Ray Charles Goes Country

In the mid-1970s, soul stirrer Bobby Womack released the album 'BW Goes C&W' (1976). His record label, United Artists Records, strongly opposed Womack producing a country album as the disco craze was taking hold and the development of the "Philly Sound" had given audiences an appetite for soft, slick, soul romances. United Artists refused to release the album under Womack's working title, 'Step Aside, Charley Pride, Give Another N*gger A Try', an act of defiance that recalled Tommy Chong's disastrous idea to rename his band Little Daddy & The Bachelors as Four N*ggers And A Ch*nk. Needless to say, Womack's relationship with United Artists soured and he left for Columbia Records.

A decade earlier, Bobby Womack had been playing guitar alongside Ray Charles. Charles is said to have helped bring country music into the musical mainstream through the success of his hit record 'I Can't Stop Loving You' (composed by Don Gibson). Charles' seminal albums 'Modern Sounds In Country And Western Music' (1962) and 'Modern Sounds In Country And Western Music Volume Two' (1962) altered the course of his career, becoming his two most successful albums at that time. He was warmly embrace by the country & western community and went on to explore the realms of country music on albums like 'Together Again' (1965), 'Crying Time' (1966), 'Love Country Style' (1970) and 'Friendship' (1984). Thus, when Womack was hanging with Charles back in the mid-1960s, he'd been exposed to a healthy dose of country.