Ray Stevens: 45's at 35...

Yeah, I've written about this period in Ray Stevens' career quite a few times over the years but given that 2011 marks the 35th anniversary of several recordings, in addition to a switch in record labels, and a personal anniversary for myself I felt like highlighting 1976 once more.

The year marked the beginning of his association with Warner Brothers records. An association which lasted through 1979. A lot of us fans of Ray Stevens often wonder if Ray was 'happy' while at Warner Brothers or wonder if he and the label had strained relations given the lack of publicity his albums and singles were getting, or not getting, compared to his 5 year run at Barnaby Records to start off the decade. This isn't to say that Ray wasn't successful during his Warner Brothers stay...he had a lot of success with his publishing company during this era and he did enjoy several hit songs sprinkled throughout that 3 year period, 1976-1979.

Just for the Record, the name of Ray's debut album on Warner Brothers in 1976, features two hit singles: "You Are So Beautiful" and "Honky Tonk Waltz". As a visual I decided to use a picture of myself with my new record player. I got this for Christmas last month. It's called a 5-in-1 Entertainment Center...it contains a turntable, radio, cassette player, CD player, and an Mp3 option. This is the third turntable that I have. I have the very first one I bought about 7 years ago...that one came from a newspaper advertisement. I didn't think they manufactured record players anymore and so when I saw the ad I called their number and did some other research to make sure the company was for real. The second record player I own is something I bought at a local shopping store about 3 years ago. It has a cassette player function that I've never tried. I already have a radio with a cassette player tape deck. This latest one I'll more than likely try the other functions just to see the results...but mainly it's for my vinyl albums and singles.

Back to Ray Stevens and 1976...the kick off single for the year was his take on "You Are So Beautiful". This rendition is along the same lines as his take on "Misty" a year earlier in 1975. In "You Are So Beautiful" we hear the banjo, fiddle, and steel guitar among other instruments and the delivery is much more up-tempo...way more up-tempo...than the ballad rendering of Joe Cocker. Ray's up-beat version of the song would become a Top-20 country hit...a definite success to kick off relations under a different record label. Warner Brothers promoted Ray as a country artist...a lot of the TV programs he appeared on from that point onward were country music oriented and much of his albums/singles were moved from the pop section to the country section inside record stores. In spite of the country music publicity the rest of Ray's material on Warner Brothers was still the easy-listening/pop music, with the-sometimes country flavor, that had been featured on nearly all of his 1970's albums for Barnaby Records.

Nevertheless, his debut for Warner Brothers by comparison to the rest of his output for the label in 1977-1979, was much more aligned with country music appeal. His follow-up to "You Are So Beautiful" was the ballad "Honky Tonk Waltz"...a ballad that is mid-tempo and combines two distinctly different styles into one performance: honky-tonk music and a waltz...and the performance became a Top-30 country hit in 1976. The theme of Just For the Record appeared to be music...for several of the song titles on his 1976 album had to do with music in some form or another. As you can see, the singles that were released from this album closed out each side of the record. Tracks #5 and #10.

1. Cornball
2. Gimme A Smile
3. Once In A While
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

All of these songs, with the exception of "OM" and "Gimme a Smile" were re-released in 1995 as part of Warner Brothers 3-CD/cassette collection of the music he recorded for the label. The re-issued songs were part of the following collections: Cornball, The Serious Side of Ray Stevens, and Do You Wanna Dance?. Those 1995 collections were released with little fanfare and went out of print rather quickly. I believe you can still purchase those collections as Mp3's at Amazon but it's been awhile since I've checked Ray's Mp3 section.

Ray closed out 1976 with the release of "In the Mood", a recording released under the name of the Henhouse Five Plus Too. The recording, a novelty without question, features Ray chicken clucking Glen Miller's instrumental. This single was backed with "Classical Cluck" and the chart debut came in January of 1977...but it had been released late in 1976. The single reached the Top-40 of the country, pop, and UK music charts in early 1977...it's one of the two recordings that have come to define his stay at Warner Brothers, the other being his unexpected 1979 novelty hit "I Need Your Help, Barry Manilow". Those two recordings are the ones that have appeared on the many compilation albums that surfaced in the 1980's and early 1990's and as a result those two songs have gotten the most exposure...they've gotten so much exposure that most people who've bought Ray Stevens collections through the years probably think Ray only had two hit songs while with Warner Brothers simply because his other recordings for the label have never appeared on any best-of or Greatest Hits release....until 1995 came along and the 3-CD/cassette project, that I mentioned earlier, was issued.

At the start of this blog entry I mentioned 1976 also marks a personal anniversary. Well, more like a birth year...I was born in December of 1976...so at the end of this year I'll reach the 35 mark.

My Modest Ray Stevens 45's Collection...

(This is one of my favorite pictures of Ray Stevens!!)

1963: Speed Ball/It's Party Time
1964: Bubble Gum the Bubble Dancer/Laughing Over My Grave
1968: Mr. Businessman/Face the Music
1970: America, Communicate With Me/Monkey See, Monkey Do
1973: Love Me Longer/Float
1974: The Streak/You've Got the Music Inside
1974: Everybody Needs a Rainbow/Inside
1975: Young Love/Deep Purple
1976: You Are So Beautiful/One Man Band
1978: Be Your Own Best Friend/With a Smile
1979: I Need Your Help, Barry Manilow/Daydream Romance
1980: Night Games/Let's Do It Right This Time
1981: Everything Is Beautiful/Gitarzan (Gold Standard RCA series)
1982: Where the Sun Don't Shine/Why Don't We Go Somewhere and Love
1983: Piece of Paradise Called Tennessee/Mary Lou Nights
1983: My Dad/Game Show Love
1983: Love Will Beat Your Brains Out/Game Show Love
1984: My Dad/Me
1985: The Haircut Song/Punk Country Love
1987: Would Jesus Wear a Rolex/Cool Down, Willard
1989: I Saw Elvis in a UFO/I Used To Be Crazy

As you can tell the collection is very small. I hadn't bought anything off eBay in a period of years and that's where I bought several of the singles that I own. Much of the singles were for sale through Ray's fan club which is no longer in existence. The fan club shut down in 2002 after a run of 15 years in operation. I was a member of the fan club during the last 7 years. Meanwhile, there are still 45's for sale on eBay all the time. I have a lot more vinyl albums, cassette tapes, and CD's of Ray Stevens than I do 45 singles...but they're too numerous to mention.

