While cruising along the other day and listening to Willie’s Roadhouse on XM I heard the following song.
Yes, Ray Charles singing Country music. Or at least his interpretation of a country classic originally sung by Buck Owens.
What’s up with that?
A little research was in order on my part.
Turns out that in 1962 Ray Charles produced an album in which he sang a number of country music classics which had been rearranged to suit his style of music. Which was not very different to what is now known as The Nashville Sound.
Modern Sounds in Country and Western Music included the following songs,
- (from Wikipedia)
- Side one
- “Bye Bye Love” (Boudleaux Bryant, Felice Bryant) – 2:09
- “You Don’t Know Me” (Eddy Arnold, Cindy Walker) – 3:14
- “Half as Much” (Curley Williams) – 3:24
- “I Love You So Much It Hurts” (Floyd Tillman) – 3:33
- “Just a Little Lovin’ (Will Go a Long Way)” (Eddy Arnold, Zeke Clements) – 3:26
- “Born to Lose” (Frankie Brown, pseudonym of Ted Daffan) – 3:15
- Side two
- “Worried Mind” (Ted Daffan, Jimmie Davis) – 2:54
- “It Makes No Difference Now” (Floyd Tillman, Jimmie Davis) – 3:30
- “You Win Again” (Hank Williams) – 3:29
- “Careless Love” (Traditional, Arranged by Ray Charles) – 3:56
- “I Can’t Stop Loving You” (Don Gibson) – 4:13
- “Hey, Good Lookin’” (Hank Williams) – 2:
That’s some pretty impressive country music right there, folks. All done in Charles’s R&B and Jazz style.
So, how country was Ray Charles?
Buck Owens, Ray Charles, a Steel Guitar. The only way it could be more country is if they were on a show like Hee Haw.
Oh, they were.
One last Country song from Ray Charles.
Country, Pop, Blues, it’s all in the arrangement folks.




