Ray Stevens: Christmas Standards and Originals...

Off the top of my head I can only think of five original Christmas songs that come from the pen of Ray Stevens: "Santa Claus is Watching You", "Christmas Bells in the Steeple", "Greatest Little Christmas Ever Wuz", "The Little Drummer Boy Next Door", and "Deck the Halls with Teardrops". Ray is credited as the co-writer, with Paul Alter and Buddy Kalb, of "The Little Drummer Boy Next Door". The other four songs Ray wrote himself. 

When you purchase a recording artist's Christmas album do you prefer standards or do you prefer all original recordings? I don't know of any recording artist that writes or finds nothing but original songs for a Christmas album. Usually there's a certain amount of familiarity that comes into play when a recording artist decides they want to do a Christmas album. What I mean by that is there's often some level of expectation from a consumer that there's going to be a heavy dose of standards either faithfully recorded to mirror the original or there's going to be re-arranged interpretations of standards. Christmas standards, for those unaware, are songs you hear every year at Christmas time by a wide variety of artists. Songs like: "Jingle Bells", "White Christmas", "Blue Christmas", "Holly Jolly Christmas", "God Rest Ye Merry Gentlemen", "Oh, Holy Night", "Jingle Bell Rock", "Silent Night", "Rudolph the Red Nosed Reindeer", "Rockin' Around the Christmas Tree", "Frosty the Snowman", and many, many more. A Christmas original is a song that, to date, had never been recorded by anyone else. It doesn't mean the song is brand new...it just means that it's never been recorded for any commercial release before. Almost all of the Christmas standards at one time, obviously, were original...but decades upon decades have passed by and singers down through those decades took it upon themselves to spotlight many of those particular songs on their Christmas albums. 

Ray Stevens has recorded three Christmas albums...and on each one of them there's at least one original song. 

His first Christmas album in 1997 was actually filled with original songs...2 of the songs were newly recorded renditions of a couple of Christmas songs he'd previously recorded in 1985: "Santa Claus is Watching You" and "Greatest Little Christmas Ever Wuz". The 1997 recording of "Santa Claus is Watching You" was the third time Ray had recorded the song. There's the original in 1962...then there's the lyrically updated version in 1985 which was turned into his first music video...and then there's the 1997 re-recording of the 1985 version of the song. I don't really have an opinion on whether I prefer Christmas standards or Christmas originals. I like that Ray has included several original songs on his Christmas albums...but I'd still like them if all they featured were his renditions of Christmas standards. Some Christmas originals from Ray Stevens that were written by others include: "The King of Christmas", "Claws (A Cat's Letter to Santa)", "Christmas Will Be Just Another Lonely Day", "Mary and Joseph and the Baby and Me", and Mariah Carey's "All I Want For Christmas Is You".   

Ray Stevens: Mary and Joseph CD...My Review...

The current Christmas CD from Ray Stevens is wonderful!!! Ray offers us his third Christmas project (following the 1997 release of the all-comical Christmas Through a Different Window and 2009's all-serious Ray Stevens Christmas) and it contains a combination of uptempo, ballad, and comical performances. The title track, his current music video release on YouTube, tells the story of Mary and Joseph making their travels with their baby, Jesus, but from the point of view of the donkey. Not being too familiar with modern-day country music happenings I didn't realize the song had already been recorded by one of it's writers, Jeff Bates, and had been nick-named The Donkey Song. I hadn't heard the Jeff Bates recording but at some point I'll probably listen to it just to see if Ray gave it a different arrangement or whatever. The video's been getting a lot of reaction, so far, on YouTube. It's gotten 12,270 unique views since it's November 16th debut. I'll embed the video at the bottom of this review. There are a couple of Christmas standards on this project as there have been on the previous Christmas projects. This time around Ray provides his recordings of "Frosty the Snowman" and "Rudolph the Red Nosed Reindeer". A couple of recordings previously only found on Ray's 9-CD box set from 2011, The Encyclopedia of Recorded Comedy Music, make appearances: "All I Want For Christmas is My Two Front Teeth" and his take on Elmo and Patsy's "Grandma Got Run Over by a Reindeer".

In addition to the title track, "Mary and Joseph and the Baby and Me", and some of the uptempo songs he also delivers ballads in the form of "Christmas Bells in the Steeple", "Christmas Will Be Just Another Lonely Day", and "Merry Christmas". The latter a song that's been only available as a music video on YouTube for a couple of years; it marks it's debut on CD with this project. If you're not familiar with the song it calls out political correctness and attacks the belief held by some that saying "Merry Christmas" is somehow offensive and therefore people should only say the generic "happy holidays" or "season's greetings".