Ray Stevens: 45 at 35...

Well, here's some discussion about a couple of 45's from 35 years ago...back in 1975 Ray Stevens was amidst a streak of hit singles that had started in 1968. In 1975 he was on the pop and country charts with "Misty" and later that year, "Indian Love Call". A lot of ink is given to "Misty" and rightfully so...it was a Grammy winner for Ray. However, not much attention is given to the other songs that populated the Misty album that year. "Indian Love Call" is a wonderful vocal performance...the melody is changed from what one may be accustomed to and there's some high tenor love calls heard throughout. The calls are not as high or shrilly as Slim Whitman's worldwide hit version but the vocal dynamics from Ray more than make up for it. The arrangement is jazzy, almost doo-wop like. The recording became a country hit and it crossed over to the pop chart as well. It didn't get much pop radio airplay but the strength of it's sales enabled it to rank among the Top-70.

This single's catalog number is Barnaby-619 and it's b-side is "Mockingbird Hill". The single didn't enter the country or pop music charts but nevertheless it's from the 1975 Misty album. This was a follow-up to Ray's version of "Young Love", which hit the country Top-50 in late 1975. Ray's version of "Lady of Spain" is quite a departure, vocally. In the song Ray comes across sounding a lot like Fats Waller in some places. The original version of the song was a crooning love ballad performed by a host of pop music artists but in the hands of Ray Stevens it was turned into an uptempo party song. The Spanish music introduction in Ray's version soon fades away to an urgent early rock and roll arrangement. Ray seems to be completely wrapped up in the free for all performance that he excitedly hollers out "blow it, Norman!!" to the album's saxophonist, Norman Ray, prior to the instrumental solo. I would've loved to see him perform the song, in this arrangement, in concert. Heck, I would've loved to have been in the studio while he was recording this song! It's one of my favorites from the Misty album. The Mp3 digital album of Misty is available at Amazon but their sound clip doesn't necessarily convey the mood of "Lady of Spain" because it's, after all, a sound clip...it doesn't represent the song as a whole. It cuts off right before the rocker instrumentation kicks in.

Ray Stevens: 45 at 20...

Welcome to my latest Ray Stevens blog entry! This time around I'm going to write about a certain song that was recorded and released by Ray in 1990. The song is "Help Me Make It Through the Night". The song had been around for decades prior to Ray recording his version of it. This marked the second time that Ray recorded a song written by Kris Kristofferson. The first time around was in 1969 when Ray became the first artist to record "Sunday Morning Coming Down". Ray's take on "Help Me Make It Through the Night" became much more popular as a music video in 1990 than it did a radio hit. His performance of the song is clearly the most wild interpretation and it's what the country music audience came to expect and appreciate from Ray. The song was also a sort of unofficial tip of the hat to Spike Jones...more than any previous novelty song from Ray Stevens, this one contained an abundant supply of sound effects and noises. A 45 RPM was released to disc jockey's only. Sometimes that DJ promo copy can be found for sale on-line. The promo features the same song on both sides of the single as was the custom for promo singles. The color of the paper is white...which is another indication that the single wasn't originally meant for commercial use. Ray rarely performed the song in concert and my guess is due to the over-dubbing and the sound effects that are heard. It's been said that on a television show it's difficult to time a song because of the nature of commercial breaks and the possibility a sound effect not working when it's suppose to, which can throw off a performance. I've only seen Ray perform the song once...and it wasn't technically a full-length performance. Here's the story...

Back in 1990 Ray appeared on an episode of Nashville Now. He was there to promote his latest album and his first for Curb Records, Lend Me Your Ears. While there, Ray began to croon the first few lines of "Help Me Make It Through the Night" and then out walks the host of the show, Ralph Emery, dressed up as the Southern Colonel. Ralph complained that the song was going too slow...afterward the screen faded to black and the music video of the song began playing. The song, for those who hadn't heard Ray's version, is an up-tempo performance. Then, just as the video was about to transition to the final scenes, the screen faded to black and we see Ray at the piano on the Nashville Now set closing out the song, in crooner style, and Southern Colonel Ralph expressing his appreciation at the upbeat tempo of the song. That was the first and only time I'd seen Ray perform the song anywhere and as I was mentioning it wasn't technically an actual performance because the music video was edited in and that's what the people at home and in the studio audience were watching.

Later on in this same episode Ray sang "Barbeque". How I wish I had the foresight to tape these programs where Ray Stevens made an appearance!! I'd love to see them over and over and over again.

This is a song you don't hear much about. It was released as a single in 1968 and it's from, as you can see, his Even Stevens album. The song is about a man who's excited about heading home after a stress filled day at work. He considers being away from the city and out in the country as his great escape. The song has no connection to the movie of the same name from the early '60s. "The Great Escape" in hindsight should have been the B-side of the single but it was pushed as the A-side when it hit the market. This is not to be taken as a slam against the song but when you hear it and then hear the B-side, "Isn't It Lonely Together?", you may also come away thinking the same thing. The B-side is a tragic story of a couple who have to deal with the consequences of a one-night stand. The woman in the song becomes pregnant and the man wrestles with the idea of doing the right thing and marrying her. Modern-day listeners may cynically wonder why there's a dilemma at all when abortion is an option and the man or the woman can be independent from one another...but, don't forget, that kind of a mind set is of modern-day while this song is from 1968. Modern-day listeners should also realize that the song can be interpreted as being pro-family and anti-abortion...and modern-day listeners should also realize that this was five years before the landmark abortion case, Roe v. Wade, came to it's conclusion. In hindsight I think the reason why "The Great Escape" was pushed as the A-side is because the subject matter couldn't be construed as being controversial.

