Ray Stevens: "Quarantine Song"...One Year Later...

Hello all the fans of Ray Stevens!! Exactly one year ago today YouTube gained a brand new music video upload from Ray Stevens titled "Quarantined". The video had been recorded inside Ray's recording studio during his guest appearance on the television series, Larry's Country Diner. The song, if you couldn't tell by it's title, is centered around COVID and the very early stages of the pandemic. A lot of information has surfaced which contradicts a lot of the accepted information at the time...but that's the risk of topical novelty songs...but regardless, like so many Ray Stevens songs the cleverness of the lyrics and the superior feel of the music elevate it above your typical run-of-the-mill, quickly assembled novelty offering. In the case of "Quarantined" we're given a humorous breakdown of a day in the life of someone coping with the rigid stay-at-home orders and consumer rationing of hand sanitizer, toilet paper, and other items. When you listen to the song all these months later it'll have you recalling those oh so fun restrictions and the experience of walking into a shopping store and seeing ration signs on the shelves with 'two to a customer' or 'one item per customer', etc. Remember those long lines to get inside any number of local Wal-Mart stores? In my area you had to wait in line as only a few dozen were allowed inside at a time. In this song, released on May 25th 2020, Ray sings of the COVID misery and how it's upended things in America but is optimistic things will return to normal 'after two more weeks of Quarantine'...wow, the lyric sounds so refreshingly quaint one year later.

In October of 2020 Ray Stevens revealed that he had signed a recording contract with Curb Records. This is a record label he'd recorded for during the first half of the 1990s and then returned a couple of other times in the early 2000s for several releases. The reunion with Curb Records in 2020 stemmed from his duet with Jeannie Seely, "Dance Tonight". Jeannie is an artist signed with Curb Records and a member of the Grand Ole Opry since the early 1960s. It was reported that when Ray and Jeannie recorded their duet together for her album of duets that the powers that be decided to sign Ray to their label once again. Once he returned to the label their first project on him was a 50th anniversary salute of "Everything is Beautiful". He recorded it originally in 1970 and so, for Curb Records, he re-recorded it and a performance music video was released. In addition to this there was a medley, "Everything is Beautiful / United We Stand", which was also turned into a performance music video. These two Mp3 audio releases arrived in October 2020 on the same day the two music videos made their debut online. After the activity of those two releases began to peak on video hosting sites Curb Records issued a digital download of "Quarantined" with a new title, "The Quarantine Song". Ray re-recorded the song and added some more instrumentation and re-phrasing of several lyrics. It's just my opinion but I assume Curb Records wanted their own recording of the song rather than simply using the audio from the music video. The music video had been uploaded on May 25, 2020 and the Mp3 of "The Quarantine Song" became available on December 11, 2020. At the time of the Mp3's release the music video was nearing 3,000,000 unique views on YouTube. It's gotten 3.2 million as of this writing. I've posted the music video numerous times throughout the summer and fall of 2020 and I also shared the performance Ray gave on Mike Huckabee's television show. Here's the music video...uploaded exactly one year ago today...

Ray Stevens: Hello 2021...

Oh let me be among the many that have said hello 2021 and goodbye 2020!! My first blog entry of the New Year finds me browsing over my on-line collection of Ray Stevens photos. I'd also like to take a moment to make it clear that this is a fan created blog page devoted to all things Ray Stevens. I write it and put it all together. I am not affiliated with Ray's inner circle even though you'll find my commentary on several social media sites that the Ray Stevens staff operate. I'd also like to mention that this is a blog page with a appreciation for the music of Ray Stevens. Some sites out there may feature a song or two from Ray that they found on YouTube but no blog out there is this detailed or this specific. Also, if you're new to this blog, if you read my other blog entries over the years you'll come to the realization rather quickly that this isn't a critical blog page. Appreciation, respect, love, admiration, and enthusiasm for Ray's music is a top priority here...as is my desire to provide detailed, accurate information about his career and music. If you're wanting to read hateful and horrible things directed at Ray or if you're wanting to make fun of his music, show him disrespect and be dismissive, and, or, engage in troll-like behavior then this blog isn't for you! On the other hand...if you love the music of Ray Stevens and are entertained by his choice of songs and his folksy, down-home demeanor then this blog is for you! If you only know the names of a couple of songs or have heard things about Ray but you want to find out more information then this blog is for you! 

The pictorial time-line that runs along side the blog page features years I've chosen at random. There are a lot of gaps between years...I decided to compile the time-line in that fashion, deliberately, because I didn't want every single year represented by a photo. Search the archives (dating back to 2008) and you're bound to find everything you ever wanted to know about the legendary Ray Stevens. I have zero patience with those who dislike Ray Stevens. I'm sure anyone reading this isn't surprised by that statement. He's a very good entertainer, most definitely you know him as a singer but yet he's also a highly skilled musician, a music arranger, record producer, music publisher, and comedian...and after reading all of that if you still don't think he is versatile then you don't know the definition of versatile.

