Ray Stevens "It's always nice to have the satisfaction of having written a song all by yourself, but there again, I've done that enough. So I don't need to do that for the rest of my life. I want to record the best record I can and to do that I need to record the best songs I can. If I don't have time to write 'em, I'm gonna get 'em somewhere else." "I don't look for funny ideas per se. I write a song for the song. If comedy is the best way to treat a subject, that's the way I go. When you write a song, you have to capsulize a thought into two or three minutes. You have to paint a picture in a very short time, using very few words. Once you train yourself to think in that framework, you can pick up ideas anywhere." Birth Name: Harold Ray Ragsdale Induction Year: 1980 Date of Birth: 1/24/1939 Place of Birth: Clarksdale, GA   Education: Grade School--Austell Elementary (Austell, GA) Grade School--McIntosh Elementary (Albany, GA) Grade School--Palmyra Elementary (Albany, GA) High School--Albany High (Albany, GA) High School--Druid Hills High (Atlanta, GA) College--Georgia State University (Atlanta, GA); majored in classical piano and music theory Career Milestones: 1957--recorded "Silver Bracelet" (published by Lowery Music) 1957--signed first record contract with Capitol Records 1961--chart debut, "Jeremiah Peabody's Poly Unsaturated Quick Dissolving Fast Acting Pleasant Tasting Green and Purple Pills" 1962--moved to Nashville 1962--first major hit, "Ahab the Arab" 1965--signed with Monument Records 1970--signed with Barnaby Records 1970--hosted Andy Williams summer television show 1970--had first #1 hit on the pop charts with "Everything is Beautiful" 1973-1974--featured on "Music Country" television show 1974--song "The Streak" goes on to sell 5 million copies 1974--nominated for CMA awards for Song of the Year and Single of the Year for "The Streak" 1984--first gold album, "He Thinks He's Ray Stevens" released 1991--built the Ray Stevens Theatre in Branson, Missouri and performed there until October, 1993 1992--released video "Ray Stevens Comedy Video Classics" which stayed at #1 on Billboard's charts for 30 weeks (entered at #2); became a multi-platinum seller 1992--released successful videos, "Ray Stevens Live" and "More Ray Stevens Live" 1995--produced and starred in movie "Get Serious" Awards: 1962--BMI performance award\Ahab the Arab 1970--Grammy\Best Male Pop Musical Performance\Everything is Beautiful 1970-1974--BMI performance award\Everything is Beautiful 1970--BMI performance award\Gitarzan 1972--BMI performance award\All My Trials (arrangement) 1974-1975--BMI performance award\The Streak 1974--BMI performance award\Nashville 1975--Grammy\Best Arrangement\Misty 1977--BMI performance award\Can't Stop Dancin' 1981--BMI performance award\Shriner's Convention 1986-1994--Music City News\Comedian of the Year 1993--Billboard\Top Music Video\Ray Stevens Comedy Video Classics Catalog Highlights Everything is Beautiful Artists: Ray Stevens Jeremiah Peabody's Poly Unsaturated Quick-Dissolving Fast Acting Pleasant Tasting Green and Purple Pills Artists: Ray Stevens The Streak Artists: Ray Stevens Ahab the Arab Artists: Ray Stevens The Shriner's Convention Artists: Ray Stevens Gitarzan Co-writer: Bill Everette Artists: Ray Stevens Mr. Businessman Artists: Ray Stevens Can't Stop Dancin' Co-writer: John Hayes Pritchard Jr. Artists: Ray Stevens Nashville Artists: Ray Stevens Comments: Also recorded as "Henhouse Five Plus Too"