It's a Shame About Ray (song)

"It's a Shame About Ray" is a song by American alternative rock band the Lemonheads from their album of the same name. Written by frontman Evan Dando and his friend and occasional songwriting partner Tom Morgan, the song was inspired by a headline in an Australian newspaper. The song was released as a single in October 1992, charting in the UK. It has since received positive reception from critics.

"It's a Shame About Ray"
Single by the Lemonheads
from the album It's a Shame About Ray
Released	October 5, 1992 (1992-10-05)
Genre	Power pop[1][2] alternative rock[3][4]
Length	3:06
Label	Atlantic
Songwriter(s)	Evan Dando, Tom Morgan
Producer(s)	The Robb Brothers
The Lemonheads singles chronology
"Gonna Get Along Without Ya Now" (1991) "It's a Shame About Ray" (1992) "Mrs. Robinson" (1992)

Background

"It's a Shame About Ray" was written by Evan Dando with friend Tom Morgan while in Australia. The song title came from when they saw the line, "It's a shame about Ray," in a Sydney newspaper article about a kid called Ray who kept getting kicked out of every school he went to.^[5] Dando recalled:

We came across a newspaper article that said, "It's a Shame About Ray," and we just liked that phrase. From there, I had the music and I just wrote it really quickly—about half an hour or an hour—and then we had it. We brought it down to our friend's record store and played it for him, and we were all excited about it. That was the first song we had written together.^[6]

Dando said of the song's ambiguous lyrics, "It's spooky. It's about a disappearing person. It's a very open-ended, grey sort of song. I think it's one of those things, like The Trouble with Harry. Like a mysterious sort of song."^[6]

Release

"It's a Shame About Ray" was released on the album of the same name in 1992. The song was released as the debut single from the album, with "Shakey Ground" on the B-side. The single became a minor chart hit, reaching number 31 in the UK^[7] and number 68 in Australia.^[8][9] The song also reached number five on the US modern rock charts.^[10]

A music video for the song was filmed, featuring Johnny Depp in a starring role.^[11] The song has also appeared on the compilation The Best of The Lemonheads: The Atlantic Years.

Reception

"It's a Shame About Ray" has generally seen positive reception from critics. Len Comaratta of Consequence wrote that the song was "among the best releases of the decade (if not beyond),"^[12] while Michael Gallucci of Diffuser.fm praised the song as "a ringing '90s power-pop tune laced with Dando's sleepy-stoner delivery and a sprinkling of indie-rock spice."^[2] Bill Janovitz of AllMusic described the track as "a wistful, melodic singalong song that has an underlying element of melancholy [that] is delightfully vague in its message" and praised the song's melody and production.^[13]

Charts

Weekly chart performance for "It's a Shame About Ray"

Chart (1993)	Peak position
Australia (ARIA)[14]	68
UK Singles (OCC)[15]	31
US Modern Rock Tracks (Billboard)[16]	5

Release history

Release dates and formats for "It's a Shame About Ray"

Region	Date	Format(s)	Label(s)	Ref.
United Kingdom	October 5, 1992	7-inch vinyl 10-inch vinyl CD cassette	Atlantic	[17]
United Kingdom (rerelease)	March 29, 1993	10-inch vinyl CD cassette		[18]

References

1. "The Top 200 Tracks of the 1990s: 150-101". Pitchfork. August 31, 2010. p. 2. Retrieved July 9, 2021.
2. Gallucci, Michael (June 2, 2013). "21 Years Ago: The Lemonheads' 'It's a Shame About Ray' Album Released". Diffuser.fm. Retrieved September 11, 2020.
3. "10 Essential Boston albums". Treble. February 5, 2015. Retrieved September 29, 2021.
4. O'Connor Marotta, Michael (October 28, 2020). "The Lemonheads' Evan Dando to pen new memoir 'Rumors of My Demise'". Vanyaland. Retrieved September 29, 2021.
5. Simpson, Dave (June 13, 2022). "'I hadn't slept for 10 days' – the Lemonheads on making It's a Shame About Ray". The Guardian. Retrieved June 13, 2022.
6. Prato, Greg. "Evan Dando of the Lemonheads : Songwriter Interviews". Songfacts. Retrieved September 11, 2020.
7. "LEMONHEADS | full Official Chart History | Official Charts Company". www.officialcharts.com. Retrieved September 11, 2020.
8. Australian (ARIA Chart) peaks:

   • Top 50 peaks: "Australian positions". australiancharts.com. Retrieved February 17, 2009.
   • Top 100 peaks between January 1990 and December 2010: Ryan, Gavin (2011). Australia's Music Charts 1988-2010. Mt. Martha, VIC, Australia: Moonlight Publishing.
9. "The ARIA Report: Issue 866" (PDF). webarchive.nla.gov.au. Archived from the original (PDF) on December 19, 2006. Retrieved February 18, 2009.
10. "Billboard single positions". billboard.com. Retrieved February 18, 2009.
11. Deusner, Stephen M. (March 28, 2008). "The Lemonheads: It's a Shame About Ray [Collector's Edition]". Pitchfork. Retrieved September 11, 2020.
12. Comaratta, Len (July 6, 2013). "Dusting 'Em Off: The Lemonheads - It's a Shame About Ray". Consequence. Retrieved September 11, 2020.
13. Janovitz, Bill. "It's a Shame About Ray - The Lemonheads | Song Info | AllMusic". AllMusic. Retrieved September 11, 2020.
14. Ryan, Gavin (2011). Australia's Music Charts 1988–2010 (PDF ed.). Mt Martha, Victoria, Australia: Moonlight Publishing. p. 164.
15. "Official Singles Chart Top 100". Official Charts Company. Retrieved August 20, 2022.
16. "Alternative Airplay". Billboard. July 25, 1992. Retrieved August 19, 2023.
17. "New Releases: Singles". Music Week. October 3, 1992. p. 19.
18. "New Releases: Singles". Music Week. March 27, 1993. p. 27.