Ray Stevens CabaRay Nashville Performance: "All The Way"

Hello once again Ray Stevens fans!! Several days ago Ray's performance of "Strangers in the Night" was uploaded to YouTube. The song, originally by Frank Sinatra, is part of Ray's Sinatra salute album from 2008, Ray Stevens Sings Sinatra...Say What?!?. The album's comical title is a reference to Ray's image with the general public...a public that continually thinks of him as a singer of comedy/novelty songs and nothing else. Originally released on Ray's Clyde Records label Curb Records distributed the album the following year. As you can see, Ray is dressed in the pop crooner attire typical for the time period of most of these Sinatra songs. In fact, I believe it was Sinatra that started the pop culture trend of wearing a Fedora but, of course, that's just an assumption. As I've mentioned in many former blog entries when discussion centers around this album I like to point out the clothing and the art design. It features a duplication of Ray's signature. The microphone hanging down from a ceiling also adds to the atmosphere. Ray could've easily did half a dozen or so album cover concepts but this is the one he chose. In this performance from Ray's CabaRay Nashville television series you'll be treated to his rendition of "All the Way". Ray uploaded this performance last year on his Facebook page but it hadn't been on YouTube until now. If you follow Ray on social media, as I do, you'll notice that some videos are uploaded on YouTube and then months later they show up on Facebook...or the reverse happens. Also, other social media platforms eventually receive Ray's video uploads, too. My guess is there's research showing that some of Ray's fans virtually congregate at specific social media platforms and, therefore, may not be aware of a video upload if they only visit one or two platforms regularly. Like practically everything in life people have their preferred TV stations, radio stations, types of clothes, types of music, car manufacture or make, favorite food and beverages, and this extends to social media platforms, too. As far as audio content most people prefer Spotify...but yet there's Itunes, Facebook, and YouTube as well. The same holds true for video content, too. So, then, here's the YouTube upload of Ray's rendition of "All the Way"...you'll love it...

Ray Stevens CabaRay Nashville Performance: "Strangers in the Night"

Hello Ray Stevens fans!! Have you seen the most recent YouTube upload of Ray Stevens CabaRay Nashville? I'll be writing a blog entry about that episode when I get home from work later tonight but for now I'm writing about a performance of "Strangers in the Night" at the CabaRay showroom by Ray Stevens. Ray recorded a salute to the songs of Frank Sinatra and titled it Ray Stevens Sings Sinatra...Say What?!?. It was released on Ray's own Clyde Records in 2008 and then it was distributed later by Curb Records. The CD contains numerous Sinatra standards and several songs that other pop artists popularized but just happened to have also been recorded by Sinatra in his career. One of those songs is "Young at Heart". That song was recorded by dozens of pop artists...I first heard of it through a Bing Crosby recording and I also know Jimmy Durante sang it, too. I was not aware of it's connection to Frank Sinatra until this CD came along and I did some research on the song itself. 

Ray also recorded "All The Way", "I Get a Kick Out of You", "High Hopes", "That's Life", "Witchcraft", "I've Got You Under My Skin", "Night and Day", "The Tender Trap"...and, as mentioned, "Strangers in the Night". It's a 10 track album. Some may wonder why Ray didn't also do renditions of "New York, New York", "My Kind of Town (Chicago Is)", "A Very Good Year", "My Way", or "Love and Marriage". I wondered the same thing myself back when the CD was released and my guess then, as now, is those particular songs are just too well established (music arrangements) in the general public's mind that it would appear nearly impossible to change the presentation of those particular songs. "New York, New York" has that world famous intro that it's impossible to hear the song without that kick off...the same holds true for the intro to "Love and Marriage". I assume Ray could've come up with different instrumentation for that song if he would've chosen to to a rendition of it but it's tied to the sitcom, Married...With Children, so much now that to change the arrangement would more or less baffle some people who probably think Sinatra recorded the song specifically for that sitcom. But here's the legendary Ray Stevens singing "Strangers in the Night"...if you don't have the Sinatra salute CD you can look it up on YouTube or online music sites.   

Ray Stevens: The Five Days of Halloween, Part Four...

In the previous blog entry I spotlighted a Ray Stevens novelty song from 1964...in this blog entry we're fast forwarding 44 years where we find ourselves in 2008 and the recording, "Witchcraft". The song had previously been a hit for Frank Sinatra in 1957 and Ray recorded his version in 2008 on the salute album, Ray Stevens Sings Sinatra...Say What?!?. The song's writers are Cy Coleman and Carolyn Leigh. Ray's Sinatra album was later issued by Curb Records in 2009. The Sinatra salute album is great and in this Halloween-themed blog entry "Witchcraft" is an obvious selection to spotlight. There's an audio track from the 2008 album on YouTube...but there's also a performance of the song by Ray on his CabaRay Nashville television show. The performance is also on YouTube and it's also on Ray's Halloween YouTube playlist and so I've decided to embed the performance, too...

I hadn't decided if I'll post Part 5 on Saturday or wait until the 31st...actual Halloween day. More than likely I'll post the 5th and final Halloween-themed blog entry Saturday evening or night. In that blog entry I'll include a couple more Ray Stevens songs centered around Halloween and take a look into the month of November.

