Ray Stevens CabaRay: April concerts...

As we approach the beginning of another month (April) I thought it appropriate to highlight the activity taking place at the CabaRay showroom during the month of April. The month kicks off with a week of activity, literally. The RFD-TV series, Larry's Country Diner, will have six episodes of the series taped there during a three day recording session (April 1st, April 2nd, and April 3rd). The series has taped at Ray's showroom before. Ray's first concerts for the month of April will begin on April 4th (Thursday). This month he'll perform at the CabaRay on April 4th, April 5th, and April 6th. These will be followed by concerts that take place on the following dates in April: 12, 13, 18, 19, 20, 26, and 27. Saturday night's performance from Ray at the showroom wrapped up the month of March. If you've visited the CabaRay already chances are you're just as impressed as I was when I attended a concert there. It's one thing to see images of the venue on-line...actually being there in person is something else entirely. I was never able to visit the first venue he owned and operated in Branson, Missouri (1991-1993, 2005-2006) but I visited the CabaRay last year.

In the world of country music the most busiest month(s) for tourism is usually June and July. In fact I do believe the month of June is still referred to in Nashville as Country Music Month for that's the month in which the annual Fan-Fair event takes place. It's long since been referred to as the CMA Music Fest but it's still Fan-Fair for those old enough to remember it's original name. The CabaRay is located just west of downtown Nashville at 5724 River Road via Charlotte Pike off Interstate 40. When I visited the showroom last year there was a billboard on I-40 advertising the CabaRay. I assume the billboard is still there. Anyway, when you're in Nashville, once you merge onto I-40 from I-65 look for the Charlotte Pike exit and once on Charlotte Pike travel to the River Road exit. It's a lot simpler if you MapQuest or use a GPS device, obviously, rather than rely on my brief directions.

The above image is the billboard that went up in the summer of 2018. I have no idea if it's still there. When I attended a concert there last year it was before that particular billboard was created but there was an earlier billboard along the highway advertising the CabaRay. In an issue of The Nashville Ledger in 2017 it featured several articles about the CabaRay and the author included numerous career facts surrounding Ray at the time. In fact ground was broke for the venue in March 2016 but the slow wheels of local Government (the approval for a building permit, specifically) kept construction from taking place until September of 2016 (the permit itself was approved in August). The article in The Nashville Ledger was published exactly two years ago on March 31, 2017 (a Friday). It was being speculated in that issue that the CabaRay would likely have it's grand opening in August 2017...but, of course, the grand opening didn't happen until January 2018.

There were two individual articles about the CabaRay to appear in The Nashville Ledger on March 31, 2017. One article used the headline 'CabaRay will be a one-stop entertainment venue' and then there's an article titled I'm Doing it to Have Fun. Each article was written by an author named Tom Wood. In that same issue is a career overview of Ray Stevens plus a story about Larry Black (host of Larry's Country Diner) and how the plans for a real life diner was canceled. I've posted the links to the Ray Stevens articles before...but for those interested in reading commentary from a time prior to the CabaRay being open for business and still in construction phase you can click the following links from March 2017: HAVING FUN and ONE STOP VENUE. In each link there are links to the article about Larry Black as well as the career overview of Ray Stevens. A link to the CabaRay is located below.

The showroom is in it's second season of concerts (having re-opened for the 2019 season earlier this month). Tickets can be purchased at the website by clicking HERE. Once you open the link you'll see the calendar off to the left. The first three dates in April, as mentioned earlier in the blog entry, are for Larry's Country Diner. The remaining April schedule are Ray Stevens concerts.

Ray Stevens: Voices in the Hall...

Hello once more...a podcast featuring Ray Stevens became available yesterday and it's part of a series called Voices in the Hall. I had seen the title of this series mentioned a couple of times on-line but without reading too much about it I thought it was a program that focused on members of the Country Music Hall of Fame. So, once I came across the podcast of the series with Ray as a guest I erroneously thought it was going to be an interview with Ray on being elected to the Country Music Hall of Fame as well as it being a look back on his career. Ray's interview is Episode Eight in the recently launched series.

Anyway, having not read much about the series, I listened to Ray's interview and also read the manuscript version. It never dawned on me that Ray's interview had taken place weeks or probably months before the March 18th announcement of his election to the Country Music Hall of Fame.

