Ray Stevens: Upcoming November CabaRay concerts...

Hello Ray Stevens fans!! As we near the first of November it's time to look at the upcoming concerts at the CabaRay showroom in West Nashville. This month marks the expansion to an additional Thursday night concert in addition to the regular Saturday evening concert. There will be 7 concerts taking place at the CabaRay in the month of November. The concert dates are as follows: November 3rd, 5th, 10th, 12th, 17th, 19th, and the 26th. Now, of course, there won't be a concert scheduled for November 24th since that's Thanksgiving Day. 

It's hard to believe that 2022 is nearing it's end as well. Starting tomorrow there's just 2 full months left. Just in case you've never been to the CabaRay you'll be in for an experience. The Piano Bar is the first thing to open. It opens it's doors at 5pm and the pianist is John Jonethis. The gift shop usually opens half an hour prior to the concert and then it'll be open after the concert until closing time. The Piano Bar is open from 5pm until Ray's concert time. This means that if you purchased show-only concert tickets (without a dinner) you can choose to sit in the Piano Bar until a little bit before concert time. 

Those who purchased a dinner with their concert will be able to take their seats beginning an hour before the concert. Having said that, if you purchased concert-only tickets, you can still enter the concert area and find your seats while dinner is being served to those that purchased dinner and concert tickets. 

After the concert the Piano Bar re-opens and remains open until closing time. It's been largely reported that Ray makes an appearance inside the Piano Bar after the concerts to take photos and sign autographs or to play duets on the piano with John Jonethis...so make sure to hang around in the Piano Bar after the concert and see if Ray makes an appearance. Ray Stevens CabaRay concert tickets can be purchased by clicking this LINK. 

Ray Stevens: Musicians Hall of Fame 2022 Inductee

Hello fans of Ray Stevens!! The news broke yesterday that Ray will be among the 2022 induction class of the Musicians Hall of Fame. You can read one of the articles detailing the honor by clicking HERE. The founder of the organization, Joe Chambers, passed away last month. He interviewed Ray in 2020 and within the lengthy interview Ray revealed the future release of a 4-CD box set called Iconic Songs of the 20th Century. That box set was released last year on Curb Records. I wrote a blog back then about Ray's interview at the Musicians Hall of Fame. I recall wondering if Ray would become a future member...and here, two years later, Ray is revealed as one of the upcoming inductee's. The ceremony will take place on November 22nd at the Municipal Auditorium in Nashville. The link I posted will take you Nashville's Broadway World website. The article focuses on Ray's career. This induction will be one more Hall of Fame enshrinement for the legendary Ray Stevens. It follows previous honors by the Nashville Songwriters Hall of Fame (1980); the Georgia Music Hall of Fame (1980); the Atlanta Music Hall of Fame (2001); and the Country Music Hall of Fame (2019). If I've overlooked a Hall of Fame honor let me know! Those four are the ones I'm aware of...and I recall seeing a brief mention of Ray being inducted into a Christian Music Hall of Fame (?) but I can't find any information about that organization. All search results end up showing me websites of the Gospel Music Hall of Fame and other halls of fame pertaining to gospel music but Ray isn't mentioned on any of those websites. 

In between 2001 and 2019 Ray was honored as a Nashville Cat, a title given to studio musicians...session musicians as they're more commonly/formally referred to. He was given that title in April 2010 and his career was highlighted in a lengthy interview at the Country Music Hall of Fame with clips from various television appearances and photographs of him through the decades. This Musicians Hall of Fame honor cements Ray's long-standing affection for music and the recording studio process. Ray is quoted as saying that since he originally moved to Nashville to be a session musician this Musicians Hall of Fame news "is a great honor". The ceremony is Tuesday November 22 at 7pm Central time at the Municipal Auditorium in Nashville. 

The interview Ray gave to the Musicians Hall of Fame in 2020 can be viewed below. It features the late Joe Chambers interviewing Ray. Ironically it was uploaded onto YouTube on November 22, 2020...almost 2 full years ago...

