Ray Charles, who died in 2004, recorded 'Why Me, Lord?' with Johnny Cash back in 1981. Cash died in 2003.Ray Charles, who died in 2004, recorded 'Why Me, Lord?' with Johnny Cash back in 1981. Cash died in 2003. (Winslow Townson/Associated Press)

A lost duet featuring Johnny Cash and Ray Charles will be released for the first time.

Why Me, Lord? was written by Kris Kristofferson with Cash on lead vocals and Charles providing backup, according to Billboard magazine. Recorded in 1981, it was never released until now.

The track will appear in a Charles's posthumous collection Rare Genius: The Undiscovered Matters, for sale on Oct. 26. Charles died in 2004 and Cash in 2003.

The track's existence was discovered when Ray Charles Foundation president Valerie Ervin was going through archival material at the L.A.-based Ray Charles Memorial Library. In May, she unearthed two letters Cash wrote to Charles.

One, dated Dec. 11, 1981 begins: "I am so proud when I tell people that I have recorded a song with you . … I hope you like this tape. I realize that the orchestration isn't big and I don't sing very good, but I think the thing has a feeling and a quality that the fans would really enjoy."

Cash says he'd like to release the song on his upcoming album, sharing the royalties with Charles, but for some reason, the track was never featured.

Cash's second letter identified the song's title and Billy Sherrill as its producer.

Ervin was determined to track down the tape and enlisted the help of Ray Charles Marketing Group president Tony Gumina. He turned to former Columbia records employee Margie Hunt, who pinpointed recording engineer Al Quaglieri as someone who might have an idea of where the track was.

The master tape was found last June at a storage facility in New York City.

"This song has seen the light of day," Gumina told Billboard. "And the music world is better off because of that."