March 28, 2021

Ray Stevens: Just for the Record it's been 45 years...

In early 1976 Ray Stevens became a recording artist for Warner Brothers Records. He had been on the Barnaby Records label since early 1970 and it was on that label in which Ray's music went international on a consistent basis...singles reaching the charts not only here in America but up in Canada and overseas, usually in the United Kingdom or Australia. Ray's debut for Warner Brothers arrived with the single, "You Are So Beautiful". The recording's arrangement was inspired by a previous single he'd issued a year earlier, "Misty". Ray's take on "You Are So Beautiful" featured the banjo, fiddle, and steel guitar as "Misty" and another recording of his from 1975, "Sunshine". "You Are So Beautiful" reached the Country Top-20 in the spring of 1976. The album featuring the single, Just For the Record, became available on April 2, 1976. The album's title is written in small print over top of Ray's name on the album cover. I always like to know the story behind the names of albums...I'm obviously talking about albums that aren't named for one of the songs. I've always wondered why this was titled Just For the Record. Some may have an answer. I've come across an explanation or two a number of years ago on message boards that no longer exist and one explanation was that several of the songs on the album deal with the subject of music. That's the only explanation that made sense. So, then, what are the songs on this 1976 album?? There's 10 songs altogether and most were written or co-written by Ray. There are several songs that were written by other writers. 

Track List:
1. Cornball
2. Gimme a Smile
3. Once in Awhile
4. One and Only You
5. You Are So Beautiful
6. Can't Stop Dancin'
7. OM
8. One Man Band
9. Country Licks
10. Honky Tonk Waltz

As you can tell from the track list you'll come across love ballads that fill up Side One of the album (the first five songs). On Side Two it opens up with a song about music...specifically dancing...but if you listen carefully, though, it uses dancing as a metaphor. It's an inspirational song telling the listener to never give up and to always strive for positivity in life and not allow negativity and unpleasantness cloud your better judgement. "Can't Stop Dancing" would later become a hit for pop duo The Captain and Tennille. Ray co-wrote the song and he published it...and so he shared in the success as both co-writer and song publisher when The Captain and Tennille had a Top-20 pop hit with it in 1977. 

The song, "OM", is all about transcendental meditation. I don't know if Ray was a student of transcendental meditation or if he was simply interested in what it was all about and therefore decided to write a song all about it. "One Man Band" is a sad song about a relationship that's ended and because of this Ray says he feels as if he's playing in a "One Man Band" since the harmony and joy in his life is now gone. "Country Licks", from the pen of Layng Martine, Jr., is a fabulous toe-tapping song with a bluegrass feel much like "You Are So Beautiful". The album closer is the equally clever "Honky Tonk Waltz" where a waltz and honky-tonk music is combined into one. "Honky Tonk Waltz" was the album's second single and it reached the Top-30 on the Country chart in the summer of 1976. The single's B-side is the previously mentioned "OM". That song, "OM", is 4 minutes and 39 seconds long and yes, it's a wonderful recording, and yes, you will probably feel as if you've been meditated by the time it's over. It has a lengthy electric guitar solo fade out. I could've posted a larger image but I didn't want my text shoved off to where it looks newspaper column style. That kind of design is okay if I were writing a newspaper column but this is a fan created blog spotlighting the legendary Ray Stevens. In hindsight I would've had the songs on Side Two on Side One since the name of the album is Just For the Record. However, since this was released primarily on vinyl, who says a fan couldn't play Side Two first? A cassette tape release was also available but they've become super obscure. I know a copy comes up for sale online every so often. On the pictorial time-line I have a photo of a cassette copy of Just For the Record


Once the publicity and single releases ran their course Ray closed out 1976 with a novelty single, "In the Mood", credited as The Henhouse Five Plus Too. This chicken clucking novelty reached the Top-40 of both the pop and country charts here in America early in 1977 and it tickled the funny bones of those in the United Kingdom as well as it peaked inside their Top-40. In some international markets the single retained it's Henhouse Five Plus Too credit...the Netherlands release was credited simply to Henhouse. Ray's name appears on the B-side as the writer/publisher of "Classical Cluck", but the performance itself is credited to Henhouse. In other international markets the single is credited to Ray Stevens. In the photo above, from 1977, Ray Stevens is explaining to Ralph Emery about "In the Mood" and for visuals he brings into the conversation a ceramic chicken mask.  

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