Ray Stevens: CabaRay Nashville on YouTube E-10, S-2

Hello one and all...we've made it to Episode 10, Season 2 of Ray Stevens CabaRay Nashville. In this episode the special guest is Sylvia. If you're not very familiar with country music from the 1980s then you're probably not very familiar with Sylvia. She had numerous pop-tinged country hits throughout the 1980s. Her name is Sylvia Hutton but she went by Sylvia...the only country music artist, that I can think of, that deliberately marketed herself with only a first name. 

Ray opens the show singing "Love Potion Number Nine", a song that he recorded for his 2012 box set The Encyclopedia of Recorded Comedy Music. It was a rousing performance like practically all of his performances are...but this one is especially rousing and I like to think it's due to the song's rhythm and blues origins. Ray grew up loving all kinds of music...particularly early rhythm and blues songs by vocal groups that largely went under the radar on pop radio but were treated like royalty on rhythm and blues radio stations throughout the South. I'm sure Ray first heard "Love Potion Number Nine" by The Clovers, a group he sometimes cites as a favorite of his. Their recording hit in 1959...and you may ask yourselves "wasn't Ray already in the music business in 1959??". Well, yes...but just because you're in the music business it doesn't mean you become an ostrich. Several years later another group, The Searchers, recorded a version of the song and their rendition in 1964 became the bigger pop hit. Mike Stoller and Jerry Leiber wrote the song and they're well known as being the writers for a majority of novelty songs by The Coasters as well.

Ray introduces Sylvia by saying that her family was so poor they couldn't afford to give her a last name. She speaks of her entrance into the music industry. She was born in Indiana and moved to Nashville...she worked in a music publishing company for several years. Ray mentioned that she was a former model...and she laughed and said it was a super short-lived career in that she only had one modeling session. She posed for an advertisement for "You're My Jamaica" when Ray's brother, John Ragsdale, released his recording of the song. Charley Pride would later record the song and have a gigantic hit with it. Sylvia sings "Nobody", her signature song.

Ray plays the sketch that he and Sylvia did together in 1991, "Making Cookies". The song is a spoof of the song, "Making Whoopie". The sketch is part of a VHS from 1992 that Ray released called Amazing Rolling Revue. It was a pilot for an unsold television series. The series would take place on a tour bus, as it's moving down the highway, and feature performances from Ray and insertions of comedy sketches. The concept was apparently way too unconventional for television and so only the pilot episode exists. Ironically, though, decades later he would revisit the concept with the sketch filled Rayality TV series. It had several runs both online and on cable television. 

Sylvia's second song of the episode is titled "Right Turn". In the 1980's she racked up dozens of hit songs...most of them reached the Top-10. It's reported that she also sold nearly 5 million albums. She was a labelmate of Ray Stevens in the early 1980s as both were on RCA at the time. Ray closes the show singing "Jeremiah Peabody's Green and Purple Pills". 

Ray Stevens: CabaRay Nashville on YouTube E-9, S-2

In this episode of Ray Stevens CabaRay Nashville the special guest happens to be Bill Anderson. This is one of the episodes featuring a contemporary of Ray...usually the guests are from a generation or two below Ray...but in Bill Anderson we have a performer with as much longevity in the music business as Ray Stevens. Ray opens the show singing "I'll Be Walking the Dog", one of the most upbeat songs detailing a failed relationship that you're probably likely to ever hear. It's from his 2015 comedy album, Here We Go Again!. Ray plays the part of a spouse on the other end of an argument but rather than waste time bickering he simply says he'll be out walking the dog. 

Ray introduces Bill Anderson and they speak about their upbringing in Georgia. Ray was born in Clarkdale, Georgia and his family eventually moved to Albany, Georgia. Bill happened to have been born in Columbia, South Carolina but was raised in Georgia...and throughout his life he's identified Georgia as his adopted home state...and he's known as a performer from Georgia in spite of his birth being elsewhere. Ray and Bill are both members of the Georgia Music Hall of Fame. The two are also members of the Nashville Songwriters Hall of Fame as well as the Country Music Hall of Fame. Like Ray, Bill was also on local radio prior to his success in the music industry. Bill was born November 1, 1937 whereas Ray was born January 24, 1939. Bill's nickname is Whispering Bill due to his soft-spoken voice and the abundance of narration in a lot of his songs...delivered his hushed, whispered tones. Bill brings up Ray's 1957 love ballad, "Silver Bracelet", and how it was a monster hit...but Ray quickly interjects that it was only a hit in Atlanta and nowhere else. Bill teases Ray about the clamoring of excited screaming girls at each concert stop exclaiming "woooo-weee... Ray Stevens!! Ray Stevens!!". 