Ray Stevens: Album Time-Line Rewind...

Hello all Ray Stevens fans! This blog entry isn't the start of a new series or anything...I title the blog entry as such because it just so happened that on June 11, 2008 Ray Stevens released his salute to the music of Frank Sinatra. Ray Stevens Sings Sinatra...Say What?? was released on Clyde Records 13 years ago on this date. It's another great album from Ray Stevens and in it he performs his renditions of numerous Sinatra standards: "High Hopes", "Strangers in the Night", "Night and Day", "I Get a Kick Out of You", "Witchcraft", and several more. One of the unique aspects of the album is in an effort to convey the ambience of a small, intimate setting Ray added sounds of light applause from time to time. I wrote a review of this album back when it was fairly recent and it's over on Amazon. Ray, as mentioned, released the album on June 11, 2008 on his Clyde Records label. Curb Records would soon take over distribution and Curb released it on March 9, 2009. Curb would also take over distribution of Ray's 1997 comedy album, Hum It, originally released on MCA Records. Curb's release of Hum It happened in April 2009. 

From 2008's Ray Stevens Sings Sinatra...Say What?? here's the audio track of "High Hopes", uploaded by Curb Records. If this album is something brand new to you I'd suggest once you listen to "High Hopes" go over to YouTube and search for the album title. You'll be able to listen to all of the songs from that album.   

Ray Stevens audio clip: "Dream"...

Well, as mentioned in my previous blog entry, I'm back with another audio clip from the current Ray Stevens digital album, Slow Dance. This time around I'm spotlighting "Dream". When I was looking over my review of the digital album I noticed that I never even made mention of "Dream" at all. Instead of going in and editing my review I've decided to just compose a blog entry with an audio clip of the song. "Dream" goes back to 1944 and it's from the pen of Johnny Mercer. Research shows that the song was written as a theme song for a radio program starring the songwriter. It was a summer replacement program for Bob Hope's radio show. Frank Sinatra recorded the song as did a series of other pop artists of the time period (mid to late 1940s). A group called The Pied Pipers issued a recording of "Dream" in 1945. Frank Sinatra recorded it a second time in 1960. Ella Fitzgerald recorded a version in 1964 with a jazzy flavor underneath Nelson Riddle orchestrations. Numerous other crooner-style pop singers did renditions of the song...songwriter Johnny Mercer is synonymous with The Great American Songbook. Now, in April 2021, it's Ray Stevens turn with "Dream". I've only heard the renditions of "Dream" from Frank Sinatra and the recording by Ella Fitzgerald...I wanted to hear how their version of the song sounded. Ray's rendition benefits from modern technology and his arranging style...the kinds of instruments heard in his recording are vastly different from the Sinatra and Ella recordings and his has a more urgent vocalization compared to the more softer Frank Sinatra 1940's vocal delivery. 

Ray Stevens sings "Witchcraft"...

Hello all...it's me once again!! Naturally I'm going to begin this blog entry wondering about the CabaRay re-opening last night. I hadn't seen anything on social media sites from last night...but I'll do some more in-depth looking around later. Ray Stevens released a salute to Frank Sinatra CD back in 2008 called Ray Stevens Sings Sinatra...Say What?!?. It was released through his own label, Clyde Records, originally in June 2008 and was only available through his webstore. In February 2009 it was distributed to other on-line music stores. It was later picked up by Curb Records and released both as a CD and as an Mp3. In fact, if you search Amazon for the album and read the product details, it has both the CD and Mp3 credited to Curb Records. I have a review of the CD on Amazon. My review contains two photos of myself showing off the CD. Now, in addition to "High Hopes", "All the Way", "Strangers in the Night", and "I Get a Kick Out of You" Ray also recorded "Witchcraft" for the CD and in this video clip from his television series, Ray Stevens CabaRay Nashville, you'll see him performing the song. In the beginning of the clip he mentions the CD that contains the song. 

Ray Stevens sings "All The Way"...

Hello all...a steamy Saturday afternoon here...several downpours are on the way. As a lot of you long time fans of Ray Stevens may happen to know he recorded a CD titled Ray Stevens Sings Sinatra...Say What?!? in 2008. The CD was released through his own label, Clyde, and originally was only sold through his website. A year later it was released to on-line stores.

Me and Ray Stevens Sings Sinatra CD..

The CD is available at Amazon and on Ray's website inside the store. The Amazon site offers the CD and the Mp3...both issued by Curb Records in 2011. Ray's web store offers the original 2008/2009 Clyde Records pressing, which is what I own. There is nothing different between the 2008 pressing and the 2011 pressing other than the recording label credit showing either Clyde Records or Curb Records. You can purchase the Ray Stevens sings Sinatra...Say What?!? CD by clicking HERE. Everything is 20 percent off through the end of this month at Ray's store...so if you're reading this and we're still in the month of June take advantage of the sale. I don't know if the sale is going to be extended through the month of July or not. "All The Way" is one of the songs found on this CD. It's track four of the ten track collection. Ray has performed several songs from this CD on his locally syndicated PBS series, CabaRay Nashville. He performed "That's Life", "Witchcraft", and "Strangers in the Night". When Ray released this 2008 CD there really wasn't any outlet outside of his website to promote his music. Ray hadn't discovered the potential of YouTube, yet, and so this was among a series of CD releases from Ray in the mid to late 2000s that were only familiar to the Ray Stevens fan base. Once he hit YouTube and made a presence for himself on the video hosting site he began promoting older releases. Since then he's balanced his presence on social media with a mixture of all new content and older works that originally slipped by without much publicity/hype...and as a result a lot of people discovered a whole lot of Ray Stevens content they otherwise wouldn't have known existed if not for YouTube. His official YouTube channel went on-line on July 13, 2009...and as of this writing all of his video uploads have received a combined unique view total of 119,514,841!! Yeah, yeah...someone out there will probably not be impressed and go "so what?" but that kind of attitude isn't welcome on this fan created Ray Stevens blog page.

