“Oh, Lonesome Me”

Don Gibson’s searching “I Can’t Stop Loving You” was the song that thrust Ray Charles into the international spotlight, and later that same year (1962) he went to that well again to record Gibson’s “Oh, Lonesome Me”. From his album Modern Sounds In Country And Western Volume 2, “Oh, Lonesome Me” is done in a quick, almost happy shuffle time. Odd, considering the bluesy hopelessness of the lyrics. “I can’t get over how she set me free,” sings Ray merrily, as if he were tackling “Oh, What A Beautiful Mornin'” (which he later would). “Oh, Lonesome Me” is recommended to all Ray Charles fans; it’s imminently enjoyable on the surface and more complex the further you dig.

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