It's a great interview and Ray gets the opportunity to talk about his experiences in the recording studios over the last several decades and his successes with video material (collectively VHS, DVD, and On-line releases) in addition to his years in Branson, Missouri and the recent opening of the CabaRay showroom. The host asks him several questions about several of his recordings and he tells of their origin. "Gitarzan", for example, as well as "The Streak" and "Everything is Beautiful" among others. It really isn't until near the end of the interview that we (the listeners) realize that the conversation took place prior to Ray's election to the Hall of Fame based on some parting words from the host.

It turns out that the title of the series, Voices in the Hall, is meant to be taken literally. It's a conversation/interview series which takes place inside the Hall of Fame facility...it doesn't mean the artists being interviewed happen to be members of the Hall of Fame (which is what I initially thought the series would be about). The irony, of course, is Ray's interview for this series was uploaded weeks after the March 18th announcement that he would be one of the newly elected Country Music Hall of Fame members...but episodes for Voices in the Hall had been recorded weeks prior to that announcement...and so it's eerie to hear the interviewer, Peter Cooper, mention that he hopes Ray will become a member of the Country Music Hall of Fame one day. Once I heard him say that to Ray it dawned on me that the interview had taken place at some point prior to March 18th of this year.

It's a great interview, as I mentioned, regardless of it taking place before the Hall of Fame announcement. Over on the podcast website I commented that I hope a further interview takes place in which Ray can reflect on his career from his newly acquired status as a Hall of Fame member. The medallion ceremony later this year marks the official induction where the members receive their plaque and medallion which is why in the months leading up to the medallion ceremony the newly elected members are sometimes referred as member-elect, much like in a Presidential election. Once a candidate wins the election he's referred as the President-elect until the official Oath of Office takes place. Ray and the other newly elected Hall of Fame members go through a similar process. It's only after the medallion ceremony takes place (equivalent to Inauguration Day for a President) that the newly elected become official inductees.

As of this writing Ray hasn't given any interviews, well, any lengthy remarks about the Hall of Fame election beyond the speech he gave on March 18th which is embedded below the podcast link.

You can listen to the Voices in the Hall podcast by clicking HERE.

His speech at the Hall of Fame from March 18, 2019...

Ray Stevens: Forty Five at Forty Five...

Hello all...it looks as if there's some sort of chaotic scene taking place at the supermarket. Now, from what I've been able to gather from the audio report I'm listening to, multiple witnesses have said that some man ran into the supermarket wearing just his tennis shoes and nothing else. Upon further listen of the audio report this phenomenon is being described as streaking. Oh yes, "The Streak", from newly elected Country Music Hall of Fame member Ray Stevens was released forty five years ago yesterday (March 27, 1974). It made it's debut on both the pop music and the country music charts the week ending April 13, 1974. In the country music format "The Streak" reached the Top-5 whereas in pop music it hit the top of the charts on May 18, 1974 for the first of three consecutive weeks. When "The Streak" took over number one on the Hot 100 it was still climbing within the Top-10 on the country music singles chart. The single had already been certified a million seller by the time it hit number one on the pop chart (in it's 6th week on the Hot 100). The novelty song benefited from a streaking incident at the Academy Awards. Streaking, according to Ray's reflections of the song, had been something of a fad on college campuses but hadn't broken out into the general public. Ray happened to learn of this fad while reading a magazine which featured an article about a college student that ran nude through the campus and it was referred to as 'streaking'. I've never done any research to find out if the phrase, streaking, existed prior to 1974. I'm sure it existed when describing smears on car windshields, mirrors, or the windows of one's house but I'm pretty sure 1974 was the year 'streaking' came to refer to running nude in public.

In interviews that have taken place in the years since Ray has remarked that he quickly wrote down a general idea of "The Streak" with the intention of finishing the song at some point but then he discovered that streaking was becoming a major news story and it had crossed over into the general public. This turn of events caused Ray to dig out his rough draft and put the finishing touches on it...issuing the song amidst a sea of other streaking songs vying for attention. Ray's recording, as mentioned, was released on March 27, 1974. Now, earlier I made mention of the Academy Awards. How does this fit in with everything? Well, on April 2, 1974 the annual Oscar gala was broadcast. This year's festivities were officially billed as The 46th Annual Academy Awards. That year's broadcast was hosted by Burt Reynolds, Diana Ross, John Huston, and David Niven. It was during a segment featuring David Niven in which a streaker, later identified as Robert Opel, ran across the stage while giving the peace sign. As you could very well imagine this kind of an event taking place became the top news item of the day and given this streaking took place well before 24/7 cable television it was the talk of the country for several weeks...the bulk of it's attention regulated mostly to newspapers and magazines of the time period. "The Streak" cut through all of the other novelty songs about the subject...it certainly helped that Ray was a well established artist with name recognition, too. The timing couldn't have been more critical given the streaking at the Academy Awards (April 2) and then 11 days after the fact "The Streak" makes it's debut on the Hot 100 (April 13)...but let's not forget that the single had been available for purchase since March 27 and so it wasn't a case of Ray rush releasing the song to capitalize on the streaking incident (as a number of ignorant people have insinuated over the years through social media sites). The truth is "The Streak" simply benefited from it being available prior to the fad reaching the height of it's popularity.

