Harold Ray Ragsdale, known professionally as Ray Stevens, is an American country and pop singer-songwriter and comedian, known for his Grammy-winning recordings "Everything Is Beautiful" and "Misty", as well as novelty hits such as "Gitarzan" and "The Streak". Stevens has received gold albums for his music sales and has worked as a producer, music arranger, and television host. He is also an inductee of the Nashville Songwriters Hall of Fame, the Georgia Music Hall of Fame, the Christian Music Hall of Fame, and the Country Music Hall of Fame and Museum.
A novelty song is a type of song built upon some form of novel concept, such as a gimmick, a piece of humor, or a sample of popular culture. Novelty songs partially overlap with comedy songs, which are more explicitly based on humor, and with musical parody, especially when the novel gimmick is another popular song. Novelty songs achieved great popularity during the 1920s and 1930s. They had a resurgence of interest in the 1950s and 1960s. The term arose in Tin Pan Alley to describe one of the major divisions of popular music; the other two divisions were ballads and dance music. Humorous songs, or those containing humorous elements, are not necessarily novelty songs.
"Misty" is a jazz standard written in 1954 by pianist Erroll Garner. He composed it as an instrumental in the traditional 32-bar format, and recorded it for the album Contrasts. Lyrics were added later by Johnny Burke. It appeared on Johnny Mathis' 1959 album Heavenly, and this recording reached number 12 on the U.S. Pop Singles chart later that year. It has since become Mathis’ signature song.
"Ahab the Arab" is a novelty song written and recorded by Ray Stevens in 1962.
Maurice White was an American musician, best known as the founder, leader, main songwriter and chief producer of the band Earth, Wind & Fire, also serving as the band's co-lead singer with Philip Bailey.
James Barry Poole is an American country music artist who records under the name Cledus T. Judd. Known primarily for his parodies of popular country songs, he has been called the "Weird Al" Yankovic of country music, and his albums are usually an equal mix of original comedy songs and parodies. Judd has released 11 studio albums and two EPs, and several singles have entered the Billboard Hot Country Songs charts. His chart peak is the number-48 "I Love NASCAR", a parody of Toby Keith's 2003 single "I Love This Bar".
"Hey There" is a show tune from the musical play The Pajama Game, written by Richard Adler and Jerry Ross. It was published in 1954. It was introduced by John Raitt in the original production. In the show, Sid sings it to a recording device, telling himself that he's foolish to continue his advances to Babe. He plays the tape back, and after responding to his own comments, sings a duet with himself.
"I Believe" is a popular song written by Ervin Drake, Irvin Abraham, Jack Mendelsohn and Al Stillman in 1953. The most popular version was recorded by Italian-American singer Frankie Laine, and spent eighteen weeks at No. 1 on the UK Singles Chart.
"The Christmas Song" is a classic Christmas song written in 1945 by Robert Wells and Mel Tormé.
"Deep Purple" is a song and the biggest hit written by pianist Peter DeRose, who broadcast between 1923 and 1939 with May Singhi as "The Sweethearts of the Air" on the NBC radio network. The British rock band Deep Purple named themselves after the song.
"All I Want for Christmas Is My Two Front Teeth" is a novelty Christmas song written in 1944 by Donald Yetter Gardner while teaching music at public schools in Smithtown, New York. He asked his second grade class what they wanted for Christmas, and noticed that almost all of the students had at least one front tooth missing as they answered in a lisp. Gardner wrote the song in 30 minutes. In a 1995 interview, Gardner said, "I was amazed at the way that silly little song was picked up by the whole country." The song was published in 1948 after an employee of Witmark music company heard Gardner sing it at a music teachers' conference.
"Smoke Gets in Your Eyes" is a show tune written by American composer Jerome Kern and lyricist Otto Harbach for the 1933 musical comedy Roberta. The song was sung in the Broadway show by Tamara Drasin. Its first recorded performance was by Gertrude Niesen, who recorded the song with orchestral direction from Ray Sinatra, Frank Sinatra's second cousin, on October 13, 1933. Niesen's recording of the song was released by Victor, with the B-side, "Jealousy", featuring Isham Jones and his Orchestra. The line — When your heart's on fire, smoke gets in your eyes — apparently comes from a Russian proverb.