Speaking of controversy...health care overhaul, also known as ObamaCare, seems to have a life of it's own, still. In spite of the common sense belief that the health care bill will do more harm than good and in spite of the fierce polarization that's taken place between the two political parties and among the American public in general...in spite all of that and in spite of loud messages to Congress and to the President to start over on health care, the Congressional majority plan on continuing down the path they're on. Even a scaled-back version of ObamaCare is not what the doctor ordered. The entire thing needs scrapped. In the meantime, the ObamaCare song from Ray Stevens, also known as "We The People", is currently sitting with 2,730,025 views on You Tube.

Ray Stevens: Misty at 35

1975 in the career of Ray Stevens was highlighted by the success of "Misty", a song that dated back to the 1950's. The song had became popular by way of Erroll Garner, a piano player. Garner wrote the music and had an instrumental hit with it and then Johnny Burke wrote lyrics to the song a short time later. The lyrical version of the song became the most widely known when recorded by Johnny Mathis in 1959. The song itself was inducted into the Grammy Hall of Fame twice. The first time came along in 1991 when the instrumental was inducted and then in 2002 the vocal version of the song was put into the Grammy Hall of Fame. "Misty" had been recorded several times after Johnny Mathis but the most popular version of the song to depart from the traditional slow ballad approach was the 1975 cover version by Ray Stevens.

Ray's 1975 album was chock full of pop-standards. Well, I should say, his version of pop-standards. The Misty album featured the title track along with a healthy dose of pop-standard covers. The album did boast two original songs: "Sunshine", an up-tempo banjo heavy sing-a-long that Ray wrote and then the slow ballad from the pen of Layng Martine, Jr. titled "Take Care of Business". The rest of the album featured his take on several pop music classics. "Misty" was the stand-out and it went on to become a Top-20 pop hit plus it became a Top-5 country hit. The arrangement of the song, heavy on banjo and steel guitar and performed mid-tempo, won Ray his second Grammy award for Best Arrangement. His first Grammy winner was his 1970 #1 hit "Everything Is Beautiful". There were a couple more singles released from the 1975 album but they didn't match the runaway success of "Misty". The other singles from the album were "Indian Love Call", "Young Love", and "Mockingbird Hill"; of those three, "Indian Love Call" became the most successful...reaching the Top-40 on the country music chart. If you notice anything different about the 45 it's because of the international distribution. Janus distributed the music on Barnaby Records overseas. The image in this blog is of the United Kingdom release of "Misty".

1. Misty
2. Indian Love Call
3. Over the Rainbow
4. Oh, Lonesome Me
5. Sunshine
6. Cow-Cow Boogie
7. Young Love
8. Deep Purple
9. Mockingbird Hill
10. Take Care of Business
11. Lady of Spain

Ray Stevens: 45 at 24

1986 was one of the biggest years for Ray Stevens during that decade. Earlier in the year he was at #1 on the album chart with I Have Returned, a comedy album released late in 1985. Following the success of the album and a couple of the singles he moved on with a follow-up album, Surely You Joust, and this collaborative single. The single, "Southern Air", is a very funny song that uses a lot of regional locale for it's humor. I didn't get a few of the jokes until years later. The single was a departure for Ray in that it was a trio effort...helping him along the way were Jerry Clower and Minnie Pearl. They played the pilot and stewardess while Ray played the part of a passenger/narrator. "Southern Air" in case you didn't know is a fictional airline where through descriptive humor we're told that it has a screen door and in our minds we're suppose to conjure up an image of an airplane made by hand sputtering along the sky. In one of the jokes, the plane flies so low in Enterprise, Alabama that you could see buildings and monuments...you can pretty much guess where the plane lands and takes off from. Jerry Clower is hilarious as the pilot/captain and Minnie Pearl gets to play-up her persona as a man-hungry lady of class. The single reached the country Top-70 in 1986 and when I hear the song I'm always taken back to when I was a kid looking forward to watching Hee-Haw on Saturday evenings with my grandparents.

Ray Stevens: For the Love of Music...

It's always been a fact that Ray Stevens is motivated by the music. He's first and foremost a musician and songwriter and this area of expertise is split off into several other avenues. He's a music arranger...plus he's a music producer...knowing the inner workings of a recording studio inside out. His skill at multi-tracking is another under-looked talent of his...but being a producer of his own recordings and given how multi-tracking is considered the norm today not much attention is made to it. It was in the 1960's and early 1970's that Ray was among the few to use such techniques. Some artists then and now prefer to have everyone in the studio at the same time during a recording while other artists who have a producer's ear would rather piece a song together electronically. Why? A lot of it has to do with creative control. One of the main reasons that Ray built his own recording studio back in the 1970's and preferred to use his own musicians on the recordings is because, I feel, it enabled him to be free from record label interferences that usually come into play and he wanted to work with people that he felt were talented. Sometimes a label will shackle an artist with studio musicians who may not have mutual interest or respect for one another and I imagine it makes for tense recording sessions. Ray could probably mimic the sounds of all the instruments if he wanted to...and a small peak of this is found on a single from 1966...

