Editing Ray Stevens (section)

{{Short description|American country and pop musician (born 1939)}}
{{use mdy dates|date=December 2024}}
{{About|the singer|other persons of the same name|Ray Stevens (disambiguation)}}

{{Infobox musical artist <!-- See Wikipedia:WikiProject_Musicians -->
| name             = Ray Stevens
| image            = Ray Stevens.jpg
| caption          = Stevens on ''[[The Johnny Cash Show]]'', {{circa}} 1971
| background       = solo_singer
| birth_name       = Harold Ray Ragsdale
| birth_date       = {{birth date and age|mf=y|1939|1|24}}
| birth_place      = [[Clarkdale, Georgia]], U.S.
| instruments      = {{flatlist|
*Vocals
*keyboards 
*trumpet}}
| genre            = {{flatlist|
*[[country music|Country]]
*[[pop music|pop]]
*[[gospel music|gospel]] 
*[[Novelty song|novelty]]
*[[comedy music|comedy]]}}
| occupations       = {{flatlist|
*Singer-songwriter
*arranger
*comedian}}
| years_active     = 1957–present
| label            = {{flatlist|
*[[National Recording Corporation|NRC]]
*[[Mercury Records|Mercury]]
*[[Monument Records|Monument]]
*[[Barnaby Records|Barnaby]]
*[[Warner Bros. Records|Warner Bros.]]
*[[RCA Records|RCA]]
*[[MCA Nashville Records|MCA]]
*[[Curb Records|Curb]]
*[[Columbia Records|CBS]]
*[[Janus Records|Janus]]}}
| spouse = {{marriage|Penny Jackson|March 30, 1961|December 31, 2021|reason=died}}
}}

'''Harold Ray Ragsdale''' (born January 24, 1939),<ref name="rays-bio">{{cite web| url=https://raystevens.com/about/| title=Ray Stevens just thinks funny| date=January 8, 2016| website=Ray Stevens| access-date = February 3, 2018}}</ref><!--<ref>[http://www.raystevens.com/bio/index.php] {{webarchive |url=https://web.archive.org/web/20090921153550/http://www.raystevens.com/bio/index.php |date=September 21, 2009 }}</ref> --> known professionally as '''Ray Stevens''', is an American [[country music|country]]<ref>{{cite news| url=https://www.nytimes.com/2009/10/11/arts/music/11singleton.html| title=Shelby Singleton, Nashville Producer, Dies at 77| newspaper=[[The New York Times]]| date=October 10, 2009| first=Bill| last=Friskics-Warren| access-date=October 10, 2022| url-access=subscription}}</ref> and pop singer-songwriter and comedian.<ref>{{cite news|url=http://artsbeat.blogs.nytimes.com/2010/06/02/ray-stevens-comes-streaking-back-with-immigration-song/?_php=true&_type=blogs&_r=0|title=Ray Stevens Comes Streaking Back With Immigration Song|newspaper=[[The New York Times]]|date=June 2, 2010 |access-date=August 20, 2014}}</ref><ref>{{cite book |last=Roy |first=Don |editor-last=Kingsbury |editor-first=Paul |date=1998 |chapter=Ray Stevens |title=The Encyclopedia of Country Music |chapter-url=https://archive.org/details/encyclopediaofco00coun/page/507/mode/1up |chapter-url-access=registration |location=New York |publisher=Oxford University Press |isbn=978-0195116717 |page=507 |via=[[Internet Archive]]}}</ref> He is best known for his [[Grammy]]-winning recordings "[[Everything Is Beautiful]]" and "[[Misty (song)|Misty]]", as well as novelty hits such as "[[Gitarzan]]" and "[[The Streak (song)|The Streak]]". Stevens has received [[Music recording sales certification|gold albums]] for his music sales and has worked as a producer, music arranger, and television host. He is also 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]].