A very popular and family-friendly entertainer throughout the '60s, Ray Stevens was given his own TV variety show in 1970 called The Ray Stevens Show, which lasted just one season as a summer replacement. He wrote the uplifting "Everything Is Beautiful" as the theme for the show. Stevens explained to mybestyears.com, "I needed a very special song for the program. I went down in my basement for about three days. I had crumpled paper all over the place. And suddenly the idea for the song came to me. I wrote it in maybe 45 minutes. It was a very special song and one that a lot of people still remember and sing along when I do it in shows."
This is a rare hit for Stevens that was not a novelty recording. He was better known for comedy songs like "The Streak," "Ahab, The Arab," and "Harry The Hairy Ape."
This won Stevens his first Grammy. It won for Best Contemporary Vocal Performance, Male.
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Suggestion credit: Patrick - Tallapoosa, GA
Stevens was backed on this track by his two daughters and a second-grade class from Oak Hill Elementary School in Nashville, Tennessee. The song opens with the children's chorus singing the first two lines of a popular bible school hymn, "Jesus Loves The Little Children."
George from Vancouver, CanadaBecky; you're better to make that request to the video poster on youtube itself; Songfacts has just linked to a pre-exisyting video, & is not responsible for the content. Youtube's autocaptioning is very inaccurate, so the uploader would need to edit a copy of the vid, with the lyrics on-screen (my preference, too)
Here's the full lyrics: http://www.oldielyrics.com/lyrics/ray_stevens/everything_is_beautiful.html
Barry from Sauquoit, Ny*** '"We shouldn't care 'bout the length of his hair or the color of his skin' *** On February 28th, 1970, Ray Stevens performed "Everything Is Beautiful" on the NBC-TV program 'The Andy Williams Show'... Eleven months earlier on March 29th, 1970 it entered Billboard's Hot Top 100 chart at position #74; and on May 24th, 1970 it peaked at #1 (for 2 weeks) and spent 15 weeks on the Top 100 (and for 6 of those 15 weeks it was on the Top 10)... On May 17th, 1970 it also reached #1 (for 3 weeks) on Billboard's Adult Contemporary Tracks chart and on June 13th it peaked at #1 (for 1 week) on the Canadian RPM Top Singles chart... R.I.P. Mr. Williams (1927 - 2012) and Mr. Stevens, born Harold Ray Ragsdale, celebrated his 75th birthday one month ago on January 24th (2014).
Becky Sortwell from Mariposa, CaI love this lyric, but I wish this video with closed captioned because, I am deaf and I can sing in sign language to deaf church with view video with closed captioned. Hope you can add closed captioned on this video, please. God bless you in Jesus Christ. Please response me by email, thanks? Becky
Letty from Hartshorn, Vanuatui love that song. it is how people should be
Stormy from Kokomo, InOne of my all-time favorite records by any one! If you enjoy this song, please listen to Ray Stevens' song "Mr. Businessman". It's really pertinent with what's been going on in the U.S. in the last decade.
Farrah from Elon, NcI love Ray's funny songs, but I really like this beautiful song. This just goes to show there's more that Ray Stevens can do more than just comedy. An awesome song!!!
5cats from Winnipeg, MbSorry Sedgewick (NZ) but Ray Stevens has also recorded a LOT of gospel and religious songs. These are completely seperate from his funny records of course. Joking in this song, I highly doubt it. Goto his website and see for yourself!
Ann from Kitchener, CanadaThe song EVERYTHING IS BEAUTIFUL is a song of hope for me and makes me feel at peace, happy and that there is hope that one day the world will all be at peace
Sedgewick from Auckland, New ZealandI'm amazed how no-one has ever got this.
This song is one of the biggest piss-take of all time.
Not all Stevens' funny songs were obvious 'yuk yuk' songs with an annoying laughter track.
He's not being serious, people!!
Mark from Lancaster, OhThis was on an album with Mr Stevens' other, more amusing works. These were strictly forbidden by radio station WTSO, which before the days of political talk radio, was perhaps the most middle-of-the-road radio station ever conceived. But 'Everything is Beautiful' was an ideal selection for them, and we played it incessantly. Union rules dictated that an engineer had to be present at remote broadcasts, and to play the records that were played (not tapes, not MP3's. Black vinyl records.) On one of these excursions I, the young engineer, managed to set the needle down on the wrong track of the album, thus presenting the premiere performance of "Guitarzan" on the biggest, straightest station in town. It also boomed all over the shopping mall we were at. Nobody commented or complained. Let's hear it for the monkey.
Fyodor from Denver, CoThis song was so different from his others I wondered if there were two Ray Stevenses in the music bizz! Once after I heard this played on WABC (AM), New York, I heard legendary dj Dan Ingram go, "Well, I guess that song has a message, but I think it's a lousy way to make a buck!" Then straight into a commercial! Blew my mind! AM jocks rarely said anything outside the usual spiel. And I can't really say what about the song should elicit such a dissing, even though it's far from my favorite. Maybe he thought it was pretentious to come off sounding so pious?
Howard from St. Louis Park, MnThe song was beautiful in it's own way. From the opening children's chorus to the final fade, it proved that Ray Stevens had more versatility and not typecast as a novelty singer. It's a message on how everyone should get along.
Keith Major from Bristol, EnglandThis was the "B" or "Flip" side to a UK #1 "Bridget the Midget"
