Ray Stevens and the eBay Songbooks...

Hello fans of Ray Stevens...yesterday there happened to be an announcement of five song books being put up for sale by Ray's company on eBay. The books focus on just one song per copy but the allure of the items happen to be his signature and the fact that the books have his image on the cover. As mentioned there are five of these: 1968's "Mr. Businessman", 1969's "Gitarzan", 1970's "Bridget the Midget the Queen of the Blues", "Everything Is Beautiful", and 1984's "Mississippi Squirrel Revival".

The original asking price for each of the five books was $10.00 but once word got out on social media sites there have been multiple bids on several of the items and the selling price has accordingly gone up. I think most of it is due to having Ray's signature on each item but there's also the nostalgic factor and the images of Ray that appear on each book. The "Everything Is Beautiful" sheet music now has a price of $26.00 and 3 bids. The most popular item is the sheet music for one of his most enduring comical songs, 1984's "Mississippi Squirrel Revival". Even today the fans and the general public alike cite lyrics and catch-phrases from the song as evidenced in posts from social media sites. That particular sheet music book has the most bids so far with 11 and a price of $76.00!! 

At the moment there are 6 bids for "Mr. Businessman" and as a result the current price is $40.00. The prices, I assume, are going to continue to go up considering there's 6 days left to place a bid. Ray started an eBay page in the summer and I vaguely remember hearing about it at the time but it turned out to be something that wasn't publicized that much but these 5 song books are the first items he's offered for sale and you can see them HERE.

Ray Stevens: Golden LP Series Extra...1990...

Welcome to 1990...the start of a new decade in the career of Ray Stevens. Ironically enough the new decade brought about a few changes and one of the changes was a new record label home. After having been with the MCA family for 5 years (1984-1989), Ray joined the Curb Records label in 1990. Another irony was the label's first project with it's newest roster addition happened to be a compilation titled His All-Time Greatest Comic Hits. I assume given Ray's longevity in the music industry the label wanted it's first commercial release on Ray to feature material a general audience would more than likely be familiar with. This latest compilation more or less collected nine recordings from both Greatest Hits and Greatest Hits, Volume Two which had been released in 1987 by MCA. There was one recording on this 1990 project that didn't appear on either 1987 compilation and that was 1970's "Bridget the Midget the Queen of the Blues". It's anyone's guess why that particular hit single wasn't included on any of the 1987 compilations from MCA but whatever the reasons it found it's way onto the 1990 compilation. It is this very project that introduced me to that 1970 hit single from Ray. The collection also features "Would Jesus Wear a Rolex?", "The Streak", "Shriner's Convention" and others.

As you can tell from the picture and as you can see on the cover photo, one of the songs on the 1990 collection is 1984's "It's Me Again, Margaret". The image used on the cover is the actual publicity photo of the single that appeared in country music publications of the time period. Ray appears in character as an obscene phone caller forever on the quest to bring irritation and harassment to his victim, Margaret. I wrote about this single in previous blog entries and so this time around I'll make mention of the inclusion of "In the Mood". This recording appeared on 1987's Greatest Hits, Volume Two as well as other compilation projects down through the years. The performance, released as The Henhouse Five Plus Too, features a band of chickens who cluck out "In the Mood" backed primarily by a saxophone and a few other instruments. The recording was a Top-40 pop and country hit in America while it also reached the Top-40 in Canada and the United Kingdom early in 1977. The single was released under Ray's name overseas whereas in America it was released as The Henhouse Five Plus Too. Also on this collection, "Ahab the Arab" is the 1969 re-recording he did on Monument Records. The original recording from 1962 is most often featured on compilation releases from labels associated with Mercury Records, the label Ray originally recorded the song for. There have been multiple recordings of this song and it all depends on the record label when it comes to which version you're going to receive.

