Singer Ray Stevens has shared his first update since being admitted to the hospital on July 4 for surgery.
According to his Instagram, the 86-year-old has been moved out of intensive care and is continuing to recover.
“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 post from Wednesday reads. “Ray is very grateful for all of the cards and get-well messages. Everything is Still Beautiful!!!!”
The last line is a reference to one of Stevens’ best-known songs, the Grammy Award-winning “Everything Is Beautiful.”
In a previous statement provided to People magazine, representatives of Stevens said he was recovering after a “minimally invasive heart surgery” on Monday. On July 4, he went to a Nashville hospital after experiencing chest pain.
Following a heart catheterization, Stevens was informed that he had suffered a minor heart attack. A subsequent surgery was carried out successfully.
Though the two-time Grammy winner’s upcoming performances at his CabaRay Showroom in Nashville have been canceled, fans are just happy to hear he is OK.
“This is the good news I was waiting for,” one Instagram user commented under the update. Another rejoiced, saying it was “great news in a world of such sadness and loss recently.”
Stevens has had a successful music career, cutting his first top 10 pop hit, “Ahab the Arab,” in 1962. The singer has recorded 45 albums, according to his website, won two Grammy Awards, and was inducted into the Country Music Hall of Fame in 2019.
Following the induction, Stevens was asked whether he would be retiring anytime soon.
“I feel fine; I’ll probably keel over after I hang up the phone,” he joked.
In 2024, he announced he would be hanging up his boots — only to change his mind a year later with the release of a new album, “Say Whut?”
“Although I said earlier that last year was going to be my final year at the CabaRay … I’m kind of going back on that because I want to promote this album,” he told NewsChannel 5 Nashville.
