44 Years Ago, Willie Nelson Topped the Chart With the Definitive Version of a Song Previously Recorded by Elvis Presley and Brenda Lee

On this day (May 8) in 1982, Willie Nelson started a two-week run at the top of the Billboard Hot Country Songs chart with “Always on My Mind.” While Nelson hadn’t heard the song before it was pitched to him during a recording session, it had been released several times in the previous decade. Elvis Presley, Brenda Lee, and Gwen McCrae had each released a rendition. However, Nelson’s recording has since become the definitive version of the song.

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Wayne Carson co-wrote “Always on My Mind” with Johnny Christopher and Mark James as an apology to his wife for being away from home for so long. Years later, Christopher played guitar on the sessions for Pancho & Lefty, Nelson’s collaborative album with Merle Haggard.

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Christopher pitched the song to Nelson, who immediately liked it. He believed that it would be a good fit for the duets project, so he took it to Haggard, who wasn’t a fan. As a result, Nelson chose to record it solo, according to Songfacts. “[It] bowled me over the moment I heard it, which is one of the ways I pick songs to record,” Nelson recalled. “There are beautifully sad songs that bowl me over, haunting melodies you can’t get out of your mind with lines that stick.”

He liked the result so much that it became the first song recorded for his 1982 album of the same name. He filled the rest of the tracklist with standards and a few re-recordings of his material. It became a hit as well.

Willie Nelson Wins Big with “Always on My Mind”

Willie Nelson’s rendition of “Always on My Mind” quickly became the most successful. It was the only version of the song to become a hit on the Hot 100, where it peaked at No. 5. It also topped the country chart for two consecutive weeks. That was only the beginning, though.

“Always on My Mind” won three Grammy Awards in 1983. Songwriters Wayne Carson, Johnny Christopher, and Mark James took home Song of the Year and Best Country Song. Nelson won Best Male Country Vocal Performance for the song. It brought the trio of songwriters Song of the Year at the CMA Awards in 1982 and 1983. Nelson left the 1982 CMA Awards with Single of the Year and Album of the Year for Always on My Mind.

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