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.
Despite the album's joking title, it is considered by all media as his first "serious" album, as there are no songs on the album that are in the genres of novelty or comedy. But Stevens never wholly strays away from humor on the album, as evidenced in the songs "The Minority," a re-recorded version of "Funny Man," "Say Cheese," "Mr. Businessman," "Unwind," and "The Great Escape" (the last two of which humorously describe the everyday routines of a working middle-class man). With the exception of the eighth track, "The Earl of Stilton Square," all the material was written by Stevens himself, though he shares credit with another songwriter for the fourth track, "Say Cheese." Stevens successfully proves his artistic versatility throughout the album, notably with touching performances of his self-penned ballads "For He's a Jolly Good Fellow" (which describes the celebration of an upcoming wedding between a man's best friend and his old flame), "Say Cheese" (which describes hiding emotional pain after a breakup), the haunting, mind-boggling "Isn't It Lonely Together," and "Face the Music." Despite not charting on the Billboard 200, the album received an overall of positive reviews from critics and fans alike.
On an interesting side note, Bobby Vinton recorded the song "For He's a Jolly Good Fellow" for his album Bobby Vinton Sings the Newest Hits, which was released a year before this album; while "Isn't It Lonely Together" became a minor hit for former R&B singer Robert Knight during the same year of the release of this album.
The back of the album's cover contains an essay by songwriter Tupper Saussy that describes his experiences with working with Stevens and the making of the album (which was released a few months after the single "Unwind"). Saussy also mentions in the essay that he and Stevens worked on a song for the album entitled "Keep out of Reach of Children," which ended up unfinished and describes this particular song as "a song that would admonish adults to remove their sophisticated anxieties-over-nothing from their youngsters so as not to contaminate them with needless complexities."
Aside from the song "Unwind" (a Top 40 Canadian Pop hit that was issued on the album after its initial release), two singles were lifted from the album: "Mr. Businessman" (the only one to make the Top 40 on the American Pop charts) and "The Great Escape."
On October 8, 1996, Varèse Sarabande re-released this album on CD and included four bonus tracks, the last of which was the single version of Stevens' hit "Mr. Businessman."
Stanley Robert Vinton is an American singer, celebrity, and actor, who hosted his own self-titled TV show in the late 1970s. As a teen idol, he became known as "The Polish Prince", as his music paid tribute to his Polish heritage. One of his most popular songs is "Blue Velvet" which reached No. 1 on the Billboard Hot 100 in 1963, No. 1 in Canada, and number 2 in the UK in 1990.
Frederick Tupper Saussy III was an American composer, musician, author, artist, and conspiracy theorist. He was a self-styled theologian, restaurant owner, ghostwriter of James Earl Ray's biography, King assassination conspiracy theorist, anti-government pamphleteer, and radical opponent of the federal government’s taxation and monetary authority.
"Have You Ever Been Lonely? " is a popular song with music by Peter De Rose and lyrics by Billy Hill, published in 1932. It has been recorded by many singers, becoming a standard.
The Neon Philharmonic was an American psychedelic pop band led by songwriter and conductor Tupper Saussy and singer Don Gant. They released their two albums in 1969, and they scored a Top 20 hit on the Billboard Hot 100 chart with "Morning Girl", which featured the Nashville Symphony Orchestra, when it hit the Top 40 in May of that year and rose to number 17 on Billboard and number 15 on the Cash Box chart. The band hit the chart again with "Heighdy-Ho Princess" in 1970. The group was produced by Saussy, Gant, and Bob McCluskey, and engineered by Ronald Gant, Don's brother. The group disbanded in 1975 after releasing numerous non-album singles. Although the first album stated "Borges Forever!", the group's concertmaster is really named Pierre Menard, and it is not a reference to the Jorge Luis Borges story Pierre Menard, Author of the Quixote, Saussy was not conscious of the connection.
