Welcome to Frank Pozen's Big Bad Blog. A lot of folks have been asking me to update them about my recovery. So I thought I would start a blog primarily to do that but also to talk about other topics of interest including the wrestling business and whatever else I can think of. I plan to update this on a regular basis so check back and leave a comment if you wish.
C.J. Chenier is the son of The King of Zydeco Clifton Chenier. C.J. continues that tradition and is known as The Crown Prince of Zydeco. He was born Clayton Joseph Thompson Sept. 28, 1957 in Port Arthur, TX. He grew up knowing about his father's music but was a fan 0f 70s funk and soul. When he first listened to his father's music, Chenier thought all the songs sounded the same. He played sax in local bands in Texas and studied music in college. In 1978, Chenier was asked to play sax in his father's band. By the time Clifton Chenier died in 1987, C.J. was ready to take over the band. And he's been recording and touring ever since. You may have heard Chenier when he appeared on Paul Simon's 1990 album Rhythm of the Saints and he also toured with him. Chenier recorded several albums for Alligator Records. Turn Around and Say Goodbye is from the 2001 album Step It Up!. This was his final Alligator album. He has since recorded for World Village. C.J. Chenier performs at the annual New Orleans Jazz & Heritage Festival and he records his set and sells it. Zydeco is great party music so I suggest you check it out. Here's C.J. Chenier & the Red Hot Louisiana Band performing Turn Around and Say Goodbye on The Artie Lange Show 2012.
After a fourth place finish on season two of American Idol (AI), Josh Gracin topped the country charts with the 2004 single Nothin' to Lose. Things didn't go so well after that especially when his record label closed. Now I guess he's the subject of "Whatever happened to" articles. That happens to many AI contestants. He was born Oct. 18, 1980 in Westland, MI which is a Detroit suburb. He listened to rock as a child. But when his radio station switched to country, he got into Garth Brooks and George Strait. Gracin performed locally as a teen and performed at a national talent show at the Grand Ole Opry. After graduating from high school, Gracin joined the US Marine Corps, got married and was assigned to Camp Pendlton in California as a supply clerk. He still had the music bug so he successfully auditioned for AI in 2003. After finishing fourth in the finals, Gracin wasn't able to go on the AI tour because of his Marines commitment. They sent him on a recruitment tour. Gracin was honorably discharged in 2004. So how did he get a record deal? When he sang the Rascal Flatts song I'm Movin' On on AI, that band was watching him on their tour bus. Rascall Flatts bassist Jay DeMarcus was so impressed that he hooked Gracin up with producer Marty Williams who had produced a couple of Rascal Flatts albums. This led to a record deal with Disney owned Lyric Street Records. Gracin's 2004 debut album Josh Gracin was certified Gold and the single Nothin' to Lose topped the Country Singles chart. A couple of other singles were top five. Nothin' to Lose was written by Marcel Chagnon and Kevin Savigar. It appeared on Chagnon's 1993 album on Mercury Records. He recorded as Marcel. When Chagnon's music career was unsuccessful, he turned to directing music videos. Savigar is a British session musician who was in Rod Stewart's band in the 80s. Gracin did not write any of the songs. For Gracin's 2008 album We Weren't Crazy, Williams brought in veteran songwriter Brett James to work with Gracin on developing songwriting skills. James wrote Carrie Underwood's Jesus, Take the Wheel. James wrote several songs on the album including a couple with Gracin. But the album didn't do as well as the first one. The criticism of both albums was Gracin was not distinctive enough to be successful long term. In other words, he sounded too much like other country singers. Then Disney closed Lyric Street in 2010. He released the 2012 album Redemption on Average Joes Entertainment. Gracin wrote all the songs and co-produced. But he didn't have the Disney machine behind him anymore. So of course the album was unsuccessful. Since than, Gracin has released a few singles on his own label and he still tours. The closing of Lyric Street really hurt him. So that's what happened to Josh Gracin. Here's the video for Nothin' to Lose by Josh Gracin. The video was shot at a Nashville high school so Anne Marie Kovacs was probably a student there. It's her only credit.
