Showing posts with label 4th of july. Show all posts
Showing posts with label 4th of july. Show all posts
July 4, 2022
Ray Stevens: Upcoming July CabaRay concerts...
June 30, 2022
Ray Stevens: 4th of July Online Sale...
That particular clip, uploaded originally in 2012 and re-uploaded in 2019, confused a number of people on YouTube...some of the comments that were left in 2012 apparently had some people thinking that Ray was advertising a box set of music videos on DVD even though the voice over from Charlie Chase points out that these are compact discs. Those comments showing the confusion of some accompanied the 2012 upload which was removed from his channel at some point...and the video was re-uploaded in 2019. There's a 4 minute video upload promoting the Encyclopedia, too. When you watch that 2019 video upload the price shown at the end isn't the current price, as far as I know. It cost higher when it was brand new which is when I purchased my copy and by 2019 the price had dropped. As albums get older their price comes down...and this is the 10th anniversary year of the 9-CD box set's release (which is why I'm discussing this particular release).
Another upload advertising the box set featured Buddy Kalb displaying the box set, opening it up, and discussing the contents inside. Buddy made it a point to bring up that this box set wasn't a collection of oldies from various artists but rather it's a box set featuring Ray Stevens singing his versions of legendary comedy and novelty songs made famous by other recording acts...using contemporary music technology that didn't exist when a lot of those recordings were made. Ray re-created a lot of the arrangements heard in the original recordings. His version of the Spike Jones classic, "William Tell Overture", just one example, is incredible in it's accuracy and faithfulness to the original.
In the online store you'll find books, music, CD's, DVD's, T-shirts, hats, stuffed animals, key chains, and various trinkets. You can visit Ray's online store by clicking HERE. Remember, the sale starts tomorrow (July 1st). Oh, it's perfectly fine if you'd prefer to not wait for a sale to take place and order whatever you want today...but just in case you're anticipating a sale you'll need to be patient...it'll begin tomorrow (July 1st) and last through July 4th. The four CD's being advertised in the screen cap below are part of the 4-CD box set, Iconic Songs of the 20th Century. That box set, released in the summer of 2021, will also be 20 percent off beginning tomorrow (July 1st).
July 4, 2020
Ray Stevens: Independence Day 2020...
Happy 4th of July!! The nation celebrates it's 244th birthday...declaring it's independence on July 4, 1776. In blog entries past I don't think I'd ever made mention of my being a bicentennial baby. Now, to be specific, I was not born on July 4, 1976 but I was born in the latter half of 1976, several months after the country celebrated it's 200th year of independence. In my way of thinking anyone born on July 4, 1976 through July 3, 1977 should be considered a bicentennial baby. How come? It's because the nation was in it's 200th year of independence from July 4, 1976 through July 3, 1977. The 201st year began July 4, 1977.
In almost all of my blog entries for July 4th I post patriotic and military video clips from Ray Stevens. He's recorded a fair amount of patriotic, military, and politically oriented songs. One of the songs I often cite is "There's s Star Spangled Banner". It's a marvelous recording that Ray originally recorded in 1989 and it appears on his Beside Myself album. In 1991 he re-recorded the song. He utilized the 1989 music arrangement but supplied new lyrics. This obscure recording can be found on a 1991 compilation on Ray Stevens from Curb Records titled Greatest Hits. The compilation surfaced in early 1991 during the Gulf War. In my way of thinking the reason why the song featured new lyrics is because the 1989 recording specifically centered around Beirut and it told a fictional tale of a P.O.W. who longs to be free and continues to have hope that he'll see the American flag waving once again. The 1991 recording contains a brief history lesson of specific battles that were fought and won by the American military with the flag standing tall.
"Thank You" came along in the early 2000s as a response to the anti-war sentiment and how it appeared like the military, of all branches, had lost public support due to the on-going fight against terrorism. The 'war' is a symbolic one...it was never an official declaration by Congress...but each President since 9/11 (Bush 43, Obama, and Trump) have left their imprint on the terrorism war in some way or another. The current Administration reduced the size of the military presence in specific areas no longer deemed a threat and there's been a significant reduction of the military overseas, in general, since 2017. This isn't to be taken as a slap in the face of the military...they're still being utilized...just not in any large scale ground war.
