Always on My Mind

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"**Always on My Mind**" is an American country music song by Johnny Christopher, Mark James and Wayne Carson, recorded first by Gwen McCrae (as "You Were Always On My Mind") and Brenda Lee in 1972.

AllMusic lists over 300 recorded releases of the song in versions by dozens of performers. While Brenda Lee's version had stalled at #45 on the country charts in 1972, other performers would reach the top 20 in the United States and elsewhere with their own versions: Elvis Presley in 1972; John Wesley Ryles in 1979; Willie Nelson's Grammy Award winning version in 1982; Pet Shop Boys in 1987; Loretta Lynn in 2016.

## Composition

Wayne Carson said that he wrote most of the song in 10 minutes at his kitchen table in Springfield, Illinois, and completed the song in studio with the assistance of Johnny and Mark.[*citation needed*]

Carson, who had the song about a year and one day, was finishing a recording session. Producer Chips Moman asked about recording "that mind" song, but added it would need a bridge. Wayne went upstairs to the studio's old piano, trying to work out a bridge, when Johnny and Mark walked in the door, and he asked for their help to complete his song.[*citation needed*]

The trio felt that the song was finished and at first could not come up with anything to add, but Wayne explained that Moman was insisting that a bridge be added. So between them, the two-line "Tell me..." bridge was written.[*citation needed*]

The song was passed to one of Elvis's bodyguards, who gave Presley the cut from the studio. Moman did not produce Presley's recording, but did record the Willie Nelson version years later.[*citation needed*]

## Elvis Presley version

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Elvis Presley recorded his version of "Always on My Mind" on March 29, 1972, a few weeks after his February separation from wife Priscilla. The song received immense fame and critical appreciation and is considered one of the standout songs of the '70s for Elvis. The song was released as the B-side of the "Separate Ways" single, which reached Gold status in the U.S for sales of over a million copies. It was listed as a double sided hit reaching number 16 on *Billboard* magazine's Hot Country Singles chart in November 1972. In the UK "Always on My Mind" was the hit song and "Separate Ways" was the B-side. It was voted the #1 song of Presley's recording career in a poll conducted by ITV in 2013.

### Charts

 Canadian *RPM* Country Tracks
 Dutch Top 40
 French Singles Chart
 Swiss Singles Chart
 UK Singles (OCC) | 9

## John Wesley Ryles' version

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In 1979, John Wesley Ryles reached number 20 on the US country charts with his rendition, entitled "You Are Always on My Mind", from the album *Let the Night Begin*.

A review in *Billboard* praised the "brightly mixed vocals" and "powerful production".

## Willie Nelson version

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Willie Nelson recorded and released the song in early 1982. It raced to number one on *Billboard* magazine's Hot Country Singles chart that May, spending two weeks on top and total of 21 weeks on the chart. The song also did very well on Top 40 radio, reaching number five on the *Billboard* Hot 100 for three weeks and staying on this chart for 23 weeks. In the year end charts, it was Billboard's biggest Country hit for 1982. This version also charted in a number of other countries.

Nelson's version would result in three wins at the 25th Grammy Awards in February 1983: songwriters Christopher, James and Carson won Song of the Year and Best Country Song; in addition, Nelson won for Best Male Country Vocal Performance.

This version also won Country Music Association awards in two consecutive years: 1982 Song of the Year and 1983 Song of the Year for songwriters Christopher, James and Carson; 1982 Single of the Year for Nelson, and; contributed to Nelson winning 1982 Album of the Year for the album "Always on My Mind".

Willie Nelson performed the number with Johnny Cash on the 1998 release of *VH1 Storytellers: Johnny Cash & Willie Nelson*. The song was also featured on a December 2009 ASPCA commercial.

The single was certified Platinum by the RIAA signifying U. S. sales in excess of two million. In 2008, the single was inducted to the Grammy Hall of Fame.

Nelson's version was prominently featured, in its entirety, in a season two (2013) episode of the HBO television series *The Newsroom*.