I don't think Ray will make any kind of announcement of new music on the way, yet. It's January 1, 2021 and so I think whatever project he'll be putting out this year will turn up in the not too distant future. I think he might issue something new...either an album or a music video...no later than spring. Like a lot of you I get excited about every new release from Ray Stevens...and once official word comes along that something's going to get released the excitement turns into desire.  

The pandemic defined 2020...and nearly 2.7 million have seen "The Quarantine Song" music video that Ray Stevens released on YouTube. The exact unique view count is 2,691,121. The Country Music Hall of Fame member later issued an Mp3 of the song through Curb Records. In 1974 a lot of historians like to say that was the year of streaking. "The Streak" sold five million copies for Ray Stevens worldwide...and the streaking fad is forever linked to Ray's 1974 song. On a more serious note a global pandemic created it's share of pop-culture reaction in 2020 and at the center of it, as far as this blog is concerned, is the one and only Ray Stevens with "The Quarantine Song"...

Ray Stevens: "Quarantined" hits 2.2 million unique views...

Hello all once again!! I was looking at the YouTube statistics for "The Quarantine Song" from Ray Stevens and it's gotten an increase of 42,574 unique views since my previous post back on December 1st. This addition enables the video to move into the 2.2 million plateau. The unique views the other day for the video were 2,169,872. As of this writing the video now sits at 2,212,446 unique views. I live in a State that has a somewhat reasonable Governor...like so many people I'm annoyed with COVID and fed up with the constant drumbeating from the media about COVID "cases" and how everyone should simply sit down and be quiet and not speak out or show anger towards the ridiculous over-reach of city and State Government...collectively on a power grab and using COVID-19 as cover. 

In a State on the other side of the country, California, the Los Angeles mayor wants to cancel everything and several Governors are discussing lock downs. I'm certain the L.A. mayor is not familiar with the classic 1966 cartoon, How the Grinch Stole Christmas. The Grinch tried to steal Christmas but it came anyway. Pay attention to those that use the phrase "we need to prevent congregate settings"...they're basically advocating the closure of churches and in my opinion you can't get anymore twisted and sadistic than to suggest that sort of thing during Christmas season. 

As Governor's all over the country continue their power grab and hypocrisy there is always a place for laughter...and it comes in the form of "The Quarantine Song" from Ray Stevens...

Ray Stevens: "Quarantined" hits 2.1 million unique views...

In this, my third blog entry of the day, I'm providing an update on the YouTube numbers for "The Quarantine Song" that Ray released back in May of this year during the first wave of COVID and the hysteria that followed with rationing of products and limited supplies of hand sanitizer, toilet paper, and mandatory face mask wearing inside all retail stores. The song's title was slightly changed midway through it's appearance on the social media platforms...originally the song's title was "Quarantined" but then it was changed to "The Quarantine Song". Ray performed this song on an episode of Larry's Country Diner...and the cast of the show is who you hear laughing near the end of the clip. The video clip has moved past the 2.1 million plateau. As of this writing it's sitting at 2,169,872...as you can see I'm a bit late in reporting just exactly when the video crossed over into the 2.1 level given 69,872 unique views have already been accumulated by the time I started writing this blog entry! The unique views obtained on YouTube are separate from the views the video is getting on other social media sites. I know Facebook video views are counted differently than the method used on YouTube. As a result of this I stick with reporting the YouTube unique views. 

Ray Stevens: "Quarantined" is nearing 2 million unique views...

Three blog entries in a row!! I decided to look up the activity on another Ray Stevens music video...the highly active "Quarantined". The music video has officially been re-titled "The Quarantine Song"...I don't know the reason why...I guess using the word, quarantined, as a song title may have caused it to get lost in the search results or something because since the pandemic began in early 2020 'quarantine' has become a much used word. In a blog entry from September 1st I wrote about the music video topping 1,000,000 unique views. I was on YouTube several minutes ago and checked the video's unique view totals and as of this writing the video is in the ball park of hitting 2,000,000 unique views. The specific unique view count for the music video is: 1,831,008. The fact that the video amassed over 800,000 unique views in a little over 2 months time (since topping the 1,000,000 mark on September 1st) shows that it might be on pace to break into the 2,000,000 range by year's end. COVID-19 "cases" tend to be on the rise as well as hospitalizations. I don't like the idea of more lockdowns or rationing of hand sanitizer and other hygiene products...but we all witnessed how the nation reacted in the early spring and half the summer...you couldn't find hand sanitizer anywhere and shopping stores were limiting the amount of items you could purchase. Let's hope the future doesn't include the possibility of national lockdowns!!

Ray Stevens: It's August...COVID-19 still lingers...

