Everything Is Beautiful

"Everything is Beautiful" is a song by Ray Stevens. It has appeared on many of Stevens' albums, including one named after the song, and has become a pop standard and common in religious performances. The children heard singing the chorus of the song, using the hymn, "Jesus Loves the Little Children", are from the Oak Hill Elementary School in Nashville, Tennessee. This group includes Stevens' two daughters. The singer arranged and tape recorded the impromptu session himself for inclusion in the song.^[1]

The song was responsible for two wins at the Grammy Awards of 1971: Grammy Award for Best Male Pop Vocal Performance for Ray Stevens and Grammy Award for Best Inspirational Performance for Jake Hess. Ray Stevens' recording was the number one song on the Billboard Hot 100 for two weeks in the spring of 1970. The song also spent three weeks atop the adult contemporary chart.^[2] Many country stations played the song, peaking it at #39 on Billboard's chart.^[3] The song includes anti-racist and pro-tolerance lyrics such as "We shouldn't care 'bout the length of his hair / Or the color of his skin".^[4]

Chart performance

This song was a major departure for Stevens, as "Everything is Beautiful" is a more serious and spiritual tune, unlike some of his earlier ("Gitarzan" and "Ahab the Arab") and later ("The Streak") recordings which were more in the style of comedy/novelty songs.^[1]

The Smashing Pumpkins also released a cover of the song in their Live Smashing Pumpkins album series.

References