Track Listing

1. Bye Bye Love - Ray Charles, Bryant, Felice
2. You Don't Know Me - Ray Charles, Walker, Cindy
3. Half as Much - Ray Charles, Williams, Curly
4. I Love You So Much It Hurts - Ray Charles, Tillman, Floyd
5. Just a Little Lovin' (Will Go a Long Way) - Ray Charles, Clements, Zeke
6. Born to Lose - Ray Charles, Brown, Frankie
7. Worried Mind - Ray Charles, Davis, Jimmie
8. It Makes No Difference Now - Ray Charles, Davis, Jimmie
9. You Win Again - Ray Charles, Williams, Hank [1]
10. Careless Love - Ray Charles, Handy, W.C.
11. I Can't Stop Loving You - Ray Charles, Gibson, Don
12. Hey, Good Lookin' - Ray Charles, Williams, Hank [1]
13. You Are My Sunshine - Ray Charles, Davis, Jimmie
14. Here We Go Again - Ray Charles, Lanier, Don
15. That Lucky Old Sun (Just Rolls Around Heaven All Day) - Ray Charles, Gillespie, Haven

Product Details

• Amazon Sales Rank: #50807 in Music
• Released on: 1990-10-25
• Number of discs: 1
• Formats: Extra tracks, Original recording reissued, Original recording remastered

Amazon.com essential recording
Ray Charles is the Genius of Soul, but he's always had a bit of country boy in him, too. Between playing hillbilly piano when he was a kid and landing several duets on the country charts in the '80s, Charles released this 1962 classic, taking 12 country standards and proving that great songs can remain great, no matter what the setting. Behind blaring brass and thrilling strings, Brother Ray transforms "Hey, Good Lookin'" and "Bye Bye Love" into big-band swing; "You Win Again" into the Nashville Sound; and "I Love You So Much It Hurts" into the most elegant of pop. "I Can't Stop Loving You" was the big hit, but everything else here is just as timeless and beautiful. --David Cantwell

Amazon.com
Ray broke barriers. In the '50s he invented soul by mixing the sacred and profane of black music: R & B and gospel. In 1962 he went completely crazy, interpreting classic country. It was one of his finest moments. From the start the record is an oddity. A big band pumps, female background singers rip through a chorus of "Bye Bye Love," and Ray brings high energy to the Everly Bros. teeny-bop lyrics. Some songs suffer from syrupy choir and string arrangements, but Ray is always there to set things straight. He gives country some funk, and erases, for a day, all questions of black and white. --Steve Tignor

Customer Reviews

"RAY CHARLES"- Modern Sounds
On the very best list of 1962 and 1960's albums, Ray Charles'"Modern Sounds in Country and Western Music" has to be on a top and prominent place on that distinguished list. The main jewels of that royal crown are "I Can't Stop Loving You" definitely the top hit song of 1962, played and played not only for that entire year but subsequently. The others top hits in that album were "Born to Lose" originally the flip side on the former 45 rpm single version and "You Don't Know Me". Bonus tracks were added on this great compilation. Perhaps the only missing Ray Charles musical jewel in this great musical compilation is "Georgia On My Mind". If they would've added that song to this fabulous album, it would've been an unprecedented collector's item and best seller.

A trail-blazing LP that stll plucks an emotional chord...
Mr. Charles knew good lyrics when he heard them, and he didn't think the message of a song had to be confined to the style in which it was originally composed. Back in 1961, when much of the country still considered rhythm and blues artists to be makers of "race records" and even more of the nation thought that "country music" could only be created by Southern whites, Ray took a bunch of the best songs he could find from country artists, added an orchestra, a backing vocal group, and his "soul" sensibilities and produced this record. My sister bought it, and I was a senior in high school and wore it out. I already knew most of the tunes because I was a country fan, albeit living in New Jersey. Although "backing vocals" and "orchestral accompaniment" are terms that have largely disappeared from the labels of Top Forty singles, they work on this album better than on most from the era. Not every track here is a masterpiece, but about half of them bear up to repeated play, even continuous play, quite well. "You Don't Know Me" and "Born to Lose" and "Worried Mind" and "You Win Again" and "I Can't Stop Loving You" brought black and white artists and songwriters and fans a lot closer to the mainstream market. Rock and Roll was still young in '62, and the "Nashville Sound" was just getting off the ground. Thanks to Ray, bridges were built, friendships were cemented, and genres were combined in a way that benefitted music lovers around the world. I had not heard this album in about 40 years until I bought the CD version last week. It is good to have an old friend back in my home.

Modern Sounds in Country & Western Music
Can anyone say anything negative about Ray Charles? Not me either. A fine recording.