Always on My Mind

For other uses, see Always on My Mind (disambiguation).

"Always on My Mind"
Written by	Johnny Christopher, Mark James and Wayne Carson
Published	1972
Original artist	Brenda Lee
Recorded by	Elvis Presley, John Wesley Ryles, Willie Nelson, Pet Shop Boys, B. B. King, Michael Bublé, Mary Elizabeth McGlynn, Alvin and the Chipmunks, Erlend Øye, Terrance Simien and the Zydeco Experience among others
Performed by	Shakira at the 2002 VH1 Divas: Las Vegas

"You Are Always on My Mind"
Single by John Wesley Ryles
from the album Let the Night Begin
B-side	"My Angel Got Her Wings Today"
Released	1979
Format	7" single
Genre	Country
Label	MCA
Producer	?
John Wesley Ryles singles chronology
"Liberated Woman" (1979) "You Were Always on My Mind" (1979) "Perfect Strangers" (1980)

"Always on My Mind"
Single by Willie Nelson
from the album Always on My Mind
Released	1982
Genre	Country
Length	3:34
Label	Columbia
Producer	Chips Moman
Certification	Platinum (RIAA)
Willie Nelson singles chronology
"Heartaches of a Fool" (1981) "Always on My Mind" (1982) "Let It Be Me" (1982) Music sample "Always on My Mind"

"Always on My Mind"
Single by Pet Shop Boys
from the album Introspective
B-side	"Do I Have To?"
Released	November 30, 1987
Format	7", 12", cassette, CD
Genre	Synthpop, Euro disco
Length	3:56 (single mix) 8:10 (extended mix) 9:04 (album version)
Label	Parlophone – 6171
Producer	Julian Mendelsohn, Pet Shop Boys
Pet Shop Boys singles chronology
"Rent" (1987) "Always on My Mind" (1987) "Heart" (1988)
Alternative cover Cover for the US release Music sample "Always on My Mind"

"Always on My Mind" is an American country music song by Johnny Christopher, Mark James and Wayne Carson, originally recorded by Brenda Lee in 1972.

Allmusic lists over 300 recorded releases of the song in versions by dozens of performers. While Brenda Lee's version had stalled at #45 on the country charts in 1972, other performers would reach top 20 (including #1) success with their own versions: Elvis Presley in 1972; John Wesley Ryles in 1979; Willie Nelson's Grammy Award winning version in 1982; Pet Shop Boys in 1987.

Elvis Presley version

Elvis Presley recorded his version of "Always on My Mind" on March 29, 1972, a few weeks after his February separation from wife Priscilla. The song was released as the B-side of the "Separate Ways" single, which reached Gold status in the U.S for sales of over half a million copies. It was listed as a double sided hit reaching number 16 on Billboard magazine's Hot Country Singles chart in November 1972. In the UK "Always on My Mind" was the hit song and "Separate Ways" was the B-side.

Chart performance of Elvis Presley's version

1972 Weekly Chart	Peak position
Canadian RPM Country Tracks	4
Dutch Top 40	17
French Singles Chart	56
Swiss Singles Chart	39
U.K. Singles Chart	9
U.S. Billboard Hot Country Singles	16

John Wesley Ryles version

In 1979, John Wesley Ryles reached number 20 on the U.S. country charts with his rendition, entitled "You Are Always on My Mind", from the album Let the Night Begin.

Chart performance of John Wesley Ryles's version

1979 Weekly Chart	Peak position
U.S. Billboard Hot Country Singles	20
Canadian RPM Country Tracks	24[citation needed]

Willie Nelson version

The song was recorded by Willie Nelson and released in the spring of 1982. The song raced to number one on Billboard magazine's Hot Country Singles chart that May, spending two weeks atop and total of 21 weeks on the chart. The song also did very well on Top 40 radio, peaking at number five on the Billboard Hot 100 for three weeks and staying on this chart for 23 weeks. In the year end charts, this version was Billboard's number one country song for 1982. This version also charted in a number of other countries.

Nelson's version would result in three wins at the 25th Grammy Awards in February 1983: songwriters Christopher, James and Carson won Song of the Year and Best Country Song; in addition, Nelson won for Best Male Country Vocal Performance.

This version also won Country Music Association awards in two consecutive years: 1982 Song of the Year and 1983 Song of the Year for songwriters Christopher, James and Carson; 1982 Single of the Year for Nelson, and; contributed to Nelson winning 1982 Album of the Year for the album "Always on My Mind".

Willie Nelson performed the number with Johnny Cash on the 1998 release of VH1 Storytellers: Johnny Cash & Willie Nelson. The song was also featured on a December 2009 ASPCA commercial.

On July 10, 1991, this version was certified platinum by RIAA. In 2008, the single was inducted to the Grammy Hall of Fame.

