May 1, 2014

Ray Stevens 1987 TV commercial...

As April turns to May, Ray Stevens has uploaded a clip of his 1987 television commercial for the double LP project, Get The Best of Ray Stevens. The commercial I remember seeing happened to be much shorter...it wasn't until today that I found out that there are 3 separate TV commercials that aired at various times throughout the late '80s. The least aired ran 2 minutes...least aired because it's the longest...and TV commercials, by 1987, weren't necessarily as long as the commercials had been earlier in the decade. From the full length 2 minute commercial Ray and company would later edit 2 additional commercials from it: one commercial had a running time of 1 minute and another had a super brief running time of 30 seconds. I don't know if the edited versions of the 2 minute commercial are going to find their way onto You Tube but for now, the 2 minute commercial is there...



Isn't that just the greatest??? You bet it is!!!

The voice-over states that "Can He Love You Half as Much as I?" is his latest single...this means that it had been taped several months before the explosive, topical success of 1987's "Would Jesus Wear a Rolex?". Obviously...considering that the song doesn't appear on this double LP.

The 20 song collection consists of the 10 songs found on 1987's Greatest Hits (released on MCA) and ten more songs. Later on in 1987 when "Would Jesus Wear a Rolex?" became a hit, MCA issued Greatest Hits, Volume Two and filled it out with most of the remaining songs from Get The Best of Ray Stevens and included 2 exclusive recordings: the previously mentioned "Would Jesus Wear a Rolex?" and "Mama's in the Sky with Elvis". Then, MCA released a brand new studio album from Ray in 1987 titled Crackin' Up, featuring the lead-off hit single, "Would Jesus Wear a Rolex?". I've got the 2-LP Get The Best of Ray Stevens in my collection. I purchased my copy on eBay in the early 2000s.

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