Oh yes they call him the streak!

Back in February 1974 I was 7-years old. I wouldn't turn 8 until August that year. One of the things we loved to do back then was listen to the radio and then buy 45 speed single records of the songs we liked. 

It was that year that Ray Stevens released his hit song, The Streak. We had never heard anything like it in our lives. I couldn't wait for my dad to get paid so I could get my allowance. When Pay Day finally rolled around on the 25th of the month, the first thing I did was beg my parents to take me to K-Mart so I could buy a copy of The Streak.

When I got home with that record, I immediately put it on our large Zenith console stereo and played it over and over, memorizing every word. It didn't take me long before I could sing it as good as ol' Ray (or at least I thought I could). 

I recall walking down the road that summer and perching myself on top of a large fence post that was immediately across the road from my Papaw Lorn's house. I sat on that post and reared my head back and sang The Streak to the top of my lungs - over and over, and... 

I guess Papaw thought I was out of my mind because he came out to the road and said "what in the samhill are you doing out here boy?" I was a little embarrassed and didn't want to tell him I was singing about naked people so I just turned red and said "nuthin." Papaw just shook his head and spit out a stream of tobacco juice on the ground and walked off. I waited till he got out of sight and turned toward the cow pasture and started again "Oh yes they call him the streak! Fastest thang on two feet!"

If you're not familiar with The Streak, give it a listen in the video below.