AccuRadio Song Of The Day-Lauren Bacall

Artist:Lauren Bacall

Song:One of the Boys

Album:Woman of the Year: The Original Broadway Cast

Lauren Bacall was a top Hollywood star for two decades. And of course she was married to legendary actor Humphrey Bogart. When things slowed down in the 60s, she went to Broadway and won a Best Actress Tony for the 1981 musical Woman of the Year. She was born Betty Jean Perske Sept. 16, 1924 in The Bronx, NY. Her parents were European Jewish immigrants. After her parents divorced, her mother reverted to her maiden name Bacal and so did Lauren. After attending a private boarding school financed by wealthy uncles, she went to Julia Richman High School in Manhattan. After graduating, she studied at the American Academy of Dramatic Arts, worked as an usher at the St. James Theater and modeled in department stores. She also dated classmate Kirk Douglas. Lauren made her Broadway debut in a bit part in the 1942 show Johnny 2x4. Then she was crowned Miss Greenwich Village. Then she appeared on the cover of Harper's Bazaar and in fashion magazines like Vogue. At the time, director Howard Hawks was casting the 1944 film To Have and Have Not. His socialite wife Nancy "Slim" Keith saw Lauren on the Harper's Bazaar cover and urged Hawks to give her a screen test. That audition got her a seven year Warner Bros. contract. He changed her name to Lauren Bacall but everyone called her Betty. Hawks sent her to a voice coach so she would speak with a deeper tone. If you are familiar with To Have and Have Not, you'll know that it was very loosely based on an Ernest Hemingway novel. But the main feature of the film was Lauren's sex appeal and the on screen sparks between her and Bogart. Of course the sparks flew off screen as well and the two married once Bogart's divorce from Mayo Methot was final. They starred together in the films The Big Sleep (1946), Dark Passage (1947) and Key Largo (1948). They were even parodied in Bob Clampett's 1946 cartoon Bacall to Arms. Key Largo was Bogart's final film at Warners. Meanwhile, Lauren was suspended several times when she rejected scripts given to her by Warners. She got out of her contract and then accompanied Bogart when he filmed The African Queen in Africa. She signed with 20th Century Fox and the 1953 film How to Marry a Millionaire was a big hit. Things didn't go so well after that. She made a couple of good films like Written on the Wind (1956) and Designing Woman (1957). Plus Bogart died in 1957. Lauren thought her film career had stalled. So she returned to Broadway for the 1959 show Goodbye, Charlie. She won a tony for the 1965 comedy Cactus Flower and starred in the 1970 musical Applause. Her next big show was the 1981 musical Woman of the Year. This was based on the 1942 film Woman of the Year starring Katharine Hepburn and Spencer Tracy. The book was written by Peter Stone and the music was by the veteran team of John Kander and Fred Ebb. Lauren's co-star was veteran TV actor Harry Guardino. Lauren won a Tony for this show. The original cast album is available on CD. After that Lauren continued to appear in films and on TV but she mainly did supporting roles in those days. Her last big film was the 1996 film The Mirror Has Two Faces as Barbra Streisand's mother. Lauren Bacall suffered a stroke and died on Aug. 12, 2014 at age 89. Here's Lauren Bacall performing One of the Boys from the musical Woman of the Year on the 1981 Tony awards broadcast.

 

AccuRadio Song Of The Day-The Diamonds

Artist:The Diamonds

Song:Little Darlin'