Ray's Thank You album featured several patriotic songs. Aside from the title track which Ray co-wrote with a writer named Larry McCoy there's the rallying "Let's Roll", which Ray wrote, and then there's the nostalgic "Come on Home to Baseball" which fits the patriotic, American pride theme. That song, too, was written by Ray. He and Buddy Kalb wrote "Stand Up". In today's climate that song fits even more perfectly...it's a song about how critical it is to stand up for what you stand for. The 'silent majority' of today could learn a lesson from that song...it's time to stand up against the forces of the 'loud minority'.
In 2010 he added several more patriotic songs to his catalog. One of them happened to be the emotionally charged "Fallen Ones" which Ray co-wrote with Brent Holmes. The song debuted on the We The People album. This collection also included several songs that highlight small-town values. The nostalgic "Dear Andy Griffith" is actually kind of tragic because it tells about a small-town that's gotten too big, figuratively, and has lost it's small-town charm and appeal. "Fly Over Country" deals with a region of the United States that is largely overlooked due to it being mostly rural, agricultural land and how it sits in the middle of both the West and East coasts. It's an ode to small-town America who largely make up the fabric of the country and the disdain it receives by locally elected officials once they 'go to Washington'.
In 2016 Ray recorded a song titled "Dear America" as a response to the mood of the times. In a lot of ways it anticipated the anti-America culture war that's going on today. In the song Ray defends America and proclaims that he'll never turn his back on a country that promotes freedom, liberty, and the pursuit of happiness; also, he'll make sure the children are taught the importance of the nation's Founding Fathers. The song also makes reference to 9/11. The past flaws and sins of any one person or in this case, a country, should never be erased. The old saying 'you learn from your mistakes' is why bad things from a country's past should remain visible as something to remember and not repeat.
Ray made a music video of "Thank You" in the early 2000s and he's also included the song several times on his YouTube channel in different situations. There's a couple of concert performances of the song by Ray in addition to the official music video. There is also an audio track of the song uploaded earlier today. I'm going to upload several video performances of "Thank You" because it salutes each branch of America's military. I'm uploading the official music video first...
Here's a performance by Ray on his PBS series, CabaRay Nashville, from a couple of years ago. The official music video is powerful but this performance from the TV show is even more so because he's singing it in front of a studio audience comprised almost entirely of military personnel. Ray uploaded it to his YouTube channel last 4th of July...
The audio link uploaded earlier today on YouTube features the CD cover of Thank You on screen while the audio recording plays. The CD was released in 2004 during those early years in the War on Terror...
From September 2016 here's "Dear America". He taped the video in letterbox format and therefore no amount of resizing will cause the two bars to minimize. I don't mind the letterbox format but some of you out there may find it distracting...
In almost all of my blog entries for July 4th I post patriotic and military video clips from Ray Stevens. He's recorded a fair amount of patriotic, military, and politically oriented songs. One of the songs I often cite is "There's s Star Spangled Banner". It's a marvelous recording that Ray originally recorded in 1989 and it appears on his Beside Myself album. In 1991 he re-recorded the song. He utilized the 1989 music arrangement but supplied new lyrics. This obscure recording can be found on a 1991 compilation on Ray Stevens from Curb Records titled Greatest Hits. The compilation surfaced in early 1991 during the Gulf War. In my way of thinking the reason why the song featured new lyrics is because the 1989 recording specifically centered around Beirut and it told a fictional tale of a P.O.W. who longs to be free and continues to have hope that he'll see the American flag waving once again. The 1991 recording contains a brief history lesson of specific battles that were fought and won by the American military with the flag standing tall.
"Thank You" came along in the early 2000s as a response to the anti-war sentiment and how it appeared like the military, of all branches, had lost public support due to the on-going fight against terrorism. The 'war' is a symbolic one...it was never an official declaration by Congress...but each President since 9/11 (Bush 43, Obama, and Trump) have left their imprint on the terrorism war in some way or another. The current Administration reduced the size of the military presence in specific areas no longer deemed a threat and there's been a significant reduction of the military overseas, in general, since 2017. This isn't to be taken as a slap in the face of the military...they're still being utilized...just not in any large scale ground war.
Ray's Thank You album featured several patriotic songs. Aside from the title track which Ray co-wrote with a writer named Larry McCoy there's the rallying "Let's Roll", which Ray wrote, and then there's the nostalgic "Come on Home to Baseball" which fits the patriotic, American pride theme. That song, too, was written by Ray. He and Buddy Kalb wrote "Stand Up". In today's climate that song fits even more perfectly...it's a song about how critical it is to stand up for what you stand for. The 'silent majority' of today could learn a lesson from that song...it's time to stand up against the forces of the 'loud minority'.