## Pet Shop Boys version

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In 1987, the Pet Shop Boys performed a synthpop version of "Always on My Mind" on *Love Me Tender*, a television special on the ITV network in the UK. Commemorating the tenth anniversary of Presley's death, the programme featured various popular acts of the time performing cover versions of his hits. The Pet Shop Boys' performance was so well-received that the duo decided to record the song and release it as a single.

This version became the UK's Christmas number one single that year. It went on to top the charts for four weeks in total, and reached number four on the US *Billboard* Hot 100.

The Pet Shop Boys version introduces a harmonic variation not present in the original version. In the original the ending phrase "always on my mind" is sung to a IV-V7-I cadence (C-D7-G). The Pet Shop Boys extend this cadence by adding two further chords: C-D7-Gm7/B♭-C-G (i.e. a progression of IV-V7-IIIb-IV-I).

In November 2004, *The Daily Telegraph* newspaper placed the version at number two in a list of the fifty greatest cover versions of all time. In October 2014, a public poll compiled by the BBC saw the song voted the all-time best cover version.

In the video for Pet Shop Boys' version of "Always on My Mind" (an excerpt from their surreal music film *It Couldn't Happen Here*), Neil Tennant and Chris Lowe are seated in the front of a taxi cab, when an eccentric passenger gets in, played by notable British actor Joss Ackland. At the end of the song, he gets out of the car, which drives away. Standing alone, he mutters: "You went away. It should make me feel better. But I don't know how I'm going to get through", which is part of the lyrics for another Pet Shop Boys track, "What Have I Done to Deserve This?", which was released earlier in the year.

In 1988, the duo remixed the song for their third studio LP, *Introspective*, combining it with an acid-house track called "In My House".

In 2008, Konami used the song for *Dance Dance Revolution X* which was released for both arcades and the Sony PlayStation 2 console. In 2010, the song was re-used for *Dance Dance Revolution X2* which was released for arcades.

## Other cover versions

* In 2013, the Spanish national Christmas lottery advertisement  covered this song with various popular Spanish artists, including Montserrat Caballé.

