Ray Stevens: Internet Video Hits, Part 2...

Uploaded onto You Tube on March 11, 2010 "Caribou Barbie", a video salute to Sarah Palin, is nearing half a million on-line views. The current number of views is 469,247. If you click on the video stats it'll give a break down of several on-line sites that have embedded the video. More than 28,000 people watched the video at Ray's web-site. More than 44,000 people discovered the video from a referral. A referral, for those who don't know, are the small thumbnail images of music videos that pop up on the video screen whenever the music video you're watching comes to an end. At the conclusion of "Throw the Bums Out!" there are video referrals and according to the statistics more than 44,000 people clicked "Caribou Barbie" after watching "Throw the Bums Out!". However, the greatest referral video is "Come to the U.S.A.". Statistics show that more than 60,000 people clicked "Caribou Barbie" when they finished watching "Come to the U.S.A.". "Caribou Barbie" is 30,753 on-line views away from an exact 500,000. An actress/impersonator named Lori Stegner portrays Sarah Palin in the "Caribou Barbie" music video.



The music video is cute and filled with sight gags as you can tell. The video's release, on March 11th 2010, created a stir among those who viewed it on You Tube. 11 days later Ray uploaded another music video, "Throw the Bums Out!", on March 22. Since that particular video/song had a much more timely connection to the mid-term elections that year it overshadowed the "Caribou Barbie" video considerably. "Throw the Bums Out!" currently has 838,695 on-line views...compared to 469,247. I typically compare and contrast these two videos because of their release dates: March 11th and March 22nd 2010.

Those who want to watch 10 of Ray's political music videos on one DVD can purchase Internet Video Hits at his web-store. On the back of the DVD there are small thumbnail images taken from the various music videos. There is also a message from Ray commenting on the DVD's release and why he wanted to offer the music videos on DVD even though they're on You Tube, too.

Ray Stevens: The We The People Album, Part 3...

This collection is, of course, inspired by the overwhelming on-line popularity of "We The People". For those who read this and perhaps have no idea what I'm talking about you probably don't frequent social network and or video hosting sites regularly. If you did, and if you look up 'Ray Stevens', chances are "We The People" would be among the first songs to come up in your search. Why? Well, back in December 2009 Ray released a music video on You Tube called "We The People". The music video took off...spreading all over the internet...and by doing so it had racked up nearly a million hits in a couple day's time. A 'hit' for those unaware is what's referred to as a play, or, a viewing, of a video posted on-line. The music video would indeed reach 1,000,000 hits in no time at all and it continued to build as it hit the 2,000,000 mark on You Tube. As of this writing the music video's hit count is 2.9 million no doubt on it's way to 3,000,000 or so. The song is about the health care bill...referred to as ObamaCare by pretty much all of the health care overhaul's critics. Ray released a CD single of "We The People" a week or two after the music video became a hit.

This collection, though, features 22 songs...all of the songs carry either a political or patriotic message/theme. Some of the songs have catch-phrases that I bet you'll be singing to yourself at some point after hearing the music. Also, because there's 22 songs I'm not going to take on each song one at a time but I'll mention them as I write. A good mixture of comical and serious songs abound here...the serious works are patriotic in nature but there's a couple that can be considered nostalgic. "Dear Andy Griffith" and "Safe at Home" are the two that compare contemporary life with the by-gone days of the past. "Safe at Home" is a song that Ray often performs in concert...he was one of the music attractions at the April 15th Tea Party rally in Washington, D.C. and he performed the song. "Fly Over Country" is another serious recording which uses small-town America as a backdrop. It's a song about high-brow people in all walks of life not having enough time or respect for small-town America except when it benefits them. A reference about a politician only returning for votes is brought up and as soon as he feels he's got enough support he flies away to his own reality.

A lot of the songs have a funky music arrangement...maybe countrified jazz?

The Federal Government gets slapped down in several songs: "We Are the Government" is laugh out loud funny in that we're told the story of an ever-growing Government that squeezes the life out of everything it touches. The song starts off with an ode to Saturday Night Live of all things. The melody will be familiar to a lot of you I bet. The song's title is repetitious and you'll catch yourself singing it. It's one of the funniest songs on the CD.

