52 Years Ago: Ray Stevens' 'The Streak' Tops Charts Amid 1970s Streaking Craze
Throughout music history, there have been a handful of novelty songs that have managed to become smash hits. 52 years ago today, "The Streak" by Ray Stevens was on top of the chart after being inspired by a viral streaking trend that took America by storm.
'The Streak' by Ray Stevens Was No. 1 on June 1, 1974
On June 1, 1974, Ray Stevens' "The Streak" was No. 1 on the Billboard Hot 100. The song initially reached that landmark two weeks earlier, on May 18, 1974, and it stayed on top for a total of three weeks. According to American Songwriter, the song also hit No. 1 in Canada, the United Kingdom, and New Zealand.
Stevens was inducted into the Country Music Hall of Fame in 2019. Even though he is well-known for his contributions to that genre, the song never hit the top of the country chart. Instead, the same American Songwriter article noted it topped out at No. 3 on the country chart. Stevens has also been inducted into the Nashville Songwriters Hall of Fame, the Musicians Hall of Fame, the Music City Walk of Fame, and the Georgia Music Hall of Fame.
How the Streaking Craze Took Over America and Inspired the Hit Song
In August 2014, Sports Illustrated published an article chronicling the history of streaking. For anyone who doesn't know, streaking is the act of running through a public space without any clothes on. While that article notes that the practice goes back as far as the 1780s, it details how it took the world by storm in the 1970s. More specifically, the outlet pointed to three notable events from 1974, two of which helped popularize the trend at sporting events.
During that year, Michael O'Brien ran through an England v. Australia rugby match at Twickenham. Additionally, someone who went by "Miss Cyndi" skated onto the ice with nothing on during an LA Kings game. Also in 1974, people at the University of Georgia held the largest group streaking event ever on March 7.
In April 2017, The Tennessean quoted remarks Ray Stevens made while being interviewed by Bart Herbison of Nashville Songwriters Association International. During that conversation, Stevens explained that he wasn't the first to put out a song about the trend. Still, he recorded and released "The Streak" as quickly as he could once he learned about streaking, and his track was the one that was embraced by radio stations.
"There were about a dozen other records about streaking on the market before I could get mine out, and I was pretty fast! I wrote the song the minute I heard about streaking, and got in the studio and cut it. People were just … I don't know how they got their records out so fast, but maybe they weren't all that good. When mine came out, it took the market. It was the one that radio liked."
This story was originally published by Men's Journal on Jun 1, 2026, where it first appeared in the News section. Add Men's Journal as a Preferred Source by clicking here.
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This story was originally published June 1, 2026 at 1:00 PM.