## References

1. ↑ ""Always on My Mind" – search results". AllMusic. Retrieved 2014-03-30.
2. ↑ George Klein; Chuck Crisafulli. *Elvis: My Best Man: Radio Days, Rock 'n' Roll Nights, and My Lifelong ...* *Books.google.com*. p. 233. Retrieved 2016-10-06.
3. ↑ Guralnick, Peter / Jorgensen, Ernst (1999) p. 310. *Elvis: Day by Day*. ISBN 0-345-42089-6
4. ↑ "Top 20 Country Billboard Singles". *The Official Elvis Presley Website*. Archived from the original on 19 December 2007. Retrieved 2007-12-02. Unknown parameter `|deadurl=` ignored (`|url-status=` suggested) (help)
5. ↑ "The Nation's Favourite Elvis Song: Top 20 Results and Winner". Telly Chat. Retrieved 2016-10-06.
6. ↑ 6.0 6.1 6.2 Elvis Presley Billboard Chart Positions at AllMusic. Retrieved 2014-07-14.
7. ↑ "Elvis Presley: Artist Chart History". Official Charts Company.
8. ↑ 8.0 8.1 *Billboard*. *Books.google.com*. 1979-10-06. p. 85. Retrieved 2016-10-06.
9. ↑ Whitburn, Joel (2008). *Hot Country Songs 1944 to 2008*. Record Research, Inc. p. 367. ISBN 0-89820-177-2.
10. ↑ "John Wesley Ryles Chart History (Hot Country Songs)". *Billboard*.
11. ↑ "RPM Country Tracks for December 29, 1979". *RPM*. Retrieved 2012-02-04.
12. ↑ Kent, David (1993). *Australian Chart Book 1970–1992*. Australian Chart Book. ISBN 0-646-11917-6.
13. ↑ "Ultratop Belgian Charts". ultratop.be. 1984-07-21. Retrieved 2014-03-30.
14. ↑ "Willie Nelson Chart History (Hot Country Songs)". *Billboard*.
15. ↑  "Willie Nelson Chart History (Adult Contemporary)". *Billboard*.
16. ↑ "Willie Nelson – Chart history". Billboard. Retrieved 2014-03-30.
17. ↑ 17.0 17.1 17.2 "Willie Nelson – Always on My Mind". billboard.com. Retrieved 2012-04-10.
18. ↑ "Cash Box YE Pop Singles – 1982". Cashboxcountdowns.com. 1982-12-25. Retrieved 2012-06-23.
19. ↑ 19.0 19.1 "ChartArchive – Pet Shop Boys – Always on My Mind". Chartstats.com. 2009-02-28. Retrieved 2012-06-23.
20. ↑ 20.0 20.1 20.2 20.3 Pet Shop Boys (2009-12-21). "Pet Shop Boys – Awards". AllMusic. Retrieved 2012-06-23.
21. ↑ "They did it their way". *The Daily Telegraph*. London. November 20, 2004. Retrieved 2012-06-02.
22. ↑ "Pet Shop Boys' Always On My Mind tops cover version vote". BBC News. 27 October 2014. Retrieved 2014-10-27.
23. ↑ Kent, David (1993). *Australian Chart Book 1970–1992*. St Ives, NSW, Australia: Australian Chart Book. p. 232. ISBN 0-646-11917-6.
24. ↑ Steffen Hung. "Pet Shop Boys – Always on My Mind". austriancharts.at. Retrieved 2012-06-23.
25. ↑ "PET SHOP BOYS - ALWAYS ON MY MIND (SONG)". Archived from the original on 2015-01-15. Retrieved 2016-06-29. Unknown parameter `|deadurl=` ignored (`|url-status=` suggested) (help)
26. ↑ "Results – RPM – Library and Archives Canada". Collectionscanada.gc.ca. Retrieved 2012-06-23.
27. ↑ Steffen Hung. "Pet Shop Boys – Always on My Mind". dutchcharts.nl. Retrieved 2012-06-23.
28. ↑ Pennanen, Timo (2006). *Sisältää hitin – levyt ja esittäjät Suomen musiikkilistoilla vuodesta 1972* (in Finnish) (1st ed.). Helsinki: Tammi. ISBN 978-951-1-21053-5.
29. ↑ Steffen Hung. "Pet Shop Boys – Always on My Mind". lescharts.com. Retrieved 2012-06-23.
30. ↑ "charts.de". charts.de. 2006-11-14. Retrieved 2012-06-23.
31. ↑ Jaclyn Ward – Fireball Media Group. "The Irish Charts – All there is to know". Irishcharts.ie. Archived from the original on 2009-06-03. Retrieved 2012-06-23. Unknown parameter `|deadurl=` ignored (`|url-status=` suggested) (help)
32. ↑ "Hit Parade Italia – Indice per Interprete: P". Hitparadeitalia.it. Retrieved 2012-06-23.
33. ↑ Steffen Hung. "Pet Shop Boys – Always on My Mind". charts.org.nz. Retrieved 2012-06-23.
34. ↑ Steffen Hung. "Pet Shop Boys – Always on My Mind". norwegiancharts.com. Retrieved 2012-06-23.
35. ↑ "Archiwum Listy Przebojów Programu Trzeciego". lp3.pl. Retrieved 2016-11-09.
36. ↑ Brian Currin (2003-05-25). "South African Rock Lists Website – SA Charts 1969 – 1989 Acts (P)". Rock.co.za. Retrieved 2012-06-23.
37. ↑ Salaverri, Fernando (September 2005). *Sólo éxitos: año a año, 1959–2002* (1st ed.). Spain: Fundación Autor-SGAE. ISBN 84-8048-639-2.
38. ↑ Steffen Hung. "Pet Shop Boys – Always on My Mind". swedishcharts.com. Retrieved 2012-06-23.
39. ↑ Steffen Hung. "Pet Shop Boys – Always on My Mind". hitparade.ch. Retrieved 2012-06-23.
40. ↑ "YouTube". YouTube. Retrieved 2014-03-30.

## External links

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