His two 1969 hit singles for Monument are included, "Gitarzan" and "Along Came Jones". His Top-20 country hit from 1985, "Mississippi Squirrel Revival", is track six. This collection would become a Gold album within a few years of it's release. The main reason for this, in my opinion, was due to the previous compilations no longer being available in wide distribution and so this 1990 project made up for the lack of classic Ray Stevens hits that weren't readily available anymore. I'm also of the opinion that the inclusion of "Bridget the Midget the Queen of the Blues" played a role in the sales of this album. The song hadn't been featured on any major compilation release by any of the labels that Ray recorded for during the 1980's. It's obscurity on American released Ray Stevens compilation albums perhaps caused the curious to purchase the collection just to hear that particular song!? The song's been a fixture on overseas compilation projects released on Ray Stevens considering that it hit the Top-5 in the United Kingdom in 1971 and charted on other international music surveys throughout early to mid 1971.

Ray's debut studio album for Curb Records would follow this compilation in the summer of 1990.

Ray Stevens: Golden LP Series Extra...1971...

Welcome to this Extra feature of the Golden LP Series. In this specific blog entry I'll be commenting about a certain single from Ray Stevens that hit in December 1970 but it had it greatest impact the following year. The current single from Ray, at the time, was "Sunset Strip". This particular single, as mentioned in the previous blog entry, became a Top-20 Easy-Listening hit. Several weeks after the single became a chart hit, his label, Barnaby Records, issued "Bridget the Midget The Queen of the Blues". It hit the charts in America during December of 1970, reaching the Top-50 early in 1971. However, the impact that the single had internationally had to have been a surprising achievement for all involved. The novelty single hit the Top-5 in several different countries throughout the early half of 1971. It reached the Top-5 in Holland, Belgium, Brazil, and the United Kingdom just to name a few. The novelty single used a sped-up vocal technique commonly associated with The Chipmunks franchise. The song, at it's core, is a spoof of Go-Go dance clubs where Ray portrays the singer/narrator, the emcee, Bridget, as well as a spaced out patron forever trying to get up on stage. The song was available as a single-only and eventually appeared on the first Greatest Hits release that Barnaby issued on Ray. Given the enormous popularity of the single overseas it created the scenario where Ray competed with himself and as history shows, "Bridget the Midget the Queen of the Blues" won the sales battle. 

As a hit single, "Bridget the Midget the Queen of the Blues" found it's way onto numerous compilation albums released on Ray Stevens throughout the 1970's but one of the more ironic aspects about this is how obscure the single's appearance became as the 1980's progressed. I'd been a fan of Ray's since about the mid '80s...I clearly remember watching him on Hee-Haw in the mid '80s as a co-host with Roy Clark...but I was not aware of this particular song at that point in time because it didn't appear on the 1983 or 1987 Greatest Hits releases from RCA and MCA, respectively, and yet other singles from the 1970's by Ray appeared on those albums. It wouldn't be until a 1990 compilation from Curb Records appeared on the market that I was introduced to this song for the first time. It's since become more prominent on CD and Mp3 but for whatever reason it was mostly an obscure offering during the 1980's.  

As was the case with most single releases by artists in the pop music umbrella, picture sleeves were commonplace and depending on how popular a single happened to be the more alternate picture sleeves it would spawn. There were multiple picture sleeves for this particular song and each used different pictures of Ray taken from various photo sessions in the late '60s and early '70s. The b-side, "Night People", originated on the Unreal!!! album. "Bridget the Midget" spent a combined total of more than 30 weeks on the weekly international music charts and it further reinforced his image as "a singer of comedy songs" to the general music buyer. Ray would follow up this single with a series of gospel-flavored offerings which ultimately climaxed in the 1972 release of his eighth studio album, Turn Your Radio On, so be on the lookout for Part Eight of the Golden LP series.

Ray Stevens sings...

