June 20, 2016

Ray Stevens Gospel Favorites...

Good afternoon Ray Stevens fans!! I'm sure you're aware of how busy Ray's been during the last couple of weeks...the second season of his television series getting underway, for example, and then the activity that took place during the CMA Music Fest. In addition to having a booth at the event Ray performed the National Anthem during the event's final night (June 12th). A video of his performance popped up on YouTube on June 12th. Ray recorded the National Anthem back in 2010 and it can be found on his We The People album. His performance and the song's arrangement heard at the CMA Music Fest is based on the 2010 recording.



A recap of Ray's CMA activities can be found in an article published by RFD-TV and can be accessed by clicking HERE. The page also features pictures of Ray at his booth signing autographs for fans. The CMA Music Fest, for those not familiar, used to be called Fan Fair. It's still called Fan Fair by a lot of people inside the music industry and by fans alike but it's officially billed as the CMA Music Fest.

This past Friday the latest CD from Ray Stevens became available entitled Just a Closer Walk with Thee/Gospel Favorites. It features the second half of the 24 gospel songs that Ray recorded during 2013 and 2014. The first half of the 24 songs appeared on 2014's Ray Stevens Gospel Collection, Volume One. I ordered my copy of the CD last Monday and it arrived in the mail today. I haven't had the chance to listen to it yet but I did glance over the credits and for those interested Ray's longtime friend/music and video collaborator/business associate Buddy Kalb authored several songs: "Something's Comin'", "Do You Hear Somebody Knockin'", and he co-wrote "Just a Touch of Jesus" with Don Cusic. As you search for the CD on-line be sure to look for that image. It's available at Amazon and on various on-line outlets that sell gospel recordings. It's available in both CD and Mp3 format. Much like his 2014 gospel CD this one isn't being sold at the official Ray Stevens music store yet. I suspect a lot of the reason Ray hasn't actually publicized this latest CD's existence is probably because the promotional campaign isn't officially underway yet. The CD having a release date on a Friday (back on June 17) is also a bit unconventional...but whatever...the CD is now available for purchase. The Mp3 can be found HERE for those that prefer to get their music loaded directly to their listening devices.

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