Chips felt the embryonic tune needed a bridge, the duo turning to session musician Mark James – then on the American Sound payroll – before Moman recorded the finished demo. It had actually been composed in his office by Wayne Carson, who was recording at American Sound at the time. In late 1971, Moman was the first person outside its writers to hear Always on My Mind. A financial falling out with founder Jim Stewart led to Moman setting up his own studio – American Sound – in the Bluff City and forming a long-lasting partnership with songwriter Dan Penn, both of which would pay dividends in the years that followed. The Georgian had cut his teeth on the road in the 1950s touring with Gene Vincent and Johnny Burnette, before relocating to Memphis to work with the nascent Stax operation. The impetus for this came from Moman himself.

This time around, they would try to do the same thing to songs from two different genres entirely: rock and soul. On Stardust - while working with Booker T Jones of MGs fame - Willie had taken a set of tunes from the Great American Songbook and recast them in his own image. With that in mind, Nelson and Moman went straight into the studio to try and capture lightning in a bottle for a second time. ‘Always On My Mind’ bowled me over the moment I first heard it, which is one of the ways I pick songs to record”. Looking back at this moment in his autobiography, Nelson recalled “We’ll never know what would’ve happened if Merle had really heard the song right. Willie disagreed, going ahead with his own solo version, inadvertently making a start – albeit unknowingly – on his next project. The producer, Chips Moman, suggested that the pair record ‘Always on My Mind’ - Haggard rejected it outright. They give you artistic pause, a chance to reflect, to reconsider and to redefine what you might want to do in the next phase of your career.įor Nelson, that came during the preparation of his 1983 classic with Merle Haggard, Pancho & Lefty. The thing about huge selling compilation albums – particularly ones that dominate the charts for most of the year - is that for the artists concerned, they serve two purposes: as an end and therefore a beginning. It remains the single best introduction to his work on the market today. That turned out to be 1981’s Greatest Hits (And Some That Will Be), a twenty track-double album that summed up Nelson’s career up to that point. They were generally well-received and sold respectably, but they weren’t really the thing. By some distance the biggest album of his career, he followed it up with an eclectic mixture of film soundtracks, collaborations, gospel music, western swing and a Christmas record. Since 1978, Nelson had struggled to match the genre-busting success of his album Stardust. Clearly, people liked it, but they enjoyed its parent album even more.Īlso titled Always on My Mind, the album spent five years on the Billboard Country Album Chart, effectively opening up a whole new phase for Nelson in the process. It was the best-selling country single of the year, collecting the CMA Song of The Year in both 19 and winning three Grammys, including the Best Country Vocal for Nelson.

Released in the March of ’82, Always on My Mind – already a staple hit for Elvis Presley a decade before – hit the top spot in May, staying on the charts for 21 weeks. Presley later dated songwriter/actress Linda Thompson (not the English folkie) for four years.Forty years ago, Willie Nelson was beginning his ascent to the top of the country charts with the song that would become his biggest ever hit. He and Priscilla filed for divorce on August 18, 1971, with the divorce being finalised on October 9, 1973. When interviewer Gary James pointed out to Carson that most people think that Elvis was singing 'Always On My Mind' about Priscilla, even though Wayne had written the song years earlier, he replied: 'Well, he was.'Įlvis had previously had an affair in 1971 with Joyce Bova, while Priscilla later had an affair with karate instructor Mike Stone. He recorded his version just a few weeks after he separated from his wife Priscilla on February 23, 1972, with that personal turmoil surely informing his passionate vocal performance. So he pleads to know that she still loves him and begs for another opportunity to make things right ('give me one more chance to keep you satisfied').ĭespite Elvis not putting down his song till a few years after the Carson-Christopher-James team wrote it, it nevertheless perfectly fit his personal life at the time. 'Always On My Mind' is a pretty straightforward song, lyrically.Ī man laments not giving his partner the love and care she deserves ('maybe I didn't treat you quite as good as I should have'), reassuring her that despite that he was always thinking of her ('you were always on my mind'). QUIZ: How well do you know Elvis Presley's song lyrics?

Always on my mind