Would Jesus Wear a Rolex is a song written by Margaret Archer and

Chet Atkins Chester Burton Atkins (June 20, 1924 – June 30, 2001), known as "Mr. Guitar" and "The Country Gentleman", was an American musician who, along with Owen Bradley and Bob Ferguson, helped create the Nashville sound, the country music s ...

, and recorded 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 ...

in 1987 on his album '' Crackin' Up!''. The song reached 41 on the US

Hot Country Songs 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 and 45 on the Canadian Country chart. The song tells of Stevens watching a

televangelist Televangelism (wikt:tele-, tele- "distance" and "evangelism," meaning "Christian ministry, ministry," sometimes called teleministry) is the use of media, specifically radio and television, to communicate Christianity. Televangelists are minister ...

, soliciting funds while wearing expensive clothing ("Asking me for $20, with $10,000 on his arm"). The remainder of the song consists of Stevens asking various questions in the manner of

What Would Jesus Do? The phrase "What would Jesus do?", often abbreviated to WWJD, became popular particularly in the United States in the early 1900s after the widely read book by Charles Sheldon entitled, '' In His Steps: What Would Jesus Do''. The phrase had a r ...

; the issues the singer raises parallel scandals surrounding various real-life televangelists of the era and some Christian and pastors.

References

1987 songs 1987 singles Ray Stevens songs Songs written by Chet Atkins Songs about television Songs about Jesus Songs critical of religion Protest songs MCA Records singles {{1987-country-song-stub