Forty four years ago back in 1966 Ray Stevens had out a novelty song called "Freddie Feelgood and His Funky Little Five Piece Band". It's b-side is a song called "There's One In Every Crowd". As most long-time fans know, Freddie leads a five piece combo. He plays trumpet and the rest of the band play the following: Tyrone plays the trombone, Ace plays the bass, Yum Yum plays the drums, and Percy plays the piano. The piano, obviously, is the only instrument not vocally mimicked. In the role of Yum Yum, Ray gets to strut his stuff doing a very funny scat-singing tirade. Yum Yum is the stand-out vocalization in addition to the breeziness of Freddie. The song reached the lower part of the pop charts...becoming his first chart hit in three years. Ray made a music video of the song in 1999 that's very clever and imaginative. It uses camera tricks which of course plays a large part in Ray's brand of live-action music videos. In a few scenes in the music video Ray appears in front of all five members of the band...which are all played by Ray...I don't know if he used the aid of what's called the blue screen or not. It was like Ray and his video producers shot various scenes and pasted the separate images together and then super-imposed an animated background onto the final recording. See the 1999 music video for yourself on You Tube. It was uploaded by another Ray Stevens fan and it's gotten over 10,000 plays.

Twenty-three years ago Ray Stevens issued this novelty song as a single. "Three Legged Man" is one of the more nuttier novelty songs associated with Ray and it showcases several funny vocalizations. Ray tells a story about a man who meets a woman who turns out to be married...and the woman's husband has a peg leg. Ray plays the part of the other man in the woman's life and we're given one hilarious recollection of how he became a "Three Legged Man". It happened during the night that he visited his lover in an attempt to steal her away from her husband. Believe it or not, music buyers who stumble across the album that features this song object to the adult themes and lump it in with dirty comedy. I've come across several reviews of Crackin' Up, the 1987 album that features this single, and some have made it quite clear that they look at Ray Stevens as a 'family entertainer' and in their narrow view songs like "Three Legged Man", "Sex Symbols", and "The Day That Clancy Drowned" clearly demonstrate an adult theme. Even worse, or even more hilarious, is these critics actually reprimanded Ray as if he's a child. Some people out there go a bit too far. In Ray's defense, though, there's nothing dirty or raunchy in any of the comedy songs that some people say are 'adult-themed'.

It's funny to think that people scolded Ray for being 'adult-themed' with some of the comedy songs on his 1987 album. What's even more funny is where were these watch-dogs in 1986 when he issued the Surely You Joust album? "The People's Court" clearly describes such adult themed subject matter as a helpless woman fighting to get her leotards off. Oooh, shocking stuff on a Ray Stevens song isn't it? Bad, bad Ray...you need your hand slapped for this one. "The People's Court" is a very funny parody of the TV show of the same name. It's a catchy song and it helps if you're familiar with the long-running 1980's version of the show...but even if you're not familiar with Judge Wapner, the plaintiff and defendant are so hilarious that one doesn't even need to be familiar with what's being spoofed. Ray portrays the parts of the plaintiff, defendant, court reporter, and the judge in addition to singing the chorus breaks. The song always reminds me of a sketch you'd probably find on Hee-Haw and the character names on this song are intentionally rural: Arlo and Myrna-Louise. In addition to this song, a few other comical recordings stray into adult-hood from the 1986 album. There's "Makin' the Best of a Bad Situation" which includes a verse about a woman who spends too much time with the milkman. I'm stunned by such awful vulgarities as that. Wow...that takes the cake right there! Could anyone be anymore adult-themed than that? How about the subject of negligence in "Camp Werethahekahwee" or the all out fisticuffs that abound in the climax of "Smoky Mountain Rattlesnake Retreat".

Seriously, though, I'm teasing those who either take the subject matter of songs or take issue with lyrics, to the extreme. There are people out there who want to confine artist's to being only what they, the fans, want to see. It becomes almost like a prison or almost suffocating, I imagine, if a singer doesn't have the musical freedom to make the kinds of music he or she wants. It's often a case of a fan base who wants supreme control over a singer's looks, choice of song material, or personal views. Usually if a singer demonstrates behavior that's opposite of what a fan expects or demands then chances are the 'fan' won't be a fan for much longer. Once a fan senses that they're losing control of a singer then that fan more than likely moves and eventually begins to live vicariously through another singer's life. I'm in the minority, probably, in that I don't live vicariously through others. I'm with a singer through the good or bad, up or down times. If I like a singer then typically I'm a fan for life. There's a few instances where I've been a casual fan of artists whom I've since drifted from. The bottom line to all of this is Ray's a grown man...and he shouldn't have been subjected to such silly criticisms. Of course it never affected him, though. I recall reading an article from 1988 on-line which contained a segment in a newspaper complaining about a song on Ray's album at the time. The song was about a couple of hippies and some readers objected to the treatment of animals being depicted in the song. I think the article went on to say that they contacted Ray for his comment and reportedly Ray said: "they can't be serious?" and he laughed it off. So, even then, Ray knew how silly some people could get over the content in his songs.

A 45 that turns 30 this year is "You're Never Goin' To Tampa With Me" with is actually the b-side of "Shriner's Convention" which I spotlighted in a previous blog. The 1980 recording can be found on a couple of RCA collections, notably the Collector's Series which had a 1985 release and a 1987 re-release. The song is found on both releases. It's a clever song if you pay attention to the lyrics. It also, of course, pays homage to various cities in Florida. I like the song's arrangement...it fits the song like a glove. I couldn't imagine hearing the lyrics with any other musical presentation.

