Country music had a great year in 1962, and many songs from that very year have since gone on to influence and inspire country artists throughout the rest of the 20th century. Let’s take a look at just a few songs that changed country music for the better, starting in 1962.
“I Can’t Stop Loving You” by Ray Charles
This country song was originally made famous in 1957 by Don Gibson. That version reached No. 7 on the Hot Country Songs chart with his version. However, it was Ray Charles who took the song and turned it into a countrypolitan and country soul megahit in 1962. Charles’ version peaked at No. 1 across the board, including the Billboard Hot 100 chart. Charles proved that country could blend with R&B and soul with a little ingenuity. “I Can’t Stop Loving You” is still heavily associated with Charles to this very day. The song also scored Charles a Grammy in 1963.
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“She Thinks I Still Care” by George Jones
George Jones was the OG of vulnerable heartbreak country tunes. And with “She Thinks I Still Care”, which earned a No. 1 spot on the US country charts, Jones inched closer toward an era of back-to-back Top 20 hits. And one could say that this very song influenced the heartbreak trend of traditional country tunes well into the 1970s. “She Still Thinks I Care” has inspired countless musicians since its release. And it has been covered by everyone from Del Shannon to Cher to Merle Haggard to John Fogerty, among dozens of others.
“Mama Sang A Song” by Bill Anderson
Personally, I think this entry on our list of country songs from 1962 is far too underrated today, considering how influential it was back in the day. “Mama Sang A Song” by Bill Anderson is a very sentimental and almost gospel-leaning country song. It boasts all of the lyrical hallmarks that would influence country music’s typical family-oriented and simplicity-focused songwriting trends that lasted well into the 1980s. “Mama Sang A Song” was a hit back in the day, though. It peaked at No. 1 on the Hot Country Singles chart and No. 89 on the Hot 100 chart.
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