The song was covered by Ray Charles in 1962, featured on Charles' Modern Sounds in Country and Western Music, and released as a single. Charles' version reached number one on the Billboard Hot 100 in 1962, for Five Weeks. This version went to number one on the U.S. R&B and Adult Contemporary charts,. The Ray Charles version is noted for his saying the words before the last five lines of the song on the final Chorus: "Sing the Song, Children". It was ranked #161 on Rolling Stone's list of the 500 Greatest Songs of All Time and #49 on CMT's 100 Greatest Songs in Country Music.