| "Gentle on My Mind" | ||||
|---|---|---|---|---|
 | ||||
| Single byJohn Hartford | ||||
| from the albumEarthwords & Music | ||||
| B-side | "(Good Old Electric) Washing Machine (Circa. 1943)" | |||
| Released | May 1967 (1967-05) | |||
| Studio | RCA Studio A, Nashville, Tennessee | |||
| Genre | Country | |||
| Length | 3:03 | |||
| Label | RCA | |||
| Songwriter | John Hartford | |||
| Producer | Felton Jarvis | |||
| John Hartford singles chronology | ||||
| ||||
"Gentle on My Mind" is a song that was written and originally recorded byJohn Hartford, and released on his second studio album,Earthwords & Music (1967). Hartford wrote the song after watchingDoctor Zhivago in 1966, as he was inspired by the film and his own personal experiences. The lyrics describe the reminiscences of lost love of a man as he travels through the country. An obituary for Hartford indicated that the lyrics are "about a hobo reminiscing about a lost love".[1] The following year, Hartford released the song as a single onRCA Records.
It then caught the attention ofGlen Campbell, who recorded his version with a group ofsession musicians known asthe Wrecking Crew, of which he had been a part. Campbell's recording of "Gentle on My Mind" peaked in the top 30 onBillboard'sHot Country Singles chart. In 1968, between Campbell's and Hartford's recordings, the song earned fourGrammy Awards.
"Gentle on My Mind" was later recorded by other singers, includingDean Martin,Aretha Franklin,Frank Sinatra andElvis Presley. It was also translated into other languages. In 2014, a recording of the song bythe Band Perry earned a Grammy Award forBest Country Duo/Group Performance. Taking into account all recorded versions of the song, it has become the second-most-played song on the radio in the United States according to BMI.
In 1966,John Hartford was living with his wife and son in a trailer inNashville, Tennessee. One night, the couple saw the filmDoctor Zhivago at a local theater. Inspired by the love story depicted in the film betweenYuri Zhivago and Lara Antipova,[2] Hartford returned home and wrote "Gentle on my Mind" in between twenty and thirty minutes.[3] The story of the song narrates the reminiscences of adrifter of his lost love, while moving throughbackroads andhobo encampments.[4] Betty Hartford, who later divorced her husband, noted to him the similarity between herself and the song's female character. She questioned John Hartford about the man's regret for his marriage. Hartford said he likened her to Lara and attributed the man's feelings about being trapped in a relationship to his "artistic license".[5][6]
Hartford defined the finished song as a "word movie" and described his writing process as "thinking in pictures, like paintings using words and sound".[7][8] In a 1980 interview, Hartford commented he was still unsure of the song's meaning and that its message will be interpreted differently by listeners.[9] Twelve years later, Hartford again attributed his inspiration to start writing the song toDoctor Zhivago, and said the content was a result of his personal experience. Hartford said the song "just came real fast, a blaze, a blur".[10] He described the song as abanjo tune without achorus, and with a variety of words he deemed "hard to sing" because it "violated the principles of songwriting".[11]
At the time, Hartford worked as a disc jockey on the radio stationWSIX and for the publishing companyTompall & the Glaser Brothers. Hartford recorded a demo and delivered it toChuck Glaser, who took the demo toChet Atkins ofRCA Records.[5] According to Harford, after writing "Gentle on My Mind", he did not intend to record the song himself.[12] Hartford sent the demos of "Gentle on My Mind" and a second song to sell them, but instead the label decided to offer Hartford a recording contract.[13] Atkins then suggested to the songwriter to use "Hartford" instead of his surname "Harford" as a professional name. Hartford recorded "Gentle on my Mind" and itsflipside "Washing Machine", both of which were produced byFelton Jarvis.[14] The single was released in May 1967.[15] RCA, however, decided not to promote Hartford's recording because they did not consider it to be acountry song.[16]Cashbox listed the single under their "Best Bets"; the magazine forecasted in a review that Hartford could get "heaps of spins" with his "poetic folk-country-flavored ballad".[15] "Gentle on My Mind" peaked at number 60 onBillboard'sHot Country Songs.[17][18]
