Ray Charles: "I Can't Stop Loving You" / "Born to Lose"

June 11, 1962 (2 weeks)

Canadian multi-instrumentalist Garth Hudson has just passed away and the sad news has reminded me that his group The Band seemed to be cursed with being overwhelmingly influential. What do I mean by that? Well, they're a group (or Band, if you must) who are seldom mentioned because of their sturdy discography but rather on how much other musicians got from them. The Beatles were influenced by The Band. So were Led Zeppelin, The Rolling Stones, Eric Clapton, Traffic, The Beach Boys and an entire generation of seventies' country-rock artists. That's great and fascinating but what does it tell us about the quality of their debut album Music from Big Pink or their self-titled follow-up? Not much and very few critics or fans seem able or willing to weigh in. Instead, the main thing we hear about them is how they were a big influence on virtually everyone in rock at the time.

The Band are hardly alone in this regard. An even better known example is The Velvet Underground who seemed to base much of their retrospective reputation on Brian Eno's claim that only 10,000 people bought their first album but everyone who did formed a band. (I've never been completely convinced that this is a special characteristic of the Velvets anyway; afterall, as Eno also may have said, "only 10,000 people bought the first Band album but everyone who did formed a band then then saved up to buy a lowery organ") And what about indie acts like Nine Inch Nails or Depeche Mode? Much of the hype surrounding their entries into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame had to do with their influence — are there any people up for Rock Hall consideration who are not influential? — rather than their recorded work.

Which brings us to Ray Charles, who many cite as a major influence, even to this day. Then again, there's a big difference between himself and The Band and The Velvets: he was really popular. (As Brian Eno never said, Ray Charles sold 10,000,000 records and not everyone who bought them ever considered forming a band, some just wanted to listen to them) Yet, analysis of his actual music tends to fall by the wayside. His renowned Modern Sounds in Country and Western album (from which both "I Can't Stop Loving You" and "Born to Lose" were taken) is routinely cited as being deeply influential in both soul and country music but, again, what of how it sounds?

I personally prefer my Ray Charles in small doses so a double A side is just about right. My main grip with him has always been his voice. While certainly distinctive and even at times appealing, his singing can be easy to tire of. Getting through an entire album of his can be hard work. He also had his gifts as a genius of the piano to fall back on but the arrangements on Modern Sounds... frequently drown him out. Marty Paich had previously worked on Art Pepper's remarkable Modern Jazz Classics but I'm not so sure his presence is as required this time around. Just having Charles and a small group to accompany him would have been enough.

But back to the single in question. While "I Can't Stop Loving You" is very good, "Born to Lose" does not deserve its share of the credit. It would have been a perfectly respectable B side and isn't out of place on Modern Sounds... but I can't imagine anyone opting for it over the much better song on the flip. As with many of those double sided Elvis releases on the CHUM charts, there's simply no need for the pretense for such an egalitarian arrangement. As such, I'm docking it a point.

Perhaps the reason so many choose to emphasize a group or singer's influence in lieu of analysis is because there's not much more to be said. If, say, Paul McCartney, Aretha Franklin, Willie Nelson, Stevie Wonder and Billy Joel all claim to love Ray Charles then what more is there to say on the matter? They all worship him so why shouldn't the rest of us? Unfortunately, it shouldn't work that way. Those individuals are pop stars and accomplished musicians who learned a great deal from him; I, on the other hand, have no musical ear to speak of, I just like what I like and try to evaluate songs based on what my thoughts about them. Pretty simple really. And for the most part, Ray Charles is just fine. Not exactly my thing but I don't mind giving him a listen every so often. Not an influence, just a hugely talented artist who I can give or take. Sorry.

Score: 7