"Throw the Bums Out!" is a rip at the politicians that have lost their way and have no connection to the voter. It is filled with quite a few catch-phrases and it takes aim at a Congress who insists a bill passes before it gets read. It's a music video on You Tube with over 85,000 hits so far. "Caribou Barbie" is about Sarah Palin...those who follow politics and Sarah will know that right away. In fact, a lot of these political songs may be enjoyed even more by those who are politically tuned in. Joe Average, for example, who doesn't really pay much attention to politics and political figures, will miss a lot of the humor in these political songs, I think. For me they're hilarious and satiric in places but for Joe and Jane Average the humor will probably go over their heads.

"Caribou Barbie", meanwhile, is another You Tube video and as of now it's gotten over 70,000 hits. In the video there's a lot of sight gags that of course don't translate to audio. In the video, the backup vocals are supposed to look as if liberal talkers on cable-TV are doing the honors. It should be noted that both music videos were released within weeks of each other. "Throw the Bums Out!" was issued after ObamaCare passed and became law just when "Caribou Barbie" was becoming a viral video. So those two music videos, a patriotic video called "Thank You", and the big one, "We The People", are all enjoying widespread viral success at the same time.

Speaking of "Thank You", it's track #19. A music video of the song that Ray released on You Tube 3 months ago has gotten over 100,000 hits. It's a salute to the military...and there are a couple more on here: "Stand Up!" and "The Fallen Ones". There's another song, "Let's Roll", which incorporates a lot of American history and phrases spoken by political and military figures through the years.

"Come to the USA" will perhaps be the song that if progressives and liberals hear it they'll scream and throw fits even bigger than they already are. The song pokes fun at how America welcomes illegal immigration with open arms...it comes complete with an effeminate operator on a telephone bragging about how great it is that illegals get to enjoy all of America's goodies while in other countries illegals aren't welcomed at all. The song is a statement about National security and how America's weakness for being open to all who want to migrate here can turn around and hurt the country in the end.

"Obama Nation" is a slice of heavy hitting comedy aimed at the President, of course. It starts out with a zippy history lesson of America and then goes on remarking on all the things Obama has done or plans to do with the reflective line about we all knew what Obama had in store but he was elected anyway. Surprisingly, this song as well as "We The People" and "We Are the Government" are the only songs to really tackle the President. The other political songs are aimed at Congress and the media as well.

All in all this is a fabulous collection of songs and a collection not to be missed! You'll laugh and feel American pride all over. There's a whole lot of common sense that runs rampant in a lot of these songs if you listen close enough.

Ray Stevens: Throw The Bums Out!!

It's been quite an interesting week in Congress and all things politics. As you all know ObamaCare became law this week. This has predictably set off an entire segment of the country who were opposed to the legislation from the very beginning. The thing that often gets lost in all the political talk is nobody in his or her right mind approved of the health care industry's policies and practices. This is the single most thing everyone, I think, can agree on. The specifics of this legislation is where all of the anger and the division resides. The supporters of this law argue that "millions of people will now have health care" while the opponents argue that this is another step toward socialism and Government control over the private sector. I agree with the opposition. I, too, think that this ObamaCare is another step toward socialism. It's just such a shame that health care reform, which all political parties agree needed to be addressed, was used as a stepping stone for a complete overhaul of the health care system where the Government will have much more control than they should have. Another sad part of this whole process is Republicans are painted as "evil" and "inhumane" because ObamaCare, in the minds of liberals and Democrats, is essentially 'health care reform'. They're painting the Republicans into being a party that isn't for health care reform since the Republicans opposed ObamaCare. This insidious accusation is played up in the liberal blog world and on certain cable television channels where certain hosts sympathize with liberal thinkers. The truth is, Republicans also wanted health care reform, but the Democrats created the ObamaCare bill which is so extreme and mired in socialist language that Republicans had no choice but to oppose it. If people want the truth, that's it. There's too many negatives in ObamaCare and taxpayers will find this out rather quick. In other words, the negatives of ObamaCare far outweigh the positives.

The most recent hits for Ray Stevens latest music videos on You Tube are as follows...