The Moth Confesses is the 1969 debut album by The Neon Philharmonic. Described as "A Phonograph Opera," it was inspired, according to the liner notes, by a production of Samuel Barber's Antony and Cleopatra, which Saussy attended after The New York Times claimed that it was a terrible opera, and wanted to see what a terrible opera looked like, which he surmised was its deliberate attempt to appeal to a one-time audience. In response, he conceived this album as a condensed opera, with a moth-like protagonist, focused on the "literary theme" of desperation. Saussy did not imagine it could be staged like Tommy, but offered it up as a challenge.
Melodies of Love is Bobby Vinton's twenty-fourth studio album and his first studio album for ABC Records. It was released in 1974.
Lonely Street is the fifth studio album by American pop singer Andy Williams, released in late 1959 through Cadence Records. This, his fifth LP of new material for the label, is described by William Ruhlmann on AllMusic.com as "an album full of songs of lost love and loneliness that found Williams using more of the Mel Tormé-like foggy lower register of his voice." The liner notes on the back of the album jacket read, "The selections in Lonely Street, Andy confides, are those for which he feels a special affection. Every vocalist has a few personal favorites... and it is quite clear to the listener that this collection presents songs which Andy Williams believes, feels -- and loves."
Blue on Blue, later renamed Blue Velvet, is Bobby Vinton's sixth studio album, released in 1963. Cover versions include the jazz songs "St. Louis Blues" and "Blueberry Hill", "Am I Blue", "Blue, Blue Day", the Fleetwoods' hit "Mr. Blue", "My Blue Heaven", three show tunes, and The Clovers Rhythm and blues hit, "Blue Velvet".
Bobby Vinton Sings the Newest Hits is Bobby Vinton's fifteenth studio album, released in 1967.
Bobby Vinton's Greatest Hits is a 12-track compilation by Bobby Vinton. It was released in September 1964, two months after his album Tell Me Why.
"Mr. Lonely" is a song co-written and recorded by American singer Bobby Vinton, backed by Robert Mersey and his Orchestra. The song was first released on Vinton's 1962 album, Roses Are Red.
Heart of Hearts is Bobby Vinton's twenty-sixth studio album and his second studio album for ABC Records. It was released in 1975. "Beer Barrel Polka" is the album's most successful single, peaking at # 5 on the Adult Contemporary Chart. A second single was "Wooden Heart" a #23 Adult Contemporary hit with partial Polish lyrics. Other notable tracks include Morris Albert's hit "Feelings" and Vinton's own composition "Adios Amigo" which was a big country hit for Marty Robbins.
"My Melody of Love" is the title of a popular song from 1974 by the American singer Bobby Vinton. Vinton adapted his song from a German schlager song composed by Henry Mayer, and it appears on Vinton's album Melodies of Love. The song was also recorded by Spanish pop singer Karina as "Palabras de Cristal".
The Best of Bobby Vinton is a collection of 14 Top 40 hits that Bobby Vinton had for Epic Records. It is the second compilation to be entitled The Best of Bobby Vinton, the previous collection being released in 1985. The tracks are in chronological order and begin with his first hit "Roses Are Red " and end with "Sealed with a Kiss", his final hit for Epic. Inside the album cover is a biographical essay about Vinton's life and career that was written by Didier C. Deutsch.
Mr. Lonely is Bobby Vinton's tenth studio album, released in 1964. It was released right after the success of his fourth and final #1 US hit "Mr. Lonely," a 1962 song that was released as a single after its appearance on Bobby Vinton's Greatest Hits. Cover versions on this album include "Laughing on the Outside " and "I'll Never Smile Again". After the success of the single, Vinton released Bobby Vinton Sings for Lonely Nights, an album of songs devoted to the subject of loneliness.
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.
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.
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.
"Lonely Street" is a 1956 song written by Carl Belew, Kenny Sowder, and W.S. Stevenson, originally performed by Belew, and later by Dave Rich.
"The Song We Fell in Love To" is a song by American country music singer Connie Smith. It was composed by Ray Baker and Tupper Saussy and released as a single via Columbia Records in 1975. The song became a top 30 hit on the American country music chart in 1976 and was released on an album of the same name.
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