Ray Stevens
Harold Ray Ragsdale (born January 24, 1939), 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 comedic hits such as "Gitarzan" and "The Streak". He has received gold albums for his music sales. He has worked as a producer, music arranger, and television host. He is 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. Early life . Harold Ray Ragsdale was born on January 24, 1939, in Clarkdale, Georgia. He is the elder of two sons born to Willis Harold Ragsdale (1915–2001) and Frances Stephens Ragsdale (1916–1997). He has a younger brother, John, who was an actor and writer. His brother died in 2020 at the age of 75. While attending high school, Stevens formed his first band, a rhythm and blues group named The Barons. Following his graduation, Stevens enrolled in Georgia State University as a music major. Career. Early career. At 18, Stevens signed to Capitol Records' Prep Records division in 1957, and produced the  single "Silver Bracelet", with a cover of "Rang Tang Ding Dong" as the B-side. The single was met with a positive review from "Billboard". The B-side was originally recorded by doo-wop group The Cellos in 1956. Stevens signed with Mercury Records in 1961. 1970s. In the 1970s, Stevens became a producer and studio musician in Nashville. He recorded songs for Barnaby Records and Warner Brothers during 1970–79. Stevens' biggest hit in the U.S. was his gospel-inflected single "Everything Is Beautiful" (1970). The single won a Grammy Award, was the theme song for his summer 1970 TV  show, hit number one on both the pop and Adult-Contemporary charts, and marked his first time in the Top 40 on the country charts, peaking at number 39. It sold over one million copies, and was awarded a gold disc. 1980s. Stevens then joined MCA in 1984 as a "country comedy" act and thereafter released only novelty song albums. In 1985 he performed at the Lanierland Music Park in Georgia with Pinkard & Bowden. 2010–2014. In April 2010, Stevens released "We the People", a CD/DVD of political songs. This album reached Top-5 on the "Billboard" Comedy Album chart. "RAY -ality TV" ended its digital TV run in January 2014. In March 2014, a webisode series, also titled "Rayality TV" was launched. In 2014, Stevens co-starred in the movie "Campin' Buddies". Stevens published his autobiographical memoir "Ray Stevens' Nashville" in 2014. Since 2015. Stevens released the album "Here We Go Again" on March 24, 2015, which includes the Taylor Swift spoof single "Taylor Swift is Stalking Me" and "Come to the USA". Personal life. Stevens was married to Penny Jackson Ragsdale for over 60 years, until her death on December 31, 2021, from a lengthy battle with cancer. Two  days prior, he canceled his New Year's Eve concert at CabaRay, due to her rapidly declining health. They had two children and 4 grandchildren.