I Can’t Stop Loving You
Released 1958
Format Vinyl, 7″
Recorded December 30, 1957
Genre Country
Length 3:14
Label RCA Victor
Writer(s) Don Gibson
Producer(s) Chet Atkins
“I Can’t Stop Loving You” is a popular song written and composed by country singer, songwriter and musician Don Gibson, who first recorded it on December 30, 1957, for RCA Victor Records. It was released in 1958 as the B-side of “Oh, Lonesome Me”, becoming a double-sided country hit single.
Ray Charles single
The song was covered by Ray Charles in 1962, featured on Charles’ Modern Sounds in Country and Western Music, and released as a single. Charles’ version reached number one on the Billboard Hot 100 in 1962, for five weeks. This version went to number one on the U.S. R&B and Adult Contemporary charts. Billboard ranked it as the No. 2 song for 1962. Charles reached No. 1 in the UK Singles Chart in July 1962, staying for two weeks.
The Ray Charles version is noted for his saying the words before the last five lines of the song on the final chorus: “Sing the Song, Children”. Choral backing was provided by The Randy Van Horne Singers. It was ranked No. 164 on Rolling Stone’s list of the 500 Greatest Songs of All Time and No. 49 on CMT’s “100 Greatest Songs in Country Music”.