Ray Stevens - The Minority

Capitol Records signed Stevens to its Prep Records division in 1957, and produced the singles "Silver Bracelet" and a cover of "Rang Tang Ding Dong", for which Billboard credited the 16-year-old Stevens' vocals as "strong, attractive."^[4] The latter was originally recorded by Manhattan doo-wop group The Cellos in 1957, and written by Cellos bass singer Alvin Williams.

In 1958, Bill Lowery created the National Recording Corporation (NRC), and brought Stevens on board to play numerous instruments, arrange music, and perform background vocals for its band. Around that time, he had adopted the professional name of "Ray Stevens," which was inspired by his middle name and his mother's maiden name.

Stevens signed with Mercury Records in 1961.  With Mercury, he recorded several hit records including songs such as "Harry the Hairy Ape", "Funny Man", the original recording of "Santa Claus Is Watching You", "Jeremiah Peabody's Polyunsaturated Quick-Dissolving, Fast-Acting Pleasant-Tasting Green and Purple Pills", and "Ahab the Arab." Ahab the Arab reached number five on the Hot 100 in the summer of 1962.

In 1966 Stevens signed with Monument Records and started to release serious material such as "Mr. Businessman" in 1968, a Top 30 pop hit; "Have a Little Talk With Myself" and the original version of "Sunday Morning Coming Down" in 1969, which became Stevens' first two singles to reach the country music charts. O.C. Smith covered the Stevens-penned Isn't It Lonely Together while Sammy Davis, Jr. covered Have a Little Talk With Myself. Stevens continued to release comedic songs, and in 1969 he had a Top 10 pop hit with "Gitarzan." Stevens also became a regular on The Andy Williams Show during the 1969–1970 season, and he hosted his own summer show, The Ray Stevens Show, in 1970. In Australia, Ross D. Wylie reached the top 20 with his cover of the Stevens-penned, Funny Man. Stevens' collection of Hot 100 hits is evenly divided between serious and comedy.