The Fabulous Charlie Rich is a 1969 album by country music legend Charlie Rich. In its review, AllMusic praises the album for capturing "the eclectic nature of Rich's music better than the great majority of his albums", but warns "country purists" that producerBilly Sherrill's production may make it less to their tastes.[4] In spite of launching several hit singles, the album was not a widespread commercial success.[5] The album has, however, been critically well received, warmly praised by a number of reviewers including Rolling Stone, who gave the album "five stars",[6] and Robert Christgau who asserted that "I never took Charlie's could-been-Elvis rep very seriously until I heard the passionately confident Jimmy Reed medley that opens side two of this Nashville album".[7]
The album launched three charting singles. "Raggedy Ann" and "Life Has Its Little Ups and Downs" ranked at #45 and #41 on Billboard's "Country Singles" chart, while "July 12, 1939" established cross-over success, reaching #47 on "Country Singles" and #85 on "Pop Singles". Ricky Van Shelton released a cover of "Life's Little Ups and Downs" in 1990, taking the song to #4 on the country charts.
