December 3, 2009

Ray Stevens: The 45 Singles...another chapter...

Revisiting a familiar topic of 45 singles causes me to post images of Ray Stevens singles in no particular order. Some singles are what is known as "promo singles" meaning that at the time of release they were available only at radio stations. Currently these promo singles are available all over eBay, the premiere on-line marketplace. Collectors usually place high value on promo singles due to their rare nature and the fact that the promo single wasn't part of the public domain. One of the distinct characteristics of a promo single verses a commercial single is the label color. Usually a promo single had white paper and the commercial single would have the official design. MCA, for example, their official label was blue with a rainbow design behind the song's title as you see below on 1984's "Mississippi Squirrel Revival" but their promo label was white, as you see on 1985's "The Ballad of the Blue Cyclone". In the case of that song, the single I chose to spotlight here is a color vinyl. Those are considered to be even more sought-after because of their extreme obscureness.

"Mississippi Squirrel Revival" as I wrote about several months ago is in it's Silver Anniversary...it was recorded 25 years ago back in 1984. The single hit the Top-20 on the country charts and became one of his most popular that decade. A 1992 music video of the song has since become a staple on-line. For those who still don't know what the song is about it's about a squirrel who runs loose inside a church after it was snuck in by a couple of kids. The squirrel's antics are credited with causing miracles because once the squirrel runs afoul of Harv Newland and Sister Bertha, the two confess their sins amidst the pain. The melody is catchy as it conveys an old-time Dixieland-southern feeling...which is appropriate given that the song takes place in the south where one of the kid's grandmother lives in an Antebellum world.

Photobucket "Glory Special" is a gospel song from Ray's 1974 gospel album, Turn Your Radio On. It's the b-side of "Love Lifted Me", which didn't make the country or pop music charts. You can click the image for a bigger view. Ray's gospel album was re-issued on CD, paired with the album, Misty, in 2005. "Glory Special" is one of my favorites from his gospel album...it uses the imagery of a train. Ray vocally mimics the train...there isn't a train whistle in the tradition of Boxcar Willie; instead, we have Ray using various harmonies over-dubbing moans and hums to create the sound of the train gaining momentum...other vocal sound effects include the exhaust and the calls from the conductor.

Photobucket This single comes from 1989...it's a promo copy of "I Saw Elvis In A UFO". The song was a take-off on all of the Elvis sightings that routinely show up on tabloids then and still do today. In this song Elvis not only is alive but is seeing the sights of outer space with the likes of Jimmy Hoffa, Col Tom Parker, Howard Hughes, and Liberace. The song comes from the album, Beside Myself, which is 20 years old this year. Ray has never made a music video of this song, believe it or not, but he's performed the song on his Platinum selling Ray Stevens Live home video. In the performance a large UFO hovers above him as he's decked out in Elvis attire. Pink aliens show up mid-way through the song. This performance at his theater could serve as an unofficial music video.

6 comments:

  1. YEARS AGO I ACQUIRED A RED VINYL 45 RPM RECORD OF RAY'S. I'D LIKE TO KNOW THE SIGNIFICANCE OTHER THEN COLOR BETWEEN THE RED AND THE BLUE VINYL. IS ONE MORE VALUABLE
    THEN THE OTHER?

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  2. In my opinion the color of the vinyl isn't what's important, just the fact that the vinyl has a color. I've seen some of Ray's singles that are red...there was one of "Shriner's Convention" and one of "Southern Air"...and I think a few others...but I don't think the color of the vinyl means much. I'm not a dealer or anything so I wouldn't know, I'm just going by my opinion. I like to spotlight 45 RPM's on occasion but by no means am I a guru of the subject.

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  3. Thank you for taking the time to respond to that question, I appreciate your comment. The recording is very special to me as with all of the records, tapes, replys, fan club mail,and other branchs of entertainment he has been involved in over the years, it is much more than a montatary value to me, it connects deeper into lifes great memories, and there is no price large enough to be able to equal that worth.

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  4. My copy of "The Streak" 45 has a plain white label. Stores could not keep the 45 in stock, so this was obviusly a rush print/press job. So, that would be a rarity.

    "Everybody Needs a Rainbow" is another rarity I own, simply because the song was pulled (per statement by Ray in concert) over publishing/perforing right issues. It's a shame because I think it would have been a big hit.

    Of course, Gitarzan was one of the very first 45's I ever bought.

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  5. That's odd...that particular single became a big hit on the Adult-Contemporary chart and was written by one of Ray's songwriters, Layng Martine Jr. and I took it that Ray published it himself!?! It hit the country charts, too.

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  6. Can anyone supply a copy of Crying Goodbye recorded in 1958 by Capital Records???

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