"Help Me Make It Through the Night" is a country ballad written and composed by Kris Kristofferson and released on his 1970 album Kristofferson. It was covered later in 1970 by Sammi Smith, on the album Help Me Make It Through the Night. It has been covered since by many other artists from Tammy Wynette and Johnny Cash to Elvis Presley and Joan Baez.
"The Streak" is a country/novelty song written, produced, and sung by Ray Stevens. It was released in February 1974 as the lead single to his album Boogity Boogity. "The Streak" capitalized on the then-popular craze of streaking.
"Gitarzan" is a novelty song released by Ray Stevens in 1969 about a character who lives in a jungle and forms a musical band with his female partner, Jane, and their pet monkey. The song features Tarzan's jungle calls, scat singing, and a funky boogie-woogie, a quote from the song "Swinging on a Star", with the line "Carrying moonbeams home in a jar" superimposed over an insistent G Major ostinato, and a melody from Martha and the Vandellas' "Honey Chile" in its chorus. The song reached #8 on the Billboard Hot 100 on 31 May 1969 and #10 in Canada in May 1969. It did best in New Zealand, where it reached #2. The music and lyrics were written by Stevens with a title supplied by Bill Justis. Justis is officially credited as Bill Everette.
The discography of the American country, pop, and novelty artist Ray Stevens consists of 50 studio albums, 125 singles, 3 live albums, 67 compilation albums, 3 box sets, and 1 extended play. Stevens released his first single in 1957 and his first full album in 1962. Dozens of Stevens' singles have charted on the Billboard Hot Country Songs chart and two of them reached #1 on the Billboard Hot 100 chart: "The Streak" and "Everything Is Beautiful". The former and a cover of the jazz standard "Misty" are his biggest hits on the country charts.
Heidi Kay Newfield is an American country music artist. She was lead singer, rhythm guitarist and harmonica player for the group Trick Pony, alongside Keith Burns and Ira Dean from 1996 until 2006, when she left in pursuit of a solo career. Newfield has begun her solo career on Curb Records, debuting in 2008 with the single, "Johnny & June." This song, which peaked at No. 11 on the Hot Country Songs charts, is the first release from her solo debut album, What Am I Waiting For, which has produced a second Top 30 country hit, "Cry Cry ."
"Little Green Apples" is a song written by Bobby Russell that became a hit for three different artists, with their three separate releases, in 1968. Originally written for and released by American recording artist Roger Miller, "Little Green Apples" was also released as a single by American recording artists Patti Page and O. C. Smith that same year. Smith's version became a #2 hit on both the Billboard Hot 100 and Billboard Hot Rhythm & Blues Singles charts, while Miller's version became a Top 40 hit on the Hot 100 as well as the UK Singles Chart. Page's version became her last Hot 100 entry. The song earned Russell a Grammy Award for Song of the Year and for Best Country Song. In 2013, "Little Green Apples" was covered by English recording artist Robbie Williams featuring American recording artist Kelly Clarkson, which became a top 40 hit in Mexico.
Boogity Boogity was Ray Stevens' eleventh studio album, released in 1974, as well as his sixth for Barnaby Records. For this album, Stevens returns to the genres of novelty and comedy. The album was released to capitalize on the success of his hit single "The Streak", which was inspired by the fad of streaking during that time period. Stevens' two songs, "Freddie Feelgood " and "Bagpipes That's My Bag," were taken from his album Gitarzan and were reissued on this album. The front of the album cover shows Stevens running in a blur, seemingly in the nude, and also contains the phrases "Woosh!!" and "Don't look Ethel!" the latter of which is part of the lyrics to the primary single of the album.
"Raindrops Keep Fallin' on My Head" is a song written by Burt Bacharach and Hal David for the 1969 film Butch Cassidy and the Sundance Kid. The uplifting lyrics describe somebody who overcomes his troubles and worries by realizing that "it won't be long till happiness steps up to greet me."