In 2010 he added several more patriotic songs to his catalog. One of them happened to be the emotionally charged "Fallen Ones" which Ray co-wrote with Brent Holmes. The song debuted on the We The People album. This collection also included several songs that highlight small-town values. The nostalgic "Dear Andy Griffith" is actually kind of tragic because it tells about a small-town that's gotten too big, figuratively, and has lost it's small-town charm and appeal. "Fly Over Country" deals with a region of the United States that is largely overlooked due to it being mostly rural, agricultural land and how it sits in the middle of both the West and East coasts. It's an ode to small-town America who largely make up the fabric of the country and the disdain it receives by locally elected officials once they 'go to Washington'.
In 2016 Ray recorded a song titled "Dear America" as a response to the mood of the times. In a lot of ways it anticipated the anti-America culture war that's going on today. In the song Ray defends America and proclaims that he'll never turn his back on a country that promotes freedom, liberty, and the pursuit of happiness; also, he'll make sure the children are taught the importance of the nation's Founding Fathers. The song also makes reference to 9/11. The past flaws and sins of any one person or in this case, a country, should never be erased. The old saying 'you learn from your mistakes' is why bad things from a country's past should remain visible as something to remember and not repeat.
Ray made a music video of "Thank You" in the early 2000s and he's also included the song several times on his YouTube channel in different situations. There's a couple of concert performances of the song by Ray in addition to the official music video. There is also an audio track of the song uploaded earlier today. I'm going to upload several video performances of "Thank You" because it salutes each branch of America's military. I'm uploading the official music video first...
Here's a performance by Ray on his PBS series, CabaRay Nashville, from a couple of years ago. The official music video is powerful but this performance from the TV show is even more so because he's singing it in front of a studio audience comprised almost entirely of military personnel. Ray uploaded it to his YouTube channel last 4th of July...
The audio link uploaded earlier today on YouTube features the CD cover of Thank You on screen while the audio recording plays. The CD was released in 2004 during those early years in the War on Terror...
From September 2016 here's "Dear America". He taped the video in letterbox format and therefore no amount of resizing will cause the two bars to minimize. I don't mind the letterbox format but some of you out there may find it distracting...
July 4, 2015
Ray Stevens Star Spangled Banner...
Hello once again...yes, this is my second 4th of July blog entry...earlier I did a re-cap of the 2011 Ray Stevens album, Spirit of '76. In this entry I decided to highlight a couple of versions of the same song. The song is "There's a Star Spangled Banner" and perhaps only the more detailed of fans are aware that there are 2 different versions of this song from Ray Stevens. The song's melody remains the same and it's chorus does, too, but the verses in each recording are completely different.
The song originated on the 1989 Ray Stevens album Beside Myself from the pens of Ray and Buddy Kalb. In this recording Ray sings about a prisoner in Beirut and the confidence and faith the prisoner has in the United States flag. A couple of years later a different recording emerged on the Curb Records compilation, Greatest Hits, issued in 1991. In this updated recording Ray sings about the various battles that the United States military has fought and all the victories and some losses that the American flag's been a part of through history.
Each recording is available for purchase on Amazon but there's no distinction made differentiating one recording from the other. If you purchase THIS Mp3 of "There's a Star Spangled Banner" then you're getting the 1989 recording. The 1991 recording isn't available by itself and so you'll need to purchase the full length Mp3 of Greatest Hits located HERE. I like that photo!!
Ray had re-recorded and partially re-wrote the 1989 song for a special project Curb Records issued during the Gulf War in 1991. That project hit on April 29, 1991 and it was titled American Music: Greatest Hits. It featured patriotic songs by those on the Curb Records roster at the time. Ray's 1989 recording happened to be for MCA Records and if you see it listed on any compilation released by MCA or one of it's subsidiary labels then you're going to get the 1989 recording. Ironic enough Ray's 1991 re-recording of "There's a Star Spangled Banner" debuted on Greatest Hits (it having been released on April 15, 1991) and so it's debut on the Greatest Hits album predated it's appearance on the April 29th project by 2 weeks but the main reason for the re-recording happened to be for the various artist compilation Curb issued.
There are some internet sites that list Ray's song as "There's a Star Spangled Banner Waving Somewhere" but that's an entirely different song altogether. Ray's song is "There's a Star Spangled Banner". If you see any internet sites mistakenly call Ray's song the former rather than the latter politely correct them. Accuracy is something I strive for when it comes to Ray Stevens information and trivia.
