11-07-2025
Country icon, 86, suffers heart attack after coming out of retirement
Ray Stevens is recovering from a heart attack shortly after the 86-year-old country music legend came out of retirement.
The Country Hall of Fame member suffered 'a mild heart attack' last Friday, July 4, according to a post on Stevens' official Instagram.
'Stevens is in recovery after undergoing minimally invasive heart surgery yesterday morning,' the post from Tuesday, July 8 read.
'Last Friday evening, Ray complained of chest pain and was admitted to a Nashville hospital,' it continued. 'After a heart catheterization procedure, it was determined he'd suffered a mild heart attack.'
Stevens' performances at his CabaRay Showroom have been canceled for the rest of the month as a result of the incident. The shows were in support of his new comedy album, "Ray Stevens ... Say Whut?," which was released in March.
Stevens' heart attack occurred not long after the Grammy Award winner came out of retirement earlier for the new run of shows. Stevens previously performed what he initially said were his final shows at the end of 2024.
Stevens, who is best known for his many novelty hits of the '70s and '80s, has been performing for more than 50 years. Otherwise known as the 'Clown Prince of Country Music,' Stevens' most popular songs include "Everything Is Beautiful" and "Misty,' as well as novelty hits such as 'Gitarzan" and "The Streak'.
Stevens was inducted into the Country Music Hall of Fame in 2019. He is also a member of the Grand Ole Opry, the Nashville Songwriters Hall of Fame, the Georgia Music Hall of Fame and the Christian Music Hall of Fame.
Stevens is also an accomplished producer, music publisher, TV star and real estate developer in addition to singer and songwriter.
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Read the original article on MassLive.
