Don Gibson – Bitter Sweetness of a Blues Genius (The 2020 Remasters) (2020) [Official Digital Download 24bit/48kHz]

If you happen to find yourself in one of those “blue-blue-day-heartbreak-who-cares-what-about-lonesome-me” moods and you want some music to help you wallow in your depression, Don Gibson’s your man. Feeling sorry for himself was Don’s specialty and as a singer and songwriter he made quite a name exploring the depths of self-pity, piling up a big stack of hits in the process. Also, in a slightly less drastic mindset, he composed a couple of sad songs that found long-lasting impact in the pop culture mainstream, one through a version by a blind, multitalented rhythm and blues singer, the other by way of an unusually gifted vocalist who died before her time.

Unhappy with the demands of growing up in a family of hard-working Shelby, North Carolina sharecroppers, Don made a decision at a very young age to leave the fields at the first opportunity, dropping out of school after the second grade. Very shy as a young boy, he developed a stutter and stayed away from crowds of people. A smart child regardless of his limited schooling, he spent what spare time he had reading and listening to music on the radio. In his teens, Gibson frequented pool halls in Shelby, playing well enough to make money as a pool shark while occasionally practicing guitar with some of his friends. Ned Costner, a fiddle player from the area, thought Don (who idolized the innovative techniques of jazz great Django Reinhardt) had potential and, joined by Curly Sisk on guitar, they began playing together for friends and relatives at each other’s homes. Local exposure led to performances by the trio on Selby radio station WOHS, calling themselves The Sons of the Soil with Don playing bass and singing (and gradually overcoming his shyness). Later, with a varying number of local musicians including fiddle player Jim Barber, they performer on-air as The Hi-Lighters.

Tracklist:
1. Don Gibson – I can’t stop loving you (04:10)
2. Ray Charles – Nobody Cares (02:37)
3. Hank Williams – You win again (03:28)
4. Dallas Bartley – Early in the morning (02:43)
5. Clarence Williams – Half as much (03:16)
6. Ray Charles – Mr. Charles Blues (02:45)
7. Cindy Walker – You don’t know me (03:12)
8. Ray Charles – I Believe (02:59)
9. Zeke Clements – Just a Little Lovin’ (03:24)
10. Nappy Brown – The Right Time (03:23)
11. Hank Williams – Hey! Good Lookin’ (02:08)
12. Ray Charles – Ray’s Blues (02:52)
13. Floyd Tillman – It makes no Difference now (03:24)
14. Eddie Jones – Feelin’ sad (02:48)
15. Ray Charles – Careless Love (03:50)
16. Sam Sweet – The Midnight Hour (02:58)
17. Hank Snow – I’m movin’ on (02:11)
18. Floyd Tillman – I love you so much, It hurts (03:31)
19. Ray Charles – Hard Times (02:54)
20. Ted Daffan – Worried Mind (02:52)
21. Ray Charles – Some Day Baby (02:58)
22. Frankie Brown – Born to lose (03:13)
23. Ray Charles – I wonder who (02:46)
24. Boudleaux Bryant – Bye-bye Love (02:05)