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Gitarzan
"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. Cover versions A cover version was recorded by country music parodist Cledus T. Judd on his tribute album '' Boogity, Boogity - A Tribute to the Comedic Genius of Ray Stevens'' in 2007. Judd's cover features Keith Urban and Heidi Newfield ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Gitarzan (album)
''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 ("Yakety Yak," " Little Egypt" and " Along Came Jones"), "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 (And His Funky Little Five Piece Band)" makes its first appearance on an album but is overdubbed with audience noises for this album. The back of the album cover contains an essay that was written by Merv Griffin and describes Ray Stevens' musical styles. Included in the essay is an anecdote about Stevens' appearance on ''The Merv Griffin Show'' while promoting ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Heidi Newfield
Heidi Kay Newfield (born October 4, 1970) is an American country music artist. She was lead singer, rhythm guitarist and harmonica player for the group Trick Pony, alongside Keith Burns and Ira Dean from 1996 until 2006, when she left in pursuit of a solo career. Newfield has begun her solo career on Curb Records, debuting in 2008 with the single, "Johnny & June." This song, which peaked at No. 11 on the Hot Country Songs charts, is the first release from her solo debut album, ''What Am I Waiting For'', which has produced a second Top 30 country hit, "Cry Cry ('Til the Sun Shines)." Biography Newfield was born in Healdsburg, California. By age 13, she had decided to pursue a career in country music. In 1996, she joined Keith Burns and Ira Dean to form the group Trick Pony. Newfield recorded three albums as a member of Trick Pony: ''Trick Pony'' (2001), '' On a Mission'' (2003) and ''R.I.D.E.'' (2005). These albums accounted for eight singles on the ''Billboard'' country char ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Ray Stevens
Harold Ray Ragsdale (born January 24, 1939), 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. Early life Harold Ray Ragsdale was born on January 24, 1939, in Clarkdale, Georgia. He is the elder of two sons born to Willis Harold Ragsdale (1915–2001) and Frances Stephens Ragsdale (1916–97). He has a younger brother, John, who was an actor and writer. John died in 2020 at the age of 75. While attending high school, Stevens formed his first band, a rhythm and blues group named The Barons. Follow ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Novelty Songs
A novelty song is a type of song built upon some form of novel concept, such as a gimmick, a piece of humor, or a sample of popular culture. Novelty songs partially overlap with comedy songs, which are more explicitly based on humor, and with musical parody, especially when the novel gimmick is another popular song. Novelty songs achieved great popularity during the 1920s and 1930s. They had a resurgence of interest in the 1950s and 1960s. The term arose in Tin Pan Alley to describe one of the major divisions of popular music; the other two divisions were ballads and dance music. Humorous songs, or those containing humorous elements, are not necessarily novelty songs. Novelty songs are often a parody or humor song, and may apply to a current event such as a holiday or a fad such as a dance or TV programme. Many use unusual lyrics, subjects, sounds, or instrumentation, and may not even be musical. For example, the 1966 novelty song "They're Coming to Take Me Away, Ha-Haaa! ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Novelty Song
A novelty song is a type of song built upon some form of novel concept, such as a gimmick, a piece of humor, or a sample of popular culture. Novelty songs partially overlap with comedy songs, which are more explicitly based on humor, and with musical parody, especially when the novel gimmick is another popular song. Novelty songs achieved great popularity during the 1920s and 1930s. They had a resurgence of interest in the 1950s and 1960s. The term arose in Tin Pan Alley to describe one of the major divisions of popular music; the other two divisions were ballads and dance music. Humorous songs, or those containing humorous elements, are not necessarily novelty songs. Novelty songs are often a parody or humor song, and may apply to a current event such as a holiday or a fad such as a dance or TV programme. Many use unusual lyrics, subjects, sounds, or instrumentation, and may not even be musical. For example, the 1966 novelty song "They're Coming to Take Me Away, Ha-Haaa! ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Swinging On A Star
"Swinging on a Star" is an American pop standard with music composed by Jimmy Van Heusen and lyrics by Johnny Burke. It was introduced by Bing Crosby in the 1944 film ''Going My Way'', winning an Academy Award for Best Original Song that year, and has been recorded by numerous artists since then. In 2004, it finished at No. 37 in AFI's 100 Years...100 Songs survey of top tunes in American cinema. Origins Songwriter Jimmy Van Heusen was at Crosby's house one evening for dinner, and to discuss a song for the film project ''Going My Way''. During the meal, one of the children began complaining about how he did not want to go to school the next day. The singer turned to his son Gary and said to him, "If you don’t go to school, you might grow up to be a mule." Van Heusen thought this clever rebuke would make a good song for the film. He pictured Crosby, who played a priest, talking to a group of children acting much the same way as his own child had acted that night. Van Heusen to ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Trick Pony