Chart performance of Willie Nelson's version

1982 Weekly Chart	Peak position
Australian Kent Music Report	39
Canadian RPM Country Tracks	1
Canadian RPM Adult Contemporary Tracks	4
Canadian RPM Top Singles	10
Dutch Singles Chart	17
Irish Singles Chart	8
U.S. Billboard Hot Country Singles	1
U.S. Billboard Hot Adult Contemporary Tracks	2
U.S. Billboard Hot 100	5
U.K. Singles Chart	49

1982 Year-End Chart	Position
U.S. Billboard Hot 100	22
U.S. Cashbox Top 100	31
Canadian RPM Top Singles	70

Pet Shop Boys version

In 1987, Pet Shop Boys performed a synthpop version of "Always on My Mind" on Love Me Tender, an ITV network television special commemorating the tenth anniversary of Presley's death, in which various popular contemporary acts performed cover versions of his hits. Their performance was so well-received that the duo decided to record the song and release it as a single. This version became the UK's Christmas number one single that year and topping the charts for four weeks in total. It is their best selling single in the official UK Singles Chart.

The Pet Shop Boys version introduces a harmonic variation not present in the original version. In the original the ending phrase "always on my mind" is sung to a IV-V⁷-I cadence (C-D⁷-G). The Pet Shop Boys extend this cadence by adding two further chords: C-D⁷-Gm⁷/B♭-C-G (i.e. a progression of IV-V⁷-i⁷_b-IV-I).^{[citation needed]}

In November 2004, The Daily Telegraph newspaper placed the version at number two in a list of the fifty greatest cover versions of all time.

In the video for Pet Shop Boys' version of "Always on My Mind" (an excerpt from their surreal music film It Couldn't Happen Here), Neil Tennant and Chris Lowe are seated in the front of a taxi cab, when an odd passenger gets in, played by notable British actor Joss Ackland. At the end of the song, he gets out of the car, which drives away. Standing alone, he mutters: "You went away. It should make me feel better. But I don't know how I'm going to get through", which is part of the lyrics for another Pet Shop Boys track, "What Have I Done to Deserve This?".

In 1988, the duo rerecorded the song for their third studio LP, Introspective, combining it with an acid-house track called "In My House".

Chart performance of Pet Shop Boys' version

1987 Weekly Chart	Peak position
Australian Singles Chart	10
Austrian Top 40	2
Dutch Top 40	3
French Singles Chart	22
New Zealand Singles Chart	8
Norwegian Singles Chart	3
Swedish Singles Chart	1
Swiss Singles Chart	1
U.K. Singles Chart	1
U.S. Billboard Hot 100	4
U.S. Billboard Hot Dance Club Play	8

Other cover versions

• In 1982, Sonny Charles covered the song on his album "The Sun Still Shines".
• In 1985 a version by the band Big Daddy was released on the album "Meanwhile... Back in the States" (Rhino Records RNLP 854). The band used a similar arrangement as that on "Chantilly Lace", with the singer "talking" to his girlfriend on the phone.
• In 2002, it was covered by pop group Sweetbox for their album Jade
• In 2003, Brazilian singer Danni Carlos covered the song on her album Rock N Road Acustico.
• In 2007, Canadian singer Michael Bublé included a cover of the song on his album Call Me Irresponsible.
• A cover appeared in the 2009 survival horror video game Silent Hill: Shattered Memories, featuring the series's prominent vocalist Mary Elizabeth McGlynn.
• In the 8th season of American Idol, contestant Anoop Desai covered the song. Later, during the 10th season of the show, the song was covered by Scotty McCreery.
• In 2008, Roch Voisine covered the song on his album Americana.
• In 2011 Nicki Gillis covered the song on her "Always On My Mind" EP which included her self written song "Remember The Wounded".

Preceded by "Mountain Music" by Alabama	Billboard Hot Country Singles number-one single May 8–May 15, 1982 by Willie Nelson	Succeeded by "Just to Satisfy You" by Waylon Jennings and Willie Nelson
Preceded by "Single Women" by Dolly Parton	RPM Country Tracks number-one single June 5–June 12, 1982 by Willie Nelson	Succeeded by "Listen to the Radio" by Don Williams
Preceded by "Fire and Smoke" by Earl Thomas Conley	Billboard Hot Country Singles number-one single of the year 1982 by Willie Nelson	Succeeded by "Jose Cuervo" by Shelly West
Preceded by "China in Your Hand" by T'Pau	UK number one single December 20, 1987 - January 9, 1988 by Pet Shop Boys	Succeeded by "Heaven Is a Place on Earth" by Belinda Carlisle
Preceded by "Reet Petite" by Jackie Wilson	UK Singles Chart Christmas number-one single 1987 by Pet Shop Boys	Succeeded by "Mistletoe and Wine" by Cliff Richard
Preceded by "Wishing Well" by Terence Trent D'Arby	Canadian RPM Singles Chart number-one single May 21, 1988 - May 28, 1988 by Pet Shop Boys	Succeeded by "Beds Are Burning" by Midnight Oil