Ray Charles Modern Sounds in Country and Western Music (Volume Two) LP

The iconic, game-changing Modern Sounds in Country and Western albums, combined into a single release for CD in the 2000s, will be restored and released individually, as originally intended. The significance of these records cannot be overlooked. They are proof that great country music is malleable and open to interpretation.

Volume 1 quickly became one of the best-selling albums recorded by a Black musician of the time, as well as one of the best-selling country albums. It topped the Billboard Pop Album Chart for a month, and spawned four hit singles, including "I Can't Stop Loving You," which reached number one on the Billboard Hot 100, R&B, and the Adult Contemporary Charts, was nominated for Record of the Year, and won the Grammy® for Best Rhythm & Blues Recording at the 5th Annual Grammy® Awards in 1963. "You Don't Know Me" met with similar success. Ray Charles remains the first and only Black performer to earn a Grammy® Award and a #1 Billboard Pop Chart Hit with a country and western song as he did with "l Can't Stop Loving You."

Volume 2 followed its predecessor by just six months, and is widely regarded as just as strong, if not stronger than the first - the second made with the confidence that this formula of country & soul works. With three hit singles on both the R&B and Pop charts, including the #1 hit "You Are My Sunshine," both volumes changed the course of popular music and remain a testament to the genius of Ray Charles.