We The People: 2,849,658
Thank You: 95,006
Caribou Barbie: 50,602
Throw The Bums Out!: 38,598

"Throw the Bums Out!" has gotten more hits/feedback in it's first few days than "Caribou Barbie", surprising enough. I have some theories as to why. Caribou Barbie is a well-known derogatory nick-name for Sarah Palin...and I think those who do not like her have no intention or desire to watch anything that has to do with her. On the other hand, "Throw the Bums Out!" is much more ambiguous until someone watches the video to see what it's all about. That's just one of my theories. Another theory is "Caribou Barbie" was over-shadowed...it was uploaded on You Tube on March 11th and then less than two weeks later, on March 22, Ray uploaded "Throw the Bums Out!". As I touched upon in a previous blog entry, the culmination of the House passing ObamaCare on March 21 obviously hastened the release of "Throw the Bums Out!". Ray has the best of both worlds, though, as all three of his political music videos are continuing to do well and his patriotic one, "Thank You", is nearing 100,000 hits. Last year, on July 15, 2009 Ray uploaded his 2002 music video "Osama Yo' Mama" onto You Tube. Since it's upload date it's gotten 171,076 hits. For those who've never seen that music video you should definitely check it out at You Tube and leave your comments.

The cassette tape I'm holding was released in 1990 on the Curb Records label. I've spotlighted it before but I feel like spotlighting it again. It's a collection of ten comedy songs that Ray recorded through the years. The collection as mentioned was released in 1990 and at the time what one might refer to as the only recent recording found on here is 1987's "Would Jesus Wear a Rolex?". The object of the collection was to reintroduce Ray's classic songs but this time on a new record label and the start of a new decade: the 1990's. The picture used is from 1984...it was a publicity picture that was circulated in magazines promoting the single, "It's Me Again, Margaret". You can click the image for a bigger inspection. The album was certified Gold several years after it's release. I do not have an exact year, though.

1. The Streak; 1974
2. Shriner's Convention; 1980
3. Would Jesus Wear a Rolex; 1987
4. Mississippi Squirrel Revival; 1984
5. Gitarzan; 1969
6. It's Me Again, Margaret; 1984
7. Ahab the Arab; 1969 re-recording
8. In the Mood; 1976
9. Freddie Feelgood; 1966
10. Bridget the Midget; 1970

Ray Stevens: Caribou Barbie, Part Four

Ray Stevens and the Caribou Barbie continue to obtain strong hits on video hosting sites across the internet. You Tube, of course, is where the music video originates and it's the You Tube video that's embedded across the internet in blogs and web-sites. To date there have been 35,690 hits. I decided to embed the music video once again in this blog. In the previous blog entry I copied the URL code. In essence, Ray has three video hits happening at the same time and each three have their own audience pretty much. Starting with the current one, "Caribou Barbie", and the big one, "We The People", and then there's the military tribute of "Thank You". In the latter's case, that particular song originates from 2004 but Ray never uploaded the actual music video onto You Tube until January 4, 2010. As of this writing the hit totals for those three music videos are as follows...the date on the left of each video title is it's upload date:

3/11/2010: Caribou Barbie: 35,690
1/4/2010: Thank You: 89,936
12/11/2009: We The People: 2,802,478



"We The People" as you can see from the hit count has passed the 2.7 million mark and it's into 2.8 million hits. It will more than likely reach 3 million hits and this coming Sunday March 21, 2010 there is suppose to be one last major vote on ObamaCare. It's a convoluted legislation and political mess that will no doubt surface at some point on Sunday when Democrat leaders in Congress are going to maneuver and sneak in ObamaCare without actually having an up or down vote. Afterward, the Democrats in favor of ObamaCare will proclaim that ObamaCare has passed even though there wouldn't have been a vote on the actual bill. It's a trick called "deem and pass" where, I think, the Senate bill will have been "deemed" to have passed in the House and then the Senate will certify it's so-called "passage" and send it to Obama for him to sign into law. I'll stop while I'm ahead because it's starting to sound confusing even to me! ObamaCare, for some who still don't know, is a socialist program centered around health care that lays the foundation for more and more Government expansion over private enterprise. The goal isn't to offer health care to those who don't have it.