Ray Stevens sings "That's Life"...

Hello all...it's hard to believe that one year ago, well, a year ago yesterday (March 1st) my brother and I were in Nashville, Tennessee at the Ray Stevens CabaRay dinner theater. I have a week off later this month from work but I don't know if I'll return to Nashville later this month or wait until sometime in the summer. I get two weeks off each year but the company I work for doesn't allow employees to take both weeks consecutively...so I'll more than likely plan a visit to the CabaRay during my next vacation...but then again the last week of this month is when I've put in for my vacation so who knows...perhaps I may be able to squeeze in a trip to the CabaRay during the last Friday or Saturday of March...but plans such as those are up in the air. As of this writing, however, I'm leaning toward a CabaRay visit during my second vacation week in the summer. The upcoming series of concerts are set to get underway on March 14th and those weekend concerts (Thursday through Saturday and some months Friday and Saturday) will run throughout the year. I'm hoping some new episodes of his CabaRay Nashville television series will go into production this calendar year as well. I say that because of the fact that the series has returned to the RFD-TV airwaves (in addition to it's locally syndicated PBS airings) and eventually new episodes will be in demand. I'm sure new episodes will surface to meet that demand, though. As of this writing there have been 78 half hour episodes produced of the CabaRay Nashville series.

A performance from Ray at the CabaRay was uploaded onto YouTube recently. In the video clip he's performing "That's Life", one of Frank Sinatra's classic hits. Ray had recorded his version on Ray Stevens Sings Sinatra...Say What?!?, a collection released in the summer of 2008 through his own Clyde Records label and as a result it was exclusively available on Ray's on-line store for nearly a year. In February of 2009 the CD saw wider distribution as it became available on Amazon and other on-line stores via Curb Records. The CD/Mp3 would eventually get re-issued by Curb Records in the fall of 2011.

Ray Stevens in 2009...

Just by coincidence I was looking on the internet and browsing through an on-line music store of Ray Stevens items and I came across a CD that's been in my collection for over 11 years now. Ray Stevens Sings Sinatra...Say What?!? came along in 2008 on Clyde Records. I purchased my copy of the CD at a merchandise table when I arrived at a venue that was presenting a Ray Stevens concert. If I remember correctly it was at Renfro Valley, Kentucky. I had only seen Ray twice in concert before visiting his CabaRay showroom in Nashville, Tennessee last year (once in Renfro Valley and another time in Nashville, Indiana). Those two concerts were in 2008 and 2009 respectively. Curb Records picked up distribution of the CD and sold it on-line and once it became available for purchase through on-line retail stores I wrote a CD review and posted it. Curb issued the CD on February 10, 2009 and so it's almost 10 years to the day that the Sinatra tribute CD became widely distributed. It had previously only been available through Ray's on-line store. It isn't a comedy album...I want to make that clear...and so if you appreciate the serious side of Ray Stevens in addition to his comical side I'd suggest you purchase this CD if you haven't done so already! The songs are largely arranged in a manner similar to the originals but with just enough difference to distance it from the Sinatra originals. I had hoped, at the time of it's release, it was the beginning of a covers period where tribute albums from Ray to various iconic crooners of pop music were to be forthcoming but this ultimately turned out to be a one-time detour. You can read my on-line review by clicking HERE.

Later on in 2009 he released a 15 song CD titled One for the Road which is a mix of new, previously unavailable songs in addition to re-recordings of previous songs found on older albums of his that weren't in print. It was originally an exclusive at select Pilot Truck Stops and I happen to think most of those Pilot stores were in Tennessee and the southern states because no Pilot truck stop in my area ever offered the CD and so I had to wait until the Pilot exclusive ended before it became available for sale to a wider audience almost half a year later. Talk about agony!! I love the art design of the CD...the chrome-like decor of the CD's title and the playful looking image of Ray behind the wheel. The back of the CD features an image of Ray seated on the truck's step looking as if he'd just completed a long road trip and is winding down. As mentioned the CD features previously unavailable new songs, previously released recordings, and new re-recordings of previously available songs. On top of that there are three recordings from 1992 billed as 'bonus tracks'. Confused yet? The bonus tracks were his early '90s re-recordings of "Mississippi Squirrel Revival", "It's Me Again, Margaret", and "The Streak". Those audio recordings could also be heard on the music videos released on Comedy Video Classics in 1992. "Bon Temps Roulette" as well as "Hang Up and Drive" had previously been available on 2000's Ear Candy and 2002's Osama Yo' Mama. New re-recordings included "Mary Lou Nights" (originally recorded by Ray in 1983), "Jack Daniels, You Lied To Me Again" (originally recorded by Ray in 1990), and "Oh, Lonesome Me" (originally recorded by Ray in 1975). The song, "Retired", had previously been recorded by Ray and one of it's writers, Brent Burns, as a duet several months earlier for a project titled I've Got a Beach in My Backyard (a 2009-released Brent Burns CD) but Ray sings it solo for the 2009 One for the Road CD. This leaves six recordings that had never appeared on any previously released album: "Concrete Sailor", "Convoy", "The Right Reverend Roadhog McGraw", "Cooter Brown", "Hangin' Around", and "Never Too Late".

