Harold Ray Ragsdale, known professionally as Ray Stevens, is an American country and pop singer-songwriter and comedian, known for his Grammy-winning recordings "Everything Is Beautiful" and "Misty", as well as novelty hits such as "Gitarzan" and "The Streak". Stevens has received gold albums for his music sales and has worked as a producer, music arranger, and television host. He is also an inductee of the Nashville Songwriters Hall of Fame, the Georgia Music Hall of Fame, the Christian Music Hall of Fame, and the Country Music Hall of Fame and Museum.
This Is Ray Stevens is the second album by Ray Stevens. It was released in 1963 by Mercury Records on the catalog numbers of MG 20828 and MG 60828. Like Stevens' previous album, 1,837 Seconds of Humor, all of the songs were written by Ray Stevens and published by Lowery Music Company, Inc. (BMI). The differences between both albums is that Stevens makes an attempt to prove his artistic versatility on this album by including six comical novelty songs and six ballads of serious music.
Trick Pony was an American country music group, formed in 1999 by Heidi Newfield, Keith Burns, and Ira Dean. They recorded three studio albums: Trick Pony, On a Mission, and R.I.D.E., released in 2001, 2002, and 2005. These albums produced eight singles on the Billboard Hot Country Songs chart, including four Top 20 hits: "Pour Me", "On a Night like This", "Just What I Do", and "On a Mission".
"Everything Is Beautiful" is a song written, composed, and performed by Ray Stevens. It has appeared on many of Stevens' albums, including one named after the song, and has become a pop standard and common in religious performances. The children heard singing the chorus of the song, using the hymn, "Jesus Loves the Little Children", are from the Oak Hill Elementary School in Nashville, Tennessee. At the time, this group included Stevens' two daughters.
"You Light Up My Life" is a ballad written by Joseph Brooks, and originally recorded by Kasey Cisyk for the soundtrack album to the 1977 film of the same title. The song was lip synced in the film by its lead actress, Didi Conn. The best-known cover version of the song is a cover by Debby Boone, the daughter of singer Pat Boone. It held the No. 1 position on the Billboard Hot 100 chart for ten consecutive weeks in 1977 and topped Record World magazine's Top 100 Singles Chart for a record 13 weeks.
"Gitarzan" is a novelty song released by Ray Stevens in 1969 about a character who lives in a jungle and forms a musical band with his female partner, Jane, and their pet monkey. The song features Tarzan's jungle calls, scat singing, and a funky boogie-woogie, a quote from the song "Swinging on a Star", with the line "Carrying moonbeams home in a jar" superimposed over an insistent G Major ostinato, and a melody from Martha and the Vandellas' "Honey Chile" in its chorus. The song reached #8 on the Billboard Hot 100 on 31 May 1969 and #10 in Canada in May 1969. It did best in New Zealand, where it reached #2. The music and lyrics were written by Stevens with a title supplied by Bill Justis. Justis is officially credited as Bill Everette.
"All I Ask of You" is a song from the 1986 English musical The Phantom of the Opera, between characters Christine Daaé and Raoul, originally played on stage by Sarah Brightman and Steve Barton, respectively. It was written by Andrew Lloyd Webber, Charles Hart and Richard Stilgoe, and solely produced by Lloyd Webber. An operatic pop piece, its lyrics serve as dialogue between the two characters and discuss themes such as commitment and romance. Like Lloyd Webber's song "The Music of the Night", "All I Ask of You" was compared to the music found in Giacomo Puccini's 1910 opera La fanciulla del West.
The Best of the Doors is a compilation album by the American rock band the Doors, released in September 1973 by Elektra Records. It was the third compilation album to be released by the band and contains seven of the Doors' eight Top 40 hits.
"Give Me One Reason" is a song written and performed by American singer-songwriter Tracy Chapman. It was included on her fourth studio album, New Beginning (1995), and was released as a single in various territories between November 1995 and March 1997, her first since 1992's "Dreaming on a World". The song is Chapman's biggest US hit, reaching number three on the Billboard Hot 100. It is also her biggest hit in Australia, where it reached number three as well, and it topped the charts of Canada and Iceland. Elsewhere, the song reached number 16 in New Zealand, but it underperformed in the United Kingdom, peaking at number 95 in March 1997.
Even Stevens was Ray Stevens' third studio album, released in 1968. It was also his first album for Monument Records as well as his first studio album in five years, though he previously released four singles for Monument, starting with "ABC" in 1965. Before the release of this album, Stevens concentrated on writing and producing songs for other artists.
Gitarzan was Ray Stevens' fourth studio album, released in 1969, as well as his second for Monument Records. Unlike his previous album, Even Stevens, this album is completely in the genres of novelty and comedy. Although this is a true studio album, all of the songs are overdubbed with cheering and applauding of an audience to provide the feeling of a live album. Contents include three of the Coasters' hits, "Mr. Custer," and "Alley Oop." The album also contains re-recordings of his two novelty hits, "Harry the Hairy Ape" and "Ahab the Arab." "Freddie Feelgood " makes its first appearance on an album but is overdubbed with audience noises for this album.