Ray Stevens: 45 at 39

It was 39 years ago this month that a certain novelty single became a hit for Ray Stevens. It was a novelty single in the truest sense of the word. The utterly bizarre concept and the execution of the music and lyrics was comic genius in my opinion. This single, to the best of my knowledge, wasn't suppose to be a major hit because at the time it was released as a single-only and it didn't appear on any long-playing (LP) album. Add to this the fact that a month earlier in November of 1970 Ray's record label issued the much more serious recording, "Sunset Strip". While "Sunset Strip" became a Top-20 hit with Adult-Contemporary radio listeners, called Easy-Listening at the time, it's performance on the mostly sales-driven Hot 100 wasn't as successful. It peaked in the Top-85 of that chart but as I mentioned it did real well with the adult audiences of the time period. How odd, though, that his record label decided to release a new single barely a month after "Sunset Strip" hit. Ray has often said that in a lot of cases he'd come up with strange or bizarre idea's for comedy songs out of the blue that nobody else would touch and so he'd end up recording the songs himself. I happen to think that this is one of those cases when it comes to "Bridget The Midget", a novelty single that hit in December of 1970.

As I mentioned, the single was only available at the time on a 45 and the fact that it was released a month after "Sunset Strip" indicates to me that there wasn't suppose to be much attention focused on the comedy song. Remember, 1970 was the year of "Everything Is Beautiful" and other more serious recordings from Ray...and it was in late 1969 and throughout the first 11 months of 1970 that music buyers and TV watchers were becoming used to the dead-serious Ray Stevens who had a comical side. Previously, Ray had been known as the comical singer who had a serious side. So, just as the serious Ray had become accepted again out comes "Bridget The Midget" and he's labeled a comedy act once more. The novelty single reached it's peak in early 1971 and in America the song managed to climb into the Top-50 on the pop chart but over in England the single tickled their funny bones, I imagine, because it reached the Top-5 on their pop music chart. The single features the gimmick of sped-up vocals to achieve the singing and talking voice of Bridget, a go-go dancer. The song takes place inside a go-go where Ray plays all the characters. He portrays the singer/narrator, the stagehand, the hippie patron, Bridget and her back-up group.

The single remained on a 45 until some point in the early '70s when it was placed on an album. Since then it's become a fixture on just about all the compilation albums that record labels have issued on Ray through the years. The image below is my Tower of Stevens. Actually it's my cassette tape tower and I snapped a picture of the Ray Stevens section. It's a digital picture that I took this morning and if you click it you'll be able to see a bigger image. I didn't get the 2002 release, "Osama Yo' Mama" into the shot because it's elsewhere in my bedroom because as you can see there would be no room for it...all of the slots are taken up by other cassettes.

The first cassette tape I lucked out and found on-line. I still keep my eyes open for cassette copies of Ray's 1980's out put. So far Shriner's Convention on RCA, from 1980, is the only album from his 1980-1982 RCA tenure that I've been able to find in cassette format. The tape underneath Shriner's Convention is the 1983 Greatest Hits release that RCA issued which features just two RCA recordings...the rest of his RCA singles weren't spotlighted. For a more legitimate look at some of his RCA recordings one should seek out Collector's Series from 1985. In my Tower of Stevens it's the fifth tape shown. The collection only spotlights eight recordings, though. It was a budget-priced series that RCA issued on artists that had recorded for the label both past and current. For anyone who comes across this blog entry or any other one that I've written be aware that I don't offer links to free downloads. I don't offer links to anything free. The way I see it, 99 cents doesn't kill anyone. That's how much songs on-line cost. So, for those who want to hear the songs I write about in my blog entries, search for them at Amazon's MP3 store or at Itunes...or visit Ray's web-site store and purchase CD's or DVD's.

Ray Stevens: The Complete Singles Discography

Is everyone ready? I've come across some sites on-line that have listed the singles that Ray Stevens has released through the years. While they're few and far between over the course of 4 or 5 years I always seem to come across discographies that just don't look too professionally put together. It's as if it was a rush job of some kind, on the part of the web master. While it's not a walk in the park putting one of them together, some sense of professionalism should still be in order. I'll get this out of the way first and foremost...I won't be supplying catalog numbers. I'll list the singles and provide label information. The quantity of singles began to dry up by the late 1980's as consumers were buying full length albums instead of the "hit" recording. I'll add any information about the singles such as gold or platinum certification and whether or not a single reached the Hot 100 pop chart or the country charts. So, it'll be a dizzying list of songs because as most people know, pop and country artists at one time released more singles than albums. Another warning...the list is as complete as I know...I'm sure there are obscure releases that even nut-cases like myself aren't aware of. If a single reached the Top-40 I'll make a note of it. If a single charted below the Top-40 I'll simply refer to it as a Hot 100 entry, or a "chart hit" when we reach the country music era. As we get into the late 1980's and early 1990's the 45 RPM single had become less and less a feature in Ray's career. After 1990 his main focus shifted to music video's and his theater in Branson, Missouri {1991-1993}. Ray would continue to sing and promote songs from the albums he would release throughout the 1990's but they were never released commercially as 45 RPM's. After the demise of the 45 RPM as a commercially popular item, radio stations began to play songs from albums/CD's based upon what the record label promoted as a "single" even though there wasn't an actual commercial single in stores for consumers to purchase. This era began at some point in the early 1990's, perhaps 1992-1993. By the end of the decade a "45" in the mind's of most radio listeners meant a handgun instead of an item containing music. After 1989 I start to list songs that Ray promoted from his albums as "singles"...

