The Streak

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For the moth Chesias legatella, see Streak (moth)

"The Streak" is a popular song written, produced, and sung by Ray Stevens. "The Streak" capitalized on the then popular craze of streaking.

One of Stevens' most successful recordings, "The Streak" was his second number one on the Billboard Hot 100 singles chart in the USA, spending three weeks at the top in May 1974 and reached #3 on the Billboard Country singles chart. A major international hit it also reached #1 on the UK Singles Chart, spending a single week at the top of the chart in June 1974. In total it sold over 5 million copies internationally.

The song's story is a series of three "news flashes" featuring the "Action News Reporter" (Stevens) on the scenes of reported streaking events--at the supermarket, the gas station, and the basketball playoffs. The reporter interviews a man (Stevens) who responds with his views of what happened. The responses contain several double entendres, and the man tries to warn his wife, Ethel, not to look ("Don't look, Ethel!"), but always too late. After the third chorus, the man sees the streaker again, but to his horror the streaker is joined by his wife, and the man changes his tune: "Ethel, you shameless hussy!"

The single's B-side, Smith and Jones is another tale about streaking. Smith and Jones is a story about two agents...one for the FBI and the other the CIA...and how the two work on the same streaking case but neither agent is aware of the other's involvement in the case. A few years ago, the 1974 album (Boogity Boogity) that contained The Streak and Smith and Jones was re-released in CD format along with Ray's 1973 album, Nashville.

Preceded by "The Loco-Motion" by Grand Funk Railroad	Billboard Hot 100 number one single May 18, 1974	Succeeded by "Band on the Run" by Paul McCartney and Wings
Preceded by "Sugar Baby Love" by The Rubettes	UK number one single June 11, 1974	Succeeded by "Always Yours" by Gary Glitter