The song originated on the 1989 Ray Stevens album Beside Myself from the pens of Ray and Buddy Kalb. In this recording Ray sings about a prisoner in Beirut and the confidence and faith the prisoner has in the United States flag. A couple of years later a different recording emerged on the Curb Records compilation, Greatest Hits, issued in 1991. In this updated recording Ray sings about the various battles that the United States military has fought and all the victories and some losses that the American flag's been a part of through history.
Each recording is available for purchase on Amazon but there's no distinction made differentiating one recording from the other. If you purchase THIS Mp3 of "There's a Star Spangled Banner" then you're getting the 1989 recording. The 1991 recording isn't available by itself and so you'll need to purchase the full length Mp3 of Greatest Hits located HERE. I like that photo!!
Ray had re-recorded and partially re-wrote the 1989 song for a special project Curb Records issued during the Gulf War in 1991. That project hit on April 29, 1991 and it was titled American Music: Greatest Hits. It featured patriotic songs by those on the Curb Records roster at the time. Ray's 1989 recording happened to be for MCA Records and if you see it listed on any compilation released by MCA or one of it's subsidiary labels then you're going to get the 1989 recording. Ironic enough Ray's 1991 re-recording of "There's a Star Spangled Banner" debuted on Greatest Hits (it having been released on April 15, 1991) and so it's debut on the Greatest Hits album predated it's appearance on the April 29th project by 2 weeks but the main reason for the re-recording happened to be for the various artist compilation Curb issued.
There are some internet sites that list Ray's song as "There's a Star Spangled Banner Waving Somewhere" but that's an entirely different song altogether. Ray's song is "There's a Star Spangled Banner". If you see any internet sites mistakenly call Ray's song the former rather than the latter politely correct them. Accuracy is something I strive for when it comes to Ray Stevens information and trivia.
Ray Stevens and the Spirit of '76, Part 11...
Happy 4th of July to all the fans of Ray Stevens! In April of 2011 a CD from Ray Stevens emerged and it immediately became a fan favorite. Spirit of '76 contains 11 recordings from Ray Stevens and each of them feature a topical and or political slant...some songs feature both. In the earliest years of the Obama Administration and the Tea Party movement it shouldn't be overlooked that our Ray Stevens happened to be one of the most vocal amongst the music acts. Criticizing the Obama Administration and embracing the ideals of the smaller Government Tea Party advocates had an impact in the 2010 midterm election cycle.
Combining topical humor, political commentary, and patriotism became the foundation for Spirit of '76. The project featured 5 songs that became music video hits on YouTube/social media...as such this could be interpreted as one of Ray's biggest successes if you factor in the amount of video popularity associated with the songs.
I purchased Spirit of '76 as an Mp3 in April of 2011. It remained an exclusive Mp3 release until the fall of 2011...it emerged in CD format at that point in time and so I purchased the CD counterpart, too. At the time of the CD's release only a couple of songs had become video hits and then throughout the rest of the year the remaining video releases soon emerged. If one happens to examine this era of Ray's career, in hindsight, it all appears perfectly timed but yet for those like myself we know that from day to day, week to week, month to month it was pretty much a roller coaster ride for as soon as you'd reach the height of a music video's initial popularity, it would reach a valley, and then when you're least expecting it the video would soar into popularity once again. Given the unpredictable nature of topicality a music video featuring political commentary/humor and those that center on topical events are largely at the mercy of the collective news cycle. If Obama and one of his machinations seems to be dominating the news cycle then more than likely a video by Ray about Obama gets a boost in unique views. The topic of the environment/Green Energy comes and goes...and on this CD there's "Cap'n Trade the Pirate"...a song mixing pirate lore and Green Energy that should have been made into a music video but it wasn't.
The very first release from this CD turned out to be the third track, "God Save Arizona", on August 4, 2010! That particular song in music video form emerged in the fall of 2010 during the peak of the controversies surrounding illegal immigration and the State's court battles with the Federal Government. Issued as a music video exclusive it struck the same kind of chord that a previous video about illegal immigration from Ray Stevens did. At the time of the release of "God Save Arizona" there was no talk of it being part of any upcoming CD. So, then, once Spirit of '76 became available fans noticed that "God Save Arizona" appeared as track 3 and so it retro-actively became the CD's first video release. This ballad has gotten 1,053,472 unique views. For those that may not be aware, this video created controversy during it's first day of release and was taken off-line after it had obtained nearly 100,000 discoveries. The issue surrounding the video apparently resolved itself because not long afterward the video re-emerged but the previous views had been erased and so it's rather appropriate if you want to add at least a hundred thousand to the current tally.