Ray Stevens: Country Music Hall of Fame Press Coverage Synopsis...

It's me once more...and ever since the news was released regarding the 2019 inductees into the Country Music Hall of Fame on March 18th there has, obviously, been all kinds of publicity and on-line articles and essays spring up after the announcement was delivered. Some of the commentary was great while other commentary not so great. I shared some links to articles surrounding the Hall of Fame announcement in several blog entries last week but I've decided to consolidate the links and list them one by one in this blog entry. I'm only going to spotlight maybe less than a handful.

Taste of Country

Music Mayhem Magazine

The Tennessean

UPI

Those are just four of the many on-line articles that appeared Monday afternoon and throughout the next couple of days after the Country Music Hall of Fame revealed it's newest members. There are plenty of other on-line stories that recycle the official press release and so I attempted to provide four on-line articles that provide something different in each one. The link to The Tennessean, for example, provides commentary from Ray on his amazement of being elected and how he never felt it would ever happen considering he had never been tied to any specific music format. In many of the bio's of Ray that have circulated for decades in magazines and now on the internet it describes him in various ways...the most descriptive being that he's a country-pop singer-songwriter-musician-music arranger-comedian-publisher-real estate mogul.

In spite of his reflective commentary found in The Tennessean he nevertheless considers his election to the Country Music Hall of Fame as his crowning achievement. If we're looking at it from a comedy perspective he joins a group of country comedians that were made members of the Country Music Hall of Fame years ago...and they, for the most part, were stand-up comedians who gained popularity on country music radio and television shows of the 1940s and 1950s.

Ray joins the likes of Minnie Pearl (elected in 1975), Grandpa Jones (elected in 1978), Little Jimmie Dickens (elected in 1983), Benjamin 'Whitey' Ford a/k/a The Duke of Paducah (elected in 1986), and Bill Carlisle (elected in 2002) as Country Music Hall of Fame members that are largely known more for their comical contributions within country music.  

Ray is also a music video personality as well as a television personality. He hosted a 1970 summer television show for Andy Williams which aired on the NBC Network. In 2015 he began a series called Ray Stevens Nashville which was re-titled Ray Stevens CabaRay Nashville in 2017. The series originally aired on RFD-TV and then it moved to local PBS syndication in 2017. A couple of months ago the series returned to RFD-TV but it also continues to air in local PBS syndication. The television series is half an hour and it's a hybrid combining elements of a traditional talk-show (Ray's piano unofficially acts as his desk) and it's a music performance show. As of this writing there are 78 episodes of the series. I hope he puts together some more episodes even though 78 half hour episodes is a good sized amount of programs.

Now is probably a good time to give a synopsis of his association with Branson, Missouri and his eventual decision to build his CabaRay showroom in West Nashville...

In the early 1990s he owned and operated The Ray Stevens Theatre in Branson, Missouri. The venue opened in 1991 and for three consecutive seasons (1991, 1992, and 1993) he performed what he considered a grueling schedule. He shut down the theater following the 1993 season of concerts citing exhaustion. His schedule at that time was 6 days a week, 2 shows a day 9 or 10 months per calendar year. He returned to Branson in 1996 for a series of concerts at The Wayne Newton Theater. In the meantime Ray's venue was sold in 1993 but eventually he returned...in 2003 he bought the venue from the people who had been operating it since 1994...he had the interior remodeled slightly and added other aesthetic changes and in 2005 The Ray Stevens Theatre was back in business down in Branson, Missouri.

Ray worked a much more lighter schedule the second time around, too. Ray performed at the re-opened venue during 2005 and 2006...after which he sold the theater to RFD-TV and they still own it to this day. They call it RFD-TV: The Theater. Ray made another return to Branson in 2010 for a series of concerts at The Welk Theatre. To date that is the last time he performed an extended series of concerts in Branson, Missouri. In 2012 he returned to Branson for a series of special memorial concerts at The Moon River Theater following the passing away of Andy Williams.