One of the songs that I hope doesn't go overlooked is his take on "All I Want for Christmas Is You" because not only is his performance of it so good it provides further evidence (if anybody needed any) that Ray can more or less take any song and make it sound as if he originated it. Yes, the song should be familiar to pop music listeners as it's the same song once recorded by Mariah Carey (she co-wrote it, too). Upon seeing the title of the song listed on the CD I at first thought it to be Ray's version of a Christmas staple by Vince Vance and the Valiants by the same name so I was completely surprised to hear him cover the Mariah Carey song.

Given Ray's reputation among the general audience as being a comical/novelty artist I suspect that the song that'll receive the most attention aside from the title track is "Claws (A Cat's Letter to Santa Claus)". In this performance Ray delivers the story of a cat that's been declawed by his owners, much to the cat's dismay, and the cat offers reasons for his need for claws.

It's a 10 song collection of Christmas songs and it's excellent!!! As you can see from the review I refer to it as a CD but yet it's an Mp3. It's a habit. I still refer to any kind of collection of songs as "albums", for example, even though I may actually be referring to a cassette, CD, or Mp3. The physical copy of the CD hasn't arrived in the mail yet. I purchased it digitally on Amazon, first, because I wanted to hear the songs on release day (back on November 14th) and I've since purchased the physical copy of the CD from the Ray Stevens on-line store at his official website located HERE. You will have to register, for free, and create a username and password and all of that prior to ordering on-line. Obviously I don't think you'll need to do all of that if you prefer to order over the phone.

Ray Stevens: Upcoming Christmas CD...

Hello one and all...this is going to be super short notice but an upcoming Christmas CD from Ray Stevens is expected to be released tomorrow (November 14th). It's a 10 song collection...7 of the recordings are exclusive to the CD while 3 of the recordings have previously been released. The previously released recordings are "All I Want for Christmas is My Two Front Teeth" and "Grandma Got Run Over by a Reindeer" (both recordings from the 2012 Encyclopedia of Recorded Comedy Music) and "Merry Christmas" (originally released as a music video in 2012...first appearance on a CD collection).

The upcoming release is titled Mary and Joseph and the Baby and Me. Ray's on-line store has it for sale already and it'll go on sale all over the internet on November 14th. Several days ago I did a music search for Ray Stevens and discovered this upcoming release but I never made mention of it on this blog because I knew very little about it. Ray hadn't even publicized it's upcoming release, either, and so I decided I'd better keep my discovery to myself just in case the release appeared on-line prematurely (such things are known to happen). Amazon's Mp3 store is the place I discovered the project, by the way. The CD's title track comes from the pen of country music artist Jeff Bates. I didn't know this until another Ray Stevens fan pointed it out. There is audio/video of Jeff performing the song but I've deliberately kept myself from viewing it. I want to discover the song through the Ray Stevens recording and then later I'll take a listen to the recording by it's writer.

So, then, just what exactly are the 10 songs on this CD? I've already listed 4 of them (the 3 from 2012 and the previously unreleased title track). The remaining 6 recordings are: "Frosty the Snowman", "Rudolph the Red Nosed Reindeer", "All I Want for Christmas Is You", "Christmas Bells (In the Steeple)", "Claws (A Cat's Letter to Santa)", and "Christmas Will Be Just Another Lonely Day". Isn't that cover photo lovely? It's a scene perfect for a Christmas card, and speaking of which, if you order the CD from Ray's on-line music store you'll receive a Christmas card as a free gift. The card spotlights the cover of the CD. I did some research on some of the recordings and I found out that track 9 had been published by Ray's company and previously recorded in the early '60s by Brenda Lee. Much in the way you can seek out the Jeff Bates recording of "Mary and Joseph and the Baby and Me", also known as The Donkey Song, you can also find the Brenda Lee recording of "Christmas Will Be Just Another Lonely Day". The awesome thing about this is the fact that Ray published the song but had never recorded it until now. If you happen to have the Brenda Lee recording then you've already been aware for years that Ray's Ahab Music Company published it. It's something I happened to just find out during my research several days ago. For clarification: Ray's main publishing company (he has several) hasn't been called Ahab Music Company since the late '70s. He changed it to Ray Stevens Music, the name it continues to operate under, but songs that originated prior to the change in name have to remain under their original publishing credits. If you see any song credited to Ahab Music Company then those publishing credits occurred prior to 1978. In addition Ray has several record labels. Clyde Records is the main one but lately he's been using the CabaRay Entertainment imprint.

The songs, in order, are: "Mary and Joseph and the Baby and Me", "Rudolph the Red Nosed Reindeer", "Frosty the Snowman", "All I Want for Christmas is My Two Front Teeth", "Grandma Got Run Over by a Reindeer", "Claws (A Cat's Letter to Santa)", "All I Want for Christmas is You", "Merry Christmas", "Christmas Will Be Just Another Lonely Day", and "Christmas Bells (In the Steeple)".

