Ray Stevens: A trio performance of Yakety Yak...

Ray Stevens on social media continues to be active...yesterday there arrived a couple of video uploads. In this blog entry I'm highlighting one of those uploads. It's a 1993 performance of "Yakety Yak" on Nashville Now. The performance includes Ray (piano), Chet Atkins (guitar), and Boot Randolph (saxophone). The clip begins with an introduction by show's host, Ralph Emery.



It's my guess that the three of them were scheduled on the same episode, on purpose, given their lengthy history together on recording sessions and the fact that the three of them were involved in recent projects. A year earlier, in 1992, Chet appeared in a very funny sketch titled Chet's Hands which was part of a Ray Stevens VHS release called Amazing Rolling Revue. Boots Randolph had also worked with Ray on an album titled, Boots, released through Ray's Clyde Records label in the early '90s.

The performance, "Yakety Yak", was made famous by one of Ray's favorite groups, The Coasters. Ray recorded the song in 1969 for his Gitarzan album and later on recorded it a second time in 2012 for his Encyclopedia of Recorded Comedy Music. Chet Atkins recorded an instrumental and re-titled it "Yakety Axe" (the axe being a reference to the acoustic guitar). Boots Randolph recorded an instrumental and re-titled it "Yakety Sax" (the sax, of course, being a reference to the saxophone). The Boots Randolph version became internationally famous as chase music during the closing credits on the syndicated half hour episodes of The Benny Hill Show.

On a side note: The discount sale at the Ray Stevens on-line store is extended through the end of this month. It was originally going to be good through the month of May but it's been extended. There's a 20 percent discount through the end of June. Here's a LINK.