In March 2016 ground was broke in West Nashville in the community of Bellevue. The project getting underway was the construction of the CabaRay Showroom. The venue's construction was delayed nearly half a year due to red tape and behind the scenes matters regarding zoning and the building permit application. The showroom, originally, was on a timeline to be open to the public a year from then in March 2017. However, due to the delays, actual construction of the showroom didn't begin until early fall of 2016 (September to be specific). This pushed the desired timeline of it's grand opening from early 2017 to perhaps the Christmas season of 2017.

The CabaRay at long last had it's grand opening in January of 2018. Ray is currently in his second season of concerts at the CabaRay. His schedule consists of concerts on Thursday, Friday, and Saturday evenings which will eventually be reduced down to Friday and Saturday evenings. During Christmas season last year he expanded the concerts to include select Thursday night performances...I assume he'll be doing this same thing when we approach the 2019 Christmas season.

For all things CabaRay visit the website by clicking HERE.

Ray Stevens: Forty Five at Forty...

Hello one and all...it was this week 40 years ago that a certain single from newly elected member of the Country Music Hall of Fame, Ray Stevens, hit the market. Ray's single, "I Need Your Help, Barry Manilow" (from the pen of Dale Gonyea) made it's debut on the charts on March 24, 1979. There's a social media group that I follow on Facebook and they typically post messages about the release dates and years of various pop and adult-contemporary singles and albums. I've never made it a part of my fan experience to keep track of or remember the actual dates that recordings debuted on the charts and so, like many of you, I rely on several on-line sites that provide such information. I've written blog entries in the past about this recording...and before you could even wonder...yes it happens to be one of my all-time favorite recordings from Ray Stevens.

The song is satirical and it's musically performed as a serious melodramatic ballad. It's within the lyrics of the song that the satire and humor emerges. Ray describes all of the bad luck and unfortunate goings-on in his life and looks to the songs of Manilow to comfort him. The single, like many labeled 'novelty', had a built-in resistance from radio but ultimately it became what the media like to refer to as a surprise hit. The song reached the Hot 100 pop chart (to date it's Ray's last entry on the pop chart) but the more surprising finish came within the radio format in which Barry Manilow had ruled for nearly five years: "I Need Your Help, Barry Manilow" peaked just outside the Top-10 on the Adult-Contemporary chart during the final week of April. The peak position can be found on the April 28, 1979 issue of the Billboard Adult-Contemporary chart. The single had a meteoric rise...it reached it's peak position in it's 5th week on the Adult-Contemporary chart. It's anyone's guess if the consumers back then were fully aware of the song's meaning or if the radio listeners simply loved the performance and the music and bought the single for those reasons alone...without actually taking in what the lyrics were saying.

As I've done in other blog entries surrounding this song I make it a point to bring up the fact that I'd never heard of Barry Manilow before...and so I didn't get the references made within the lyrics of the song...but I loved Ray's performance and the music of "I Need Your Help, Barry Manilow" so much that I searched for something by Barry Manilow in the music section of a local retail store. I came across a couple of compilation releases. When I looked at the songs on one of the compilation CD's I immediately realized that during the recitation part of Ray's recording he's named several Barry Manilow song titles. Once I heard "I Write the Songs" it was a revelation...it has almost the same intro as "I Need Your Help, Barry Manilow". Anyway...I have quite a few albums by Manilow but it's all because a certain 1979 recording from Ray Stevens inspired me to find out who this Barry Manilow happened to be. In 1987 MCA Records released an album on Ray titled Greatest Hits, Volume Two. That compilation is where I heard "I Need Your Help, Barry Manilow" for the first time.

Ray Stevens: CMHOF 2019...