Album:Complete Singles As & Bs 1955-1962

The 1957 single Little Darlin' was the biggest hit for the vocal group The Diamonds. They had some other hits but Little Darlin' was the most memorable. Like another vocal group The Crew Cuts, The Diamonds were from Toronto. The lead singer of The Diamonds was Dave Somerville. He was born Oct. 2, 1933 in Guelph. But he went to high school at Central Tech in Toronto. After graduating, he got a job as a radio operator in the engineering department at the CBC. And he was studying voice at the Royal Conservatory of Music. At the CBC, Somerville met Ted Kowalski, Phil Leavitt and Bill Reed. They formed The Diamonds. An appearance on Arthur Godfrey's Talent Scouts got them a record deal with Decca's Coral label. Four singles were released with no success. They auditioned for Cleveland DJ Bill Randle who discovered another Canadian vocal group The Crew Cuts. And as he did with The Crew Cuts, Randle got The Diamonds a record deal with Mercury's Wing label. Their first single for Wing was a cover of Frankie Lymon's Why Do Fools Fall in Love?. It reached #12 on the singles charts. So now Mercury and musical director David Carroll knew they had something. Though The Crew Cuts had success, they were similar to vocal groups like The Four Lads. The Diamonds had more flair. After a few more singles, Mercury hit the jackpot when the 1957 single Little Darlin' reached #2 on the pop charts. It was another doo wop cover of a song by the Memphis based group The Gladiolas. The original was never a hit. And I know it's blasphemy to say this but The Diamonds' version is better than the original, especially Somerville's lead vocal and the spoken word part by Reed. So Producer Carroll imitated the original and also improved on it. The Diamonds' other big hit was the 1957 single The Stroll. By the late 50s, Somerville was the only original member remaining with three new guys. They left Mercury in 1962. All their singles are on this 2CD comp from the British reissue label Acrobat. After Somerville left The Diamonds in 1961, they became a fixture in Las Vegas. There were even two versions of The Diamonds which ended in a lawsuit. The original Diamonds reunited for the 2000 PBS show Doo Wop 51. A version of The Diamonds continues to tour today with no original members. Here's The Diamonds performing Little Darlin' on the Saturday Night Beech-Nut Show Feb. 21, 1959.

 

AccuRadio Song Of The Day-Neil Diamond

Artist:Neil Diamond

Song:Cherry, Cherry

Album:In My Lifetime

The 1966 single Cherry, Cherry was singer songwriter Neil Diamond's very first top ten hit. Of course he has had plenty of hits but it allows me to talk about his early days. He was born Jan. 24, 1941 in Brooklyn, NY. His grandparents were Jewish immigrants from Poland and Russia. He attended Erasmus Hall High School in Brooklyn where he sang in a chorus along with classmate Barbra Streisand. His family moved to Brighton Beach and Diamond attended Abraham Lincoln High School. Diamond was given a guitar for his 16th birthday. While at summer camp, he saw Pete Seeger perform. And that gave Diamond the idea that he could write songs too. After taking guitar lessons, he started writing songs. After graduating high school, Diamond attended New York University on a fencing scholarship. He was on the 1960 NCAA men's fencing championship team with future Olympic fencer Herb Cohen. Diamond was bored in college and left in his senior year to take a songwriting job at a publisher. After that job ended, Diamond wrote and recorded demos. He released a couple of 1962 singles with friend Jack Parker as Neil and Jack. They were similar to The Everly Brothers. This led to Diamond getting a record deal with Columbia. When the 1963 single Clown Town failed to chart, Columbia dropped him and he returned to freelance writing. He was in the Brill Building with all the other freelance songwriters and publishers. His first success was the 1965 Jay and the Americans top 20 hit Sunday and Me. Then The Monkees' 1966 single I'm a Believer topped the charts. This got Diamond a record deal with Bang Records owned by Bert Berns. Solitary Man was Diamond's first single. After it charted, Berns let Diamond record the 1966 album The Feel of Neil Diamond. Then the single Cherry, Cherry reached #6 on the Billboard Hot 100. The album was produced by the Brill Building husband and wife songwriting team of Jeff Barry and Ellie Greenwich. Diamond says that he worked on Cherry, Cherry with Barry and Greenwich and they recorded a demo with Artie Butler on piano and organ. A full band version was recorded in the studio. But it was decided that the demo version would be released as a single. Berns tells a different story. But considering that the demo version was used, I believe Diamond's story. You can get both versions on this 1995 Columbia 3CD box set available at a reasonable price. It contains Bang, UNI, MCA and Columbia recordings along with alternate takes and demos. After two albums for Bang, Diamond sued to get out of his contract with Bang and signed with UNI Records in 1968. They were owned by Universal Pictures and the name was changed to MCA Records. And that's when Diamond's career really began. Here's Neil Diamond performing Cherry, Cherry on the Oct. 6, 1966 episode of the TV show Where the Action Is. 

