I Can't Stop Loving You

Don Gibson wrote the song on 7 June 1957 in Knoxville, Tennessee, and first recorded it for RCA Victor that December. It came out in 1958 as the B-side of Oh Lonesome Me. Charles recorded it in 1962 for Modern Sounds in Country and Western Music, a countrypolitan ballad with lush arrangements and choral backing from the Randy Van Horne Singers. Before the last five lines of the final chorus he says, "Sing the song, children."

Released as a single in April 1962, it reached number one on the Billboard Hot 100 for five weeks, and number one on the R&B and adult contemporary charts as well. Billboard ranked it the number two song of 1962. It spent two weeks at number one in Britain in July, his only number one there. Simon Hoggart of the Guardian wrote that for many people it legitimised country music. It won the 1963 Grammy for Best Rhythm and Blues Recording, entered the Grammy Hall of Fame in 2001, and Rolling Stone ranked it number 164 among the 500 greatest songs.

Covers

By the time Gibson died in 2003 more than 700 artists had recorded it. Count Basie's version, in a Quincy Jones arrangement, won the 1964 Grammy for Best Instrumental Arrangement. Frank Sinatra recorded it in 1964, Elvis Presley performed it live from 1969 to 1977, and Conway Twitty took it to number one on the country chart in 1972.