I Can't Stop Loving You

"I Can't Stop Loving You" is a popular song written and composed by country singer, songwriter, and musician Don Gibson, who first recorded it on December 30, 1957, for RCA Victor Records. It was released in 1958 as the B-side of "Oh, Lonesome Me", becoming a double-sided country hit single. At the time of Gibson's death in 2003, the song had been recorded by more than 700 artists.[1]

For other uses, see I Can't Stop Loving You (disambiguation).
"I Can't Stop Loving You"
Single by Don Gibson
from the album Oh Lonesome Me
A-side"Oh Lonesome Me"
Released1958
Format7-inch single
RecordedDecember 30, 1957
GenreCountry
Length3:14
LabelRCA Victor
Songwriter(s)Don Gibson
Producer(s)Chet Atkins
Don Gibson singles chronology
""Oh Lonesome Me"
(1958)		 "I Can't Stop Loving You"
(1958)		 "Blue Blue Day"
(1958)

Background

Gibson wrote both "I Can't Stop Loving You" and "Oh, Lonesome Me" on June 7, 1957, in Knoxville, Tennessee.[1] "I sat down to write a lost love ballad," Gibson said in Dorothy Horstman's 1975 book Sing Your Heart Out, Country Boy. "After writing several lines to the song, I looked back and saw the line 'I can't stop loving you.' I said, 'That would be a good title,' so I went ahead and rewrote it in its present form."[2]

Ray Charles single
"I Can't Stop Loving You"
Single by Ray Charles
from the album Modern Sounds in Country and Western Music
B-side"Born to Lose"
Released1962
Format7-inch single
RecordedFebruary 15, 1962
StudioUnited Recording, Hollywood, California
GenreR&B, country soul
Length2:37 (single version)
4:12 (album version)
LabelABC-Paramount
Songwriter(s)Don Gibson[3]
Producer(s)Sid Feller[3]
Ray Charles singles chronology
"Hit the Road Jack"
(1961)		 "I Can't Stop Loving You"
(1962)		 "Born to Lose"
(1962)
Audio sample
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The song was covered by Ray Charles in 1962, featured on Charles' Modern Sounds in Country and Western Music, and released as a single. Charles' version reached number one on the Billboard Hot 100 in 1962, for five weeks. This version went to number one on the U.S. R&B and Adult Contemporary charts.[4][5] Billboard ranked it as the No. 2 song for 1962.[6] Charles reached No. 1 in the UK Singles Chart in July 1962, staying for two weeks.[7]

The Ray Charles version is noted for his saying the words before the last five lines of the song on the final chorus: "Sing the Song, Children". Choral backing was provided by The Randy Van Horne Singers. It was ranked No. 164 on Rolling Stone's list of the 500 Greatest Songs of All Time and No. 49 on CMT's "100 Greatest Songs in Country Music".

Charts

Don Gibson

Note: This original recording was released as "I Can't Stop Lovin' You".[8]

Chart (1958) Peak
position
Norwegian Singles Chart 2
US Hot Country Songs (Billboard)[9] 7
US Billboard Hot 100[10] 81

Kitty Wells version
Chart (1958) Peak
position
US Hot Country Songs (Billboard)[11] 3

Ray Charles version
Chart (1962) Peak
position
US Billboard Hot 100[12] 1
U.S. Billboard R&B Singles 1
US Adult Contemporary (Billboard)[13] 1
UK Singles Chart[3] 1
Australian Singles Chart 1
Norwegian Singles Chart 4

All-time charts
Chart (1958-2018) Position
US Billboard Hot 100[14] 125

Other versions

The song has been recorded by many other artists. Some recordings are titled as "I Can't Stop Lovin' You" (with or without an apostrophe).

References
  1. Edwards, Joe (5 November 2003). "Country Legend Don Gibson Dies". CBS News. Associated Press. Retrieved 13 January 2018.
  2. Horstman, Dorothy (1975). Sing Your Heart Out, Country Boy (Third ed.). Country Music Foundation Press. p. 365. ISBN 0-915608-19-7.
  3. Rice, Jo (1982). The Guinness Book of 500 Number One Hits (1st ed.). Enfield, Middlesex: Guinness Superlatives Ltd. p. 66. ISBN 0-85112-250-7.
  4. Whitburn, Joel (2004). Top R&B/Hip-Hop Singles: 1942-2004. Record Research. p. 113.
  5. Whitburn, Joel (2002). Top Adult Contemporary: 1961-2001. Record Research. p. 52.
  6. Billboard Year-End Hot 100 singles of 1962
  7. Roberts, David (2006). British Hit Singles & Albums (19th ed.). London: Guinness World Records Limited. p. 139. ISBN 1-904994-10-5.
  8. "45cat Image".
  9. "Don Gibson Chart History (Hot Country Songs)". Billboard.
  10. "Don Gibson Chart History (Hot 100)". Billboard.
  11. "Kitty Wells Chart History (Hot Country Songs)". Billboard.
  12. "Ray Charles Chart History (Hot 100)". Billboard.
  13. "Ray Charles Chart History (Adult Contemporary)". Billboard.
  14. "Billboard Hot 100 60th Anniversary Interactive Chart". Billboard. Retrieved 10 December 2018.
  15. The Country Music Hall of Fame and Museum (2004). The Encyclopedia of Country Music. Oxford University Press. p. 2500. ISBN 9780199840441.
  16. Henry, Clarence Bernard (2013). Quincy Jones: His Life in Music. University Press of Mississippi. p. 82. ISBN 9781617038617.
  17. Whitburn, Joel (2004). The Billboard Book Of Top 40 Country Hits: 1944-2006, Second edition. Record Research. p. 361.
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