One of those new, previously unavailable recordings found on the trucker CD happened to be "Concrete Sailor" which I later discovered had previously been recorded by Jerry Reed. I had known of Jerry for years and liked hearing him sing and I always liked watching him play the guitar and laugh or grin at the audience or the band members as he was frenetically picking away. I was never a hardcore fanatic of his...in other words not in the same manner as I am with Ray Stevens...but I liked his songs.

I first knew of Jerry as an actor, though...and then I discovered his music career. I knew he sang the theme song and acted in the Smokey and the Bandit movies and he appeared on television programs singing...but I never put two and two together back then...as a kid you're impressionable and if you see someone as an actor that sings then that's how you perceive them until you learn otherwise. Needless to say I quickly discovered a lot of Jerry's hit songs and became aware of him even more as a singer and all around entertainer...but anyway, this CD opens up with Ray singing "Concrete Sailor" from the pen of Buddy Kalb. It originally appeared on Jerry's 1980 album, Texas Bound and Flying. Since the song happened to come from the pen of Ray's long-time associate and collaborator, Buddy Kalb, it's interesting that Ray chose not to record it back then...and so Jerry recorded it...but given that Buddy wrote it the song was published by Ray's company. If you happen to have the actual single of "Texas Bound and Flying" you'll see "Concrete Sailor" as the B-side. It's also of note that in 1980 both Ray and Jerry recorded for RCA records.

Once I discovered that Jerry had originally recorded "Concrete Sailor" I've often wondered if Ray's recording of it was done as a silent tribute to Jerry Reed. Ray's recording came along in 2009 following Jerry Reed's death in September 2008. I call it a silent tribute because there was no attention or publicity surrounding it's appearance on Ray's One for the Road CD even though Ray knew it had been originally recorded by Jerry Reed.

Speaking of Jerry Reed a recent article appeared on-line by Jeremy Roberts. I've featured articles by him several times in the past and this time around it's an article/interview of one of Jerry's former band members, John Harris. You can read the interview by clicking HERE. If you like what you read, and I think you would, be sure to click the applause symbol. It's the site's version of a 'like' button to show you liked the interview.

In one of the episodes of Ray Stevens CabaRay Nashville there was one titled Tribute Show. In this episode (Season 6, episode 9) Ray performs songs made popular by the likes of Glen Campbell, Mel Tillis, Merle Haggard, as well as Jerry Reed. A promo for the episode was uploaded onto YouTube with a voice-over by Buddy Kalb. In those promo clips you'll hear Ray doing the voice-over but for this one it's delivered by Buddy...

Ray Stevens CabaRay Nashville: Micky Dolenz

Hello one and all! Oh yes for me it's an early blog entry...I'm usually a night owl on the weekends and so most of the time my blog entries are posted well past midnight; but, I found myself awake this evening and so I checked the Ray Stevens video page and seen that last week's episode of his PBS television series, Ray Stevens CabaRay Nashville, was uploaded and so I watched it and I'm posting my recap.



The special guest on this episode (originally airing the weekend of May 26th) happened to be Micky Dolenz...the drummer and occasional lead singer on recordings by The Monkees. Ray opened the show with a performance of "Too Much Monkey Business". Not being too familiar with Chuck Berry's catalog of songs...other than those that the general public are also familiar with...I had originally thought that the song might be something new that Ray or Buddy Kalb may have written until I searched for the song's title on-line and seen it had been written and recorded in the 1950s by Chuck Berry...and further research told me it would go on to be recorded by numerous other performers...but nevertheless I enjoyed the Ray Stevens performance of the song. After the opening performance Ray brought out Micky Dolenz and from the start of the conversation you could tell it was going to be lighthearted and up-beat.

Micky's greeting to Ray was rather comical...saying how much his parent's loved Ray's music...and this prompted Ray to counter with "was I your grandparent's favorite, too?". The irony being that Ray, born in 1939, is only 6 years older than Micky (born in 1945) but because Ray's music has largely appealed to, or, it's been more appreciated by, mature older audiences throughout his entire career it's possible that Micky's parent's were in that age bracket purchasing Ray Stevens records in the '60s and '70s. If you look at Ray's chart history you'll see quite a few single releases that did much better with Easy Listening/Adult-Contemporary audiences of the '70s than with the mainstream pop audience.