1. Silver Bracelet / Rang Tang Ding Dong; 1957 Prep Records

2. Five More Steps / Tingle; 1957 Prep Records

3. Chickie Chickie Wah Wah / Crying Goodbye; 1958 Capitol Records

4. Cat Pants / Love Goes On Forever; 1958 Capitol Records

5. The School / The Clown; 1958 Capitol Records

6. High School Yearbook / Truly True; 1959 NRC Records

7. What Would I Do Without You / My Heart Cries For You; 1959 NRC Records

8. Sgt. Preston of the Yukon / Who Do You Love; 1960 NRC Records

9. Happy Blue Year / White Christmas; 1960 NRC Records {instrumentals}

10. Jeremiah Peabody / Teen Years; 1961 Mercury Records Top-40 pop

11. Scratch My Back / When You Wish Upon a Star; 1961 Mercury Records

12. Ahab the Arab / It's Been So Long; 1962 Mercury Records Top-5 pop; Top-10 R&B; Gold single

13. Furthermore / Saturday Night at the Movies; 1962 Mercury Records Hot 100 entry

14. Santa Claus Is Watching You / Loved and Lost; 1963 Mercury Records Hot 100 entry

15. Funny Man / Just One of Life's Little Tragedies; 1963 Mercury Records Hot 100 entry

16. Harry the Hairy Ape / Little Stone Statue; 1963 Mercury Records Top-20 pop; Top-20 R&B

17. Speed Ball / It's Party Time; 1963 Mercury Records Hot 100 entry; Top-30 R&B

18. Butch Babarian / Don't Say Anything; 1963 Mercury Records

19. Bubble Gum The Bubble Dancer / Laughing Over My Grave; 1964 Mercury Records

20. Rockin' Teenage Mummies / It Only Hurts When I Love; 1965 Mercury Records

21. Mr. Baker The Undertaker / Old English Surfer; 1965 Mercury Records

22. A-B-C / Party People; 1966 Monument Records

23. Devil May Care / Make a Few Memories; 1966 Monument Records

24. Freddy Feelgood / There's One In Every Crowd; 1966 Monument Records Hot 100 entry

25. Mary, My Secretary / Answer Me, My Love; 1967 Monument Records

26. Unwind / For He's A Jolly Good Fellow; 1968 Monument Records Hot 100 entry

27. Mr. Businessman / Face The Music; 1968 Monument Records Top-30 pop

28. The Great Escape / Isn't It Lonely Together; 1968 Monument Records B-side charted R&B; A-side Bubbled Under the Hot 100

29. Gitarzan / Bagpipes, That's My Bag; 1969 Monument Records Top-10 pop; Gold single

30. Along Came Jones / Yakety Yak; 1969 Monument Records Top-30 pop

31. Sunday Mornin' Comin' Down / The Minority; 1969 Monument Records Hot 100 entry; Country chart hit

32. Have a Little Talk With Myself / Little Woman; 1969 Monument Records Country chart hit

33. I'll Be Your Baby Tonight / The Fool On the Hill; 1970 Monument Records

34. Everything Is Beautiful / A Brighter Day; 1970 Barnaby Records #1 pop for 2 weeks; #1 Easy-Listening; Top-40 country; Gold single; Grammy winner

35. America, Communicate With Me / Monkey See, Monkey Do; 1970 Barnaby Records Hot 100 entry; Top-20 Easy-Listening

36. Sunset Strip / Islands; 1970 Barnaby Hot 100 entry; Top-20 Easy-Listening

37. Bridget The Midget / Night People; 1970 Barnaby Records Hot 100 entry; Top-5 United Kingdom

38. A Mama and a Papa / Melt; 1971 Barnaby Records Hot 100 entry; Top-10 Easy-Listening

39. All My Trials / Have a Little Talk With Myself; 1971 Barnaby Records Hot 100 entry; Top-10 Easy-Listening

40. Turn Your Radio On / Loving You On Paper; 1971 Barnaby Records Hot 100 entry; Top-30 Easy-Listening; Top-20 Country

41. Love Lifted Me / Glory Special; 1972 Barnaby Records Top-10 Bangkok

42. Losin' Streak / Inside; 1973 Barnaby Records

43. Nashville / Golden Age; 1973 Barnaby Records Top-40 Country

44. Love Me Longer / Float; 1973 Barnaby Records

45. The Streak / You've Got the Music Inside; 1974 Barnaby Records #1 pop for 3 weeks; #1 United Kingdom; Top-5 Country; Gold single

46. The Moonlight Special / Just So Proud To Be Here; 1974 Barnaby Records Hot 100 entry

47. Everybody Needs a Rainbow / Inside; 1974 Barnaby Records Top-20 Easy-Listening; Top-40 Country

48. Misty / Sunshine; 1975 Barnaby Records Top-20 pop; Top-10 Easy-Listening; Top-5 Country; Grammy winner

49. Indian Love Call / Piece of Paradise; 1975 Barnaby Records Hot 100 entry; Top-40 Country

50. Young Love / Deep Purple; 1975 Barnaby Records Hot 100 entry; Country chart hit

51. Lady of Spain / Mockingbird Hill; 1976 Barnaby Records

52. You Are So Beautiful / One Man Band; 1976 Warner Brothers Top-20 Country

53. Honky Tonk Waltz / OM; 1976 Warner Brothers Top-30 Country

54. In The Mood / Classical Cluck; 1976 Warner Brothers Top-40 pop; Top-40 Easy-Listening; Top-40 United Kingdom; Top-40 Country; released as the Hen House Five Plus Too

55. Get Crazy With Me / Dixie Hummingbird; 1977 Warner Brothers Country chart hit

56. Dixie Hummingbird / Feel the Music; 1977 Warner Brothers Country chart hit

57. Be Your Own Best Friend / With a Smile; 1978 Warner Brothers Top-40 Country

58. I Need Your Help, Barry Manilow / Daydream Romance; 1979 Warner Brothers Hot 100 entry; Country chart hit; Top-20 Easy-Listening