Bill mentions that he's read Ray's memoir and it took him 3 days to read it. Ray remarks that Bill must be a slow reader...a reference to the fact that Ray's memoir has universally been referred to by fans in online book reviews as a fast read. Ray's memoir is titled Ray Stevens' Nashville. 

Not mentioned in the episode is Bill's telegenic presence, something of which Ray also possesses, a natural talent that enables a person to look like they're a natural for television. Throughout the early and into the middle part of his career Bill was a fixture on television. He hosted his own syndicated television series, The Bill Anderson Show, for 9 years (1966-1975) and in the next decade he hosted the cable television game show, Fandango, on The Nashville Network for 6 years (1983-1989). In between those two programs was a game show called "The Better Sex" which aired on ABC from July 1977 until January 1978. Bill was a co-host with Sarah Purcell. In this time period he also made appearances as a panelist on other nationally aired game shows. Bill was also a fixture on the various Grand Ole Opry backstage episodes as a rotating host. Bill sings one of his signature songs, "Still". Bill joined the Grand Ole Opry in 1961 and he remains one of the most popular Opry members to this day...regularly appearing as a performer/emcee of various half hour segments.  

Bill's second song of the episode is "Old Army Hat". Bill discusses with Ray how a Grammer guitar of his (designed by singer/guitarist, Billy Grammer) had been lost for 50 years until one day it was discovered in a pawn shop and returned to him. In 2018 Bill was inducted into the National Songwriters Hall of Fame. That particular Hall isn't genre-specific...songwriters from all types of music have been recognized/honored by that organization.  

Ray closes the show singing "The Higher Education of Ole Blue", a song from his 1993 comedy album, Classic Ray Stevens.  

Ray Stevens: My 1,980th fan-created blog entry...

Hello all of you fans of Ray Stevens!! Yes, as the headline of this blog entry states, this is my 1,980th entry. Now, of course, tying this into the blog entry you're reading at the moment you probably have already guessed that the year I'm focusing on is 1980. Why not? My 1,980th blog entry should be about the year, 1980, in the career of Ray Stevens. Now, before I get into 1980, some may wonder why I always use Ray's name in the blog entry titles. I do that because his name, along with the specific labels/tags that I use each entry, make it easier for search engines to find the blog. 

In the career of Ray Stevens the year, 1980, was another busy, hectic 12 months of concerts, television appearances, recordings, and several accolades. This is the year that Ray Stevens was inducted into the Nashville Songwriters Hall of Fame. Ray was also elected to the Georgia Music Hall of Fame. These two career awards were in the midst of his debut year with RCA Records. On records Ray returned to comedy with "Shriner's Convention", a single that shocked most in the country music industry when it reached the Top-10. The album, Shriner's Convention, also reached the Top-10 on the Country Albums chart. This flurry of activity with the single and album happened within the first quarter of 1980. Ray had signed with RCA Records in the latter half of 1979 and spent the remainder of that year and early 1980 recording the tracks for his Shriner's Convention album. The southern and southeast television markets were also seeing Ray on a regular basis, as they had since the mid 1970s, promoting products from the Flav-O-Rich dairy company. "Shriner's Convention" was the only single release pushed by RCA Records in the first half of 1980. The label issued "Hey There" as a single but it wasn't promoted much, if at all, by RCA or Ray. As far as I know he never performed the song in concert or on any television appearance. The 1980 comedy album contains a song that in the decades since has become just as notable, "The Dooright Family". That song, a satirical and zany parody of southern gospel family groups, was turned into a music video in 1995 as was "Shriner's Convention". The two music videos made their debut in a VHS movie that Ray starred in, Get Serious!. In "The Dooright Family" we hear the goings-on of Daddy, Mama, Virgil, Therman, Doris, Dewdrop, and Mama Dooright in performance at what we're to imagine is a local county fair somewhere in the South. It's anyone's guess if Ray patterned it after The Happy Goodman Family, The Speer Family, or The Gaither Family...or a combination of all of those southern gospel personalities...however, the Goodman's had much more exposure outside the southern gospel circuit although the Speer's patriarch and matriarch were called 'Dad' and 'Mom'. Some of the other songs on the 1980 comedy album are "Coin Machine", "The Last Laugh", "Put It In Your Ear", and "You're Never Goin' To Tampa With Me". 

