I can't stop loving you
I Can't Stop Loving You is a standard of country and pop music composed by Don Gibson in 1957 that became a successful country hit. Ray Charles picked up the song in 1962 and made it a million seller again and received a Grammy Award for Best R&B Performance .
History of origin
Don Gibson had been in recording studios for ten years and had sung for several record companies, but only had one country hit for the MGM record label ( Sweet Dreams , March 1956). In September 1956 he moved to RCA Records , where from February 1957 Chet Atkins took care of him as a producer in Nashville. On December 3, 1957, Chet Atkins (acoustic guitar), Velma Smith (rhythm guitar), Joseph Zinkan (bass), Floyd Cramer (piano), Troy Hatcher (drums) and The Jordanaires as a background choir were created in the RCA recording studios there four titles. These included Gibson's own compositions Oh, Lonesome Me / I Can't Stop Lovin 'You , both of which he composed one afternoon in his trailer in Knoxville , Tennessee. Both titles were the first typical representatives of the Nashville sound .
RCA decided to feature Oh, Lonesome Me as the A-side on the single (RCA # 7133) on December 30, 1957. That turned out to be the right decision, because the A-side reached number one for eight weeks on April 14, 1958, while the B-side occupied seventh place on the country charts. In the pop charts, only the A side was listed in seventh place. The single - and thus also its B-side - sold over a million times in the course of 1958. The recipe for success for Gibson's country career was found, because the previously released in August 1957 single Blue Blue Day reached the country charts in June 1958 and also reached the top position.
First cover versions
Country star Kitty Wells rushed to record a cover version in Nashville with producer Owen Bradley on December 20, 1957 . Her accompanist included bassist Joseph Zinkan, who had also played on the original Gibson. When you decided to Decca Records , I Can not Stop Loving You select the A-side and the single released in January 1958. Their version reached the third place of the C & W charts, Wells was able to after a long time a Top-5 Presenting a hit and demonstrating the hit potential of the original B-side. Roy Orbison recorded the song on September 15, 1960 with producer Fred Foster; Floyd Cramer from the original session was here. The song was released as the b-side of I'm Hurting in November 1960.
Cover version by Ray Charles
Ray Charles, who is rooted in rhythm and blues and who has now reached the top positions in the pop hit parade with ABC Paramount Records with pop music elements , was planning an LP with country songs. For this purpose, his producer Sid Feller had compiled a list of around 150 country songs from the catalogs of the music publishers Acuff-Rose and Hill & Range, despite the great opposition from the record company. With the orchestra Marty Paich as accompaniment, 7 tracks were written between February 5 and 7, 1962 (Capitol Studios New York) and on February 15, 1962 ( United Recording Studios Hollywood; another 7 songs) for the epoch-making album Modern Sounds in Country and Western Music , which sold over 500,000 copies when released in April 1962. This LP also included I Can't Stop Loving You , which was produced on February 15, 1962 at United Recording Studios in Hollywood. Ray Charles estimated its sales opportunities low, because he placed the title as the penultimate track on the LP.
After Tab Hunter recorded a version based on the Ray Charles arrangement on Dot Records (# 16355) in mid-April 1962, ABC-Paramount spontaneously decided to release a shortened version of I Can't Stop Loving You from the LP as a single published the title on April 23, 1962. Airplay on the radio - also at the R&B stations - focused on the Ray Charles version and catapulted the title into the R&B charts for 10 weeks from May 26, 1962, from May 2, 1962. June 1962 first place in the pop charts for five weeks - a massive crossover hit . This was also reflected in the sales figures, as the single had sold over 2 million copies. Ray Charles changed the spelling to I Can't Stop Loving You , in accordance with the Gibson copyright. Charles received a Grammy for Best R&B Recording of 1962.
Further versions
The eclectic Connie Francis produced the song with Danny Davis and Jim Vienneau on June 19, 1962 for the LP Country Music Connie (released July 1962) shortly after the success of the Ray Charles version. Ivo Robić brought out a German version under the title A Whole Life in August 1962, which reached number 8 on the German charts. The Flippers remembered this on their LP Love Is (April 1996).
Johnny Tillotson immortalized the song on November 4, 1963 under producer Paul Tannen (EP Talk Back Trembling Lips ; released November 1963), Peggy Lee followed on December 7, 1963 with her producer Dave Cavenaugh. Jerry Lee Lewis recorded 17 tracks under producer Jerry Kennedy on February 26, 1969 , including I Can't Stop Loving You , released in April 1969 on the LP Jerry Lee Lewis Sings The Country Music Hall of Fame Hits Vol 2 . There is a live version of Elvis Presley from August 25, 1969 from the International Hotel in Las Vegas, released in November 1969 on the LP From Memphis to Vegas / From Vegas to Memphis .
Conway Twitty took first place in the country charts in 1972 with his version created on May 22, 1972 under the supervision of Owen Bradley (released in July 1972).
statistics
I Can't Stop Loving You was recorded by over 700 performers. According to the BMI , composer Don Gibson had 201 titles registered under copyright law, 15 of which received a BMI award - including I Can't Stop Loving You .
Individual evidence
- ^ Joseph Murrells: Million Selling Records. 1985, p. 116
- ^ Fred Bronson, The Billboard Book of Number One Hits , 1985, p. 111
- ↑ Rolling Stone music magazine, January 18, 1973, Ray Charles interview with Ben Fong Torres
- ^ Ray Charles / David Ritz, Ray Charles - What'd I Say , German edition 1994, p. 177
- ^ Billboard Magazine, April 28, 1962, Strong Sales Potential , p. 31
- ^ Joseph Murrells: Million Selling Records. 1985, p. 160
- ↑ BMI entry for I Can't Stop Loving You ( memento of the original dated November 24, 2006 in the Internet Archive ) Info: The archive link has been inserted automatically and has not yet been checked. Please check the original and archive link according to the instructions and then remove this notice.