Boogity Boogity was Ray Stevens' eleventh studio album, released in 1974, as well as his sixth for Barnaby Records. For this album, Stevens returns to the genres of novelty and comedy. The album was released to capitalize on the success of his hit single "The Streak", which was inspired by the fad of streaking during that time period. Stevens' two songs, "Freddie Feelgood " and "Bagpipes That's My Bag," were taken from his album Gitarzan and were reissued on this album. The front of the album cover shows Stevens running in a blur, seemingly in the nude, and also contains the phrases "Woosh!!" and "Don't look Ethel!" the latter of which is part of the lyrics to the primary single of the album.
Ray Stevens' Greatest Hits is a collection of songs that Ray Stevens previously recorded for Barnaby and Monument Records from 1968 to 1971. This marks the first album appearance of Stevens' novelty hit single "Bridget the Midget ." This collection contains two more singles from Barnaby while the rest are recordings for Monument. "Gitarzan" is the album version that begins with noises of an audience. "Harry the Hairy Ape" and "Ahab the Arab" are not the original recordings but re-recordings that were made for Monument. "Mr. Businessman" is the album version.
His All-Time Greatest Comic Hits is a 10-track collection of previously recorded songs by Ray Stevens, released in 1990 by Curb Records. One of the qualities that makes this collection identifiable is that it concentrates solely on Stevens' songs of novelty and comedy. However, the versions of certain songs on this compilation are not original recordings or the most popular versions; the version of "Gitarzan" is the album version that begins with cheering and applauding of an audience; "Ahab, the Arab" is a re-recording that Stevens made for his album Gitarzan; "Freddie Feelgood" is the album version from Gitarzan that contains audience noises.
The Very Best of Ray Stevens is a collection of 12 previously released singles that were hits for novelty/country artist, Ray Stevens; it was released in December 1975 by Barnaby Records. While this collection has more emphasis on Stevens' hits for Barnaby, it also contains three from the label of Monument Records and two from Mercury Records. The version of "Mr. Businessman" is the single release. "Gitarzan" is the album version that begins with an audience cheering and applauding. "Ahab the Arab" is the original recording that was released by Mercury.
Greatest Hits is a collection of ten previously released singles by Ray Stevens, released in 1983 by RCA Records. This collection contains three singles that were released by Monument Records, four by Barnaby Records, and two by RCA. One of the selections is not an original recording; "Ahab the Arab" is a re-recording of Stevens' 1962 hit for Mercury Records that was included on his album Gitarzan, which was released by Monument in 1969. Additionally, there are two selections featured on this collection that are album versions; "Gitarzan" is the album version that begins with cheering and applauding with an audience; "Freddie Feelgood" is the version that contains audience noises and was first featured on the album Gitarzan.
All-Time Greatest Hits is a collection of 23 songs that were previously recorded by Ray Stevens, released in 2001. Like many collections of Stevens' music, it concentrates 99% on recordings that were made for the record labels of Monument and Barnaby. The one exception is the first track, "Sergeant Preston of the Yukon," an unsuccessful hit that was released in 1960 by the NRC label. "Sergeant Preston of the Yukon" makes its first album appearance on this collection. The rest of the selections were recorded between the years of 1966 to 1975.
Greatest Hits, Vol. 1 is a collection of ten previously released singles by Ray Stevens, released in 1987. Of the selections of songs, three were recorded for the record label of Monument Records, four for Barnaby Records, one for RCA Records, and two for MCA Records. The version of "Gitarzan" is the album version that begins with cheering and applauding of an audience. The version of "Ahab the Arab" on this compilation is not the original recording but a re-recording that Stevens made for his album Gitarzan during his career with Monument.
Greatest Hits, Vol. 2 is a collection of ten previously released singles by Ray Stevens, released in 1987. It is the second volume of the Greatest Hits package of Stevens' music that was released by MCA Records. Of the ten selections on this volume, the fifth track, "Mama's in the Sky With Elvis," makes its first album appearance. Additionally, this collection consists of five recordings for MCA Records, two for Warner Bros. Records, two for Monument Records and one for Mercury Records.
20th Century Masters – The Millennium Collection: The Best of Ray Stevens is a 12-track collection of previously recorded songs by Ray Stevens, released in 2004. It consists of the biggest hits he had from 1961 to 1987, starting with his breakthrough hit "Jeremiah Peabody's Polyunsaturated Quick-Dissolving Fast-Acting Pleasant-Tasting Green and Purple Pills" to his hit "Would Jesus Wear a Rolex". Unlike many compilations of Stevens' music, this collection contains the original recordings of "Ahab the Arab" and "Harry the Hairy Ape", which were re-recorded for Stevens' fourth studio album Gitarzan. The selections of "Freddie Feelgood", "Mr. Businessman" and "Gitarzan" are album versions, the first and third of which were featured on Gitarzan. Inside the album cover are information on the featured singles and a biographical essay written by Gene Sculatti back in December 2003. In the essay, Sculatti mistakenly says that Gitarzan is the one who shouts, "Shut up, baby! I'm tryin' to sing!" in the song "Gitarzan", as it is actually Jane who shouts this phrase.