Ray closed out 1980 with the bar room ballad, "Night Games". Well, it's not necessarily a ballad...but it's not a comedy/novelty song. The mid-tempo song takes place inside a bar and tells the story of two people who meet and have a one night stand. The atmosphere and imagery of the single conjured up the trend in country music at the time: Urban Cowboy. "Night Games" was a Top-20 country hit by the end of the fall in 1980...from a forthcoming album, One More Last Chance, in 1981, in which Ray is seen decked out in his western/country attire...with an alluring honky-tonk angel in a cowboy hat seated next to him.  

Ray Stevens: CabaRay Nashville on YouTube E-8, S-2

Hello Ray Stevens fans!! I just finished watching the latest CabaRay Nashville upload on YouTube. This time it's Episode 8, Season 2. The guest stars are Darryl Worley and Lee Greenwood. The episode is a patriotic/Military themed showcase. In the audience there are numerous members of the Military. Ray opens the show with "Thank You", a salute to all Military branches. Ray co-wrote the song with Larry McCoy and it originated a few years after 9/11. If you check YouTube you'll come across the official music video of the song. 

Ray introduces Darryl Worley who performs his massive hit, "Have You Forgotten?". This song soared to the number one spot on the Country chart in 2003...in it's 5th week on the chart. It remained at number one for 7 weeks. The song was released at a point in time when it appeared that the public, as strange as it sounds, had began to put 9/11 in the rear view mirror. When the single was released bin Laden was still the most wanted man on the planet. The death of bin Laden wouldn't happen until 2011...nearly 10 years after the 9/11 terror attacks. The official date is May 2, 2011. After Darryl's rousing performance Ray speaks to him about the song and it's impact. He tells Ray that since that song hit in 2003 he's put on concerts at dozens of U.S. military bases...traveling internationally more than a dozen times. 

Ray's second guest is none other than Lee Greenwood. He performs "God Bless the U.S.A." and afterward Ray asks where the song's inspiration came from. Lee told the story of how he wrote the song in the middle of a massive touring schedule. He mentions that, at the time, all he was doing was touring the entire country and Canada and it didn't leave him much time for writing or much of anything. He wrote the song and then played it for his record producer at the time, Jerry Crutchfield. Lee said that he thought that it would be an album track and he was stunned when the record company wanted to put it out as a single. 

Ray closes the show singing "Dear America". This is the only time that he's performed this song on a television program. He put it out as a single-only and music video in 2016...and it's never appeared on any album, to date. The photo of Ray that was used to promote the "Dear America" single has become one of his most used publicity photos. The photo, as you can see, is featured below. It's a powerful song as is all of the songs performed on this patriotic/Military themed episode of CabaRay Nashville. 

2016

Ray Stevens: CabaRay Nashville on YouTube E-7, S-2

Hello Ray Stevens fans!! I'm several days late posting an overview of the latest YouTube upload of CabaRay Nashville but here I am writing it. I've been debating whether or not to continue with the overviews beyond this second season. Why am I having such an internal debate? Well, for those that are familiar with this fan created blog, you'll know that I've previously written re-caps of Ray's syndicated television series and when I set out doing the overviews, as I call them, when the episodes began airing weekly on Ray's YouTube channel I didn't want to get into a habit of just re-writing what I previously wrote. Also, it might become confusing if somebody comes across this blog, searches the archives, and finds two blog entries centering around the same episode. 

The episode that aired this past Friday evening on YouTube is Episode 7 of Season 2. The special guest happened to be Collin Raye. The opening performance from Ray, "Hearts Made of Stone", comes from his 2015 comedy album, Here We Go Again!. The studio recording of the song features an echo in an effort to give it a '50s rock and roll feel. In this performance the music is still arranged in that time frame but the echo effect is absent. In the television performance the harmony singers do the harmony which Ray did himself, through overdubbing, on the 2015 recording. Also, in the studio recording there's a fiddle and dobro featured prominently. In the television performance there's a dobro and saxophone featured heavily. The original recording of "Hearts Made of Stone" was by The Charms in 1954. 