AccuRadio Song Of The Day-33Miles

Artist:33Miles

Song:There Is a God

Album:33Miles

33Miles was a CCM band that had an alt rock sound that CCM labels were looking for twenty years ago. They had some success on the CCM charts and then faded away. But now it seems that the band may return. Jason Barton was lead singer of the CCM band True Vibe from 1999-2003. They released two albums on the CCM label Essential. They lived in Nashville. After they split up, Barton formed 33Miles with Collin Stoddard on piano and Chris Lockwood on guitar. Their sound will remind you of Switchfoot and other alt rock bands. They started playing Nashville clubs and signed with the CCM label INO Records. As I said, it's the kind of sound that CCM labels were looking for at the time. 33Miles is a reference to Jesus Christ's age when he died. There Is a God was on 33Miles 2007 debut album 33Miles. The album was produced by veteran CCM producers Nathan Nockels and Sam Mizell and Mizell wrote There Is a God. 33Miles did OK on the CCM charts. The album is available on CD. Stoddard left in 2009 to become a pastor. Lockwood left in 2014. They released three albums on INO. Barton became a Nashville background singer. It looks like the original 33Miles reformed last year. They have played reunion shows but it's not clear if it's going anywhere. Here's the video for There Is a God by 33Miles. 

AccuRadio Song Of The Day-Grant-Lee Phillips

Artist:Grant-Lee Phillips

Song:Mona Lisa

Album:Virginia Creeper

Singer songwriter Grant-Lee Phillips was the leader of the 90s band Grant Lee Buffalo. Since they split up in 2000, Phillips has recorded and toured as a solo artist. He was born Bryan G. Phillips Sept. 1, 1963 in Stockton, CA. He started playing guitar as a teen. After graduating from high school, Phillips moved to Los Angeles and worked as a roofer during the day while taking classes at UCLA at night. He left UCLA for CalArts where he lived with his future wife Denise Siegel. He also got reacquainted with an old friend friend from Stockton Jeffrey Clark. They formed the band Shiva Burlesque in 1987. Clark was lead singer. Phillips was guitarist. After releasing two albums, the band split up in 1990. Three of the band members including Phillips formed the band Grant Lee Buffalo. Phillips was lead singer, guitarist and songwriter. They released four albums for Slash Records with Warner Bros. distribution. When they were unable to get significant radio play despite critical acclaim, Grant Lee Buffalo disbanded in 1998. Phillips signed with Rounder's Zoe label and released the 2000 album Ladies Love Oracle. Mona Lisa is from Phillips' 2004 album Virginia Creeper. Phillips writes and produces everything. Mona Lisa appeared in an episode of the TV series Smallville. This album is available as a budget CD. The major criticism of Phillips is he sounds too much like Nebraska era Bruce Springsteen. And as I have said before, that kind of criticism goes both ways as some listeners may like that. Phillips switched to the indie label Yep Roc with the 2008 album Little Moon. He still records for them and released his latest album in 2025. Phillips is not on tour right now. But he is appearing in Los Angeles clubs. Here's Grant-Lee Phillips performing Mona Lisa at City Winery in New York City Oct. 3, 2013. 

AccuRadio Song Of The Day-Nilsson

Artist:Nilsson

Song:Everybody's Talkin'

