Sure, many so-called serious artists had one or two humorous tunes in their repertoire. But Ray went off the rails with his strange sense of humor, populating his songs with a comic-strippish cast of characters including a flashy desert nomad, a little lady who wails the blues, a fleet-footed flasher, a yard full of chickens, a teen idol ape and a band with an ape man frontman!

In between he protested the practices of tycoon advantage-takers, lamented his weak-in-the-knees romantic tendencies and touched on topics of patriotism, alcoholism and life's daily struggles while insisting the world is a beautiful place. This one-of-a-kind musical nonconformist was born Harold Ray Ragsdale in the small mill town of Clarkdale, just west of Atlanta, Georgia, in A fan of all styles of music, he formed a group called The Barons in the mid-'50s, about the time rock and roll was becoming the rage, playing for parties and town events.

Immediately after finishing high school he moved to Atlanta, contacted local radio and TV personality Bill Lowery with a demo of "Silver Bracelet," a country-pop ballad he'd written, and within weeks found himself recording, as Ray Stevens, for the Prep label, a subsidiary of Capitol.

He had one more single release before Prep was scrapped in Moving to Capitol, his singles "Chickie-Chickie Wah Wah," "Cat Pants" were gimmicky but very good rock and roll efforts; "School," written by Ray, utilized the "Song of the Volga Boatman" chant to protest the daily grind of going to class.

They were clever songs, but there wasn't a hit in the bunch. Texas Tyler in and pop hit in '59 for disc jockey Wink Martindale that would have best been left on the shelf. Sign up Sign in. All rights reserved. Play All Start Radio. We Are the Government. The Global Warming Song. We the People. Caribou Barbie. Come to the U. Cooter Brown. Info Connections Comments Shares. Search Myspace Start typing Please try again. Photo from. You're now in slide show mode. Scrobble from Spotify?

Connect to Spotify Dismiss. Search Search. Related Tags country comedy singer-songwriter humour Add tags View all tags. Artist images 8 more. Ray Stevens born Harold Ray Ragsdale, 24th January is an American country and pop singer-songwriter , best known for a series of irreverent, quirky singles such as " Mississippi Squirrel Revival " and " The Streak ".

His recording career began with two singles released on Prep Records, followed by a short stint with Capitol Records. Both contracts were made with the help of Atlanta, Georgia music maven Bill Lowery. The novelties are something that most listeners will either love or hate depending on their affinity for dumb humor, with Stevens' remake of "Along Came Jones" being one of his better comedy efforts.

Misty hits all the high points and has more tracks than most domestic collections without being more expensive, which makes it a superior anthology.

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