Everything Is Beautiful
| "Everything Is Beautiful" | ||||
|---|---|---|---|---|
 | ||||
| Single by Ray Stevens | ||||
| from the album Everything Is Beautiful | ||||
| B-side | "A Brighter Day" | |||
| Released | March 1970 | |||
| Format | 7-inch single | |||
| Genre | Pop, Country | |||
| Length | 3:29 | |||
| Label | Barnaby | |||
| Songwriter(s) | Ray Stevens | |||
| Producer(s) | Ray Stevens | |||
| Ray Stevens singles chronology | ||||
| ||||
"Everything Is Beautiful" is a song written, composed, and performed 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 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. Stevens' recording was the Number 1 song on the Billboard Hot 100 for two weeks in the summer of 1970. The song also spent three weeks atop the adult contemporary chart.[1] Many country stations played the song, with it peaking at number 39 on Billboard's chart.[2] Billboard ranked the record as the No. 12 song of 1970. 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."[3]
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 comedy/novelty songs.[4]
Charts
Weekly charts
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Year-end charts
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Cover versions
- Bing Crosby recorded the song for his 1972 album Bing 'n' Basie.
- Neil Sedaka performed a version of this selection on his 1976 album Live in Australia.[11]
- Dana Rosemary Scallon also did a version reached #42 in the UK & Ireland charts in 1986.
- Foster & Allen also did a version of the song for their album Songs We Love to Sing[12] (1994) which reached number 41 on the UK Albums Chart[13] that year and number 66 on the Irish albums chart.
- Cledus T. Judd also did a version for the album Boogity, Boogity – A Tribute to the Comedic Genius of Ray Stevens. It featured Michael English, Wynonna Judd, Trace Adkins, Rascal Flatts, Dobie Gray, Erika Jo, and SHeDAISY as accompanying vocalists.
References
- ↑ Whitburn, Joel (2002). Top Adult Contemporary: 1961-2001. Record Research. p. 231.
- ↑ "Archived copy". Archived from the original on 2009-10-12. Retrieved 2009-09-30.
- ↑ "Everything Is Beautiful - Ray Stevens (Lyrics and Chords)". Guntheranderson.com. Retrieved 2016-10-03.
- ↑ "Everything Is Beautiful by Ray Stevens Songfacts". Songfacts.com. Retrieved 2016-10-03.
- ↑ Cash Box Top 100 Singles, June 6, 1970
- ↑ "Forum - 1970 (ARIA Charts: Special Occasion Charts)". Australian-charts.com. Archived from the original on 2016-06-02. Retrieved 2017-03-03.
- ↑ "Item Display - RPM - Library and Archives Canada". collectionscanada.gc.ca.
- ↑ "Chart Archive – 1970s Singles". everyHit.com. Retrieved March 3, 2017.
- ↑ Musicoutfitters.com
- ↑ Cash Box Year-End Charts: Top 100 Pop Singles, December 26, 1970
- ↑ "45worlds.com". 45worlds.com. Retrieved January 16, 2017.
- ↑ "Discogs.com". Discogs.com. Retrieved January 16, 2016.
- ↑ British Hit Singles & Albums. London: Guinness World Records Ltd. 2005. p. 195. ISBN 1-904994-00-8.
External links
| Preceded by "For the Love of Him" by Bobbi Martin |
Billboard Easy Listening Singles number-one single May 23, 1970 - June 6, 1970 (three weeks) |
Succeeded by "Daughter of Darkness" by Tom Jones |
| Preceded by "American Woman" / "No Sugar Tonight" by The Guess Who |
Billboard Hot 100 number-one single May 30, 1970 - June 6, 1970 |
Succeeded by "The Long and Winding Road" / "For You Blue" by The Beatles |