The CD's opening track, "The Skies Just Ain't Friendly Anymore", became a video in the early part of 2011 and ironically it, at the time, was being promoted as the first release from Spirit of '76. This amusing song/video has to do with the TSA at the airport and the body scans. The video hit in February 2011 and to date it's gotten a little more than half a million unique views at 555,404.
As mentioned previously the music videos are like roller coasters and those numbers for the video didn't come all at once. The video seen it's release a little less than 2 months before the Spirit of '76 became available.
The biggest successes from the CD centered around Obama. Several weeks after the Mp3 of Spirit of '76 became available "Obama Budget Plan" became his next video release on April 25th. The video, as one can guess from the song's title, is about the Federal budget (or lack thereof). The song comically tells the story of a man that comes up with an idea to print money from his basement. He figures if it's perfectly fine for the Government to print money and rack up trillions of dollars in debt then it shouldn't be illegal or unethical for the tax payer to get in on the money printing business. Currently sitting at 3,869,283 unique views it's the biggest hit from the CD.
The second biggest video hit from Spirit of '76 comes in the form of "Mr. President - Mr. President", a video that seen it's social media debut on September 27, 2011. In this video Ray portrays a fictional reporter stationed at the White House "asking" Obama a series of questions. The visual hook is that a video snippet of Obama appears at a podium as if Ray's really asking him questions. The song highlights the reputation Obama has of mixed up priorities. To date that particular video has gotten 1,632,890 unique views.
The fifth release from the CD came along more than a year later on November 3, 2012. "Grandpa Voted Democrat" was certainly a surprise release. It's not a surprise that it eventually became a music video but considering that more than a year had passed from the release of the previous video from the CD it wouldn't have been out of the ordinary to assume 2011's "Mr President - Mr. President" to be the CD's final video single...yet Ray emerged just prior to Election Day 2012 with the voter fraud satire "Grandpa Voted Democrat" and to date it's gotten 637,364 unique views. It's the fifth and final release from Spirit of '76 and you can purchase your copy HERE if you want to add it to your Ray Stevens collection.
Combining topical humor, political commentary, and patriotism became the foundation for Spirit of '76. The project featured 5 songs that became music video hits on YouTube/social media...as such this could be interpreted as one of Ray's biggest successes if you factor in the amount of video popularity associated with the songs.
The CD's opening track, "The Skies Just Ain't Friendly Anymore", became a video in the early part of 2011 and ironically it, at the time, was being promoted as the first release from Spirit of '76. This amusing song/video has to do with the TSA at the airport and the body scans. The video hit in February 2011 and to date it's gotten a little more than half a million unique views at 555,404.
As mentioned previously the music videos are like roller coasters and those numbers for the video didn't come all at once. The video seen it's release a little less than 2 months before the Spirit of '76 became available.
The biggest successes from the CD centered around Obama. Several weeks after the Mp3 of Spirit of '76 became available "Obama Budget Plan" became his next video release on April 25th. The video, as one can guess from the song's title, is about the Federal budget (or lack thereof). The song comically tells the story of a man that comes up with an idea to print money from his basement. He figures if it's perfectly fine for the Government to print money and rack up trillions of dollars in debt then it shouldn't be illegal or unethical for the tax payer to get in on the money printing business. Currently sitting at 3,869,283 unique views it's the biggest hit from the CD.
The second biggest video hit from Spirit of '76 comes in the form of "Mr. President - Mr. President", a video that seen it's social media debut on September 27, 2011. In this video Ray portrays a fictional reporter stationed at the White House "asking" Obama a series of questions. The visual hook is that a video snippet of Obama appears at a podium as if Ray's really asking him questions. The song highlights the reputation Obama has of mixed up priorities. To date that particular video has gotten 1,632,890 unique views.
The fifth release from the CD came along more than a year later on November 3, 2012. "Grandpa Voted Democrat" was certainly a surprise release. It's not a surprise that it eventually became a music video but considering that more than a year had passed from the release of the previous video from the CD it wouldn't have been out of the ordinary to assume 2011's "Mr President - Mr. President" to be the CD's final video single...yet Ray emerged just prior to Election Day 2012 with the voter fraud satire "Grandpa Voted Democrat" and to date it's gotten 637,364 unique views. It's the fifth and final release from Spirit of '76 and you can purchase your copy HERE if you want to add it to your Ray Stevens collection.
July 4, 2011
Ray Stevens and the Spirit of '76, Part 6...