Hartford's recording of "Gentle on my Mind" attractedGlen Campbell's attention after he heard it on the radio and bought the single.[19] He felt the song is "an essay on life" and was "knocked out" by the scenery it describes.[20] At the time, Campbell worked as a studio musician withThe Wrecking Crew; he rearranged the song and with the band, he recorded a demo atCapitol Studios.[21] Campbell left the demo tape at the studio for producerAl De Lory, who made slight production arrangements thatCapitol Records accepted as a master for the single.[22] Campbell's recording of "Gentle on My Mind" was released with "Just Another Man" on the B-side in June 1967.[23] Upon its release,Billboard predicted the single would reach theBillboard Hot 100 chart.[24] It peaked at number 30 on the magazine's Hot Country Songs,[25] and at number 62 on the Hot 100.[26] The success of the song, which was originally intended for the country music market, helped Campbellcross over to thepop market.[27][28]
After Campbell's success with "By the Time I Get to Phoenix", "Gentle on My Mind" was re-released in 1968.[29][30] The new release of the single sold more copies than the original release,[4] peaking at number 44 onBillboard's Hot Country Singles,[31] at number 39 on theBillboard Hot 100, and at number 8 on theEasy Listening chart.[32] On theRPM charts in Canada, it peaked at number 20 on the country chart and at number 60 on the RPM 100.[33][34] That year, "Gentle on My Mind" won the categories forBest Country & Western Song,Best Folk Performance for Hartford's recording; andBest Country & Western Solo Vocal Performance, Male as well asBest Country & Western Recording for Campbell's version at the10th Annual Grammy Awards.[35]
By May 1968, an estimated fifty singers had recorded "Gentle on my Mind", while Campbell's recording had sold 600,000 copies.[36] The song was recorded by such singers asFrank Sinatra (1968),Dean Martin (1969),Aretha Franklin (1969),[37] andElvis Presley (1969).Patti Page quickly recorded her late 1967 version which reached number 7 onBillboard's Easy Listening Chart in 1968, and number 66 on the Hot 100.[38][39] Aretha Franklin's version was released as the B-side to her single "I Can't See Myself Leaving You";[40] her version peaked at number 76 on the Billboard Hot 100 and at number 50 on theBillboardHot Rhythm & Blues Singles chart.[41][42] Dean Martin's version reached number 2 on theUK Singles chart,[43] number 3 on theIrish Singles chart,[44] and number 9 onBillboard's Easy Listening chart.[45] Hartford's producer on the original recording of "Gentle on My Mind", Felton Jarvis, co-produced Presley's albumFrom Elvis in Memphis (1969) withChips Moman.[46] The recording of Hartford's song was the last number of Presley's January 14, 1969, session. Following its second take, Presley experiencedlaryngitis and had to temporarily halt the recording.[47]
The success of the song drew some opposition to its themes. Columnist and Catholic clergymanJerome LeDoux said that the song's "catchy, simple melody combines with nice-sounding, immoral lyrics which no one really pays attention to, and which is therefore passed off as something decent".[48]
According to the AFM contract sheet.[49]
Hartford said the success of "Gentle on My Mind" allowed him to become a full-time songwriter without working as a disc jockey.[14] The song's success also caught the attention ofTom Smothers, who in 1968 invited Hartford to become a part ofThe Smothers Brothers Comedy Hour onCBS.[7] The same year, Campbell performed "Gentle on My Mind" as the theme song of his own CBS showThe Glen Campbell Goodtime Hour.[19][50]
