Ray Stevens is an icon.
The country singer and comedian, known for his humorous songs like “Mississippi Squirrel Revival” and “The Streak,” actually started out as a studio musician in Nashville and won a Grammy for his gospel song “Everything Is Beautiful.”
Of course it’s his comedic tunes that have gotten Stevens the most attention.
At 84 years old, Ray Stevens is still active in music, performing regular shows at his CabaRay theater in Nashville and still cranking out the new music.
And his latest one tackles a hot topic in America right now.
“Since Bubba Changed His Name To Charlene” is a comedic take on the hot-button issue of biological men competing in women’s sports. The song dives headfirst into the issue with the story of a man named “Bubba” who changes his name to Charlene so that he can join the women’s swim team:
“Well now things are strange at my old alma mater
They’re changing things they might not oughta
And you can call me an old fuddy duddy I guess
But they threw out teaching the ABCs
Added CRT and new biology
And you can’t deny what they call amazing progress
Especially
Since Bubba changed his name to Charlene
Went out and joined the girls’ swimming team
Well now we won every race, won every record in the state
And that beats everything I’ve ever seen”
The issue has obviously been at the forefront since Penn swim team member Lia Thomas, who was born a male and initially competed on the men’s swim team before coming out as transgender and joining the women’s team, became the first openly transgender athlete to win a women’s national championship in 2022.
Many, including Thomas’ former competitor Riley Gaines, openly spoke out against Thomas competing with biological women, and the debate has become a central issue in politics leading up to the election.
So of course Ray Stevens, who’s never been afraid to release politically charged songs like “Osama Yo’ Mama” in the wake of the 9/11 terrorist attacks or “You Didn’t Build That” mocking Barack Obama’s controversial comments from 2012, had to jump into the political debate of the time with his signature humor.
