1957 No. 1 Hit Inspired Dozens of Covers But the Original Remains Untouchable

On this day in 1957, Don Gibson climbed to the top of the country charts with "Oh Lonesome Me," where he would stay for eight nonconsecutive weeks. The song crossed over to the Hot 100, peaking at No. 7, making it Gibson's only crossover hit.

"I write about people, not things," the country star once said. "I never had a lot of education, and I don't feel easy with words. Most of the words to my songs are real simple. I just make them up to some tune on the guitar I've come up with. It's the sound of the guitar that I've always been interested in."

There's a reason why he's dubbed "The Sad Poet." "Oh Lonesome Me" is a classic breakup song in country music history, detailing a man unable to move past his lover - and listeners have long argued the original has never been topped.

Musicians across genres lined up to cover it anyway, from Johnny Cash, whose 1961 rendition reached No. 13 on the country chart, to Neil Young, the Everly Brothers, and Stonewall Jackson. TheKentucky Headhunters were among the latest to take it on, bringing it to No. 8 in 1990 in what became the band's biggest hit.

Gibson had originally released "Oh Lonesome Me" as a single before making it the title track of his April 1958 album. It wasn't the only song from that record to find success - "I Can't Stop Loving You" also cracked the country top 10.

It wasn't long before other artists took their own shot at it. Kitty Wells hit the top 5 with "I Can't Stop Loving You" that same year, and Count Basie's 1963 version won a Grammy for Best Instrumental Arrangement. Faron Young, Frank Sinatra, Jim Reeves, Duke Ellington, Jerry Lee Lewis, Freddy Fender and Bryan Adams have all recorded it since.

No one, however, did more with "I Can't Stop Loving You" than Ray Charles. He hadn't planned to release his Modern Sounds recording as a single, but DJs started playing it anyway. According to Song Facts, Tab Hunter caught one of those spins, cut his own version and beat Charles to the single.

Charles and ABC Records were furious. They rushed out Charles' version with a full promotional push, including a full-page Billboard ad - and it paid off. His recording topped the Pop, R&B and Adult Contemporary charts.

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This story was originally published April 14, 2026 at 1:31 PM.