Halloween always causes me to highlight Ray Stevens recordings that have a Halloween theme of some kind. He's rarely recorded songs about ghosts, ghouls, goblins, and the like but there are a few exceptions sprinkled throughout his career. The earliest happens to be 1963's "Laughing Over My Grave" which takes the concept of the love song to extremes. In it we're told of a couple who've hit bad times...the man's caught cheating and the wife wants to seek revenge on her husband. The man's guilt is reflected in the song's title as he says that's what he can hear her doing. It reaches a climax when the wife approaches him holding a gun...ready to pull the trigger. I have no information about when the song was actually recorded but I'd say 1963...it appeared as a B-side to a single that Mercury Records issued on Ray titled "Bubble Gum the Bubble Dancer". The catalog number is Mercury 72307. The single was officially issued in 1964 even though Ray had ventured to Monument Records in 1963. I believe Mercury still had the contractual rights to release singles on Ray for a few more years...and I believe Monument had to wait until his recording association with Mercury wrapped up and that's why Monument couldn't release any singles on Ray until 1966...at least that's how it appears. I take it that Ray was free to play on sessions for any record label in addition to working with artist's on the Monument label...all the while recording for Mercury Records through 1965.

Anyway...a couple more releases on Mercury also carried a Halloween theme...first off is 1965's "Rockin' Teenage Mummies" about a band of mummies that become rock stars. For bandages they wear band-aids...which create a fury of excitement amongst the band's female fans. Along the way we hear a brief impression of Ed Sullivan...as the band made their way onto his television program. Their singing style, perhaps as a jab at rock bands of the time, features nothing but groans and howls with an added touch of scat singing. It's catalog number is Mercury 72382. That particular single was an A-side...and he followed it up with another Halloween style 1965 novelty, "Mr. Baker the Undertaker". That particular song deals with the happenings at a mortuary where Mr. Baker and his owl assistant, Al, eagerly await each call from the local doctor. Throughout the song we're treated to some undertaker jokes and light-hearted references about death. It reminds of the kind of song that could've been sung by Digger O'Dell from the Life of Riley radio program given all of the morbid, yet funny, one-liners about death. It's catalog number is Mercury 72430.

Much later Ray recorded the bluesy ode to all things Halloween in "The Booger Man". This song was issued in 1988 and can be found on his comedy album I Never Made a Record I Didn't Like. In the song Ray sings about a monster that never got much recognition or fame but it's a real creature preying and spying on people...and much of the reason why the monster slips by without much fanfare is because his victims don't survive the attack. Two years later, 1990, Ray issued "Sittin' Up With the Dead". As of this writing that's the last Halloween-style recording from Ray Stevens. The song deals with an old-time tradition of sitting up with dead people in an effort to make sure the departed isn't robbed or taken advantage of in the hours or days prior to an undertaker arriving and taking the body to the funeral home. The song is funny, of course, and it takes a slight detour from the innocent sitting up with the dead concept and makes a turn toward the surreal. Ray sings about an uncle that's so affected by arthritis that when the uncle died he was stooped over so much that they needed a chain to keep the body laying flat in the casket. However, a thunderstorm erupted and the chain snapped and the Uncle sat up in the casket! This was followed by a loss of electricity, which created more chaos. The song was made into a music video in 1990...and it's available on You Tube. Shifting gears...

This particular single has a catalog number of CBS-7235. Barnaby Records material was at one time distributed by CBS. There were also associations with GRT and the Janus label, too. This particular picture sleeve accompanied the release in France and the more I think about it the more I assume that since "Bridget the Midget" is written in big, bold letters that it's the A-side and "A Mama and a Papa" is the B-side in spite of how the songs are arranged on the picture sleeve. I assume "A Mama and a Papa" was recorded at some point in 1971 around the time he recorded "Turn Your Radio On" and "All My Trials" and when it came time to issue "Bridget the Midget" in France they tacked on "A Mama and a Papa" as the B-side. In case some didn't know, "A Mama and a Papa" reached the Adult-Contemporary charts here in America in 1971...peaking in the Top-5 during the summer. The chart was officially referred to at the time as Easy-Listening. It's B-side is a very rare, obscure recording with the unique title of "Melt". This song, as far as I know, has never appeared on any Ray Stevens compilation and it's only available as a B-side on that 1971 single. The "Melt" song is a love ballad in spite of it's title...it has to do with a romantic and the way he feels whenever the woman in his life gets around him. The very first time I heard the song I instantly loved it.

