The All-TIME 100 Albums: Modern Sounds in Country and Western Music by Ray Charles

E-Mail This Article

The All-TIME 100 Albums

96 of 101

By Josh Tyrangiel Published: November 13, 2006

VIEW THE COMPLETE LIST

ALBUM: Modern Sounds in Country and Western Music

YEAR RELEASED: 1962 LABEL: ABC/Paramount ARTIST: Ray Charles

TIME 100 ALBUMS PODCASTS

PODCAST: Welcome to the All-TIME 100 Albums - the musical compilations of the last half-century that need no introduction. That said, listen in below as music critics Josh Tyrangiel and Alan Light introduce the list and talk about the top albums of the 1950s and '60s.

PODCAST: We know. Twenty-nine of the 100 greatest albums of all time come in the 1970s, and Pink Floyd isn't there. Play this podcast to learn why we picked the titles we did, and if you have something to say, tell us about it using the talkback link below.

PODCAST: Maybe it's a Sign O' The Times that you're listening to critics' audio recordings about great music, but this podcast about how we chose the best albums of the 1980s really is a Thriller. Give it a listen below.

PODCAST: Here's music even the younger set will know by heart. Listen to selected clips from the 1990s through present day as music critic Josh Tyrangiel discusses his picks.

Download this to your iPod at iTunes
Or, copy and paste this URL into your favorite podcasting tool:

No one did more to integrate the various genres of American music than Ray Charles, and here he doesn't just link up country with his trademark soul, but stirs in some big band—the opening of "Bye Bye Love" could have been composed by Glenn Miller—jazz and rock and roll, too. As much as this album was a musical labor of love, there was also an obvious subtext given its release at the height of the civil rights struggle. Charles knew that musical integration was a good metaphor for racial integration, and in particular his cover of Eddy Arnold's "You Don't Know Me" seems to carry a larger message for white audiences.