A few more words about Ray Stevens...

In a small write-up in the October 14, 1988 issue of The Palm Beach Post there was mention of an upcoming Ray Stevens concert being held at West Palm Beach Auditorium which was located on the intersection of Congress Avenue and Palm Beach Lakes Boulevard. The small write-up offered a small mistake...the writer suggested that Ray's single, "Would Jesus Wear a Rolex?", was still being talked about after nearly two years on the market. In reality, the single hit late in April of 1987 and this write-up occurred in mid October of 1988. Yes, technically, it was almost two years...April of 1989 marked that occasion. I think I know why the writer wrote it the way she did...to give more emphasis on how long of a shelf life the single had enjoyed. The song did indeed have a much longer life span than your typical comedy/novelty single...and three albums, all released in 1987, showcased the single: Crackin' Up, Greatest Hits Volume Two, and Get The Best of Ray Stevens. The song also appears on Curb Records His All-Time Greatest Comic Hits, MCA's The Collection and Millennium Collection. The song was nominated for a Grammy award in 1988...in the category of Best Comedy Recording. It was up against recordings from Robin Williams, Weird Al, Bob and Ray, as well as Jackie Mason. The winner was Robin Williams for A Night at the Met. The full name of the Grammy category was Best Comedy Performance: Single or Album, Spoken or Musical. The 1986 album from Williams apparently was released late in 1986 as to why it won a 1988 Grammy. There's an eligibility period and material has to be released prior to a cut-off date. If the Williams album would have been released earlier in 1986 it would've surely been nominated in the 1987 Grammy awards and maybe it would've given Ray a better chance of winning a Grammy in 1988...but who knows??