Belgium. This album is available on CD. Bouriah last released an album in 2005. He still releases singles, most recently in 2026. There is a sentiment in the dance music community that only singles are needed and albums are obsolete. Of course that's not true but some DJs believe that. Bouriah still produces artists like Enrique Iglesias, Marta Sanchez and David Bisbal. And he still DJs in clubs mostly in Europe. Here's the video for Heaven by DJ Sammy with Yanou and featuring Do. 

 

AccuRadio Song Of The Day-Ted Nugent

Artist:Ted Nugent

Song:Cat Scratch Fever

Album:Great Gonzos!: The Best of Ted Nugent

These days Ted Nugent probably gets more press for his political views than his music. But back in the 70s, he was a favorite of hard rock fans. Without that success, no one would care about his politics. The 1977 single Cat Scratch Fever was his biggest chart hit. He was born Dec. 13, 1948 in Detroit. His father was a US Army Sergeant. He was transferred to the Chicago area in 1965 and Nugent attended St. Viator High School in Arlington Heights. He formed his first band The Amboy Dukes in 1965. They had success with the 1968 album and single Journey to the Center of the Mind. They did well enough that Nugent moved to a ranch in Michigan in 1973. Nugent signed with Epic in 1975 and dropped the Amboy Dukes name. Only bassist Rob Grange remained from The Amboy Dukes. The other members were Derek St. Holmes on vocals and guitar and Clifford Davies on drums. This was the band for the albums Ted Nugent (1975), Free-For-All (1976), Cat Scratch Fever (1977). Cat Scratch Fever was the most successful of those albums because the single Cat Scratch Fever reached #30 on the Billboard Hot 100. The album was certified 3XPlatinum. Nugent wrote Cat Scratch Fever and sang lead. But most of the songs were written by the band and St. Holmes sang lead. St. Holmes claims that Nugent took sole credit for most of the songs so he could avoid paying royalties to the band. Many bands split the royalties evenly to keep the band happy. St. Holmes left in 1976. Grange left in 1978. Davies left in 1982. The band lineup was not consistent after that. So maybe the band was more important than  Nugent would admit. Nugent's albums weren't as successful after that and he moved to Atlantic in 1982. This comp covers the Epic years and three bonus tracks were added when it was released on CD in 1999. Nugent's decline continued on Atlantic. There was a brief detour to the "supergroup" Damn Yankees featuring Jack Blades of Night Ranger and Tommy Shaw of Styx. Their 1990 album Damn Yankees was certified 2XPlatinum and the single High Enough reached #3 on the Billboard Hot 100. But their second album didn't do as well and they split up. Nugent left Atlantic in 1995 and signed with the video producer Eagle Rock. He last released an album in 2022. Nugent announced his retirement in 2023. But he changed his mind and is still touring. As I said, these days he's known for his political beliefs along with various TV appearances including his own reality TV shows. Here's Ted Nugent performing Cat Scratch Fever in London, England.