Country Star Hospitalized After Serious Heart Attack

Country singer Ray Stevens is recovering in the hospital after suffering a heart attack in Nashville.

The 86-year-old singer and comedian of “Everything is Beautiful” fame, was taken to a local emergency room on July 4 after complaining of chest pains. After a heart catheterization procedure, it was determined he’d suffered a mild heart attack, according to a statement posted to his official Facebook page.

According to the post, Stevens underwent a “minimally invasive” heart procedure in the country music capital on July 8. As the “Misty” singer recovers from the procedure, all his upcoming performances at his CabaRay Showroom have been cancelled throughout the rest of the month.

“Ray is out of ICU and beginning to walk the halls as therapy with a nurse’s assistance as he is working towards recovering from this surgery,” the singer’s team announced in a follow-up statement. “Ray is very grateful for all of the cards and get-well messages. Everything is still beautiful!”

Stevens reflects on his music career in a 2020 interview 

Stevens’ health struggles come four years after he lost his wife of 60 years, Penny Jackson Ragsdale to cancer. Penny died at their Nashville home on December 31, 2021 shortly before midnight, according to a report from the Daily Mail. She was 78.

Ray’s music career began in 1957, when he signed with the vaunted Capitol Records at the age of 18. In the early 1970’s, he made his way to Nashville in order to become a studio producer and a musician.

Throughout his lengthy career, Stevens has been nominated for 11 Grammy awards. He took home the prize for Best Contemporary Male Vocalist for “Everything is Beautiful” in 1971.

Additionally, Ray is an inductee of the Nashville Songwriters Hall of Fame, the Georgia Music Hall of Fame, the Christian Music Hall of Fame, and the Country Music Hall of Fame and Museum.