Album:One: The Best of Nilsson

The 1969 single Everybody's Talkin' was not Harry Nilsson's biggest hit. But it was his breakthrough hit and it allowed him to do whatever he wanted. It was the theme for the 1969 film Midnight Cowboy. Though Nilsson wrote most of his own songs, his two big hits were not original songs. He was born June 15, 1941 in Brooklyn, NY. He was of Swedish descent. He was raised by his mom and her parents after his father abandoned the family. Nilsson wrote about this in the song 1941. He moved to Los Angeles and worked at a bank while developing his music. He started performing in the early 60s and learned to write songs. He started out singing demos. In 1964, songwriter Perry Botkin Jr. (Nadia's Theme) gave Nilsson a key to his office so he could write songs in private. While working for Botkin, Nilsson met George Tipton. He financed Nilsson recordings that were released on Capitol's Tower label. After Tower released the 1966 album Spotlight on Nilsson and it went nowhere, Nilsson signed with RCA and released the 1967 album Pandemonium Shadow Show. Though there were no hit singles and the album didn't sell, it was critically acclaimed and after The Beatles press officer Derek Taylor gave copies of the album to The Beatles, they became Nilsson fans and they wanted to sign him to their new label Apple. And later Nilsson became friends with John Lennon. Plus the Nilsson song Cuddly Toy was a hit for The Monkees. Nilsson never toured. He didn't like performing live. He preferred the recording studio. The Fred Neil song Everybody's Talkin' first appeared on Nilsson's 1968 album Aerial Ballet. It was the only song on the album that Nilsson did not write. Nilsson was searching for a hit single when his producer Rick Jarrard played Everybody's Talkin' for him. Neil recorded it on his 1966 album Fred Neil. RCA released Everybody's Talkin' as a single but it didn't chart. Meanwhile, director John Schlesinger was working on Midnight Cowboy. Derek Taylor recommended that Nilsson should write and perform the theme for the film. Nilsson wrote and recorded the song I Guess the Lord Must Be in New York City. But Schlesinger preferred Nilsson's recording of Everybody's Talkin'. Of course the film was a big hit and Everybody's Talkin' reached #6 on the Billboard Hot 100. BTW. I Guess the Lord Must Be in New York City appeared on Nilsson's 1969 album Harry. The songwriting royalties allowed Fred Neil to retire from music. So now Nilsson was a big star. This 2CD budget comp from the British oldies label Music Club has all of Nilsson's Hits. I will look at the second half of Nilsson's career in the future. Here's Nilsson performing Everybody's Talkin' on the German TV show Beat Club 1968. Yes, he's lip synching. As I said, Nilsson hated performing live.

 

AccuRadio Song Of The Day-The Buffalo Bills

Artist:The Buffalo Bills

Song:Sincere

Album:The Music Man: Original Soundtrack

No, I'm not talking about the Buffalo Bills NFL football team. This is about The Buffalo Bills barbershop quartet. They appeared on 50s TV and are best known for appearing in the 1957 Broadway musical The Music Man and the 1962 film version. Of course the name barbershop music is because even today, the local barber shop is a community hub. It's similar to other types of four part harmony including offshoots like doo wop. The Buffalo Bills were formed in 1947 in Buffalo. Members were tenor Vern Reed, lead Al Shea, baritone Herschel Smith and bass Bill Spangenberg. None were professional musicians. They were introduced as The Buffalo Bills at an appearance and the name stuck. In those days, barbershop quartets competed in competitions. It's similar to what is seen today in college a cappella competitions. Smith left The Buffalo Bills when he got a job in Wisconsin. Dick Grapes replaced him and The Buffalo Bills won the 1950 Barbershop Harmony Society International Quartet Contest. They appeared on radio and TV shows like The Faye Emerson Pepsi-Cola Show on CBS. They toured military bases and even got a record deal with Decca. In the early 50s, The Music Man composer Meredith Willson hosted the radio show Music Today. He heard The Buffalo Bills records and went to Buffalo to meet them. In 1957, The Buffalo Bills competed on the TV show Arthur Godfrey's Talent Scouts and appeared on Godfrey's morning show. Willson asked The Buffalo Bills to appear in his Broadway musical The Music Man. They moved to New York. Grapes stayed behind and was replaced by Scotty Ward of the Great Scotts quartet from Steubenville, OH. After The Music Man was a big hit, The Buffalo Bills continued to appear on TV and signed a record deal with Mitch Miller at Columbia Records. They recorded four albums for Columbia and also recorded for Warner Bros. and RCA. And they appeared in the 1962 film of The Music Man. That soundtrack album is available as a budget CD. Spangenberg died in 1963 and was replaced by Jim Jones of The Sta-Laters. The Buffalo Bills continued to tour until they disbanded in 1967. Here's The Buffalo Bills performing Sincere in the 1962 film The Music Man.