The early 1980's time period in the career of recently named member of the Country Music Hall of Fame, Ray Stevens. During this particular era in his career he was recording for RCA Records. He signed with the label late in 1979 and his first album for the label arrived early in 1980 in the form of Shriner's Convention. The comedy album reached the Top-10 on the Country Albums chart and "Shriner's Convention" reached the Top-10 on the Country Singles chart. The album features 9 comedy songs...it marks the origin of "The Dooright Family" and it also features "You're Never Goin' To Tampa With Me", the whimsical "Hey There", and "The Watch Song" just to name a few. However, once the single and album reached it's peak in the summer of 1980 Ray was more or less bound and determined to return to serious songs and so there wasn't any kind of follow-up release from the album. In Canada the label issued "Hey There" as a commercial single but it wasn't released as a single in America. "Night Games" became Ray's follow-up release in America to "Shriner's Convention"...and "Night Games" is a song that mirrored the times in country music. It was during the craze of the Urban Cowboy movie and how the film caused a general public to adopt a country and western fashion sense. The song was the first single release of his upcoming 1981 album, One More Last Chance. A ballad heavy album it showcases a lot of romantic songs...some mid-tempo, some up-tempo, but a majority ballad form. "Night Games" hit the Top-20 on the country chart in the fall of 1980. The wonderful title track, "One More Last Chance", blends steel guitar and electric guitar back to back. It became a Top-40 country hit in the latter half of 1981. As mentioned the album is ballad heavy and I'll list some song titles from it...all of the songs are favorites of mine...but I'll single out a couple: "Take Your Love", "Certain Songs", "Melissa", and the rare up-tempo offering on an album consisting almost entirely of ballads, "Pretend".

Ray then released, in 1982, Don't Laugh Now. This album featured a more even mix of various tempos...it wasn't too ballad heavy nor too breezy. The album opens up with a song that's become his concert opener, "Such a Night". I should make mention that the art design and neon graphics of the album (not pictured above...I chose to display the cassette release) but the vinyl album features a mid 1950's look in the lettering and it ties into the fact that several songs on here are reminiscent of early rock and roll. "Such a Night" had in fact been a rhythm and blues hit but then elsewhere on the album there's the up-tempo "Take That Girl Away", "Always There", and "Where the Sun Don't Shine". The album marked some subtle changes for Ray behind the scenes. He brought in a co-producer by the name of Bob Montgomery. It marked the first album from Ray since 1969 to feature a co-producer. Also, in the musician credits, Ray isn't credited. Ron Oates is credited as the keyboard player...Ron is also credited as the music arranger for "Why Don't We Go Somewhere and Love", "This Old Piano", and "Written Down in My Heart". The album is just as great but I'd never found out why Ray wanted a co-producer or why three of the songs were arranged by someone else. I'm used to Ray being sole producer and music arranger on the songs he records and so technically it's a departure but overall it's another good Ray Stevens album. Ray's tenure on RCA was brief...three studio albums and a compilation album (1983's Greatest Hits). In the collage photo the fourth panel shows me displaying Collector's Series in CD format. That particular compilation came along in 1985, originally, and then it was re-released in 1987. In 1992 it was issued on CD. If you don't have any of Ray's RCA vinyl albums then Collector's Series is a must-have because it spotlights 8 of his RCA recordings at random (1980, 1981, 1982). His RCA catalog is out of print and it's never been released in Mp3 format.

1974

As of this writing there's a contest taking place on social media centering around Ray's CabaRay showroom. Once you visit Ray's CabaRay website you'll get a pop up message alerting you to contest to enter for 2 free tickets to a concert at the CabaRay as a thank you from Ray for all the support his fans have shown him for many years/decaddes as a result of his Country Music Hall of Fame election. The contest won't last long, though. Click this LINK and once you do the pop-up will appear within several seconds. If you're reading this blog entry several months from now the contest won't be taking place and so you won't see the pop-up message...but you can still purchase tickets to a CabaRay concert by clicking that link. If you're planning a trip to Nashville this summer, for example, I'd suggest putting the CabaRay on your list of places to visit.

****- Keep in mind that Ray's official induction into the Country Music Hall of Fame isn't until this fall...and so if you visit the Hall of Fame this summer you won't see any plaque for him...yet!- ****

The plaques for new members are placed inside the Hall of Fame once the official induction ceremony takes place. The event is officially called the Medallion Ceremony. New members receive their medallions from existing Hall of Fame members. Once we get closer to the ceremony it'll be revealed who presents the new members with their medallions. Typically the presenter of the medallion has some sort of professional connection to the new member or was an idol of the new member. When George Strait was elected to the Hall of Fame he was given a medallion by George Jones, for example. Ralph Emery is in the Hall of Fame...they could choose him to formally induct Ray Stevens...but they may choose Bobby Bare (elected in 2013) or Brenda Lee (elected in 1997) or whomever. Ray being the first to commercially release "Sunday Mornin' Comin' Down" as a single in 1969 may cause the CMA to request Kris Kristofferson (elected in 2004) to formally induct Ray into the Hall of Fame. It's anyone's guess at this moment.

As I wrote in the March 18th blog entry I'll write more about the procedure of Hall of Fame induction the more closer we get to the latter half of summer/early fall.