After this greeting and exchange Micky tells of "Last Train to Clarksville" and it's origin. Ray had mentioned that he didn't know, until recently, that the recording took place at Hollywood's RCA Studio B (not the more noted studio in Nashville, TN). In his recollection Micky mentions that it's actually an anti-war song even though the lyrics do not explicitly cite the Vietnam War. 

In an effort to show that Micky's been around even longer in the public eye Ray makes mention that Micky was a child actor in a television series titled Circus Boy for two seasons. Micky played the role of Corky and that the series was in production from 1956 to 1958 (Ray's first recording, "Silver Bracelet", arrived in 1957). Ray then asks how The Monkees television series came about. Micky states that the guitar was his music instrument of personal preference but the producers of the television series said that he'd be the group's drummer. He mentions that the group had already been musically inclined prior to the television series so it wasn't like they learned how to sing or play instruments during the television series.

Ray asks him about Davy Jones and wondered whether or not Micky and Davy had been life-long friends. Micky mentions that he met Davy, and the other members of the group, for the first time while on The Monkees set in 1965. Micky mentions that Davy had been a child actor in the U.K. and so the two of them shared a similar connection.

Ray asks about life after The Monkees...to which Micky responds with saying that he'd spent a lot of years in England and for more than 10 years he did production work and other activity behind the scenes. The two of them discuss the various writing teams and legendary writers behind The Monkees hit songs. They don't discuss in any lengthy detail...more or less they name drop celebrated writers such as Carole King, Gerry Goffin, Neil Diamond, Neil Sedaka, Bobby Hart, etc. Ray informs Micky that the audience wants to hear some Monkees hits...to which Micky jokingly refuses and comically conveys humility with excessive hand gestures...and I'm paraphrasing here: "oh gosh...no no...nobody wants to hear those!!". You'll see some of that in the video advertisement above.

Micky predictably relents and goes center stage with a guitar and names off several songwriters he credits with crafting The Monkees look, sound, and overall style. At one point, knowing that he's named so many writers, he comically inserts Neil Armstrong's name as well. He mentions Tommy Boyce and Bobby Hart and how vital the two of them were to The Monkees.

While at center stage Micky performs "Last Train to Clarksville", followed by "Pleasant Valley Sunday" and then he replaces the guitar with a tambourine for "I'm a Believer". During a performance of the chorus in "I'm a Believer" Micky walks over to one of Ray's harmony singers, Sabrina, and sings to her. Afterward Ray thanks Micky for appearing and a standing ovation results. Ray closes the show with a performance of "That's Life!", his version of Frank Sinatra's classic. Ray recorded it for his tribute album, Ray Stevens Sings Sinatra...Say What?!?. The episode airing this weekend on local PBS stations is one of the several special episodes this season. Earlier in the season Ray delivered back to back episodes titled Special Moments (a retrospective) and Hall of Fame (clips of previous guests that are members of the Country Music Hall of Fame). The episode airing this weekend is a Tribute Show. In it Ray performs songs made famous by the likes of Jerry Reed, Glen Campbell, Mel Tillis, and Merle Haggard. It'll be uploaded onto Ray's video site next weekend. You can visit it by clicking HERE.

Ray Stevens CabaRay Nashville: Linda Davis...

It's that time once more...I've just finished watching episode 6, Season 6 of Ray Stevens CabaRay Nashville and I'm ready to post my re-cap. The special guest this time around happened to be Linda Davis.

Ray opened the show performing "Cadillac Style"...something of a change considering most, not all, but most of the time the show's opening performance is of a song he himself had recorded at some point in his career. Even though Ray had never recorded the song he is the publisher of the song. It was a mega-hit for Sammy Kershaw...his very first hit single in fact...late in 1991 and into early 1992. I had knew of Ray's behind the scenes involvement but I was happy to see him make mention of being the song's publisher after he finished singing it.



Ray introduces "the lovely and stylish Linda Davis" who walks out and immediately begins to offer commentary concerning the red piano and says how much she loves it. Ray asks of her earliest years in the music industry and she makes mention of being inspired by seeing performances of Loretta Lynn...specifically Opry appearances...where Loretta traditionally wore those big ballroom gowns anytime she made an appearance. I didn't know a lot about Linda Davis other than what the general public may know about her and so I was surprised to learn that a daughter of hers, Hillary Scott, is a member of the country music group, Lady Antebellum. There again I'm not too involved with 'contemporary country music' and so I only knew of the group's name but knew nothing of their personnel. Linda and her family had released a project together billed as Hillary Scott and the Scott Family on a CD titled Love Remains, released in 2016, and produced by Ricky Skaggs. One of the album's singles, "Thy Will", won a Grammy in early 2017.

Ray asks how Linda met up with Reba McEntire...

Linda explained that part of her career was singing demo recordings and a lot of songs that Reba had put on hold featured Linda as the demo singer. Linda then announces that she's going to sing just a piece of "Does He Love You?" (her duet with Reba) without the band and that she wants Ray to just repeat the lines that she sings. Ray goes along with it but is increasingly getting nervous repeating the lyrics...once Linda gets to the line "does he think of you when he's holding me?" Ray begins to repeat the lyric but stops himself and interjects some objection by saying something along the lines of and I'm paraphrasing: "hold on, now...we're gonna have to have some major lyrical changes in this if at some point we'd ever officially record it...". The audience laughs and the subject shifts to Linda having once recorded "Young at Heart". Linda had mentioned that she had a connection to Ray in that they've both recorded songs originally hits for Frank Sinatra. Linda mentions a CD she released featuring her versions of pop and jazz standards and one of the recordings is "Young at Heart". She sings it while Ray plays the piano.

