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.

Surely You Joust
Studio album by
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)

Track listing

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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

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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 Keistervocoder programming
  • Mark Casstevens – rhythm guitars, banjo
  • Steve Gibson – electric guitars, dobro, mandolin
  • Jack Williams – bass guitar
  • Jerry Kroon – drums
  • Johnny Gimblefiddle
  • Denis Solee – saxophones
  • Norro Wilson – armpit sounds
  • Lisa Silver – backing vocals
  • Wendy Suits – backing vocals
  • Diane Tidwell – backing vocals

Chart performance

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Album

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

Singles

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

References

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  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)