Happy 4th of July all you Ray Stevens fans! As usual, on the 4th of July or in the days leading up to it, I often single out patriotic or military songs that have been recorded by Ray Stevens. I do this to keep things up to date. I could easily say "check my July archives in 2010 and 2009" but that isn't something that I intend on doing. Given that Ray for the last year and a half (December 2009 to the present) has reinvented himself as a voice for the Independent voter and one who often thanks the branches of the military on a consistent basis in his interviews I decided to once again write about his patriotic contributions on this 4th of July 2011.
The 2010 CD from Ray Stevens, We The People, is chock full of patriotic and political songs. Up until a few months ago this was considered Ray's current CD. He has since released the Spirit of '76 which I'll write about a little bit later. Decked out in Founding Father clothing, Ray issued this amazing collection several months after taking the internet world by storm with his music video, "We The People". This collection features most of the songs that have become You Tube fixtures for Ray in recent years: "We the People", "Caribou Barbie", "Throw the Bums Out!", "Come to the USA", and "The Global Warming Song". The CD also contains "Thank You", an earlier patriotic ballad from 2003 that fit the overall theme of the collection. As far as patriotism/military songs are concerned "Thank You", obviously, is in that mood. A song called "Midnight in Baghdad", a haunting ballad if I do say so myself is about the trials and tribulations of war and how it affects different people in different ways. It's the album closer. "Let's Roll" incorporates a lot of military originated catch-phrases, battle cries, and lyrics synonymous with heroism. The phrase's modern usage is connected to a passenger in one of the hijacked airplanes on 9/11. Ray wrote the song. He also co-wrote "Thank You" and "Stand Up". An additional song on this CD that Ray co-wrote is "The Fallen Ones". As you can perhaps tell by the song's title it's about the soldiers who've died during battle.
"There's a Star Spangled Banner" appears on this 1991 compilation from Curb Records and as long-time fans are aware it's an alternate version from the one that appears on his 1989 Beside Myself album. Whereas the 1989 recording tells the story of a POW in Beirut who longs to have freedom, the 1991 version starts out with a history of many of the wars and battles that the American flag endured through the decades. Each version keeps the same melody and the chorus is the same...the only difference is the opening verse. The Gulf War was going on in 1991...which obviously required some different lyrics during the opening verse so as not to be directly identified with Beirut. That's all just my opinion, though. I have no first-hand information as to why there was a re-write of the lyrics...but I think my opinion as to why there was a re-write makes perfect sense.
If any of you visit on-line music sites...and even Amazon's Mp3 store...you'll no doubt be familiar with the way on-line stores are erroneous with the song's title. Many places refer to Ray's song as "There's a Star Spangled Banner Waving Somewhere". This is incorrect! That particular recording was recorded by a lot of other artists but Ray never recorded it. The actual title of Ray's song is simply "There's a Star Spangled Banner". I always feel compelled to mention that because there may be people who see the song listed incorrectly in an Mp3 store and because of the mistake the consumer may be disappointed that they didn't get the song that was advertised. That sort of thing is why I always try to point out the mistakes, the misinformation, and the myth's from critics, reporters, and other bloggers when it comes to Ray's career and music.
Ray's current CD, Spirit of '76, has only been available for a couple of months. It hit in April 2011 as an Mp3 digital download on Amazon. About a week or so later it became available in Mp3 and CD format at Ray's web-store. According to Amazon, the CD version of Spirit of '76 will finally become available for purchase at their web-site on August 9th. I know a lot of people nowadays buy Mp3's instead of CD's but there's a segment of Ray's audience that like having a CD of music with art work, musician and songwriter credits, and everything else that comes with a standard CD. As you can see Ray's CD uses the iconic image of The Spirit of '76 painting. Unlike the 2010 CD which contained 22 songs and a DVD of 4 music videos this latest one is the standard 11 song collection. It features "God Save Arizona", "The Skies Just Ain't Friendly Anymore", "Obama Budget Plan", and eight more.
