Protest singers have been notoriously silent since Barack Obama took the oath of office two years ago.
Not Ray Stevens.
The man behind smashes like “The Streak” and “Everything is Beautiful” can’t stop recording, and he often does it with tongue firmly planted in cheek. Consider Stevens’ latest song, “The Skies Ain’t Friendly Anymore,” a swipe at the current security measures making life rough for today’s travelers.
I took off my shoes, my rings and watch
Then a guy said I need to check your crotch
And I’ll need to see all your liquid toiletries
He gave me a grope, a squeeze, and a pat
And I’ll tell you friends when I go to the vet
They treat my old bird dog with more dignity
“It’s a funny song, first and foremost,” Stevens tells Big Hollywood. “We gotta have security, but they’re going about it the wrong way. There needs to be a little more common sense used when we’re screening passengers.”
A simple song won’t change the world, but the conservative singer thinks songs can be a stealth weapon against societal ills.
“The human brain is a funny thing, it’s very susceptible to tempo and melody,” he says. “You put the right words to it and it becomes very influential.”
Stevens hasn’t flown since the latest batch of security measures hit the scene, but he’s heard enough stories to give the song his signature bite. He’ll take to the air this week to appear at CPAC.
“I plan on wearing a cup,” he jokes.
The Nashville-based Stevens isn’t just an award-winning crooner. He’s a shrewd businessman able to tap into the latest marketing trends. He’s sold more than 25 million records the traditional way but also turned to direct marketing and the Web in order to promote his products.
Today, he’s right at home online even if the medium leaves him ambivalent.
“It’ll get you out there, but it can diminish your income,” he says of the Web. “The inclination of the public is to steal [music] … it is what it is.”
Stevens’ remarkable career is a testament, in part, to an ability to embrace the latest trends. His “We the People” YouTube video has been played more than four million times.
“I enjoy being informed and keeping up with what’s going on. I’ve been very lucky to parlay that into success in what I do as my business,” he says.
In recent months, Stevens has poured his support into the Tea Party movement, joining the grass roots effort in both body and song.
“It’s just good people who are worried about the country, and legitimately so,” he says. Stevens doesn’t mince words about President Obama or his administration, either. “The people in charge of the government right now hate America,” he charges. “They want to bring down America, and the method they’re using, and it’s working, is to break the bank, break us economically.”
Stevens, 72, is celebrating 50 years in the entertainment industry, and he shows little sign of slowing down. Stevens just shot a video for “Skies,” which should go online soon, and is putting the finishing touches on a new 11-track disc of patriotic songs called “Spirit of ’76.” It’s a companion piece to his recent record, “We the People.”
And then there’s his upcoming project tentatively called “The Encyclopedia of Recorded Comedy Music,” an epic endeavor which could spread over as many as eight CDs, he says.
When Stevens thinks of his country, his thoughts often go back to President Ronald Reagan and how he turned the nation around following the late ’70s malaise of the Carter administration. Stevens lived in Georgia, a short distance from former President Jimmy Carter, but he reserves his admiration for the man who took over for him in 1980.
“He’s always been a hero of mine,” he says of Reagan.
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