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.

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, as well as the U.S. R&B and Adult Contemporary charts. It was ranked #161 on Rolling Stone's list of the 500 Greatest Songs of All Time and #49 on CMT's 100 Greatest Songs in Country Music.

Chart performance

Don Gibson version

Kitty Wells version

Ray Charles version

Other cover versions

• Roy Orbison recorded the song for his 1961 album, Sings Lonely and Blue. This version charted in the Variety magazine Top 100 Listings.

• Frank Sinatra recorded the song for his 1965 album It Might As Well Be Swing, his second collaboration with Count Basie & his orchestra.
• Tom Jones sung this song live from 1966,#Music Hall de France, recorded the song 1970, single only, US AC #3 and CAN AC #5
• Ella Fitzgerald recorded this song; her rendition can be found on some of her old recordings, and can be downloaded.

• Jerry Lee Lewis recorded a blues version of the song in 1969. However, when he returned to it in 1979, it took the form of country balladry, a la Gibson's original.
• Martina McBride performed the song in Charles's style at a Grand Ole Opry tribute to him that originally aired on Great American Country TV on June 3, 2006.
• In addition to the covers by Lewis and McBride, many other country singers either covered or have had success with the song. The two most successful covers were by Kitty Wells (No. 3 in 1958 on the Billboard magazine country chart and Conway Twitty (who reached No. 1 on Billboard's Hot Country Singles chart in September 1972).

• Van Morrison, a lifetime fan of Charles, recorded a version for his 1991 album Hymns to the Silence and has performed it on numerous occasions in live concerts. His 2006 performance of this song at the Austin City Limits Festival appears on a limited edition album Live at Austin City Limits Festival.

• Connie Francis recorded the song on her MGM album "Country Music Connie Style" in 1962.

• Ricky Nelson also covered this song.

• Count Basie's 1963 instrumental version hit the Billboard Top 100.

• Japan's Nettai Tropical Jazz Big Band covered this song on their 2000 album, My Favorite, as an arrangement for a Latin Jazz Big Band.

• The Ray Charles version appeared on the soundtrack of the 2001 Japanese anime movie Metropolis where it was used instead of sound effects in the film's final scene.
• Elvis Presley performed the song live from 1969 til his final tours in 1977, most famously during his Aloha from Hawaii satellite telecast.

• Jim Reeves performed the song for his 1965 album 'The Jim Reeves Way'.

• Chucho Avellanet performed a Spanish version of the song under the title "Jamas Te Olvidare".