Gentle on My Mind
"Gentle on My Mind" | ||||
---|---|---|---|---|
Single by John Hartford | ||||
from the album Earthwords & Music | ||||
B-side | "(Good Old Electric) Washing Machine (Circa. 1943)" | |||
Released | May 1967 | |||
Studio | RCA Nashville studios | |||
Genre | Country | |||
Length | 3:03 | |||
Label | RCA | |||
Songwriter(s) | John Hartford | |||
Producer(s) | Felton Jarvis | |||
John Hartford singles chronology | ||||
|
"Gentle on My Mind" is a song that was written and originally recorded by John Hartford, and released on his second studio album, Earthwords & Music (1967). Hartford wrote the song after watching Doctor 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 on RCA Records.
It then caught the attention of Glen Campbell, who recorded his version with a group of session musicians known as the Wrecking Crew. Campbell's recording of "Gentle on My Mind" peaked in the top 30 on Billboard's Hot Country Singles chart. In 1968, between Campbell's and Hartford's recordings, the song earned four Grammy Awards.
"Gentle on My Mind" was later recorded by several other singers, including Dean Martin, Aretha Franklin, Frank Sinatra, Andy Williams and Elvis Presley. It was also translated into other languages. In 2014, a recording of the song by the Band Perry earned a Grammy Award for Best 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.
Writing and original recording
In 1966, John Hartford was living with his wife and son in a trailer in Nashville, Tennessee. One night, the couple saw the film Doctor Zhivago at a local theater. Inspired by the love story depicted in the film between Yuri 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 a drifter of his lost love, while moving through backroads and hobo 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 to Doctor 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 a banjo tune without a chorus, 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 station
Glen Campbell's recording and success
Hartford's recording of "Gentle on my Mind" attracted
After Campbell's success with "
By May 1968, an estimated fifty singers had recorded "Gentle on my Mind", while Campbell's recording had sold 600,000 copies.
Personnel
According to the AFM contract sheet.[48]
- Glen Campbell - lead vocals, guitar
- James Burton - guitar
- Douglas Dillard - banjo
- Leon Russell - piano
- Joe Osborn - bass guitar
- Jim Gordon - drums, maracas
Legacy
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 of Tom Smothers, who in 1968 invited Hartford to become a part of The Smothers Brothers Comedy Hour on CBS.[7] The same year, Campbell performed "Gentle on My Mind" as the theme song of his own CBS show The Glen Campbell Goodtime Hour.[19][49]
In 1970, Claude François recoded the song in French under the title "Si Douce A Mon Souvenir".[50] Fourteen years later, Brazilian singer Roberto Carlos recorded the song in Portuguese as "Caminhoneiro" ("Trucker").[51] In 1985, Puerto Rican salsa singer Frankie Ruiz released a Spanish-language version entitled "El Camionero".[52]
Hartford donated the manuscript of "Gentle on My Mind" to the
In 2008, the 1967 recording of "Gentle on My Mind" by Glen Campbell on Capitol Records was inducted into the Grammy Hall of Fame.[59] In 2014, the Band Perry recorded a version of the song for the documentary Glen Campbell: I'll Be Me; the cover won the category for Best Country Duo/Group Performance at the 57th Annual Grammy Awards in 2015,[60] and peaked at number 29 on Billboard's Country Airplay and at number 35 on the Hot Country Songs.[61][62] In August 2017, following Campbell's death, sales of his hit singles increased by 6,000%.[63] The digital downloads figure for "Gentle on My Mind" registered 3,000 and increased the track's total sales at the time to 251,000.[64]
Accolades
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 | [59] |
2015
|
57th Annual Grammy Awards | Best Country Duo/Group Performance | the Band Perry | Won | [60] |
Charts
John Hartford
Chart (1967) | Peak position |
---|---|
US Hot Country Songs (Billboard)[65] | 60 |
Glen Campbell
Chart (1967) | Peak position |
---|---|
Australian Kent Music Report[66] | 88 |
US Billboard Hot 100[67] | 62 |
US Hot Country Songs (Billboard)[68] | 30 |
Chart (1968) | Peak position |
---|---|
Canada Top Singles (RPM)[69] | 60 |
Canada Country Tracks (RPM)[70] | 20 |
US Hot Country Songs (Billboard)[68] | 44 |
US Billboard Hot 100[67] | 39 |
US Adult Contemporary (Billboard)[71] then called Easy Listening |
8 |
Other artists
Year | Artist | Chart | Peak position |
---|---|---|---|
1968 | Patti Page | US Billboard Hot 100[72] | 66 |
US Adult Contemporary (Billboard)[73] then called Easy Listening |
7 | ||
1969 | Aretha Franklin | ||
US Billboard Hot 100[74] | 76 | ||
US Hot R&B/Hip-Hop Songs (Billboard)[75] then called Hot Rhythm & Blues Singles |
50 | ||
Dean Martin | |||
US Adult Contemporary (Billboard)[76] then called Easy Listening |
9 | ||
2 | |||
2014 | |||
The Band Perry | |||
US Hot Country Songs (Billboard)[78] | 35 | ||
US Country Airplay (Billboard)[79] | 29 |
References
Citations
- ^ Strauss, Neil (June 6, 2021). "John Hartford, Composer Of Country Hits, Dies at 63". New York Times. Retrieved December 14, 2023.
