Ray Charles’ Country Hit “I Can’t Stop Loving You”

Artists leave a long and lasting legacy when they die. For Ray Charles, it is his music that left an impact in this world. He was known to be a Gospel and R&B singer, so when he decided to record a country album, there were a lot of doubts among his fans and the music industry in general.

With this, the singer made sure to prove to the people that music knows no genre and should not be labeled all the time. His hit songs such as “Hit the Road Jack,” “Georgia on My Mind,” “I Can’t Stop Loving You,” and “I Got a Woman” were some of the most notable country hits during his career and it showed that he is an amazing singer.

Ray Charles’ version of “I Can’t Stop Loving You”

We all know how great Ray Charles is as a singer and we all know his popular version of “I Can’t Stop Loving You.” However, this song was originally performed back in 1958 when Don Gibson released it. His version was so good that it made it to the charts at the same time that Don Gibson’s original version hit the charts.

This was a special song for the singer. He remembers the time when he used to hear the song at the Grand Ole Opry and he was happy that he was able to record the song and even make it to the country charts. His ingenuity in music is applauded by many artists especially by Frank Sinatra. When he was asked what made him popular to the general public, his answer was simply “Me.” The confidence he built made it possible for him to release countless hits across all the genres.

 For Ray Charles, country and R&B is a natural fit. He shared,

“You take country music, you take black music, it’s exactly the same thing,”

Listen to his version here:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=w-YqaTDDCDM