59. The Feeling's Not Right Again / Get Crazy With Me; 1979 Warner Brothers

60. Shriner's Convention / You're Never Goin' To Tampa With Me; 1980 RCA Records Top-10 Country

61. Night Games / Let's Do It Right This Time; 1980 RCA Records Top-20 Country

62. One More Last Chance / I Believe You Love Me; 1981 RCA Records Top-40 Country

63. Written Down In My Heart / Country Boy, Country Club Girl; 1982 RCA Records Top-40 Country

64. Where The Sun Don't Shine / Why Don't We Go Somewhere and Make Love; 1982 RCA Records Country chart hit

65. Piece of Paradise Called Tennessee / Mary Lou Nights; 1983 Mercury Records

66. Game Show Love / My Dad; 1983 Mercury Records

67. Love Will Beat Your Brains Out / Game Show Love; 1983 Mercury Records

68. My Dad / Me; 1984 Mercury Records Country chart hit

69. I'm Kissin' You Goodbye / Joggin'; 1984 MCA Records

70. Mississippi Squirrel Revival / Ned Nostril; 1984 MCA Records Top-20 Country; Top-20 Sales

71. It's Me Again, Margaret / Joggin'; 1985 MCA Records Country chart hit

72. The Haircut Song / Punk Country Love; 1985 MCA Records Country chart hit

73. Santa Claus Is Watching You / Armchair Quarterback; 1985 MCA Records

74. The Ballad of the Blue Cyclone / Vacation Bible School; 1986 MCA Records Country chart hit; Top-30 Sales

75. Southern Air / The Camping Trip; 1986 MCA Records Country chart hit; Top-30 Sales; A-side a collaboration with Jerry Clower and Minnie Pearl

76. The People's Court / Dudley Dorite of the Highway Patrol; 1986 MCA Records Country chart hit

77. Can He Love You Half as Much as I / Dudley Dorite; 1987 MCA Records

78. Would Jesus Wear a Rolex / Cool Down, Willard; 1987 MCA Records Country chart hit; Top-20 Sales

79. Three Legged Man / Doctor, Doctor; 1987 MCA Records

80. Sex Symbols / The Ballad of Cactus Pete and Lefty; 1987 MCA Records

81. Surfin' USSR / Language, Nudity, Violence, and Sex; 1988 MCA Records

82. Charlene MacKenzie / I Don't Need None of That; 1988 MCA Records

83. I Saw Elvis In a UFO / I Used To Be Crazy; 1989 MCA Records

84. Sittin' Up With The Dead; 1990 Curb Records

85. Help Me Make It Through The Night / Help Me Make It Through The Night; 1991 Curb Records

Note: At this time Ray Stevens opens up his theater in Branson, Missouri. Ray would perform at his theater during the 1991, 1992, and 1993 seasons. He would do 2 shows a day, 6 days a week.

86. Workin' For The Japanese; 1991 Curb Records Country chart hit

87. You Gotta Have a Hat; 1991 Curb Records

88. Power Tools; 1992 Curb Records Country chart hit

Note: It was around this point in time that Ray Stevens released Comedy Video Classics and sold it through television commercials and print advertisements. The home video would eventually sell more than 2,000,000 copies throughout 1992 and into 1993. Once it was released to retail stores in 1993 it sold more than half a million copies. The success led Ray into becoming a home video megastar throughout the 1990's as Comedy Video Classics and it's two follow-up releases, Ray Stevens Live! and Get Serious!, each had lengthy lifespans on the weekly home video sales chart. In fact, Get Serious! was on the weekly sales chart from January to July 1997 reaching a peak inside the Top-5.

89. If Ten Percent Is Good Enough For Jesus; 1993 Curb Records

90. The Motel Song; 1993 Curb Records

91. Super Cop; 1993 Curb Records

92. Virgil and the Moonshot; 1997 MCA Records

93. Too Drunk To Fish; 1997 MCA Records

94. The Little Drummer Boy...Next Door; 1997 MCA Records

95. Bad Little Boy; 1997 MCA Records

96. Osama Yo' Mama / United We Stand; 2002 Curb Records Country chart hit; Top-5 Sales; Gold single

97. Hello Mama; 2002 Curb Records

98. Thank You; 2004 Clyde Records

99. The New Battle of New Orleans; 2006 Curb Records

100. Ruby Falls; 2007 Clyde Records MP3 single

101. Hurricane; 2008 Clyde Records

102. Concrete Sailor; 2009 Clyde Records

103. Cooter Brown; 2009 Clyde Records

104. If Ten Percent Is Good Enough For Jesus; 2009 Clyde Records MP3 single

105. We The People; 2009 Clyde Records

Whew! As I mentioned at the top of this blog entry...it's a dizzying list of singles! I probably missed some obscure singles that I'm not aware of but for the most part the above singles list is about as thorough as it can be. Do not let the lapses in single releases fool you, though, during the decade of the '90s. Throughout the 1990's and this decade Ray has focused a lot of his energy into music video's and DVD's as well as occasional tour dates. His latest, "We The People", is an on-line hit. To date it's received over 20,000 plays on You Tube. It is his biggest hit since "Osama Yo' Mama" in 2002.

Ray Stevens: The 45 Singles...chapter...I've forgot...

I posted a picture of the a-side of this single in my previous blog entry called "The Clown Prince of Country Music". The a-side is a song called "Speed Ball". The song was inspired more or less by a comedy routine from Brother Dave Gardner. In fact, if you hear any comedy routines from Brother Dave and you hear early Ray Stevens on Mercury Records you'll hear how much of an influence Gardner had on Ray. However, on the b-side, a song called "It's Party Time", we hear a story about the well-visited topic of lost love and putting on a happy face. There are many love songs about this topic and in my opinion what makes the topic feel refreshing in every different recording I hear happens to be connected with lyrics and delivery. A lot of critics of pop music or love songs tend to be a tad bit cynical and say things like "you've heard one love song you've heard them all". In my way of thinking, it's true, we all have heard the same sentiments...but what makes each song different is how the topic is dealt with. To date this song has not been featured on any Ray Stevens album or compilation that I am aware of. As far as I know, this 45 is the only place the song was commercially available. The a-side was available originally on the 1963 album, This Is Ray Stevens and has appeared on several other compilation releases from Mercury through the years.

