I Never Made a Record I Didn't Like
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| I Never Made a Record I Didn't Like | ||||
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Studio album by | ||||
| Released | June 1988[1] | |||
| Genre | Country, novelty | |||
| Label | MCA | |||
| Producer | Ray Stevens | |||
| Ray Stevens chronology | ||||
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I Never Made a Record I Didn't Like is Ray Stevens' twenty-fifth studio album and his fifth release under MCA Records, issued in 1988. The album includes two singles: "Surfin' U.S.S.R." and "The Day I Tried to Teach Charlene Mackenzie How to Drive."
The single "Surfin' U.S.S.R." was accompanied by Stevens' second music video. The song humorously combines the iconic sound of the Beach Boys with themes related to the real-world events of the Soviet Union. The second single, "The Day I Tried to Teach Charlene Mackenzie How to Drive," narrates a comedic attempt to teach a deaf woman how to drive. This character, Charlene Mackenzie, later became significant in Stevens' direct-to-video movie, Get Serious!, where she was portrayed by Connie Freeman.
The album cover depicts Stevens dressed as Will Rogers, performing a rope trick. The title is a playful nod to Rogers' famous quote, "I never met a man I didn't like."
The album’s third track, "Mama's in the Sky With Elvis," previously appeared on the second volume of Stevens' Greatest Hits compilation, marking its first inclusion in a studio album.
| No. | Title | Writer(s) | Length |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1. | "Surfin' U.S.S.R." | William Martin | 3:04 |
| 2. | "The Booger Man" | Stevens, C.W. Kalb, Jr. | 4:34 |
| 3. | "Mama's in the Sky With Elvis" | Cinde Borup, Bruce Innes | 3:15 |
| 4. | "Language, Nudity, Violence & Sex" | Kalb | 3:19 |
| 5. | "Bad" | Michael Jackson | 3:41 |
| 6. | "The Day I Tried to Teach Charlene Mackenzie How to Drive" | Kalb | 3:49 |
| 7. | "Blood and Suede" | Martin | 2:59 |
| 8. | "Ethelene (The Truckstop Queen)" | Kalb | 2:39 |
| 9. | "I Don't Need None of That" | Kalb | 3:12 |
| 10. | "Old Hippie Class Reunion" | Stevens, Kalb | 5:16 |