B-side "Just Another Man" Recorded May 17, 1967 Length 2:58 | Format 7" Genre Country | |
Released June 19, 1967
July 1968 (re-release) | ||
"Gentle on My Mind" is a song written by John Hartford, which won four 1968 Grammy Awards. Hartford himself won the award for Best Folk Performance and Best Country & Western Song (Songwriter). The other two awards Best Country & Western Solo Vocal Performance, Male and Best Country & Western Recording, went to American country music singer Glen Campbell for his version of Hartford's song. It was released in June 1967 as the only single from the album of the same name. It was re-released in July 1968 to more success. Glen Campbell's version has received over 5 million plays on the radio. Campbell used "Gentle on My Mind" as the theme to his television variety show, The Glen Campbell Goodtime Hour between 1969 and 1972. Dean Martin's version, recorded in 1968, was a major hit in the United Kingdom; three versions of the song, Campbell's, Martin's and Patti Page's, all reached the top ten of the U.S. easy listening chart in 1968. The song was ranked number 16 on BMI's Top 100 Songs of the Century.
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Background and writing
Hartford reported that he was inspired to write the song after seeing the film Doctor Zhivago when his own memories took over, and that it took about thirty minutes to write down.
Campbell heard Hartford's original version on the radio and decided at once that he wanted to record it. At the time, Campbell was under contract with Capitol Records as a solo artist but had little success in establishing a name for himself. Campbell gathered some of his fellow Wrecking Crew session players to come into the Capitol studio to record a demo version that he could pitch to his producer Al De Lory. Between phrases and stanzas, Campbell would yell instructions to the players. He then left the rough recording for his producer to listen to. De Lory fell in love, not only with the song, but with the recording itself. Without telling Campbell, he took the tape back into the studio and removed the unwanted verbiage from between the phrases. He then released the demo recording, which became a mega-hit for Campbell when it was released a second time in the wake of "By the Time I Get to Phoenix".
Aretha Franklin version
American singer Aretha Franklin recorded the song in 1969 and released it as a single as the B-side to "I Can't See Myself Leaving You". Her version peaked at number 76 on the U.S. Billboard Hot 100 chart and number 50 on the Hot Rhythm & Blues Singles chart. The song was featured on her album Soul '69.
Dean Martin version
American singer Dean Martin recorded the song in 1968 and released it as a single. His version peaked at number 2 on the UK Singles chart and number 9 on the U.S. Billboard Easy Listening chart.
Patti Page version
American singer Patti Page recorded the song in 1968 and released it as a single. Her version peaked at number 66 on the U.S. Billboard Hot 100 chart and number 7 on the U.S. Billboard Easy Listening chart.
The Band Perry version
American country music group The Band Perry recorded the song in 2014 for the soundtrack of the Glen Campbell documentary Glen Campbell: I'll Be Me, earning a Grammy Award for Best Country Duo/Group Performance in 2015.
Other covers
Altogether it has been recorded by over 300 different artists, though Campbell's version remains the best known in the United States.
The actor/singer Leonard Nimoy covered the song for his second album Two Sides of Leonard Nimoy. The album cover notes that it is "the kind of song that Nimoy personally loves to sing."
Elvis Presley recorded the song at American Sound Studios in Memphis in January 1969, and the song featured on the award winning album From Elvis in Memphis.
Roger Miller also recorded the song for his 1968 Smash/Mercury Records release A Tender Look at Love.
Frank Sinatra covered the song, as well as other Glen Campbell numbers, on his 1968 album Cycles.
Dean Martin covered the song on his 1968 album Gentle On My Mind (album).
Tammy Wynette released a version in 1968 on her album, D-I-V-O-R-C-E.
Connie Smith released a version in 1968 on her album Sunshine and Rain.
Andy Williams released a version in 1969 on his album, Happy Heart.
Bing Crosby released a version backed by the Count Basie big band in 1972 on their album, Bing 'n' Basie.
Danish singer John Mogensen recorded a Danish version of the song in 1975, entitled Ensomhedens Gade Nr. 9 ("Lonely Street No. 9").
More recently, it was recorded by Lucinda Williams and this version was featured over the closing credits in the 2006 comedy movie Talladega Nights: The Ballad of Ricky Bobby.
The Moody Brothers recorded a version of the song with John Hartford playing banjo on their Friends album recorded in Prague, Czechoslovakia in 1988.
R.E.M. performs a cover of this song on Sounds Eclectic: The Covers Project, a covers album released by alternative radio KCRW with the participation of 15 different artists.
Claude François translated the lyrics into French and recorded it as "Si Douce A Mon Souvenir".
In 1984, Brazilian singer-songwriter Roberto Carlos translated the lyrics into Portuguese (with Erasmo Carlos) and recorded it as "Caminhoneiro" ("Trucker" in Portuguese), played over 3.000 times on the Brazilian airwaves in just one day. Hartford sued Roberto Carlos in order to be credited as the song's composer. A Spanish version "El Camionero" was also released by Carlos. American singer Frankie Ruiz covered the Spanish version in salsa.
Trini Lopez included "Gentle on My Mind" on his Reprise Records album Welcome to Trini Country (Reprise R-6300)
Johnny Cash covered the song in his last years, released posthumously his Unearthed Recordings.
Benny Hill also covered the song in one of his skits. It's titled 'The Dustbins Of Your Mind'.
Crooked Fingers recorded a cover of the song for their 2010 cover album Reservoir Songs Volume Two.
The Tallest Man on Earth covered this song live, starting during his Spring 2011 tour that began at Coachella 2011.
Seasick Steve covered this song live, amongst other places he performed it at Carfest, UK, and during his tour in Europe in 2013.
Madeleine Peyroux covered this song on her 2013 album The Blue Room.
Jon Flemming Olsen covered this song in early 2014 on his album 'Immer wieder weiter' with German lyrics. He translated only a few lines of the original. Olsen has re-written the majority of the text. It's titled 'Das wird immer sein'.
Frankie Laine covered the song on his album Take me back to Laine Country.
Billy Bragg/Joe Henry recorded the song in 2016 for their album Shine a Light: Field Recordings from the Great American Railroad.
Alison Krauss covered the song for her 2017 album Windy City.