The 2010 CD from Ray Stevens, We The People, is chock full of patriotic and political songs. Up until a few months ago this was considered Ray's current CD. He has since released the Spirit of '76 which I'll write about a little bit later. Decked out in Founding Father clothing, Ray issued this amazing collection several months after taking the internet world by storm with his music video, "We The People". This collection features most of the songs that have become You Tube fixtures for Ray in recent years: "We the People", "Caribou Barbie", "Throw the Bums Out!", "Come to the USA", and "The Global Warming Song". The CD also contains "Thank You", an earlier patriotic ballad from 2003 that fit the overall theme of the collection. As far as patriotism/military songs are concerned "Thank You", obviously, is in that mood. A song called "Midnight in Baghdad", a haunting ballad if I do say so myself is about the trials and tribulations of war and how it affects different people in different ways. It's the album closer. "Let's Roll" incorporates a lot of military originated catch-phrases, battle cries, and lyrics synonymous with heroism. The phrase's modern usage is connected to a passenger in one of the hijacked airplanes on 9/11. Ray wrote the song. He also co-wrote "Thank You" and "Stand Up". An additional song on this CD that Ray co-wrote is "The Fallen Ones". As you can perhaps tell by the song's title it's about the soldiers who've died during battle. 
"There's a Star Spangled Banner" appears on this 1991 compilation from Curb Records and as long-time fans are aware it's an alternate version from the one that appears on his 1989 Beside Myself album. Whereas the 1989 recording tells the story of a POW in Beirut who longs to have freedom, the 1991 version starts out with a history of many of the wars and battles that the American flag endured through the decades. Each version keeps the same melody and the chorus is the same...the only difference is the opening verse. The Gulf War was going on in 1991...which obviously required some different lyrics during the opening verse so as not to be directly identified with Beirut. That's all just my opinion, though. I have no first-hand information as to why there was a re-write of the lyrics...but I think my opinion as to why there was a re-write makes perfect sense.If any of you visit on-line music sites...and even Amazon's Mp3 store...you'll no doubt be familiar with the way on-line stores are erroneous with the song's title. Many places refer to Ray's song as "There's a Star Spangled Banner Waving Somewhere". This is incorrect! That particular recording was recorded by a lot of other artists but Ray never recorded it. The actual title of Ray's song is simply "There's a Star Spangled Banner". I always feel compelled to mention that because there may be people who see the song listed incorrectly in an Mp3 store and because of the mistake the consumer may be disappointed that they didn't get the song that was advertised. That sort of thing is why I always try to point out the mistakes, the misinformation, and the myth's from critics, reporters, and other bloggers when it comes to Ray's career and music.
Ray's current CD, Spirit of '76, has only been available for a couple of months. It hit in April 2011 as an Mp3 digital download on Amazon. About a week or so later it became available in Mp3 and CD format at Ray's web-store. According to Amazon, the CD version of Spirit of '76 will finally become available for purchase at their web-site on August 9th. I know a lot of people nowadays buy Mp3's instead of CD's but there's a segment of Ray's audience that like having a CD of music with art work, musician and songwriter credits, and everything else that comes with a standard CD. As you can see Ray's CD uses the iconic image of The Spirit of '76 painting. Unlike the 2010 CD which contained 22 songs and a DVD of 4 music videos this latest one is the standard 11 song collection. It features "God Save Arizona", "The Skies Just Ain't Friendly Anymore", "Obama Budget Plan", and eight more.
July 3, 2009
Ray Stevens: Star Spangled Banner
On the eve of the 4th of July I wanted to touch upon a couple of patriotic/political songs in the career of Ray Stevens. I often cite a song that's found on Ray's 1989 serious-comedy showcase album, Beside Myself. This was, at the time, Ray's last album for MCA Records and it was the first time in six years that Ray had put love ballads and serious songs onto an album. The first five songs on this album were non-comical and the last five were comedy songs. Ray had a hand at writing nine of the ten songs found here. Track number five is a song called "There's a Star Spangled Banner" about a man in the military whose been captured by the enemy and held prisoner. The setting is Beirut/Middle East and the song is written from a POW's perspective hoping that America/the flag will ride to his rescue. Ray gives some commentary about how the flag is not respected in other parts of the country but no matter how much the flag goes through hopefully it'll continue to remain a beacon for the values that America holds. I love the arrangement and the song...now, I know, in this day and time with everyone sensitive over just about anything, a song with this kind of pro-America sentiment causes a lot of our own people to be offended. Things used to not be that way. You can find this song on Beside Myself and At His Best, which is a CD re-issue of the 1989 album.
In 1991 Ray recorded an entirely different song, but kept the same chorus and song title, "There's a Star Spangled Banner". This version of the song isn't about a man being held prisoner in Beirut. This 1991 version is about the flag itself and all of the battles and wars that it's fought in. The Gulf War and it's aftermath was the reason for the alternate version...but don't quote me on that. This version of the song can be found on the 1991 Curb Records compilation, Greatest Hits, which was released in April of that year. Looking through history I found out the cease-fire was in February 1991 so that puts it about the time the Gulf War was still in the headlines.
