31. Ray Charles — Modern Sounds in Country and Western Music (1962)

Someone should clean Ray’s shades

1. Perhaps the riskiest, most experimental album on the list to date — Ray Charles, in the midst of early 60s racial tension and segregation, decides to record an album of Country music tunes in an R&B/Jazz/Blues style. And it works. It worked then — spending 14 weeks at the top of the charts — and it works today.
2. I had fun popping between country versions of these songs and Charles’s version. For example, Hank Williams’s “Half As Much,” or Johnny Cash’s “Born To Lose.” The songs are the same, but the recordings are totally different. Next time someone wonders what the difference between the grammy for Song of the Year vs Record of the Year, I’ll point them to this album.
3. It’s also interesting to me in the context of the 30 other albums I’ve listened to for this list, which include a number of the kind of both country and big band standard albums this blends together. It’s certainly clear to me that I’m more receptive to the Ray Charles sound than the country sound, but it also really highlights how strong those country songs themselves are.
4. What’s the modern version of this? An electronic remix of another tune? Young Thug sampling Bright Eyes? Nothing quite as expansive as straight up covers in a different style, unless you get into the weird trend of gimmicky acoustic covers of hip hop songs circa 2008. Nothing with this level of credibility. I’d welcome it if someone went for it.
5. This was so successful that he wound up recording a second volume of country covers. I haven’t had a chance to dig into that, but I can’t wait.

One Essential Song:

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