Ray introduces the audience to Collin Raye who tells of the time he saw Ray in concert at the Moon River Theatre in Branson, Missouri. Ray brings up Collin's charity work and Collin talks about various fundraisers and charity events that help raise money for people to receive electric wheelchairs. Collin sings "My Kind of Girl". In the interview portion prior to the performance Collin also remarked how much he liked Ray's songs. Collin was a staple of country radio in the 1990s. His debut recording, "All I Can Be is a Sweet Memory", was a hit but it was followed up with a ballad called "Love, Me". In this episode Collin mentioned that "Love, Me" was his first hit...and I guess if you're considering a higher chart placement to determine if something is a 'hit' then technically he's correct. His debut recording reached the country Top-30 but "Love, Me" hit number one. That single was the first of 14 consecutive Top-10 hits for Collin Raye. Collin sang "Love, Me" on this episode of CabaRay Nashville and Ray played the piano. 

Ray closed the episode singing "Yakety Yak". The performance was preceded by an introduction from Don Cusic, the show's 'Professor of Music', giving a history of the song. The song was originally a huge rhythm and blues hit for The Coasters. Ray recorded a version of the song in 1969 and re-recorded the song for his 2012 9-CD box set, Encyclopedia of Recorded Comedy Music. 

Ray Stevens on The Marty Robbins Spotlight...

I was looking through some of my archives a few minutes ago and noticed a blog entry from 2017 where I highlighted a performance from Ray Stevens on the Marty Robbins Spotlight television series. The series aired in first-run syndication throughout 1977 and I believe, in other markets, it aired for several more years (repeat episodes) until the end of the decade. The video embed in that blog entry, I discovered, no longer existed and so I edited the blog entry and removed the blank video screen. A few weeks ago Ray uploaded a 10 minute video clip from his 1977 appearance on Marty's show. Ray sings "Feel the Music" and this appearance includes a comical banter between Ray and Marty who sit at separate pianos, back to back. Marty's piano is designed as if it were to match stage clothes from that time period...you'll see that it has a blue plaid/checker design. Ray was a spotlight artist in one episode of Marty's show and he made a guest appearance in the spotlight episode of Chet Atkins. When Ray guest starred on Chet's episode they both sang "Frog Kissing". 

Country music in 1977 was riding a wave of national recognition and the music reflected the presence of what some would call outsider influence...the music had become more polished and had a pop penchant in an effort to attract a wider audience. I bring this up because some people would have you believe that country music didn't insert any changes until the early 1990s but if you look at country music over the decades you'll see all kinds of changes in sound and production...some era's the sound is traditional while other era's, like the mid to late '70s, the sound is pop-like. Most, not all, but most established country music artists resisted the changes but others embraced the benefits of expanding their audience reach. Ray Stevens is one of those artists that had never publicly stated what he defines as 'country music' or 'pop music'. Ray has always come across as an entertainer...not defining himself to any specific music format...but over the course of time it's the country genre that's had more of a welcome to his style of entertainment and with country having a sub-genre of 'country comedy' he fits right in...but in 1977 and specifically in this video clip Ray Stevens once again demonstrates that he can be serious, somber, and sensitive with his music one minute and the next minute he's a zany, silly, and absurdist comic with an endless supply of funny facial expressions and one liners.

Ray Stevens: CabaRay Nashville on YouTube E-6, S-2

Hello Ray Stevens fans!! This is an overview of the most recent YouTube upload of CabaRay Nashville. Episode 6, Season 2 guest stars The Gatlin Brothers (Larry, Steve, and Rudy). 

