Surely You Joust

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Surely You Joust
Studio album by
Ray Stevens
ReleasedJune 1986
RecordedRay Stevens Studio, Nashville, Tennessee[1]
GenreCountry, novelty
LabelMCA Cassette (MCAC-5795), LP (MCA-5795)
ProducerRay Stevens
Ray Stevens chronology
I Have Returned
(1985) 		Surely You Joust
(1986) 		The Very Best of Ray Stevens/Roger Miller
(1986)

Surely You Joust was Ray Stevens' twenty-third studio album and his third for MCA Records. The album's front cover shows Stevens disguised as a medieval knight with a horse standing next to him. The album's back cover shows Stevens in the same costume but in a junk pile with two junk men. Three singles were lifted from the album: "Southern Air" (featuring Jerry Clower and Minnie Pearl), "People's Court", and "Can He Love You Half as Much as I", the last of which did not chart.

Track listing[edit]

Side A
No.TitleWriter(s)Length
1."Southern Air" (Special guest appearances by Jerry Clower and Minnie Pearl)Brent Holmes, Stuart Dill5:25
2."People's Court"C.W. Kalb, Jr., David Slater, Jack White4:43
3."Bionie and the Robotics"Stevens, Kalb4:28
4."Makin' the Best of a Bad Situation"Dick Feller2:56
5."Fat"Kalb3:29
Side B
No.TitleWriter(s)Length
1."Can He Love You Half as Much as I"Kalb2:50
2."Smokey Mountain Rattlesnake Retreat"Kalb3:21
3."The Camping Trip"Stevens, Kalb5:50
4."Camp Werthahekahwee"Bobby Russell3:53
5."Dudley Dorite (Of the Highway Patrol)"Kalb4:35

Album credits[edit]

Per liner notes.[1]

  • Ray Stevens – producer, arrangements, art direction
  • Stuart Keathley – engineer
  • Ray Stevens Studio (Nashville, Tennessee) – recording location
  • Glenn Meadows – mastering at Masterfonics (Nashville, Tennessee)
  • Susan Lawson – production coordinator
  • Slick Lawson – art direction, photography
  • Barnes & Company – design
  • Camille Engel Advertising – CD design

Musicians

  • Ray Stevens – vocals, backing vocals, keyboards, synthesizers, trumpet
  • Shane Keister – vocoder programming
  • Mark Casstevens – rhythm guitars, banjo
  • Steve Gibson – electric guitars, dobro, mandolin
  • Jack Williams – bass guitar
  • Jerry Kroon – drums
  • Johnny Gimble – fiddle
  • Denis Solee – saxophones
  • Norro Wilson – armpit sounds
  • Lisa Silver – backing vocals
  • Wendy Suits – backing vocals
  • Diane Tidwell – backing vocals

Chart performance[edit]

Album[edit]

Chart (1986) Peak
position
U.S. Billboard Top Country Albums 11

Singles[edit]

Year Single Peak positions
US Country
1986 "Southern Air" 63
1986 "People's Court" 70

References[edit]

  1. ^ a b Surely You Joust (CD booklet). Ray Stevens. MCA Records. 1986. MCAD 5795.{{cite AV media notes}}: CS1 maint: others in cite AV media (notes) (link)
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