Few musicians alive today have as massive a discography as everyone’s favorite outlaw country star, the incomparable Willie Nelson. The man has produced over 100 studio albums throughout his decades-long career. And I’d be hard-pressed to find a single bad one in the bunch. However, some of his albums have earned legendary status over others. And one such album is the 1982 country record, Always On My Mind.
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On this very day in 1982, Willie Nelson’s 27th studio album Always On My Mind hit No. 1 on the US Country charts. And it stayed on the Billboard 200 chart for a whopping 99 weeks total, peaking at No. 2 for three weeks. That’s an impressive feat. Though, it’s not shocking to me at all that Always On My Mind was the album to get there. It’s a gorgeous piece of work, and it’s often hailed as one of Willie Nelson’s finest career albums.
The Legacy of ‘Always On My Mind’ by Willie Nelson
Always On My Mind by Willie Nelson was a charting wonder back in 1982. The album was named Billboard’s No. 1 country record of the year. It stayed on the Billboard Top Country Albums chart for an astounding 253 weeks, 22 of which were spent at that coveted No. 1 spot.
So, what is it about this country album with a pop-rock flair that made it so easy to love? To start, it’s quite a gorgeous mix of songwriting. Willie Nelson, known for being an amazing songwriter in his own right, contributed quite a few original classics, including the closing track, “The Party’s Over”. Just as well, the album features a rich mix of songwriting efforts from other musicians as well as cover songs, from “Do Right Woman, Do Right Man” (Chips Moman, Dan Penn) to “Always On My Mind” (Wayne Carson, Johnny Christopher, and Mark James).
Just as well, Nelson also proved that he could lend his country sound to adult contemporary and rock songs as well. Plenty of songs on Always On My Mind are covers of non-country tunes. And they were perfectly curated for Nelson’s unique sound.
Funnily enough, the album could have never happened. Producers Bobby Emmons and Chips Moman planned on having Merle Haggard record the song “Always On My Mind”. However, Haggard wasn’t interested. It went to Nelson, leading to a whole album based around the classic tune.
“We’ll never know what would have happened if Merle had really heard the song right,” Nelson said in his autobiography. “’Always On My Mind’ bowled me over the moment I first heard it, which is one way I pick songs to record.”
Photo by Clayton Call/Redferns
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