This same exclusive nature can be applied to this song, "Laughing Over My Grave". I got the camera too close to the single and the flash lit up some of the title. This is the b-side to "Bubble Gum the Bubble Dancer" and like "It's Party Time", the "Laughing Over My Grave" song is only available on the b-side of a 45. There have been You Tube video montage's made of both b-side songs. Thanks to technology there's a way to transfer vinyl onto CD and then it can be uploaded onto a computer. As far as commercial albums are concerned, though, "Laughing Over My Grave" has yet to make an appearance. The song is about a man who's been abusive to a woman and he's afraid of what she may do to him as a result. A hook of the song is the almost witch-like cackling of the female voice...a voice I assume is Ray in falsetto. As you can tell from my mini-description it's a light-weight song but yet it has a twist toward the end.

The Best of Ray Stevens, issued in 1970 by Mercury Records, continues to be the best collection of Ray's material on Mercury Records. Unless you are able to come across an even more obscure collection on CD that features his first two albums in one collection, the best chances to have a good number of early '60s Ray Stevens is The Best of Ray Stevens that you see here. I have the collection in cassette format and I have the more obscure two album on one CD collection but I realize not everyone does. So, The Best of Ray Stevens is the best review of his 1961-1963 output. This collection kicks off with the version of "Ahab the Arab" that features Ralph Emery introducing Ray to a small crowd of people. When you hear him perform the song he adds in additional lyrics that aren't in the studio recording. Ralph makes a return appearance at the end when everyone's applauding...asking for even more applause. You'll know what I mean when you hear the song.

The illustrations on the album cover are caricatures of the characters in Ray's songs. Off to his left is "Speed Ball", the motorcyclist. The corner pictures are: up in the top-left "Bubble Gum the Bubble Dancer", the top-right is "Butch Babarian". In the lower corners we have "Ahab the Arab" and "Harry the Hairy Ape". Off to Ray's right we have "Jeremiah Peabody" and below Ray's picture there's "Santa Claus is Watching You" and "It's Been So Long". The two panels immediately above Ray's picture is "The Rock and Roll Show" and the other panel, through elimination, must be "Loved and Lost" or "Funny Man". The ironic thing is the collection has 11 songs but there's only 10 cartoon panels on the album cover. The cassette copy that I have contains six cartoon panels.

I've had this cassette for a number of years. Once upon a time it was the only collection of songs I had of Ray Stevens from the early '60s. As I mentioned above, there's 11 songs on here. The recordings were all produced by Shelby Singleton and all the songs were written by Ray. There are liner notes that accompany the collection. The author comments on the recent serious material of Ray's, including name-dropping "Mr. Businessman", but the author reminds consumers that Ray had always sang non-comical songs long before he gained national success with serious works. Naturally there is no reference to Monument Records, the label Ray was signed to throughout the mid to late '60s...and the label in which Ray experienced his first major successes with serious works like "Unwind", "Mr. Businessman", and "Have a Little Talk With Myself".

These are not sunglasses that I'm wearing. My glasses tint in the sunlight and I brought my vinyl album of Ray's, Losin' Streak, to a house my sister lived in at one time. I had my picture taken with the album using my digital camera as you can tell. It must have been as an experiment as I hadn't had the camera that long. I now take my own pictures using that same camera or I use my web-camera if I want to take a picture quickly without dragging out the USB cord and digital camera. I've used this picture as an avatar on message boards and I think I had the picture here on the blogger site as my profile image before changing it to the one I currently use.

Ray Stevens: The Awards

One of the things that also sets Ray Stevens apart from other acts marketed as country comedians is the amount of awards and achievements he has accumulated through the years. This isn't meant to be a definitive list but i'll try and keep it in chronological order...a lot of the awards are from what i've researched, which is why it should not be viewed as a definitive list.

1969: Gold Record- "Gitarzan"
1969: BMI Publishers Award- "Gitarzan"
1970: Billboard- 2 week #1 Pop Single- "Everything Is Beautiful"
1970: Gold Record- "Everything Is Beautiful"
1971: Grammy- "Everything Is Beautiful" Best Male Vocal Performance
1974: BMI Publishers Award- "The Streak"
1974: Billboard- 3 week #1 Pop Single "The Streak"
1974: Gold Record- "The Streak"
1975: BMI Publishers Award- "Misty"
1976: Grammy- "Misty" Best Arrangement
1977: BMI Publishers Award- "Way Down" performed by Elvis Presley
1980: Nashville Songwriters Hall of Fame induction
1980: Georgia Music Hall of Fame induction
1980: BMI Publishers Award- "Shriner's Convention"
1984: Platinum Album- He Thinks He's Ray Stevens
1985: Gold Album- I Have Returned
1986: #1 Country Album- I Have Returned
1986: Music City News Comedian of the Year
1987: Music City News Comedian of the Year
1987: Platinum Album- Greatest Hits
1987: Gold Album- Greatest Hits, Volume Two
1988: Music City News Comedian of the Year
1989: Music City News Comedian of the Year
1990: Music City News Comedian of the Year
1990: Gold Album- His All Time Greatest Comic Hits
1991: Music City News Comedian of the Year
1992: Music City News Comedian of the Year
1992: BMI Publishers Award- "Cadillac Style" performed by Sammy Kershaw
1992: Triple-Platinum Home Video- Comedy Video Classics
1993: Music City News Comedian of the Year
1993: #1 Home Video- Comedy Video Classics
1993: Platinum Home Video- Ray Stevens Live!
1993: #1 Home Video- Ray Stevens Live!
1993: Billboard Home Video of the Year- Comedy Video Classics
1994: Music City News Comedian of the Year
1994: BMI Publishers Award- "I Can't Reach Her Anymore" performed by Sammy Kershaw
1995: Country Weekly Golden Pick Award- Best Comedian
1995: Platinum Home Video- Get Serious!
2002: Gold Single- "Osama Yo' Mama"