Ryan and Kurt Dahle of the Canadian band Age of Electric (AOE) started Limblifter in 1994 when AOE went on hiatus and they had surplus songs they wanted to use in a side project. The Dahle brothers are from Vancouver. Ryan plays guitar and Kurt plays drums and sings. AOE signed with MCA in Canada and Mercury in the US which was also AOE's label. The album Limblifter was released in 1995. The third member of Limblifter was Taste bassist Ian Somers. The Dahle brothers wrote and produced the albums. Singles like Tinfoil were played on Canadian radio. When AOE returned with the 1997 album Make a Pest a Pet, the Dahles put Limblifter on the backburner. When AOE split up in 2008, the Dahles revived Limblifter and replaced Somers with Todd Fancey. After the 2000 album Bellaclava, Kurt Dahle and Fancey left to join The New Pornographers. Ryan Dahle formed a new band Alarm Bell with former members of The Matthew Good Band. When that didn't work out, Dahle revived Limblifter. Limblifter has since released three albums. The latest was Little Payne in 2022. They are playing some shows in May. Here's the video for Tinfoil by Limblifter.
Album:Hard to Find 45s on CD Volume 8: Seventies Pop Classics
British singer songwriter Daniel Boone scored a top 20 hit with the 1972 single Beautiful Sunday. He is perceived as a one hit wonder but one of his other songs charted so he is technically not a one hit wonder. Boone has had a long career in England. He was born Peter Charles Green July 31, 1942 in Birmingham, England. He was guitarist for The Beachcombers who played local clubs from 1958-62. The band met Tommy Bruce who had a top five hit with the 1960 single Ain't Misbehavin'. He was billed as Tommy Bruce and the Bruisers. But there was no band as the music was recorded by studio musicians. So The Beachcombers became The Bruisers. Green started writing and recording as Lee Stirling with Bruce's manager Barry Mason. Green had little success as Lee Stirling. But The Bruisers continued to chart until they split up in 1967. In 1971, Green joined Larry Page's Penny Farthing label as a singer songwriter. He decided to call himself Daniel Boone. Page produced The Troggs hit Wild Thing. Green started writing with another staff songwriter Rod McQueen. They wrote several songs for an upcoming Daniel Boone album. But the song they thought would be a hit was Beautiful Sunday. After hearing the song, Page thought so too. Beautiful Sunday reached #21 on the British Singles chart. But when it was licensed to Mercury Records in the US, it reached #15 on the Billboard Hot 100. Boone continued to write and perform for many years. But Beautiful Sunday was his only big hit. You can get it on this various artists CD from the oldies label Eric Records. This song is on a lot of various artist CDs. But I know Boone re-recorded it I know that this CD has the original recording. Daniel Boone died on Jan. 27, 2023 at age 80. Here's the video for Beautiful Sunday by Daniel Boone.
Suede was successful in their native England in the 90s. The 1993 single Animal Nitrate was their first top ten hit in England. They were known as The London Suede in the US and they weren't as successful there. Lead singer and main songwriter Brett Anderson and guitarist Justine Frischmann met in 1988 while studying at University College London and soon became a couple. They started jamming with Anderson's childhood friend Mat Osman on bass. They placed an ad in NME for a lead guitarist. That brought them 19 year old Bernard Butler. They decided on the name Suede. There was no drummer. They used a drum machine. Suede was influenced by The Smiths and The Cure among others including 70s glam rock. They started playing gigs. A demo was sent to the BBC radio show Demo Clash. They won five straight weeks and that got them a record deal with the small label RML. They weren't happy with the drum machine and placed an ad for a drummer. They ultimately hired Simon Gilbert who spoke to their manager at the time Ricky Gervais. Anderson and Justine split up and she started dating Blur lead singer Damon Albarn. She thought she could stay in the band. But there was tension so she was kicked out. Anderson and Butler started writing songs together. They had trouble getting a record deal because they sounded too much like The Smiths and grunge was popular at the time. They finally signed with Saul Galpern's Nude label for two singles. That's when the buzz started and record companies offered to buy their contract from Galpern. Instead he signed a distribution deal with Sony that gave Suede creative control. Their debut album Suede was released in 1993. Animal Nitrate was the third single and it reached #7 on the British Singles chart. The album topped the charts. Anderson and Butler wrote all the songs and former Psychedelic Furs keyboardist Ed Buller produced the album. Not surprisingly, Animal Nitrate was about drugs. Suede still sounded like The Smiths but that didn't matter anymore. When the album was released in the US, some lounge singer threatened to sue about the name. So they were forced to call themselves The London Suede. Meanwhile, Anderson and Butler weren't getting along and Butler left in 1994. A lot of the 1994 album Dog Man Star had already been recorded. Anderson continued to write on his own. Richard Oakes was the new guitarist. They also added Gilbert's cousin Neil Codling to play keyboards. Suede continued to have success in England until Nude closed in 2001 and Sony stopped promoting them. Anderson decided to disband Suede in Oct. 2003. Suede reunited for one time only in 2010. But they decided to make it permanent and they have released three albums. This 2CD budget comp covers Suede's entire career. Suede toured with the Manic Street Preachers in 2022 and they are currently on tour with them again. Here's the video for Animal Nitrate by Suede.
