![]() Following his commercial and pop crossover breakthrough with the hit single " What'd I Say" earlier that year, ABC offered Charles a $50,000 annual advance, higher royalties than previously offered and eventual ownership of his masters-a very valuable and lucrative deal at the time. ![]() According to Robert Christgau, the album "transfigured pop, prefigured soul, and defined modern country & western music." It has been called one of the greatest albums of all time by publications such as Rolling Stone and Time.Īfter his Atlantic Records contract ended, Ray Charles signed with ABC-Paramount Records in November 1959, obtaining a much more generous contract than other artists had at the time. In retrospect, it has been considered by critics as his best studio record and a landmark recording in American music. In the process of recording the album, Charles became one of the first African-American musicians to exercise complete artistic control over his own recording career. The album's integration of soul and country challenged racial barriers in popular music at the height of the Civil Rights Movement. The album and its lead single, " I Can't Stop Loving You", were both certified gold by the Recording Industry Association of America in 1962, as each record had sold at least 500,000 copies in the United States. The album and its four hit singles brought Charles greater mainstream notice and recognition in the pop market, as well as airplay on both R&B and country radio stations. Modern Sounds in Country and Western Music was an immediate critical and commercial success. Charles produced the album with Sid Feller, who helped the singer select songs to record, and performed alongside saxophonist Hank Crawford, a string section conducted by Marty Paich, and a big band arranged by Gil Fuller and Gerald Wilson. It featured country, folk, and Western music standards reworked by Charles in popular song forms of the time, including R&B, pop, and jazz. The album departed further stylistically from the rhythm and blues music Charles had recorded for Atlantic Records in the 1950s. It was recorded in February 1962 at Capitol Studios in New York City and United Western Recorders in Hollywood, and released in April of that year by ABC-Paramount Records. Modern Sounds in Country and Western Music is a studio album by American singer and pianist Ray Charles. " You Don't Know Me" / " Careless Love"." I Can't Stop Loving You" / " Born to Lose".It is also notable, and fitting, as the final album Ray Charles ever recorded. ![]() This duet album features collaborations with some of the biggest names in music like Norah Jones, James Taylor, BB King, Van Morrison, Willie Nelson, Bonnie Raitt and more. It sold over 200,000 copies in the US alone during it’s first week of release, and went on to Triple Platinum status. One of the most the most popular and commercially successful albums of Ray Charles’ illustrious career, Genius Loves Company reached #1 on the Billboard 200, and won 8 Grammy Awards including Album of the Year and Record of the Year in 2005. In 2019, he was honored by the Grand Ole Opry with An Opry Salute to Ray Charles, which was broadcast across PBS stations. This visionary singer, songwriter, pianist and composer brought his expansive musical vision to a worldwide audience and forever changed the face of American Music.Ĭharles’ staggering achievements over a 58-year career include 17 GRAMMY Awards, induction into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame, a Lifetime Achievement and the President’s Merit Award, the Presidential Medal for the Arts, France’s Legion of Honor, the Kennedy Center Honors, the NAACP Image Awards’ “Hall of Fame Award,” and numerous other music Halls of Fame, including those for Jazz and Rhythm & Blues, all testament to his enormous influence. Ray Charles uniquely succeeded in recording and blending virtually every genre of music including soul, R&B, jazz, blue country, rock and pop in unique and unprecedented ways which is why Frank Sinatra dubbed him the only “True Genius” in music. By combining Gospel with Rhythm & Blues, Charles pioneered soul music and his groundbreaking move into Country music during the heart of the Civil Rights Movement, broke racial barriers while elevating Country music to world-wide popularity for the very first time. ![]() Ray Charles’s recordings are major landmarks in American culture. ![]()
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