Ray Stevens: Country Music Hall of Fame 2019...

Hello once again!! It was right around this time yesterday that I was listening to the YouTube audio of Bill Cody begin the 2019 Country Music Hall of Fame Inductee Announcement gala. The first recipient named was music executive Jerry Bradley. He is the son of Owen Bradley and a nephew of the recently deceased Harold Bradley. The second inductee announced happened to be none other than Ray Stevens! The third inductee was country duo Brooks and Dunn.

When it comes to Ray Stevens finally getting elected to the Country Music Hall of Fame let me say that I've been waiting for this moment for years and years. Let me say that I know how the fans of Gene Watson, Earl Thomas Conley, John Conlee, and Hank, Jr. (just to name a few) feel. In the years prior to the announcement of Ray Stevens becoming a member of the Country Music Hall of Fame I'd be just as upset and annoyed over CMA's snub of Ray (year after year after year). However, what I'd seen transpire in some circles of social media after the 2019 inductees were announced, though, was rude and obnoxious, uncalled for, and downright embarrassing. The reaction to the 2019 inductees from a small but combative on-line minority reminded me of spoiled children that didn't get their way.

Election to the Hall of Fame isn't a popularity contest...by that I mean it isn't suppose to matter if a singer, producer, or musician has had a lengthy list of hit songs or sold tens of millions of albums, etc. etc. even though it seems as if that's how one gets into the Country Music Hall of Fame. The overall body of work and dedication to the music industry by Ray Stevens over the last 50+ years is most certainly Hall of Fame worthy. The fact that his reputation is that of a comic is irrelevant. To see people on social media chastise the CMA for electing Ray before other artists was appalling and yet their bitterness over their favorite not getting elected makes it appear that Hall of Fame enshrinement is based on some sort of popularity factor (sales numbers, radio hits). However...for those that are interested in numbers or artistic accomplishment...this by no means is a complete run down of statistics but it's a good sized sample of his varied successes. I deliberately singled out accomplishments awarded to Ray as a singer, songwriter, session musician, music arranger, or publisher over the last 40+ years:

GOLD Record: "Ahab the Arab" (1962; writer, musician, artist)

GOLD Record: "Wooden Heart" (1962; session musician; Joe Dowell- artist)

GOLD Record: "Walk on By" (1962; session musician; Leroy Van Dyke- artist)

Top-5 Easy Listening Hit: "A Little Bit of Heaven" (1965; music arranger; Ronnie Dove- artist)

Top-20 Pop Hit: "One Kiss for Old Time's Sake" (1965; music arranger; Ronnie Dove- artist)

Top-5 Easy Listening Hit: "I'll Make All Your Dreams Come True" (1965; music arranger; Ronnie Dove- artist)

GOLD Record: "Gitarzan" (1969; writer, musician, artist)

BMI Publisher Award: "Gitarzan" (1969)

GOLD Record: "Everything is Beautiful" (1970; writer, musician, artist)

BMI Publisher Award: "Everything is Beautiful" (1970)

Grammy: "Everything is Beautiful" (1971; artist, musician, writer)

Grammy: "Everything is Beautiful" (1971; writer; Jake Hess- artist)

GOLD Record: "The Streak" (1974; writer, musician, artist)

BMI Publisher Award: "The Streak" (1974)

BMI Publisher Award: "Rub It In" (1974; Billy "Crash" Craddock- artist)

Grammy: "Misty" (1976; music arranger; musician; artist)

BMI Publisher Award: "Way Down" (1977; Elvis Presley- artist)

BMI Publisher Award: "Shriner's Convention" (1980)

Nashville Songwriter's Hall of Fame (1980)

Georgia Music Hall of Fame (1980)

PLATINUM Album: He Thinks He's Ray Stevens (1984)

GOLD Album: I Have Returned (1985)

Music City News Comedian of the Year (fan voted award in which Ray won 9 consecutive years: 1986, 1987, 1988, 1989, 1990, 1991, 1992, 1993, and 1994)

PLATINUM Album: Greatest Hits (1987)

GOLD Album: His All-Time Greatest Comic Hits (1990)

Multi-Platinum Home Video: Comedy Video Classics (1992)

Multi-Platinum Home Video: Ray Stevens Live! (1993)

BMI Publisher Award: "Cadillac Style" (1993; Sammy Kershaw- artist)

BMI Publisher Award: "I Can't Reach Her Anymore" (1994; Sammy Kershaw- artist)

Platinum Home Video: Get Serious! (1995)

Atlanta Music Hall of Fame (2001)

Gold Record: "Osama Yo' Mama" (2002)

Christian Music Hall of Fame (2009)

YouTube video star (2009- present; video uploads have attracted tens of millions of unique views)

Music City Walk of Fame (2018)

So, congratulations to Ray Stevens. Those fans whose favorite artists didn't get in this year will, as I've had to do for more than 20 years, wait until next year.