Ray asks if Linda is on tour anywhere and she makes mention of being part of Kenny Rogers farewell tour... [given this episode had been taped months earlier there isn't a mention of the tour abruptly ending last month due to health reasons surrounding Kenny]. I'll make mention, since it wasn't brought up in the show, that Linda has another connection to Kenny in that she was once on the roster of his own label, Dream Catcher, in the early 2000s...not only that but she was part of his tour in 2013 and 2015. Ray and Linda's conversation about her current schedule leads into Linda singling out a member of Ray's band and announcing that one of the guitar players, blue glasses wearing Mike Noble, is a co-writer of a song Kenny had a hit with, "Twenty Years Ago". Mike enters the scene and Ray introduces him, jokingly, as Kenny Rogers. Ray vacates the piano while Linda sits down behind it. After their performance Linda's husband, Lang Scott, emerges and takes his spot on the stage and sings with Linda on "Some Things Are Meant to Be", her biggest solo hit. Ray thanks Linda and her husband for being on the show.

Prior to performing the closing song he explains the reason behind the dancing with a member of the audience as the closing credits roll. He explained that it goes back to his years as a teenage performer at sock hops in the late '50s and how, as a member of a band, he could never participate in the actual dancing due to his obvious role as the lead vocalist and piano player on stage. So, once he began this particular television series, he decided to have an instrumental version of "Everything is Beautiful" play during the closing credits while he chose a member of the audience to dance with. Ray then concludes by saying that he'll now perform the song he and the band always closed the sock hops with, "Goodnite, Sweetheart, Goodnite". Given Ray's musical inclination in his youth he more than likely first heard the song by The Spaniels, a doo-wop/rhythm and blues group who had a hit with it in 1954...but it had also become a hit for other entertainers in the mid '50s, too. The pop version was performed by The McGuire Sisters while the country music version was performed by Johnnie and Jack.

Next weekend I'll have a recap of Season 6, episode 7 guest starring CeCe Winans. This episode is currently airing on local PBS stations but it won't appear on Ray's video site until this coming weekend. As long-time readers of this fan-created blog should already know Ray uploads episodes of his television series onto his video site Video Site a week after they've aired on PBS stations.

If you're attending the CMA Music Fest this year (formerly known as Fan Fair) it'll be held June 7th through June 10th. On the final day the National Anthem is going to be performed by Ray Stevens at the Nissan Stadium. There is no information on whether or not Ray will perform a set of songs or if he's simply going to make an appearance for the National Anthem performance. I'd assume that since there's only been news released surrounding a performance of the National Anthem that's probably the only involvement he'll have in this year's CMA Music Fest...but there is nearly 3 weeks remaining before the CMA Music Fest begins on June 7th (a Thursday) and any announcement of a booth is possible during the coming days or weeks. I remember one year, back when it was still called Fan Fair, that news wasn't released that Ray would have an autograph/meet and greet booth at the event until the week of Fan Fair. So keep yourself up to date on his social media sites for any kind of last minute announcement just in case. If I find anything I'll blog about it, too...but sometimes I may miss something if I happen to be too busy with off-line activities.

Ray Stevens CabaRay Nashville...Restless Heart...

Hello one and all...I'm a bit late in posting my commentary/review of the latest episode of the Ray Stevens CabaRay Nashville series. As all of you should know by now I often give away spoilers...and so for those that are able to see his weekly PBS series and haven't seen this episode yet I'll warn you in advance that I often give out a lot of information pertaining to each episode so spoilers are plentiful. Here we go...

Ray opened the show performing a rendition of "That Old Black Magic". This is a song that goes back a great many decades in the world of pop music. It's the creation of Johnny Mercer and Harold Arlen and it's been recorded by many recording artists over the decades...in all fields of music...but it was first recorded by Glenn Miller in 1942. Some of the other artists that have recorded it include Bing Crosby, Sammy Davis, Jr., Ella Fitzgerald, and Frank Sinatra to name just several. Ray's performance seemed to blend the Ella Fitzgerald and Sammy Davis, Jr. arrangements...as it was completely uptempo. The trio of female back-up singers that appear in every episode are referred to as The Shameless Hussies (a reference to an adjective directed at Ethel in Ray's 1974 song, "The Streak") and the band is The A Team. In this episode the back-up singers appeared next to Ray during the performance of "That Old Black Magic"...this was necessary because as the song was winding down each one took turns spinning into Ray's side (as Ray was in the process of singing the lines 'down and down I go, 'round and 'round I go').

After this lively show opener the limited animation music video of "Smoky Mountain Rattlesnake Retreat" hit the television screen. The music video originated in the mid 2000s with a slower, ballad-like vocal delivery but it was originally recorded by Ray in 1986 and in a much more uptempo vocal delivery. After the music video ends Ray is shown seated at the piano as he introduces Restless Heart...calling out their names. He tells the audience that Verlon Thompson was once a member of the group (the lead singer, in fact) and mentions that Verlon had married Suzi (Ray's daughter). Verlon happened to be with the band before any single releases emerged (prior to their being signed to a record label).

