Ray Charles grew up in the South listening to a lot of country music. He unleashed his talent onto the pop mainstream in 1959 with his smash hit "What I'd Say". That led ABC-Paramount to offer Charles a deal. His label promised to give him full artistic freedom. So, he used it by recording an album of classic "hillbilly" country songs. His creation became his best-loved album, "Modern Sounds in Country and Western Music" in 1962.

You can hear "What I'd Say" ">here.