Ray Stevens

One of the most popular novelty artists of all time, Ray Stevens' remarkably long career includes a stretch of charting singles that spans four decades. Stevens is a gifted singer and producer who also performed straight country and pop (1968's Even Stevens and 1995's The Serious Side of Ray Stevens), scoring the occasional serious hit (most notably 1970's "Everything Is Beautiful"), as well as producing sessions for other artists. Comic novelty songs are his bread and butter, though, and his brand of humor somehow manages to endure seismic shifts in popular taste and style. His knack for sheer silliness translates across generations, not to mention countless compilations and special TV offers, and he was still making fun of modern life on 2021's Ain't Nothin' Funny Anymore.