On this day (October 9) in 1982, Willie Nelson was at No. 1 on the Billboard Top Country Albums chart with Always on My Mind. The album, which was also named the No. 1 Country Album of the Year by Billboard, reached the top spot on the charts three times that year. The first two saw it hold the pole position for two weeks at a time. Then, in mid-July, it began an impressive 18-week run at the top that ended in November.
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Nelson was at the height of his commercial success in the late 1970s and early ’80s. During this period, he released timeless songs like “Blue Eyes Crying in the Rain,” “Georgia on My Mind,” and “My Heroes Have Always Been Cowboys.” Willie Nelson also topped the country chart with albums like Red-Headed Stranger, Stardust, The Troublemaker, and his collaborative LPs with Waylon Jennings and Merle Haggard.
It was during the recording sessions for Pancho & Lefty, his 1983 No. 1 duets album with Haggard, that he found the inspiration to record Always on My Mind. Johnny Christopher, who wrote the song with Wayne Carson and Mark James and played guitar on Pancho & Lefty, introduced the duo to the song. According to Songfacts, Nelson had never heard the decade-old song, but once he did, he wanted to record it. Haggard, on the other hand, had no interest in the song.
After they finished recording, Nelson stayed at the studio to cut a solo version of “Always on My Mind” to see how it sounded. The result was a massive hit in the making. As a result, he began to build a solo album around the song.
Willie Nelson Finds Major Success with “Always on My Mind”
“Always on My Mind” had been recorded by several artists before Willie Nelson released his rendition in February 1982. Elvis Presley, Brenda Lee, and Gwen McCrae released versions of the song in 1972. However, Nelson’s has become the definitive version. It was also the most successful.
Nelson’s “Always on My Mind” went to the top of the Hot Country Songs chart, where it remained for two weeks. Additionally, it became the first country song to win Song of the Year at the Grammys (1983). It also took home the award for Best Country Song. Both of those awards, as well as the back-to-back Song of the Year wins at the CMA Awards (1982, 1983), went to the songwriters. Nelson received the Grammy for Best Country Vocal Performance and the CMA Award for Single of the Year (1982). Always on My Mind also brought Willie Nelson the CMA Award for Album of the Year.
Featured Image by Terry Lott/Sony Music Archive via Getty Images
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