So, there are two versions of the same song out there and my advise to you is to click on the song sample at the on-line music stores and listen and see which version you're buying...since the songs contain different verses but the same chorus, buy both songs.
Late in 2001/early 2002, Ray had out the patriotic/political comedy song, "Osama Yo' Mama". It came complete with a music video and a more serious b-side, "United We Stand". The commercial CD single, which wasn't distributed heavily, sold enough to push the single to #1 on the Country Single Sales chart...it would remain the Top-5 for several months. "Osama Yo' Mama" of course is about Osama bin Laden and the disappointed he must be bringing his mother. "United We Stand" was originally a peace and brotherhood hit in the early 1970's in the latter years of the Vietnam War. Ray's version comes complete with grandiose arrangement, which a song like "United We Stand" needs. These two songs opened and closed the Curb Records CD, Osama Yo' Mama: The Album in 2002. The CD became a Top-30 hit.
"Hello Mama" was a sequel to "Osama Yo' Mama" and it featured the same melody but different lyrics. "Hello Mama" was also made into a music video...it can be found on the 2004 DVD release, The Complete Comedy Video Collection, as a bonus music video. "Hello Mama" is about Osama on the run in the Middle East and he consistently calls his mother with fears of being caught and sent to Guantanamo Bay. He's using cell-phones to contact his mother but finds that he has to destroy each one he uses because "Dubyah" might be tracing the call. It's just as funny but not as well-known as "Osama Yo' Mama". Each song was written by Ray and Buddy Kalb.
In 2004, with the country still engaged in war and conflicts over-seas, Ray and co-writer Larry McCoy offered "Thank You", a song about the military men and women who are fighting overseas voluntarily. Typically during a war or any kind of conflict, the soldiers and the troops are often over-looked because the media and most talk-shows focus on the politics and the controversies surrounding a war and they often lose sight of the soldiers unless a body count is being reported. So, "Thank You" is a song about not forgetting the soldiers who voluntarily joined the military and thanking all parts of the military for what they do. There was a music video produced in 2004 as well as a 11 song CD.
Looking on the back of the CD they list the 11 songs. One of the songs is an instrumental called "Boogie Woogie", the final track on the CD. The CD is all-serious and Ray is credited as a songwriter on eight of the eleven tracks. Two of the tracks are re-recordings, though. "Be Your Own Best Friend", a hit single back in 1978, and 1983's "Love Will Beat Your Brains Out". The songs Ray didn't write are "It Won't Be Easy", "Boogie Woogie", and "Pledging My Love". The track list for the CD:1. Thank You
2. Come On Home To Baseball
3. Blue Angel
4. Pledging My Love
5. It Won't Be Easy
6. Let's Roll
7. Be Your Own Best Friend
8. Love Will Beat Your Brains Out
9. When I Get Over You
10. Stand Up
11. Boogie Woogie
Several of these songs were later put on the 2006 Curb Records release, Box Set largely because the Thank You album wasn't highly promoted. Meanwhile, the Box Set became a Top-5 hit on the Comedy Albums chart...one of the alternative charts Billboard publishes. The project originally was issued on his own label in 2005 but Curb distributed it in 2006.
Backing up 30 some years to the early '70s, Ray recorded a couple of brilliant patriotic/political songs...songs that he wrote. One of them was "Talking" which was featured on his 1970 album, Unreal. In the song Ray sings about the war going on but all it seems that people in Washington were doing is talking and setting up conferences and meetings instead of doing any overt action. On this same album we have "Loving You On Paper", a love song about a man in the war who gets through the day writing love letters to his girlfriend or his wife. It's never explained if the woman is his wife or his girlfriend...but whatever the relationship, the song deals with loneliness.
The big song from that album, though, was "America, Communicate With Me". This single openly asks the country to explain it's actions and communicate in an open manner. It mentions the assassinations that took place and all of the protesting and everything else going on.
"America, Communicate With Me" became a Top-20 hit on the Adult-Contemporary chart. It peaked a few spots below the Top-40 on the Hot 100. These patriotic/political songs were grouped together under the protest song umbrella...although I wouldn't put Ray's war songs in that same category. While other war songs were pointed against the way the country was running, Ray's tended to be more about common sense...they were never in your face as far as political commentary goes...at least I don't think they were. Others may have a different impression. These 1970 songs were recorded during the time period Ray recorded "Everything Is Beautiful", which went to #1 and sold millions that same year.
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