In 1970,Claude François recorded the song in French under the title "Si Douce A Mon Souvenir".[51] Fourteen years later, Brazilian singerRoberto Carlos wrote the song "Caminhoneiro" ("Trucker") in Portuguese using the melody of "Gentle on My Mind."[52] In 1985, Puerto Rican salsa singerFrankie Ruiz released a Spanish-language version of "Caminhoneiro" entitled "El Camionero".[53]
Hartford donated the manuscript of "Gentle on My Mind" to theCountry Music Hall of Fame and Museum in 1982.[54] By 1984, the song had played on radio over four million times in the United States, and became the best-selling song ofBroadcast Music, Inc.'s (BMI) catalog.[55] In 1987, the estimated number of plays grew to 4.4 million and 400 versions had been recorded. At the time, Hartford refused the use of the song for commercials and parodies.[12]
In 1990, BMI listed Campbell's version of "Gentle on My Mind" as the fourth-most-played song in the history of radio in the US.[56] It appeared at number 71 onCountry America magazine's 1992 list of the Top 100 Country Songs of All Time,[57] while BMI placed the version at number 16 on its 1999 list of Top 100 Songs of the Century.[58] By 2001, with six million plays, the song became the second-most-played on the radio in the US, behindthe Beatles' "Yesterday".[59]
In 2008, the 1967 recording of "Gentle on My Mind" byGlen Campbell onCapitol Records was inducted into theGrammy Hall of Fame.[60] In 2014,the Band Perry recorded a version of the song for the documentaryGlen Campbell: I'll Be Me; the cover won the category forBest Country Duo/Group Performance at the57th Annual Grammy Awards in 2015,[61] and peaked at number 29 onBillboard's Country Airplay and at number 35 on the Hot Country Songs.[62][63] In August 2017, following Campbell's death, sales of his hit singles increased by 6,000%.[64] Thedigital downloads figure for "Gentle on My Mind" registered 3,000 and increased the track's total sales at the time to 251,000.[65]
| Year | Organization | Award | Artist | Result | Ref. |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
1968 | 10th Annual Grammy Awards | Best Country & Western Song | John Hartford | Won | [35] |
| Best Folk Performance | Won | ||||
| Best Country & Western Solo Vocal Performance, Male | Glen Campbell | Won | |||
| Best Country & Western Recording | Won | ||||
2008 | The Recording Academy | Grammy Hall of Fame | Glen Campbell | Inducted | [60] |
2015 | 57th Annual Grammy Awards | Best Country Duo/Group Performance | the Band Perry | Won | [61] |
| Chart (1967) | Peak position |
|---|---|
| USHot Country Songs (Billboard)[66] | 60 |
| Chart (1967) | Peak position |
|---|---|
| AustralianKent Music Report[67] | 88 |
| USBillboard Hot 100[68] | 62 |
| USHot Country Songs (Billboard)[69] | 30 |
| Chart (1968) | Peak position |
|---|---|
| Canada Top Singles (RPM)[70] | 60 |
| Canada Country Tracks (RPM)[71] | 20 |
| USHot Country Songs (Billboard)[69] | 44 |
| USBillboard Hot 100[68] | 39 |
| USAdult Contemporary (Billboard)[72] then called Easy Listening | 8 |
| Year | Artist | Chart | Peak position |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1968 | Patti Page | USBillboard Hot 100[73] | 66 |
| USAdult Contemporary (Billboard)[74] then called Easy Listening | 7 | ||
| 1969 | Aretha Franklin | ||
| USBillboard Hot 100[75] | 76 | ||
| USHot R&B/Hip-Hop Songs (Billboard)[76] then called Hot Rhythm & Blues Singles | 50 | ||
| Dean Martin | |||
| USAdult Contemporary (Billboard)[77] then called Easy Listening | 9 | ||
| UK Singles (OCC)[78] | 2 | ||
| IRETop Singles[79] | 3 | ||
| 2014 | |||
| The Band Perry | |||
| USHot Country Songs (Billboard)[80] | 35 | ||
| USCountry Airplay (Billboard)[81] | 29 |
In 1967 Mr. Campbell recorded a minor hit fromEarthwords and Music about a hobo reminiscing about a lost love. TitledGentle on My Mind, it became a Top 40 single
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