I Never Made a Record I Didn't Like

I Never Made a Record I Didn't Like is Ray Stevens' twenty-fifth studio album and his fifth for MCA Records, released in 1988. Two singles were lifted from the album: "Surfin' U.S.S.R." and "The Day I Tried to Teach Charlene Mackenzie How to Drive." The "Surfin' U.S.S.R." single was accompanied with a music video (his second). The song blends the sound of the Beach Boys with the real world events of the Soviet Union. The second single tells the story of how Stevens attempts to teach a deaf woman how to drive. The character would play an important role several years later when Stevens filmed his direct-to-home video movie, Get Serious!. Connie Freeman portrayed Charlene Mackenzie in the movie.

The album cover shows Stevens as Will Rogers performing a rope trick. Rogers' most often quote is "I never met a man I didn't like" which served as the obvious inspiration for the album's title.

The third track, "Mama's in the Sky With Elvis," was previously featured on the second volume of the Greatest Hits package of Stevens' hits; it makes its first appearance on a studio album.

Track listing

Album credits

Compiled from liner notes.^[2]

• Produced and arranged by: Ray Stevens
• Recorded at Ray Stevens Studio, Nashville, Tennessee
• Engineer: Stuart Keathley
• Mastered by: Glenn Meadows at Masterfonics
• Mastered using the JVC Digital Mastering System

Musicians

• Gary Prim: Keyboards
• Steve Gibson: Electric guitar, mandolin and dobro
• Stuart Keathley: Bass
• Tommy Wells: Drums
• Mark Casstevens: Rhythm guitar and banjo
• Larry Sasser: Steel guitar and dobro
• Terry McMillan: Harmonica
• Lisa Silver: Fiddle
• Ray Stevens: Synthesizer
• Lisa Silver, Sheri Huffman, Diane Vanette and Wendy Suits: Background vocals
• Art direction: Ray Stevens and Slick Lawson
• Design: Barnes & Company
• Photography: Slick Lawson
• Wardrobe and styling: Susan Lawson
• Stage: Bubba Crigler

Chart performance

Album

Singles

References