The goal of ObamaCare is to slowly but surely destroy private enterprise because those private sector companies are not going to have the power to compete with Government run health care. The Government is going to entice free health care and what will that do to insurance companies across the country? Consumers are going to say to themselves "hey, why am I paying for insurance when I can get it for free through the Government??". The other side of the equation are the insurance companies...they'll no doubt lower premiums and costs, etc etc in order to keep customers from fleeing them and hooking up with ObamaCare, but, ultimately, the private insurance companies are not going to be able to make a profit and they'll go out of business. There are even sound-bytes of Obama declaring his visions of private industry health care being eliminated. Now do you see where I'm heading with this? ObamaCare is much more than health care...it's a path to socialism as we've said all along.

Edit 3/21/2010: The House has decided not to vote on ObamaCare using the 'deem and pass' tactic and will instead have a conventional yes or no vote.

Ray Stevens: Caribou Barbie, Part Three

Well here we are once again in Ray Stevens world! The play count at the moment for his latest music video about Sarah Palin, "Caribou Barbie", sits at 16,618. This is an increase since my last blog entry earlier this morning of 4,418 plays. I'm sure the blog world is becoming familiar with the music video even as I write this. It seemed as if word didn't spread as quick as before, referring to "We The People", but word spread quickly at some point on Saturday and it continued into Sunday with quite a few blogs picking up on the music video. The video was officially uploaded on March 11th and so it took 3 days for people to start spreading the video around on the internet at a much more rapid rate. Now all that's left is to continue to enjoy "Caribou Barbie" and witness it's play count continue to rise...and eagerly anticipate Ray's full-length CD.

I am sure I can speak for all Ray Stevens fans when I say we hope that Fox News will help promote the music video/song. His previous video, "We The People", had already topped the 1,000,000 play count before he began appearing on mainstream cable news programs and on radio shows. As I was commenting elsewhere, Ray at some point will need that exposure on Fox News again...and the fact that Sarah Palin is a contributor to Fox News it looks as if it's only a matter of time before the channel mentions the music video, at least that's what we're hoping for. Ray's appearance on The O'Reilly Factor was such a success that viewers stormed Ray's web-site, causing it to crash.

Speaking of his previous music video..."We The People" continues to receive activity on a consistent basis. That video has obtained nearly 50,000 additional plays in a couple of weeks time and it sits at the moment at 2,780,473. The video could still reach 3,000,000 hits before it's all said and done especially since ObamaCare is becoming a hot news item once again.

"Caribou Barbie" in the meantime is a funny music video parodying Sarah Palin's public image in a good-natured way and taking jabs at Obama and delivering visual jabs at mostly liberal personalities on cable television, all wearing lip-stick, both male and female. Once you see the video you'll understand. There are several catch-phrases that can be lifted from this song, too. "You bet'cha!" I think will be one of them as well as "I'm votin' Caribou" but probably more than any "Obama shelved in 2012". The link will take you to the video. If the video skips it's probably due to some kind of technical issue. I've watched the video quite a few times and sometimes it'll start and stop and sometimes it'll play clear through. Highlight the URL and copy and paste it in your individual search engine. The video will show up in the search results.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=yG9LqX6xGpQ

Ray Stevens: Caribou Barbie

Hello all you fans of Ray Stevens! I was pleasantly surprised a few minutes ago when I made my way over to You Tube and found that Ray has uploaded a new music video. This one is hot off the presses as the saying goes. According to the statistics it was uploaded 3 hours ago. "Caribou Barbie" is the name of the new video and I'll give you three guesses as to who the song is about. Give up? The song is about Sarah Palin, of course, and I have only viewed the music video once because I wanted to quickly get the word out through this blog that Ray has a new music video available. After I post this blog entry I'll re-watch the video.



Will this music video rise to the 2.7 million hits of "We The People"? It's hard to tell...it might...considering how popular Sarah Palin is regardless of whether you agree with her politics or not. I don't want to spoil the video for anyone and so I won't go into detail about the sight gags or anything just yet. I'll no doubt make commentary as the days and weeks go by once a lot of people have seen the video. It should become another major video hit for Ray Stevens.

I suspect the video will jump in play totals as the hours/days go by. Remember, though, "We The People" came along at a time when ObamaCare was on just about everyone's mind. This "Caribou Barbie" is not about ObamaCare or health care as you'll see when you watch the video. This music video may attract an entirely different audience at You Tube than those who gathered to watch and comment on the "We The People" video. 3 hours into it's upload life, however, it's tough to tell...after listening to it once I can tell it's a catchy song and so I'm going to go watch it again.