Hopefully those that stop by and read this particular blog entry will carefully examine the accomplishments and accolades that Ray's obtained in his career and why I've been cheering for enshrinement into the Country Music Hall of Fame and at long last that enshrinement will arrive later this year.

Ray Stevens is Elected to the Country Music Hall of Fame...

There are thousands of things I could say about this monumental day...let it be remembered by all the fans of Ray Stevens out there that on March 18, 2019 in a press conference Bill Cody said a phrase that all of us Ray Stevens fans have been wanting to hear for years...for decades in some cases. That phrase being that Ray Stevens is now a member of the Country Music Hall of Fame. Let's let that sink in for a moment or two. Ray Stevens is going to be enshrined for all time in the Country Music Hall of Fame...soon his plaque will hang along side the likes of those he worked for or worked with during his long career in the music industry. If you've been familiar with this fan-created blog page centering around Ray Stevens then you should fully be aware of how much I've given my thoughts about the Country Music Hall of Fame and how I've long felt it a travesty that Ray's talents and accomplishments have been over-looked. When I got on-line for the first time back in 2002 on a Web-TV (I've since graduated, first, to a home computer but then graduated myself later on to a lap-top which I currently use) but anyway when I got on-line for the first time I made an argument for Ray being inducted into the Hall of Fame. The most common reaction from people was "why? he's a comedian.". Anytime I would get a reaction like that I'd offer factual evidence showing that the Hall of Fame isn't immune from inducting comics (Minnie Pearl, Homer and Jethro, Rod Brasfield, Whitey Ford) or inducting performers largely known for comedy (Little Jimmy Dickens, Grandpa Jones, The Carlisles). No matter my argument it always felt like a losing cause.

Later on, whenever the on-line conversation turned to Ray and why he wasn't yet a member of the Country Music Hall of Fame, I'd offer my reasons for why he should be there and why it's been long overdue yet the common reaction from people on social media had moved from "why? he's a comedian." to "why? he hasn't had a lot of hits.". I was contacted several years ago by an author/blogger/writer to give my thoughts as to why Ray hadn't become a member of the Country Music Hall of Fame. It was conducted in interview form and I've posted it a couple of times in the past. I feel that, however large or small, perhaps the remarks and the facts presented could have had an influence (at last!) and the voters decided it was finally time to elect Ray Stevens. That interview I participated in can be found HERE. There are two interviews, actually. The first one features my reaction/answers to the interviewer's questions and then there's an interview the writer conducted with Ray's longtime associate, Buddy Kalb.

During the press conference Bill Cody made mention of several aspects of Ray's early career. He brought up Bill Lowery and this particular single, "Silver Bracelet". The press conference was carried live on YouTube during the 10am - 11am Central time zone and while watching it they had a live comments section off to the left and even though I knew Bill Cody was referring to Ray in the introduction and career milestone recap I fought the urge to blurt out that it was Ray Stevens that Bill was referring to. I didn't want to spoil it for those that maybe were not aware of the performer Bill was speaking of. Once Bill made mention of "Ahab the Arab" I think everyone in attendance and everyone watching on YouTube knew for sure Ray Stevens was heading to the Country Music Hall of Fame and so I let out all of my excitement right then and there in the YouTube live chat screen. In the photo at the top of the blog entry it's me at an exhibit showcasing Ray's career. When I visited Nashville last year I got my picture taken at the Hall of Fame...and one of those, as you can see, included the Everything is Beautiful Exhibit. Now, should I make it back to Nashville at some point this year, I hope to get my photo taken next to the Ray Stevens plaque at the Country Music Hall of Fame...in addition to attending a concert at his CabaRay showroom.

A local television station in Nashville has uploaded the reactions from the newest Country Music Hall of Fame members. YouTube broadcast the press conference live this morning. Bill Cody, as mentioned, presided over the event. This video features Ray's reactions and you could see the emotional toll it was taking...maybe it was me but it looked like he was actually fighting back the urge to cry a little bit...and I say it in that way because throughout the entire time that I've been a fan of his I've never seen him get emotional in that way. He can be emotional in performance...dramatic, defiant, whimsical, sad, boisterous, or hilarious...but crying is something I've never seen him do.



