Through the magic of XM radio i learned of a new favorite song. It's by Ray Stevens and is called "Mr. Businessman."
Stevens originally made his mark as a comedy singer in the vein of Flight of the Conchords, but in 1968 he branched out with this serious hit. According to wikipedia it was a country sensation, reaching #1 on some chart, which i assume is kept on the side of a barn at Willie Nelson's house.
The song absolutely rocks. Youtube only offers the music, and here it is: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=3Z3ad7V30ZU
2 comments:
"Mr. Businessman" was actually a pop hit, not a country song. Ray wasn't marketed as a country artist until the mid 1970's. "Mr. Businessman" reached the Top-30 on the pop charts back in 1968 and it was his first non-comical major hit song.
A lot of people my age or younger can't fathom the concept of Ray Stevens being a mainstream pop artist but yet for a stretch of almost 15 years, 1961-1975, his singles were hitting on the Hot 100 more times than the country charts. After 1975 is when his singles started to become marketed at country radio stations and then in the 1980's he became marketed as a country comedian.
A lot of people think he was comedian all along but he wasn't. A good amount of songs he recorded in the '60s, '70s, and '80s were ballads...mostly love songs...it wasn't until 1984, actually, that he began to adopt the image he has today...that of a country comedian.
You're right. I misread the wikipedia page.
Thanks for the comment.
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