I know rattling off all of those single releases may sound confusing to some but this may help...

"Bridget the Midget" originally was issued with "Night People" as it's B-side late in 1970. Then along came "A Mama and a Papa" in the summer of 1971 and it was issued with "Melt" as it's B-side. Then, later, "Bridget the Midget" gets released overseas where in this case the B-side is "A Mama and a Papa".

Let's Discuss Ray Stevens, Part Seven...

This particular compilation album was released in 1984 and it showcased 11 songs from Ray Stevens. The emphasis was on the non-comedy songs as of the 11 featured, 7 were serious. This collection was one of many compilation albums issued on Ray Stevens...something I've written about before. The material that Ray recorded, especially for Monument and Barnaby, became widely distributed by a whole host of record labels throughout the late 1970's but specifically throughout the 1980's and into the early 1990's. The many compilations that seemed to be routine slowly came to a halt by the mid '90s. Ever since the late '90s and into the 2000's there hadn't been as many compilations released on Ray Stevens. A lot of it has to do with changes in the marketing of music where you don't have hardly any Independent labels anymore specializing in vintage material and you rarely, if ever, see labels attempt to make a quick buck from their current roster of artists or former roster members. Artists today have much more control over their music...remember, this is an era where a singer can sue their record company if the company releases material against the singer's wishes. Even though, technically, the music an artist records for a label is owned by that label. Years ago that kind of thing where an artist takes their label to court was unheard of...it may have gone on in private but with the invention of the internet and all sorts of other cyber-media resources it's almost impossible to keep anything private anymore particularly when you have people who seem to specialize in leaking controversial elements of any story to the media.

This 1984 compilation as you can see features 11 songs...you can always click the images for a bigger picture. The material is taken from the 1968-1975 era. The abundance of Ray Stevens compilations truly shows just how popular he is...you wouldn't have so many labels putting out Ray Stevens material if it wasn't profitable. Today, though, the lack of compilations isn't a reflection on his popularity score...as I mentioned it's just a sign of the times. The four comedy songs found on this compilation are "Ahab the Arab", "Along Came Jones", "Bridget the Midget", and "The Streak".

Losin' Streak was one of two albums released by Ray Stevens in 1973. The other album, Nashville, is the one that was more commercially successful by comparison. Losin' Streak features 11 songs as well...all of the songs are non-comical. One of the recordings, "Laid Back", is an instrumental. Ray included an instrumental on Nashville as well...on that album "Float" is the instrumental. On Losin' Streak we get to hear Ray do some studio experimentation with microphone techniques and overall sound quality...according to reports I've read this was his first album recorded at his own studio which had the name of The Ray Stevens Sound Laboratory. His voice is crisp and clear...and he belts out a lot of songs on this particular collection. "This Is Your Life" demonstrates the experimental efforts during the post-production. "Bye Bye Love" is his take on the bouncy Everly Brothers pop hit...and in Ray's hands the song is transformed from a bouncy sing-a-long to a melancholy ballad.

"Inside" is a motivational song and one of my favorites...and then there's the clever "Idaho Wine" which tells the story of a mismatched couple. Ray offers another cover song, "Easy Loving", which was a gigantic hit for Freddie Hart in 1971. Hart had also written the song. The title track, "Losin' Streak", is a song about a man with a gambling problem and how it interferes with his personal life. It's a song with some rather unusual phrasing that's for sure...it was written by a writer by the name of Nick Van Maarth. It's on this album that Ray does a wonderful re-recording of an earlier song he wrote and recorded while at Mercury, "Just One of Life's Little Tragedies". A few words about "What Do You Know?"...I've never known of any songs that seriously examine the inner psyche or ponder the human mind's abilities and weaknesses as this song does. It's a song that comes off as if it was written by Sigmund Freud. Losin' Streak remains the only album that Ray recorded for Barnaby Records to not get a re-issue of some kind. Several years ago all of Ray's studio albums on Barnaby got re-issued except this one...and it continues to remain a mystery as to why this album is overlooked and hasn't had a proper re-issue yet.