May 1974: Ray Stevens HIts #1 with "The Streak"

UNSPECIFIED - JANUARY 01: Photo of Ray STEVENS (Photo by Tony Russell/Redferns)
Photo Credit
(Tony Russell/Redferns)

By the end of 1973, America had seen The Exorcist at the movies, the Oakland A's repeat as Word Series champions, and O.J. Simpson run more than 2,000 yards in a single NFL season. It was during the fall and winter of '73 that a freaky new fad popped up across the country: streaking.

The concept of getting naked and running around in public took off across college campuses, primarily in the southeastern part of the country. University of Georgia students held a mass streaking event that attracted more than 1500 naked kids. What really put streaking on the map, however, was when a naked man ran past David Niven during the 1974 Academy Awards. After that moment, streaking became an American sensation. And what's an American sensation without a hit record to go along with it? That's right: time for FIVE FUN FACTS!

1. "The Streak" by Ray Stevens was one of many songs about running around naked
"There were about a dozen other records about streaking on the market before I could get mine out, and I was pretty fast!," Stevens told the Tennessean. "I wrote the song the minute I heard about streaking, and got in the studio and cut it. People were just … I don’t know how they got their records out so fast, but maybe they weren’t all that good. When mine came out, it took the market. It was the one that radio liked."

2. "The Streak" was a hit straight out of the gate
"I don’t remember the day I wrote it, but I remember I was polishing it when we were recording it in the studio. We’d do a playback and I would say, “Nah, I’m going to change that.” By the time we got through with it, though, it was right there," Stevens remembered. "We made an acetate, that was back in the day! 'The Streak' was 1974. We sent it to the Top 40 station here in Nashville and said, 'Test this for us, will ya? Do us a favor?' They said sure. They played it and their switchboard lit up. They called us back and said, 'This is a monster!' So we got it out as soon as we could."

3. "The Streak" was the #1 song in America for three straight weeks
The tune topped the Hot 100 over the week of May 18, 1974. It held the spot until June 8, when it was replaced by Paul McCartney and Wings' "Band on the Run." Oddly enough, the country-styled track only got as high as #3 on the Hot Country Singles chart. "The Streak" was a global sensation, hitting #1 in the UK, Canada and New Zealand. The tune peaked at #2 in Ireland and Australia.

4. Ray Stevens produced an official music video for "The Streak" in 1992
The track was given a '90s update and an official visual with a new release in 1992. See it below.

5. Stevens dropped yet another version in 2013
For the latest version of the track, Stevens rolled out a grand stage production with live band, singers, dancers and more. It has to be seen to be believed. See it below.

 

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