Anita Kerr was a very important part of the Nashville music scene mostly providing backup singers for sessions. Her group The Anita Kerr Singers recorded many easy listening albums. She moved to Europe in the 70s. She was born Anita Grilli Oct. 13, 1927 in Memphis. She married Al Kerr in 1947 and they moved to Nashville so he could be a DJ at radio station WKDA. Anita was performing with her vocal group in clubs when a WSM radio program director hired her to arrange and conduct a choir for the show Sunday Down South. She got into providing session singers for producer Owen Bradley at Decca Records. By 1955 they were doing eight sessions per week. Anita and her singers won on the TV show Arthur Godfrey's Talent Scouts and they became regulars on his daily TV show. When they weren't in New York doing that, they were still doing sessions in Nashville. The Anita Kerr Singers signed with RCA Records in 1961. They recorded easy listening covers of hits similar to The Ray Charles Singers. They won a Grammy for the 1965 album We Dig Mancini. Anita also arranged and produced Living Voices albums. Plus Anita and her singers continued do do sessions. After Anita divorced her husband in 1965, she moved to Los Angeles with new husband Alex Grob. She left RCA for Warner Bros. and formed a new version of The Anita Kerr Singers. She continued to record albums, was choral director for The Smothers Brothers Comedy Hour and recorded several albums with poet Rod McKuen. After switching to Dot Records in 1969, Anita moved to her husband's native Switzerland in 1970. She formed a new group with British singers Anne Simmons, Ken Barrie and Danny Street and recorded for Philips Records and later Word Records. She slowed down in the 80s and didn't record much. This recording of The Fool on the Hill was on the 1994 album Favorites on Bainbridge Records. I was surprised she didn't record this song in the 60s. The album is mostly 60s covers recorded in England. Anita Kerr died on Oct. 10, 2022 at age 94. Here's Anita Kerr performing The Fool on the Hill Dec. 14, 1974.
French DJ David Guetta is a songwriter and producer who has been very successful bringing in guest singers like Sia Furler for the 2011 single Titanium. It's one of his biggest hits. He's recorded a lot of music. But he sold his catalog in 2021 and seems to be slowing down a bit. It's not like he needs the money. He was born Nov. 7, 1967 in Paris. He started out as a DJ in the Broad Club in Paris in 1984. He got into house music in 1987 and released Nation Rap with rapper Sidney Duteil. He continued to DJ at local clubs and released the 1994 single Up & Away featuring Fingers Inc. singer Robert Owens. He formed Gum Productions in 2001 with DJ Joachim Garraud and they released the single Just a Little More Love featuring gospel singer Chris Willis who was on vacation in France when he met Guetta. The single did well enough to get Guetta a record deal with Virgin Records and his 2002 debut album Just a Little More Love. Guetta was in demand to do remixes of David Bowie's Heroes among other things. But things picked up for Guetta with the 2009 album One Love and the single When Love Takes Over featuring Kelly Rowland. This topped the British Singles chart. Then the single Sexy Bitch featuring Akon reached #7 on the Billboard Hot 100. So now Guetta is really in demand. He produced the 2009 Black Eyed Peas single I Gotta Feeling which topped the charts and won Grammys. And that led to the 2011 album Nothing but the Beat. He scored three top ten hits from that album. Titanium featuring Sia Furler was probably the biggest hit as it topped the British Singles chart and reached #7 on the Billboard Hot 100. The album is his biggest seller to date and it's available in a 3CD deluxe edition at a budget price. Since then things have slowed down for Guetta. He's recorded two albums and a few of his singles have charted. In 2021, Guetta sold his back catalog to Warner Music for $100M. He still records singles occasionally and produces and does remixes. But it seems like he's winding down his career. He's made his money. Maybe it's time to relax. Here's the video for Titanium by David Guetta featuring Sia. Yes, that is Rob Lowe as a cop. And the boy is played by British actor Ryan Lee.
