The Streak (song)
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"The Streak" is a
country A country is a distinct part of the world, such as a state, nation, or other political entity. It may be a sovereign state or make up one part of a larger state. For example, the country of Japan is an independent, sovereign state, while the ...
/
novelty song A novelty song is a type of song built upon some form of novel concept, such as a gimmick, a piece of humor, or a sample of popular culture. Novelty songs partially overlap with comedy songs, which are more explicitly based on humor, and w ...
written, produced, and sung by
Ray Stevens Harold Ray Ragsdale (born January 24, 1939), known professionally as Ray Stevens, is an American country and pop singer-songwriter and comedian, known for his Grammy-winning recordings "Everything Is Beautiful" and "Misty", as well as novelty ...
. It was released in February 1974 as the lead single to his album '' Boogity Boogity''. "The Streak" capitalized on the then-popular craze of
streaking Streaking is the act of running, often naked, through a public area for publicity, as a prank, a dare, or a form of protest. Streaking is often associated with sporting events, but can occur in more secluded areas. Streakers are often pursued b ...
. In 2007,
Cledus T. Judd James Barry Poole (born December 18, 1964) is an American country music artist who records under the name Cledus T. Judd. Known primarily for his parodies of popular country songs, he has been called the "Weird Al" Yankovic of country music, and ...
covered "The Streak" on his album ''Boogity Boogity - A Tribute to the Comic Genius of Ray Stevens''. One of Stevens' most successful recordings, "The Streak" was his second No. 1 on the ''
Billboard A billboard (also called a hoarding in the UK and many other parts of the world) is a large outdoor advertising structure (a billing board), typically found in high-traffic areas such as alongside busy roads. Billboards present large advertise ...
''
Hot 100 The ''Billboard'' Hot 100 is the music industry standard record chart in the United States for songs, published weekly by '' Billboard'' magazine. Chart rankings are based on sales (physical and digital), radio play, and online streaming ...
singles chart in the US, spending three weeks at the top in May 1974, as well as reaching No. 3 on the ''Billboard''
Hot Country Singles Hot Country Songs is a chart published weekly by ''Billboard'' magazine in the United States. This 50-position chart lists the most popular country music songs, calculated weekly by collecting airplay data from Nielsen BDS along with digital sal ...
chart. A major international hit, it also reached No. 1 on the
UK Singles Chart The UK Singles Chart (currently titled Official Singles Chart, with the upper section more commonly known as the Official UK Top 40) is compiled by the Official Charts Company (OCC), on behalf of the British record industry, listing the top-s ...
, spending a single week at the top of the chart in June 1974. In total it sold over five million copies internationally and ranked on ''Billboard''′s top hits of 1974 at number 8.


Origin

Stevens has stated that he first got the idea for the song while reading a news magazine on an airplane. The magazine included a brief item about streaking, and Stevens thought that it was a "great idea for a song" and started writing notes; later, he wrote some lines after returning home from his trip, but did not complete the song at that time. Some time later, Stevens says he "woke up and it was all over the news. Everywhere you turned, people were talking about streakers". Stevens then rushed to complete and record the song and have it released. According to Stevens, there were already 15 other songs released about streaking by the time his was released, and there ended up being 35 to 40 such records in all. Stevens had released the song less than a week before the televised 46th Academy Awards, during which
Robert Opel Robert Opel (born Robert Oppel, October 23, 1939 – July 7, 1979) was an American photographer and art gallery owner most famous as the man who streaked during the 46th Academy Awards in 1974. Biography Opel was born in East Orange, New Jerse ...
created an uproar after he streaked across the stage behind host
David Niven James David Graham Niven (; 1 March 1910 – 29 July 1983) was a British actor, soldier, memoirist, and novelist. He won the Academy Award for Best Actor for his performance as Major Pollock in ''Separate Tables'' (1958). Niven's other roles ...
.


Content

Each of the three verses starts with a news reporter, played by Stevens, reporting on disturbances at a supermarket, a service station, and a high school gymnasium during a basketball playoff. The reporter interviews a witness at each disturbance, who turns out to be the same man every time (also played by Stevens), describing what he saw and how he tried to warn his wife Ethel to avert her eyes ("Don't look, Ethel!"), but is always too late. After each interview, a chorus is sung by multiple voices, though the chorus is the only part of the song that is actually sung while the rest is spoken. After the third interview, the man sees the Streak again, and to his horror, Ethel is streaking too, with the witness yelling:. "You get your clothes on", and "Say it ain't so". During and after each chorus, Ray Stevens blows a siren whistle. The laughter was from a recorded laughing machine.


Music video

In 1992, eighteen years after the song's original release, Stevens, using a newly-produced version, starred in a music video of "The Streak" as part of a video album called "Ray Stevens Comedy Video Classics". The music video remains faithful to the original song's story line, and Stevens again portrays the news reporter and Ethel's husband. An animated version of the Streak (a caricature of Stevens) is featured, while an unidentified actor playing the Streak is briefly shown from the knees down. The video features "behind the scenes" segments before and after the song: A prim and prudish woman, depicted as being from
Standards & Practices In the United States, Standards and Practices (also referred to as Broadcast Standards and Practices or BS&P for short) is the name traditionally given to the department at a television network which is responsible for the moral, ethical, and leg ...
(S&P), sternly warns Stevens not to do anything in the video that has to be censored. At the end, after nearly everyone winds up disrobing and joining in with the Streak and (an animated version of) Ethel, the S&P woman, worse for wear, grudgingly admits that Stevens "barely" managed to stay within the confines of decency; after she storms away, Stevens looks into the camera and, imitating Ethel's husband, mutters, "Yeah, I did."


Belton Richard cover version

In 1974, the
Cajun The Cajuns (; French: ''les Cadjins'' or ''les Cadiens'' ), also known as Louisiana ''Acadians'' (French: ''les Acadiens''), are a Louisiana French ethnicity mainly found in the U.S. state of Louisiana. While Cajuns are usually described as ...
accordionist and vocalist
Belton Richard Belton Richard (October 5, 1939 – June 21, 2017) was an American Cajun accordionist and vocalist known for his baritone vocal range. Biography Richard was born in Rayne, Louisiana, in 1939. He began to play the accordion when he was seven, an ...
released "Cajun Streak", a cover version of the song with the lyrics and spoken word passages translated into
Cajun French Louisiana French ( frc, français de la Louisiane; lou, françé la lwizyàn) is an umbrella term for the dialects and varieties of the French language spoken traditionally by French Louisianians in colonial Lower Louisiana. As of today Louis ...
.


Remix

In 2013, Stevens performed a remix version of "The Streak" live in concert.


Charts


Weekly charts


Year-end charts


All-time charts


References


External links


Lyrics of this song
* {{DEFAULTSORT:Streak, The 1974 singles UK Singles Chart number-one singles Billboard Hot 100 number-one singles Cashbox number-one singles Ray Stevens songs Songs written by Ray Stevens RPM Top Singles number-one singles Number-one singles in New Zealand Novelty songs 1974 songs