This episode had a hyper feeling to it due to the Gatlin Brothers being the guests. Larry has a distinctive personality that invites unpredictability even if there's a certain level of scripting that takes place. Ray opens the show singing "Witchcraft", one of the songs on his Ray Stevens Sings Sinatra...Say What?!? album. Larry Gatlin appeared solo in an earlier episode and Ray jokes that he could only afford Larry as a guest but now that the show's become a hit he can afford the other two brothers. Larry speaks of their upbringing and their involvement with Slim Willet, a local music personality/singer who was working at KRBC radio at the time, who happened to write "Don't Let the Stars Get in Your Eyes". Larry shows a photo of him and his brothers, as children, on stage to convince some out there that may question as to whether the Gatlin Brothers have truly been in the entertainment business as long as often reported. Ray asks Larry about his association with the Fox television channel. Larry jokingly remarks that he's confused as to whether or not he should describe himself as a contributor or not. A contributor, Larry says, is someone that isn't paid. Steve Gatlin asks Ray if they're considered guests on the show or if they're going to be viewed as contributors which draws laughs as did practically everything the Gatlin Brothers spoke about. Larry insists that he and his brothers never, ever rehearse. He says they've been working for 50 plus years that they simply show up and do their thing. The trio sing "Houston". Just in case you're brand new to the Gatlin Brothers...the line-up as seen in the video screen below: Larry, Rudy, and Steve. In the trio's earlier years Rudy wore glasses. Steve often had a beard. Larry was always clean shaven but for the last decade or so he's had a goatee. 

The brothers then perform a very funny song about life on the road called "Ode to the Road". Ray leads into this performance by asking the brothers if they ever get road crazy. This sends Larry into a comical conversation about life on the road and how, after about 4 days, you start talking to yourself...and when the trio sing "Ode to the Road" I couldn't help but think of Ray. I imagine hearing Ray singing the song. It sounds like a Ray Stevens comedy song...and I can hear Ray's rendition in my mind...and it would be fun to hear him sing it in his style with lots of vocal overdubs and sound effects.

Ray closes the show singing "Rub It In". He mentions that it was written by Layng Martine, Jr. but doesn't mention that of his own involvement in the song. Layng wrote the song for Ray's publishing company. Layng recorded it, originally, in 1971 but then it was recorded by Billy 'Crash' Craddock. It became a million selling hit for Craddock...and with Ray as the song's publisher it was one of Ray's earliest music publishing successes (outside of his own recordings). Ray published dozens of songs written by Layng Martine, Jr. during the songwriter's early years. Ray recorded the song in 2008 for his Hurricane comedy album. As I began this overview I mentioned that this is one of the more hyper, riotous episodes of the series...when you watch it for yourselves you'll notice it right away.  

Ray Stevens: Upcoming October CabaRay Concerts

Well, hello, fans of Ray Stevens!! Ray kicked off the month of October concerts at the CabaRay showroom last night. You will have 6 more concert dates this month to catch the legendary Country Music Hall of Fame member in action. This is also the month that Ray expands to additional Thursday night concerts. The Saturday evening concerts are: October 8th, 15th, 22nd, and 29th. He'll be in concert twice on a Thursday evening.. the first Thursday concert is October 13th and the second Thursday concert is October 27th. 

I'm sure you're all familiar by now with this publicity photo. It's Ray Stevens standing in the parking lot of the CabaRay. This photo originated in the weeks leading up to it's grand opening in 2018. It's in it's third full season of concerts (2018, 2019, 2022) after having had to close it's doors in 2020 and most of the first half of 2021 due to Tennessee laws regarding the pandemic. This season of concerts will wrap up on New Year's Eve and as of this writing it looks as if the annual show will return. New Year's Eve, last year, the concert was canceled due to Ray's wife battling an illness that she passed away from just hours before 2022 arrived at Midnight. When you visit the CabaRay website, located HERE, you can jump ahead to the month of November...there's several more Thursday evening concerts on the schedule. If any of you live in the area that receives the PBS affiliate, KET2, one of the sub-channels of KET (Kentucky Educational Television), you may have noticed that Ray Stevens CabaRay Nashville is no longer on their schedule. It had been airing every Saturday night on KET2 since the latter half of 2018 (if my memory serves me correctly) but a couple of weeks ago it was removed from the line-up. The last day KET2 aired the show was September 12th. It was the episode guest starring Lari White. 

Ray's PBS series, roughly 20 weeks ago, began appearing on his YouTube channel. Each Friday evening an episode from the series makes it's debut on YouTube. These are full length episodes...they're not clips. This past Friday episode 6, season 2 was uploaded. That episode guest stars The Gatlin Brothers. I'll be writing a blog entry about that episode soon. Don't forget to click the link that I posted to check out the upcoming concerts at the Ray Stevens CabaRay showroom!