The Streak - Ray Stevens (1974) 6/5/21

Ray Stevens was almost too late to the party with his "Great Novelty Song of 1974."

One day, while Ray was flying to a gig, he read a magazine article about a weird new craze called "streaking." He thought it sounded like something he could turn into a funny song, so after he landed, he jotted down a few ideas...and promptly forgot about the whole thing.

Several weeks later, the phenomenon had exploded and several artists had already released "streaking" songs--none of which even came close to being hits.

Ray felt he might have missed his chance. On the other hand, he had a long history of making funny records,** so he finished writing "The Streak," recorded it, and released it...hoping at the very least--by reputation alone--he'd get some radio airplay.

Well, in short order, the song was a worldwide hit, reaching the top 5 in 6 countries. In Canada, the song pulled the hat trick: #1 on the Top 40, Adult Contemporary and Country Charts! In the US, it reached #1 on the Hot 100, #3 on the Country Chart and #12 on the Adult Contemporary Chart.

It became one of the biggest-selling novelty songs of all time, selling over 5 million copies!

Did I just call "The Streak" by Ray Stevens a "Great Song of the '70s? Yeah, I did.

**Ray's other funny stuff included Top 10 hits like "Gitarzan" and "Along Came Jones" (1969), and "Ahab the Arab" (1962).