In an interesting note it is during this segment a story about Glen Campbell was brought up by a member of Restless Heart. They told the story of how early in their career Glen suggested that they record something by Jimmy Webb...and ultimately they got around to recording "Wichita Lineman" for an upcoming project 30 some years after the suggestion. Glen passed away recently (August 8th at the age of 81). The story/reference to Glen is entirely coincidental given this episode was taped in the latter half of 2016...but once you all see the episode you'll perhaps get a little bit of a chill on the back of your neck hearing the story in the aftermath of Glen's recent passing. A music video from the group is mentioned, too. You can find it on YouTube.

Ray and Restless Heart then team up for a rendition of "Everything is Beautiful". First, Ray begins to sing the first line but lead singer, Larry Stewart, interrupts the performance by saying they all have a surprise for him. The surprise? They sing the opening verse originally performed on the single release by the group of children. After the performance it's time for the Video Jukebox segment. This time around we're treated to the live-action music video of "Freddie Feelgood". In this video we see Ray appear on-screen 6 times in the same screen shot. He appears as himself but also appears as Freddie, Yum-Yum, Ace, Tyrone, and Percy. After the video concluded Ray handed it over to Restless Heart and they performed one of their classic hits, "The Bluest Eyes in Texas".

Ray follows their performance with his take on "Spiders and Snakes", the classic originally recorded by Jim Stafford. Ray recorded it in 2012 for The Encyclopedia of Recorded Comedy Music. The original from Jim Stafford hit in 1974...the same year as Ray's "The Streak"...although "Spiders and Snakes" had it's chart debut much earlier (in November 1973). Jim has never appeared on Ray's television series, as of this writing, and based upon OETA's episode list he isn't scheduled to appear on the episodes that'll be airing on PBS stations in the fall and winter months of this year...but the two of them have some similar statistics.

Jim opened a theater in Branson, Missouri in 1990...Ray opened his theater in 1991...Jim was born January 16, 1944...Ray was born January 24, 1939...they each are known for comedic performances but each one also has superior talent at serious performances and are both multi-instrumentalists.

I don't have a copy of it, I wish I did, but in the early 1980s Archie Campbell did a live performance of his chicken fight story, "Rojo", on one of the award shows. In the background stood both Ray Stevens and Jim Stafford side by side providing chicken clucks. Ray closes this episode of CabaRay Nashville by telling a story about a kid being accused of cheating on a test in grade school...and then the music strikes up the familiar melody of "Everything is Beautiful" and Ray picks someone to dance with from the studio audience.

Next week's episode guest stars John Michael Montgomery but only a brief description accompanies the episode list...it mentions that John will be performing "Sold" and Ray is to to perform "I'm Kissing You Goodbye"...and that's all there is to the description of next week's episode on the local PBS station that carries the show. Unless breaking news emerges concerning a CD or music video release I'll be posting my next blog entry this weekend...yes, you guessed it, it'll be my recap of the next episode of Ray Stevens CabaRay Nashville!!

Ray Stevens: Golden LP Series, Part 36...

Welcome once more to the home stretch of the Golden LP Series. We're still in 2008 but closer to the end of the year as Ray delivers an amazing CD titled Ray Stevens Sings Sinatra...Say What??. It's a 10 song project that features Ray covering some of the standards made famous by Sinatra, all did in the Ray Stevens style. There are a few renditions that remain somewhat close to the originals but by and large the majority of the recordings adopt a jazzy/early R&B delivery. A couple of the songs are shortened, musically...huge fans of Sinatra will spot this right away. If you're not a die hard Sinatra fan and simply want to be entertained by Ray Stevens covering the songs made famous by Frank Sinatra then you'll love this CD, in my opinion. I'm not as familiar with some of the songs to know if any lyrics have been omitted but based on the songs that I am familiar with I do know that some of the longer passages of music found in the originals is cut out in favor of, as mentioned, a more bouncy delivery.

The project kicks off with "I've Got You Under My Skin" from the pen of Cole Porter. In fact, glancing at the songwriter credits, Porter's got the first three tracks: "I've Got You Under My Skin", "Night and Day", and the irresistible sing-a-long of "I Get a Kick Out of You". Ray incorporates an echo chamber on "All the Way" and then gets to lighten the mood even more with a couple more of my favorite Sinatra songs, "High Hopes" and "Witchcraft".