Trick Pony was an American country music group, formed in 1999 by Heidi Newfield (lead vocals, acoustic guitar, harmonica), Keith Burns (lead guitar, vocals), and Ira Dean (bass guitar, vocals). 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". In 2006, Newfield departed for a solo career and Aubrey Collins replaced her as lead vocalist. The group disbanded after Collins and Dean left in 2007 and 2008. Newfield released a solo debut album, ''What Am I Waiting For'', in 2008 on Curb Records, while Burns joined singer Michelle Poe to form a duo called Burns & Poe. Burns, Dean, and Newfield reformed the group in late 2013, although Dean left again in 2014. The revived lineup released one more album, ''Pony Up'', via Permian Records i ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Ray Stevens Songs
Ray may refer to: Fish * Ray (fish), any cartilaginous fish of the superorder Batoidea * Ray (fish fin anatomy), a bony or horny spine on a fin Science and mathematics * Ray (geometry), half of a line proceeding from an initial point * Ray (graph theory), an infinite sequence of vertices such that each vertex appears at most once in the sequence and each two consecutive vertices in the sequence are the two endpoints of an edge in the graph * Ray (optics), an idealized narrow beam of light * Ray (quantum theory), an equivalence class of state-vectors representing the same state Arts and entertainment Music * The Rays, an American musical group active in the 1950s * Ray (musician), stage name of Japanese singer Reika Nakayama (born 1990) * Ray J, stage name of singer William Ray Norwood, Jr. (born 1981) * ''Ray'' (Bump of Chicken album) * ''Ray'' (Frazier Chorus album) * ''Ray'' (L'Arc-en-Ciel album) * ''Rays'' (Michael Nesmith album) (former Monkee) * ''Ray'' (soundtrack ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
1969 Singles
This year is notable for Apollo 11's first landing on the moon. Events January * January 4 – The Government of Spain hands over Ifni to Morocco. * January 5 **Ariana Afghan Airlines Flight 701 crashes into a house on its approach to London's Gatwick Airport, killing 50 of the 62 people on board and two of the home's occupants. * January 14 – An explosion aboard the aircraft carrier USS Enterprise (CVN-65), USS ''Enterprise'' near Hawaii kills 27 and injures 314. * January 19 – End of the siege of the University of Tokyo, marking the beginning of the end for the 1968–69 Japanese university protests. * January 20 – Richard Nixon is First inauguration of Richard Nixon, sworn in as the 37th President of the United States. * January 22 – Attempted assassination of Leonid Brezhnev, An assassination attempt is carried out on Soviet leader Leonid Brezhnev by deserter Viktor Ilyin. One person is killed, several are injured. Leonid Brezhnev, Brezhnev es ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Aaron Fechter
Aaron Fechter (born December 21, 1953) is an American engineering entrepreneur, voice actor, singer and musician who owns and operates Creative Engineering, Inc. (CEI). He is best known as the creator of , an animatronic show featuring a variety of characters created for Showbiz Pizza Place restaurants throughout the 1980s. A dispute with Showbiz along with the chain's dwindling revenue led to the show's decline and eventual removal. CEI developed other products and concepts since its founding, but they failed to gain commercial interest. Fechter also claims to have been instrumental in the early development of the Whac-A-Mole arcade game from Bandai, which became popular in the late 1970s, but his involvement has been disputed. Early life and career Aaron Fechter graduated from Edgewater High School in Orlando, Florida. In 1973, he graduated from college at the age of 19. The United States was in the midst of an energy crisis, and Fechter decided to build a fuel-efficient, small ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
The Rock-afire Explosion
The Rock-afire Explosion was an animatronic character band that appeared in ShowBiz Pizza Place restaurants from 1980 to 1992. Since 1992, independent companies and people have been preserving it and one can still view the show in various locations around the world where it is still in operation to this day. The band's characters were various anthropomorphized animals, including a brown bear, a grey wolf and a silverback gorilla. They performed medleys of classic rock, pop, and country music, as well as original compositions and comedic skits. The show was created and manufactured by inventor Aaron Fechter through his company Creative Engineering, Inc. in Orlando, Florida. In addition to overseeing the production of the animatronics, Fechter provided several of the characters' voices. When ShowBiz Pizza rebranded in 1992, the band was replaced by Chuck E. Cheese characters. The Rock-afire Explosion show was sold to other restaurants and entertainment centers such as Circus Pizza, ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
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