I will be writing more blog entries as we get closer to the official induction ceremony but I just had to get something posted on this blog page on such a monumental day in the career of Ray Stevens!!

Ray Stevens CabaRay upcoming Season...

Hello one and all...a month ago I created a blog centering around the upcoming season of concerts at the Ray Stevens CabaRay dinner theater in West Nashville. I posted it on February 10th. Now that we've arrived at March 11th we're several days away from the showroom's first concert of the 2019 season. The concert will take place on March 14th (this coming Thursday). If you're seriously planning on attending that first concert of the 2019 season visit the venue's calendar and make your ticket purchase. They have a reliable Will Call service...for those not familiar with that phrase it's a service that holds purchased tickets and they're given to the customer at the box office. You'll have to supply a confirmation number, obviously, when you go and pick up the tickets at the box office...but yes, when I attended a concert there last March I used their Will Call service because I can't depend on the postal system to be timely.

Calendar you may ask? You can visit the CabaRay website by clicking HERE.

Once there you'll see the calendar. You can browse all the 2019 concert dates by simply clicking the forward arrows to flip to the next month, etc. etc. Each date that features a concert will be circled and if you click one of those concert dates you'll get more specific information. If you plan on visiting Nashville in the summer, for example, click the calendar forward to the summer months and select a date. You can also call the box office if you already have a concert date selected should you choose not to purchase through the on-line method. That number is 615-327-4630. A lot of the concerts during the first half of the 2019 season will take place every week on Thursday, Friday, and Saturday. Eventually the concerts will be held only on Friday and Saturday night (just like last season).

A week ago (March 4th) Ray uploaded a guided tour of the CabaRay. There have been visual tours of the showroom in the past but this is the first one that features Ray walking around the showroom and discussing the interior and the people in the photo's. The footage comes from an episode of CabaRay Nashville (originally aired on PBS in March of 2018). It was an episode titled Hall of Fame and in it Ray walks around the CabaRay and speaks of the producers. Performance clips of various guest artists singing songs associated with those producers were inserted throughout that episode which is why in the clip below you'll hear applause in between some of the edits/fade-ins.



A similar video clip emerged on YouTube a couple of days later. It was not a guided tour but more of the story of the CabaRay's inspiration with photos from the CabaRay appearing on screen. Ray speaks of the various record producers just as in the previous video clip and mentions the plaque containing his message about the showroom's purpose but each clip has it's own pace and each are distinct from the other in spite of each clip covering, more or less, the same ground.

Ray Stevens sings "That's Life"...

Hello all...it's hard to believe that one year ago, well, a year ago yesterday (March 1st) my brother and I were in Nashville, Tennessee at the Ray Stevens CabaRay dinner theater. I have a week off later this month from work but I don't know if I'll return to Nashville later this month or wait until sometime in the summer. I get two weeks off each year but the company I work for doesn't allow employees to take both weeks consecutively...so I'll more than likely plan a visit to the CabaRay during my next vacation...but then again the last week of this month is when I've put in for my vacation so who knows...perhaps I may be able to squeeze in a trip to the CabaRay during the last Friday or Saturday of March...but plans such as those are up in the air. As of this writing, however, I'm leaning toward a CabaRay visit during my second vacation week in the summer. The upcoming series of concerts are set to get underway on March 14th and those weekend concerts (Thursday through Saturday and some months Friday and Saturday) will run throughout the year. I'm hoping some new episodes of his CabaRay Nashville television series will go into production this calendar year as well. I say that because of the fact that the series has returned to the RFD-TV airwaves (in addition to it's locally syndicated PBS airings) and eventually new episodes will be in demand. I'm sure new episodes will surface to meet that demand, though. As of this writing there have been 78 half hour episodes produced of the CabaRay Nashville series.

A performance from Ray at the CabaRay was uploaded onto YouTube recently. In the video clip he's performing "That's Life", one of Frank Sinatra's classic hits. Ray had recorded his version on Ray Stevens Sings Sinatra...Say What?!?, a collection released in the summer of 2008 through his own Clyde Records label and as a result it was exclusively available on Ray's on-line store for nearly a year. In February of 2009 the CD saw wider distribution as it became available on Amazon and other on-line stores via Curb Records. The CD/Mp3 would eventually get re-issued by Curb Records in the fall of 2011.