May 3, 2014

Ray Stevens: One Mint Julep on Derby Day...

Good late afternoon Ray Stevens fans...on Derby Day...

Yes, today marks the annual running of The Kentucky Derby (also known as the Run for the Roses). The event has taken place since the 1870s and it's part of horse racing's Triple Crown. The other races in the crown are The Belmont Stakes and The Preakness Stakes. The Kentucky Derby takes place at Churchill Downs in Northern Kentucky.

It's only fitting that on Derby Day I make mention of a song recorded by Ray Stevens...no, it isn't about horse racing or specifically about Kentucky...but it captures, in song, the beverage synonymous with The Kentucky Derby: the Mint Julep.

"One Mint Julep" tells the story of a man that meets a woman and then proceeds to get drunk on mint juleps. One thing leads to another and he finds himself in a kind of shotgun wedding...forced to marry someone he really doesn't love or even know...at the insistence of the woman's outraged father. In the story, the father walked in on his daughter and the man (Ray) in an apparent romantic embrace...causing the father to go on a rampage...and threaten murder unless a marriage took place sooner rather than later.

So, are you looking to add the song to your on-line collection?? Unfortunately the Ray Stevens recording of "One Mint Julep" isn't available for Mp3 purchase. It can only be found on his 1978 LP, There Is Something On Your Mind, and on the 1995 CD/cassette, Cornball. You may be able to find that 1995 compilation CD for sale in a number of on-line stores...but, as mentioned, there is no digital download/Mp3 available. I have no idea if it once was available. I say that because there are 2 other 1995 collections from Warner Brothers on Ray Stevens that are available on Mp3 but Cornball isn't one of them...and those 2 collections had been released the same day as Cornball in 1995...so it's odd that just 2 of the 3 compilations by Warner Brothers on Ray Stevens are available on Mp3.

No comments:

Post a Comment

Show your appreciation for the music of Ray Stevens...leave a comment...