You can purchase your copy of Ray's latest CD by clicking HERE.

Havin' a Ray Stevens Christmas...

It's a cold, blustery December morning in this part of the country. 18 days left until Christmas 2013. It's December 7th, Pearl Harbor Day. It's long been the norm that every 5 years there's typically a national memorial of some kind...this being the 72nd anniversary of the 1941 attacks perhaps explains why there's not been much coverage of it in the national media like there had been in 2011 during the 70th anniversary (2011 also marked the 10th anniversary of the September 11th terrorist attacks). As the day goes on there probably is going to be some stories about December 7, 1941...I don't think a total overlook is going to happen...

This blog entry is about some more Christmas music videos that fans of Ray Stevens can enjoy. In my previous installment I mentioned the "Blue Christmas" (comedy version) available as a music video. It's really a neat video...even more perfect on a cold morning around breakfast time.



Ray made the rounds of several television programs last Christmas season and performed the comical version of "Blue Christmas" in a medley with other Christmas songs. It's been available on You Tube ever since the local channel uploaded it around this time in 2012. You can see that particular video HERE. It's from a local station in the Nashville area. In the performance he does "White Christmas", "Blue Christmas", and "Redneck Christmas".

The official music video of "Redneck Christmas" is located below...



The at-a-glance unique views for all of the Ray Stevens Christmas music videos, as of December 7, 2013 are here:

1. Santa Claus Is Watching You; 2009:  463,881

2. Nightmare Before Christmas; 2010:  325,544

3. Merry Christmas; 2012:  132,003

4. Redneck Christmas; 2012:  114,129

5. White Christmas; 2012:  21,961

6. Blue Christmas (comic version); 2012:  14,259

7. Guilt For Christmas; 2013  5,683

Some explanations are in order, though. The music videos that emerged in 2012 all arrived in December. As you can see "Merry Christmas" has the most views among the ones that arrived in December 2012. A lot of this has to do with the song's politically correct theme and the commentary on the politically correct influence during Christmas season. The fact that a music video can debut just 3 days before Christmas (and hardly no major publicity) and be able to reach more than 100,000 people is still something to be proud of, in my opinion. "White Christmas" arrived on December 3, 2012 while "Blue Christmas" (comic version) arrived on December 21, 2012. A day later both "Redneck Christmas" and "Merry Christmas" hit the internet. The video that has the least views, "Guilt for Christmas", arrived in the summer of this year and has 5,683. The Christmas video, arriving in May, fully explains the reason for the small turn viewer out. There's not a lot of people that search for Christmas songs and videos in the spring/summer months.

The thing that the music video has going for it (besides the appearance of Ray Stevens) is that it's also a musical jab at political correctness, following in the snowy path of "Merry Christmas" and "Nightmare Before Christmas".

Share the video with those that have not yet seen it..."Guilt For Christmas"...



I don't know if Ray is waiting until it gets more closer to Christmas to start re-introducing these videos once more but I decided to start a little bit early during the last several blogs I've written.

Oh yes, the Christmas CD's from Ray Stevens are still available for purchase. Don't forget, he has 2 Christmas CD's chock full of the sounds of the season.

The comical Christmas CD can be found by clicking Christmas Through a Different Window.

The non-comical Christmas CD can be found by clicking Ray Stevens Christmas.

Ray Stevens: Blue Christmas novelty

I was informed by another Ray Stevens fan that the comedy version of "Blue Christmas" is now available at Ray's on-line music store. This music store is located at his web-site. You will need to click "Buy" and a drop-down menu will appear and then you'll need to click the on-line store. There is a non-comical recording of "Blue Christmas" on his 2009 Ray Stevens Christmas release but then a comical version, based on the stuttering rendition from Seymour Swine and the Squealers, was promoted through several on-line web-sites. The comical recording from Ray makes it's debut on an EP single which features three other songs: White Christmas, Deck The Halls With Teardrops, and The Nightmare Before Christmas. I have those other three songs so I am hoping the comical version of "Blue Christmas" by Ray becomes available as an MP3 single for those who don't want to re-purchase the three other songs. However, as the days and weeks go by and if there's no offer made to purchase just the song, I may give in and purchase the EP. For those unaware, an EP means an "extended play" single.

Ray Stevens: Christmas Is Here!!

The Ray Stevens Christmas CD arrived this past Saturday. I had hoped that it would have arrived on Friday, after having got an e-mail on Wednesday letting me know it had been shipped, but it arrived on Saturday. The CD is released on his own label, Clyde Records. I don't know if Curb Records will distribute it later in the year or not. Usually a few of his projects that he does on his own label are later re-released on a major label several months later. In a previous blog entry or two I wrote about the CD's availability and that I had sent off for it. The CD is all serious recordings and a sequel to his 1997 Christmas Through a Different Window comical collection. This latest CD doesn't give a musician credit list so I don't know who's playing on the CD. The saxophone is featured quite a bit, though.

