Back when life was (mostly) fun, sometimes we listened to novelty songs, several of which were sung by Ray Stevens, such as “The Streak,” “Gitarzan,” and his first major hit, the now politically incorrect “Ahab The Arab.”
Since tomorrow is April Fools Day, a holiday that some people and some families take very seriously, who better to celebrate the day with than Ray Stevens, aka “The Comedy King Of Music City.”
Rock has a history of comic-novelty songs—remember “Purple People Eater” and Allan Sherman’s “Hello Mudda, Hello Fadda” (which reached #1 in summer, 1963) and “Convoy” by C.W. McCall, a monologue that takes place via CB radio, and that became a national sensation in 1975.
Combining the spirit of April Fools Day and all our talk about health-care, Ray Stevens advice, in 1961, to cure all our ills, was to pop some “Jeremiah Peabody’s Polyunsaturated Quick Dissolving Fast Acting Pleasant Tasting Green And Purple Pills.”
Ray Stevens Update
• He’s 78-years old
• Has plans to open “Ray Stevens’ CabaRay,” a new venue, in June in Nashville
• Ray Stevens “CabaRay/Nashville” TV show airs weekly on PBS affiliate stations.
• He’s still dearly loved for touching our hearts in 1970 with his moving “Everything Is Beautiful.”