In 1967, Glen Campbell released “Gentle On My Mind”. The title track of Campbell’s sixth studio album, “Gentle On My Mind” was written by John Hartford, who first released the song in 1967. Hartford’s version did not chart. However, it did lead Campbell to record “Gentle On My Mind” after he heard Hartford sing the song.
“Gentle On My Mind” remains one of Campbell’s most noteworthy songs, even though it only became a Top 30 single for him. But two years later, two other artists, neither of them country, also put their own spin on “Gentle On My Mind”.
Aretha Franklin’s version of “Gentle On My Mind” is on her Soul ’69 record. Soul ’69 is a record of cover songs, including Sam Cooke’s “Bring It On Home To Me” and Bob Lind’s “Elusive Butterfly”. Franklin released two singles from the record, both “Gentle On My Mind” and a cover of The Miracles’ “Tracks Of My Tears”. Neither did well for Franklin at radio, although “Gentle On My Mind” did hit the Top 50 on Billboard’s R&B chart.
Martin found more success with his take of “Gentle On My Mind”. Martin’s cover of the Campbell classic is part of Martin’s Gentle On My Mind album. That record was actually released in 1968. When Martin released the title track, it hit the Top 10 on Billboard’s Adult Contemporary chart, making it a bigger hit for Dean than Campbell at the time.
Numerous other artists also released “Gentle On My Mind”. Patti Page had a Top 10 hit with the song in 1968. Nancy Wilson, Andy Williams, and Johnny Cash are just a few of the other artists who also recorded this iconic song. Still, it’s Campbell’s version that remains the most popular today. The first two Grammy Awards Campbell won throughout his career were for “Gentle On My Mind”.
The Story Behind “Gentle On My Mind” by Glen Campbell
It was Dr. Zhivago, a movie from 1966, which inspired Hartford to write “Gentle On My Mind”.
“It was like a stream of consciousness,” Hartford later says. Hartford finished the song in just 30 minutes. But he later admits even he doesn’t understand why “Gentle On My Mind” became such a success.
“It violates all the principles of pop songwriting,” he adds. “It’s a banjo tune. It has no chorus, [and] it has a lot of words, so that it’s hard to sing.”
Gentle On My Mind is the first of Campbell’s seven consecutive albums (not counting his That Christmas Feeling record) to reach No. 1.
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