Publishing wise, a lot of the songs are affiliated with ASCAP which to sharp eyed fans of Ray will notice is a departure of sorts. A lot of the songs that Ray sings are usually affiliated with BMI. Also, many of the songs found on countless Ray Stevens albums are published by Ray's own company: Ray Stevens Music, which is affiliated with BMI.

So, glancing through the songs that are on the holiday CD, you'll be able to see that it's weighted down with ASCAP material. Now, of course, this sort of topic about publishing companies and all that isn't really something the casual or even die-hard fan of any singer would notice or let alone feel it worthy of discussion...but there are some out there who do take notice when they examine a CD's credits and look at the technical information.

Getting back to the CD's material...

There is one original song here while the rest of the songs are your traditional choices for a Christmas project. "Deck The Halls with Teardrops" is the lone original song...from the pen of Ray Stevens. It's in the category of sad Christmas songs. There's a harmonica solo that is heard throughout the song at various times wailing out the "Deck The Halls" melody...but it isn't a parody of "Deck the Halls", it merely borrows the melody during the harmonica solo's.

His version of "White Christmas" features a unique arrangement. In it Ray blends the Bing Crosby style with the Drifters style and when I first began to listen I assumed that it would continue the crooner style throughout but it doesn't.

"Let It Snow!", the CD's opening song, features a jazzy arrangement. In fact, one of the things you'll notice are the arrangements are almost all non-holiday sounding. The lyrics are Christmas oriented, of course, but the arrangements are jazzy/big-band. "Jingle Bells" features a mixture of humorous Ray playing the part of the man riding the horse, calling out to the horse with the sounds of a whip in the background, "giddy up, horse! yee haw!!", but it's not a comical song.

One of the departures of the non-traditional arrangements is "Silent Night"...it conveys the religious sound throughout. "Blue Christmas" is done crooner style. "I'll Be Home For Christmas" is transformed into a talking blues style with some "let me tell ya..." lyrics added in. "Have Yourself a Merry Little Christmas" features an echo chamber and it's a perfect song to close out the collection.

Ray, if you ask him, usually will tell you that he grew up listening to R&B and blues in addition to country and that's why a lot of the songs he's recorded always had a hint of classic R&B in them...especially the material of late.

Ray Stevens: Christmas Has Arrived...

Christmas has arrived...well, almost! I decided to order my copy of Ray's holiday CD, simply called Christmas, from an on-line store that was offering them for sale. I resisted it for awhile not knowing if the on-line store would actually have the CD available and it not turn into some kind of "back order" deal where you end up sending off for something only for you to learn the product isn't really available yet, but the on-line store wanted your business, so they keep quiet. I found out from a fellow Ray fan who had pre-ordered the CD that his copy arrived in the mail today...and with today being his birthday, that was a good birthday gift! He sent me a track list and a picture of the CD's cover...it resembles the design of his 1997 holiday CD, Christmas Through a Different Window. This latest CD features all-serious holiday songs.

1. Let It Snow
2. White Christmas
3. Winter Wonderland
4. Silent Night
5. The Christmas Song
6. Blue Christmas
7. I'll Be Home For Christmas
8. Deck The Halls with Teardrops
9. Jingle Bells
10. Have Yourself a Merry Little Christmas

As you can see, track #8 is the only original song...non-traditional Christmas song. I was told that Ray had a hand in writing track #8. This CD went on sale on August 25th but for some reason or another neither Amazon or Ray's web-site store has it available. I was preferring to purchase it at Ray's store at his web-site but it's not been listed as available for purchase yet and Amazon the other day shown it as "not in stock". So, for now, CD Universe is the on-line store that's offering the CD. That particular on-line store is where the fellow Ray fan purchased his copy...and in addition to giving me an official song list, the ten above, he also sent a picture of it's cover...as you can see, for those familiar with his first Christmas CD in 1997, the picture below was taken during the same photo shoot.

Since the 2009 CD has officially been released, back on August 25, I'm going to post what the cover looks like...as far as I know, this image hasn't appeared on-line anywhere...so this will be it's first exposure...



It's a very nice picture and one that'll become just as popular as the one from 1997.

Update: I checked Amazon and they, too, now show that it's in stock. The day it went on sale back on August 25th it had a big "not in stock" warning. Anyway...the CD is 2 days old. I can't wait to hear how Ray sings the traditional Christmas songs. I know they'll be serious but it's hard to predict the kinds of arrangements he'll use. I'll be posting my review once I get the CD in my possession. I should have the CD sometime next week.