Almost 50 years after Ray Stevens scored a No. 5 hit with his song "Ahab, the Arab," the comedian-musician could be seen parading in a video wearing a keffiyeh -- that traditional Arab headdress.

But Stevens wasn't remaking his silly -- some would say his politically incorrect -- 1962 hit.

"If you're thinking about illegal immigration, be careful when you choose the nation," Stevens sings in the video for his 2010 song "Come to the U.S.A.," while alternately wearing a keffiyeh and a sombrero. "In the Sudan they'll hang you and the camel you rode in on ... come to the U.S.A., there's no penalty to pay should you be caught illegally immigrating. When you get in there's lots of goodies waiting, like healthcare, welfare, free education, help with your voter registration ... lots of jobs. Come to the U.S.A."

Billboard, the music industry trade magazine, summed up the song by saying it was "a comment on Arizona's immigration law -- he's in favor of it -- and is now one of the most searched terms on Google."

Stevens, who performs Tuesday at Peabody Auditorium in Daytona Beach, made his name in the 1960s and '70s with such comic songs as "Gitarzan," "The Streak" and "Jeremiah Peabody's Poly-unsaturated, Quick Dissolving, Fast Acting, Pleasant Tasting, Green and Purple Pills." The Georgia native also scored hits with the occasional straight song such as "Everything Is Beautiful" and a banjo-propelled remake of "Misty."

But these days the 73-year-old Stevens quite often is working the political satire side of the street.

The title track of his 2010 album, "We the People," takes shots at "Obama Care" while praising conservative commentators Sean Hannity, Glenn Beck, Rush Limbaugh and Bill O'Reilly for keeping the public informed. "The Global Warming Song" is a ditty about "this media false alarm." Those songs and others include accompanying videos.

"Spirit of '76," Stevens' 2011 album, skewers President Obama in the song "Mr. President -- Mr. President." Other recent songs include "Obama Budget Plan," "Throw the Bums Out," "God Save Arizona," "News Machine" and "Grandpa Voted Democrat."

In case anyone misses the pointed satire of such songs, the first item one encounters on the homepage of Stevens' website is an Obama-dissing commentary he penned in December that was featured on FoxNews.com.

But Stevens hasn't devoted himself entirely to political satire in recent times.

On Feb. 28 he will be releasing "Ray Stevens' Encyclopedia of Recorded Comedy Music," an eight-CD/96-song box set featuring his own classic comedy hits plus those of other artists -- all re-recorded by Stevens.

"This has been a real labor of love," Stevens said in a press release. "To say I was influenced by comedy records would be a big understatement. They are a big part of the reason I am who I am musically.

"I had recorded a couple of regular teeny-bopper type records that were all the rage in the late '50s, but they didn't catch fire nationally for me. So I told myself that I needed to do something different and see if I couldn't get the ball rolling."

The set includes such Stevens hits as "Ahab the Arab," "Harry the Hairy Ape," "Along Came Jones" and "Gitarzan," as well as "All I Want for Christmas Is My Two Front Teeth," the Johnny Cash hit "A Boy Named Sue," "Cigareets and Whuskey and Wild Wild Women," the Roger Miller hit "Dang Me," "Does Your Chewing Gum Lose Its Flavor (On the Bedpost Overnight)," Steve Martin's "King Tut," "Love Potion #9," "Mairzy Doats," "May the Bird of Paradise Fly Up Your Nose," "Too Old to Cut the Mustard," "Would Jesus Wear a Rolex," "They're Coming to Take Me Away, Ha-Haaa!" and many others.

"I didn't want these songs to just fade from memory," Stevens said.

The set also includes a bonus CD of 12 new Stevens songs.