Ray Stevens; 2020

Hello Ray Stevens fans!! As we enter the month of August let me go check...yes, COVID-19 still lingers...and in some States there have been increases in cases. I've more or less come to the belief that practically everyone has the virus but just doesn't realize it and, facemasks or no facemasks, it isn't going to stop people from coming down with the virus. That's just my opinion. If my math is correct next month will mark half a year since COVID-19 upended the country. It was in mid to late March when the country went into the tail-spin of shutting down the economy and people went into a panic...there's still limits on how many health and hygiene products a person can buy at a store following the hoarding that took place in the early days and weeks of the pandemic. Tennessee remains in their phrase two re-opening. Keep in mind that, for the most part, these re-openings are arbitrary. Any State Governor can use "science" as their reasoning but at the same time it should be perfectly fine to base reasoning on facts instead of scientific hypothesis. Ray's CabaRay showroom will remain closed. An announcement on the showroom's Facebook page reported that the showroom would remain closed through August 16th. I'm sure once that date arrives another message will be posted saying the showroom will remain closed for the remainder of the month. I say that based on the pattern since April. It's frustrating, to me, that Ray isn't able to put on concerts at his CabaRay. As a fan of his and as the author/creator of this blog it impacts me because I'm not being given the opportunity to write about the happenings at the CabaRay nor promote his concerts through this blog as I would have if not for the pandemic. So yes, I feel denied that opportunity...

In "Quarantined" Ray touches on all of the issues that surround COVID-19...from the lockdowns to the 2 weeks quarantines to stores with empty shelves. It's a song that captures society's frustrations and annoyances. In a blog entry from July 31st I reported that the video had obtained 804,737 unique views. I checked the numbers this morning and they've jumped up an additional 11,570 for a total of 816,307 unique views!

Ray Stevens: "Quarantined" pushes beyond 800,000 unique views...

Hello one and all!! Earlier this month the "Quarantined" video from Ray Stevens pushed onto the 700,000 unique view plateau. I did a mid-month update in a previous blog entry where the video was in the middle portion of that unique view total and today I'm announcing that the YouTube video has obtained more than 800,000 unique views as of this writing. The specific unique views on YouTube of the video are 804,737. There have been a number of COVID-19 songs that have appeared on social media sites...and other songs that deal with elements of the pandemic. There are novelty songs as well as some serious songs centered around the social distance silliness. I call it silliness, still.

In my state there's a facemask mandate. Local businesses are enforcing it...you can't go in without a facemask. The social distancing creation, I thought, was only meant to be a requirement if people were not wearing facemasks. I fail to see the need for social distancing if everyone in a room is wearing a facemask. The entire pandemic has brought about a series of rules and regulations that consistently contradict one another, in my opinion. I've not heard any evidence that supports this idea that asymptomatic people can spread the virus to other people.

The egotistical chess match between members of the medical community is a turn-off, for me. When you have doctors and scientists continually at odds when it comes to therapeutics and a vaccine I think, like so many others do, that they're more interested in who gets credit for discovering a cure instead of working together to find one. The information about COVID-19 evolves and changes...meaning that society has to make adjustments. The more information that exists the more knowledgeable one becomes...and there's been a lot of factual information come along dealing with COVID-19 but there's also an underlying force at work to intentionally mislead, confuse, and frighten people about the virus.

The amount of "cases" of COVID-19, in my opinion, is being used as a fear tactic to keep the people in panic mode. Society has already been scared about the virus...and statistics show that people have been sufficiently scared enough to refuse to even return to work once their workplace re-opens. So, shame on much of the medical community for not leading with a winning attitude and for encouraging people to live in fear and panic. This mentality of being too scared to return to work or travel more than 40 miles within your own State is what happens when you emphasize weakness, fear, and panic. The optimism of not letting the cure be worse than the virus is long gone, I'm afraid, when it comes to 90 percent of the medical community.

Ray Stevens: Ray and company sing quarantined "On the Road Again"...

In all things COVID-19 and quarantine there have been all sorts of video and television productions getting around the mandated social distancing and everything else that's come along with the pandemic. Quarantine versions of television programs is something that's come along within the last several weeks. Recording artists that previously never thought to be on-line as much as they are now are finding unique ways of entertaining audiences on live, streaming audio platforms where everyone's participating from remote locations. I had previously mentioned Ray appearing briefly from his recording studio in a video from Charlie Daniels group, Beau Weevils, titled "Geechi Geechi Ya Ya Blues". That video was produced in quarantine fashion.

The Gatlin Brothers (Larry, Steve, and Rudy) have also put out a music video with quarantine overtones. Their video is a cover of "On the Road Again". A sentiment that a lot of traveling recording artists hope to do once State and local governments re-open entertainment venues again. In the video you'll see a whole lot of performers take their turn singing verses and the chorus of Willie Nelson's massive hit. In addition to Ray Stevens there's also, of course, The Gatlins...then there are pop-up appearances from the likes of Aaron Tippin, T.G. Sheppard, Pam Tillis, Charlie Daniels, Terry Bradshaw, and Johnny Bench just to name several. Some of them appear in Willie Nelson attire: bandana and long braided hair. You can watch the Gatlin Brothers video when you click HERE.