Ray closes out the CD with what might be four of Sinatra's biggest commercial hits. "The Tender Trap" is track seven. There's a jazzy feeling throughout the recording and as a listener you can hear how Ray lovingly gets into the early R&B sounds that he grew up hearing. This is followed by "Young at Heart" which I've liked since the moment I heard it. Prior to Ray's recording there were three distinctly different hit recordings of the song. Obviously it was recorded by Sinatra but strangely enough the versions that I was more familiar with were the recordings did by Bing Crosby as well as Jimmy Durante. Ray's version incorporates various harmonies in the background accomplished more than likely through the overdub process. Unlike previous recordings by others, Ray delivers a solid, harmonious performance throughout as if it were performed by an actual choir of singers. This is an example of Ray's creativity in the studio once again. The masterpiece of the CD is track 9, "Strangers in the Night". It's a faithful rendition, pretty much, but it delves nicely into a shoobie-doobie doo-wop flavoring at certain moments, too. The CD closes with the inspirational "That's Life"...who on Earth has never heard that song at some point in their lives? Sinatra's vocal recording was very forceful while Ray's rendition is less forceful but more soothing. Ironically there was no cover version of "New York, New York" but I do recall seeing a clip of Ray performing the song at a venue and he had his band and back-up singers all standing in a row in a mock of The Rockettes as the finale of the song was sung. I saw that clip several years before the release of this CD and so I was surprised that the song didn't make the final cut...considering how synonymous with Sinatra the song happens to be.

Ray Stevens Sings Sinatra...Say What?? was released exclusively at Ray's web-store in 2008. It was later available in more wider distribution the following year. I bought my copy at the merchandise table at a Ray Stevens concert I attended in Renfro Valley, Kentucky. When I purchased my copy it hadn't even been put up for sale to the general public yet as it was only being sold at his concerts. For those who don't know if you attend his concerts chances are you'll be able to purchase CD's or DVD's that the general public doesn't have access to yet. This CD remains an obscurity even with the wider distribution due to a couple of future releases from Ray that overshadowed this unheralded gem. The fact that it didn't receive much publicity upon it's release also played a factor in it's current obscurity. In the next installment of the Golden LP Series I'll take a look at the first of two releases in 2009. That particular year began rather quietly for Ray but by November/December 2009 some big time news was being made. Until we get to late 2009, though, we have a couple more studio projects to spotlight as I lead up to the release that re-launched Ray Stevens into the stratosphere once again.

Ray Stevens: 45 at 41...

Later this year a certain 45 single from Ray Stevens hits 41. The image of the single is off to the left...this particular image is the United Kingdom release of "Have a Little Talk With Myself". The single was released late in 1969 and it serves as a title track to one of Ray's most under-rated albums. The single in fact hit the country chart during the final week of 1969 and it reached it's peak during the first week of 1970. Yes, you read that correctly...this majestic, exquisite single about self-reflection, ego, and introspection was on the country music charts for just two weeks. The fact that it was on the country music chart in 1969 was a foreshadowing of Ray's eventual switch to the country music market. Prior to this single's release he had made his debut earlier in 1969 on the country chart with "Sunday Mornin' Comin' Down". It's just my opinion but I feel as if those two appearances on the country charts were a fluke...none of my research indicates that Monument Records sought out country radio support. The telling thing about Ray's future singles, though, were the cross genre flip-flopping that would occur. In a period of about 5 and a half to 6 years Ray Stevens singles would consistently chart pop, country, and Adult-Contemporary. Some of his singles would even cross the oceans and chart internationally during this 1969-1975 time period. Adult-Contemporary at the time was referred to as Easy-Listening or Middle of the Road. It was music aimed at adults who considered themselves fans of "pop music" but weren't necessarily fans of the younger, teenage-driven "Top-40" pop music.

As a Ray Stevens fan and nostalgia nut, looking back, I noticed that Ray's success relied almost entirely on the older, adult-driven market...but some of his songs would appeal to the mostly younger Top-40 set. A single released by Ray 40 years ago, namely "America, Communicate With Me", is a perfect example of the discrepancy between the various age groups and what one age group thought was great and what one age group didn't embrace as much. Among the Top-40 listeners the single did moderately well...almost reaching Top-40 status...but over in the radio formats aimed at the adults 35 and older the single reached the Top-15. Going by that statistic it goes a long way at explaining Ray's long-standing appeal and why it wasn't so difficult to market him as a country singer as time went on.

The Have a Little Talk With Myself album featured a couple of new songs but the bulk of the material was Ray's versions of contemporary pop hits by other artists. I wrote about this album in a previous blog entry called Have a Little Talk...about Ray!. You all can find it by exploring the archives on the right hand side of the screen.

A couple years ago Ray issued a CD where he covered the songs of Frank Sinatra. The CD was originally released in 2008 on his own label and sold exclusively through his own web-site and during concert stops. The actual title is Ray Stevens Sings Sinatra...Say What??. I purchased by copy at a merchandise table at one of his concerts. When I saw the CD I was stunned because at the time it wasn't being sold on his web-site and I'd wondered why...I then assumed that it must be an exclusive to concert goers but then it became available at his web-site store. Anyway, in 2009 the CD was released nationally but without any fanfare or promotion...I think it's a great CD salute. In an attempt, perhaps, to create a mood or an ambiance, Ray has the music come off like it's from a small, intimate session at some all-night lounge...complete with audience cheers and applause. Ray doesn't keep the same arrangements on every song, though, and the musical accompaniment is more along the jazz/R&B side than big band and swing. A couple of the songs are shortened, as well. The CD contains the following songs made famous by Sinatra...

I’ve Got You Under My Skin
Night and Day
I Get A Kick Out Of You
All The Way
High Hopes
Witchcraft
The Tender Trap
Young At Heart
Strangers In The Night
That’s Life