Ray Charles: Modern Sounds in Country and Western Music (1962)
Early evidence – alongside Chuck Berry – that black artists were always in country music as Beyonce said. Here Brother Ray followed an album of the blues with this collection which included songs by Hank Williams (Hey Good Lookin’), Don Gibson (I Can’t Stop Loving You), Boudleaux and Felice Bryant (Bye Bye Love), Eddy Arnold (a heartbreaking You Don’t Know Me) and others to make country music sophisticated and soulful. A few months later Volume 2 arrived.
Next: Van Morrison, Remembering Now; Joe Cocker, Unchain My Heart
