On This Day in 1982, Willie Nelson Was at No. 1 With a Song Merle Haggard Almost Appeared On

On this day (May 14) in 1982, Willie Nelson was at the top of the Billboard Hot Country Songs chart with “Always on My Mind.” The song spent two weeks at No. 1 and reached No. 5 on the Hot 100. Nelson’s recording also won multiple Grammy Awards for him and the song’s writers, Johnny Christopher, Wayne Carson, and Mark James. The single almost featured Merle Haggard. However, he had no interest in recording it.

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Nelson was working with Haggard on their 1983 duet album Pancho & Lefty when guitarist Johnny Christopher pitched him the song. He immediately liked it and wanted to record it. Haggard, on the other hand, wasn’t impressed. As a result, Nelson chose to stay at the studio after they’d finished for the day to record a demo of the song. He liked the result so much that he built an album around it. Always on My Mind was at No. 1 on the Top Country Albums chart for 22 weeks.

[RELATED: 4 Willie Nelson Songs That Everyone Should Know, Even Though They Weren’t All Big Hits]

Willie Nelson Scores a Hit with a Songwriter’s Apology

The inspiration for “Always on My Mind” came to Wayne Carson while on the phone with his wife. According to Songfacts, Carson and his wife lived in Springfield, Missouri, but he worked at a studio in Memphis, Tennessee. As a result, he made multiple extended trips to Memphis. One particular trip had already gone 10 days longer than he’d expected.

To make things worse, Carson had to call home and tell his wife that he had to stay away from home even longer. Saying she was unhappy to hear this would be a huge understatement. While apologizing to her, he assured her that she was always on his mind.

“It just struck me like someone had hit me with a hammer,” Carson recalled. “I told her real fast I had to hang up because I had to put that in a song.” He finished the song with Johnny Christopher and Mark James a few days later.

“All that ‘Always’ was about was one long apology. I guess there are a lot of people in the world who were looking for a way to say that in a song,” he said of the track’s popularity.

Nelson Wasn’t the First to Record “Always on My Mind”

Brenda Lee was the first to record “Always on My Mind,” but Gwen McCrae was the first to release it. Both versions dropped in 1972. Elvis Presley released a rendition later that year as the B-side to “Separate Ways.”

Despite not being the first to cut the song, Willie Nelson arguably delivered the definitive “Always on My Mind.” It was certainly the most successful. Along with its chart success, it has been certified Platinum by the RIAA. It also won Song of the Year, Best Country Song, and Best Male Country Vocal Performance at the 1983 Grammy Awards. It was named Song of the Year at the CMA Awards in 1982 and ’83.

“We’ll never know what would have happened if Merle had really heard the song right,” Nelson wrote in his 2000 autobiography.

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