In 1967 Mr. Campbell recorded a minor hit from Earthwords and Music about a hobo reminiscing about a lost love. Titled Gentle on My Mind, it became a Top 40 single
- ^ Life of a song Financial Times. (subscription required)
- ^ Canfield, Jack, Hansen, Mark Victor & Rudder, Randy 2011, p. 90.
- ^ a b Duffet, Mark 2018, p. 20.
- ^ a b Canfield, Jack, Hansen, Mark Victor & Rudder, Randy 2011, p. 91.
- ^ Browne, David 2020.
- ^ a b Sawyer, Kathy 1968, p. S3.
- ^ Landers, Ann 1968, p. 2G.
- ^ Associated Press staff 1980, p. C-2.
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- ^ Goldsmith, Thomas 1987, p. D1.
- ^ a b Edwards, Joe 1987, p. TV-2.
- ^ Devault, Russ 1985, p. 30.
- ^ a b Canfield, Jack, Hansen, Mark Victor & Rudder, Randy 2011, p. 92.
- ^ a b Cashbox staff 1967, p. 28.
- ^ Jarret, Michael 2014, pp. 116, 117.
- ^ Billboard staff 1967, p. 44.
- ^ Billboard staff 2021.
- ^ a b Burke, Ken 2005, p. 35.
- ^ Carter, Tom & Campbell, Glen 1994, p. 72.
- ^ People staff 2017, p. 30.
- ^ Jones, Dylan 2019, p. 46.
- ^ H.I.M 1967, p. 7E.
- ^ Billboard staff 2 1967, p. 18.
- ^ Webb, Jimmy 2017, p. 144.
- ^ Whitburn, Joel 2010, p. 763.
- ^ Jones, Dylan 2019, p. 45.
- ^ Hall, Claude 1967, p. 3.
- ^ Erlewine, Michael 1997, p. 69.
- ^ Howland, John 2021, p. 204.
- ^ Billboard staff 1968, p. 33.
- ^ Whitburn, Joel 2008, p. 66.
- ^ RPM staff 1968.
- ^ RPM staff 2 1968, p. 5.
- ^ a b Sawyer, Kathy 2 1968, p. 1.
- ^ Iachetta, Michael 1968, p. 80s.
- ^ Erlewine, Michael 1997, p. 203.
- ^ Billboard staff 2 2021.
- ^ Billboard staff 3 2021.
- ^ Bego, Mark 2018, p. 55.
- ^ Billboard staff 4 2021.
- ^ Billboard staff 5 2021.
- ^ Official Charts Company staff 2021.
- ^ IRMA 2020.
- ^ Billboard staff 1969, p. 54.
- ^ Leigh, Spencer 2017, p. 356.
- ^ Jorgensen, Ernst 2000, p. 270.
- ^ "Gentle On My Mind AFM Contract" (PDF). The Wrecking Crew. American Federation of Musicians. Retrieved December 29, 2022.
- ^ Perone, James 2018, p. 60.
- ^ Morice, Christian 2019, p. 168.
- ^ Galvão, Luiz 2021, p. 68.
- ^ Ñeco, Modesto & Romero Bravo, Alfredo 2003, p. 393.
- ^ Oermann, Robert K. 1982, p. 29.
- ^ Able, Gene 1984, p. 1-B.
- ^ McCall, Michael, Rumble, John & Kingsbury, Paul 2012, p. 77.
- ^ Country America staff 1992, p. 39.
- ^ BMI staff 1999.
- ^ Cromelin, Richard 2001, p. B9.
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- ^ a b Colurso, Mary 2015.
- ^ Billboard staff 6 2021.
- ^ Billboard staff 7 2021.
- ^ Serjeant 2017.
- ^ Bjorke, Matt 2017.
- ^ "John Hartford Chart History (Hot Country Songs)". Billboard.
- ^ Kent, David 2005.
- ^ a b "Glen Campbell Chart History (Hot 100)". Billboard.
- ^ a b "Glen Campbell Chart History (Hot Country Songs)". Billboard.
- ^ "Top RPM Singles: Issue 5814." RPM. Library and Archives Canada.
- ^ "Top RPM Country Tracks: Issue 5827." RPM. Library and Archives Canada.
- ^ "Glen Campbell Chart History (Adult Contemporary)". Billboard.
- ^ "Patti Page Chart History (Hot 100)". Billboard.
- ^ "Patti Page Chart History (Adult Contemporary)". Billboard.
- ^ "Aretha Franklin Chart History (Hot 100)". Billboard.
- ^ "Aretha Franklin Chart History (Hot R&B/Hip-Hop Songs)". Billboard.
- ^ "Dean Martin Chart History (Adult Contemporary)". Billboard.
- ^ "Official Singles Chart Top 100". Official Charts Company.
- ^ "The Band Perry Chart History (Hot Country Songs)". Billboard.
- ^ "The Band Perry Chart History (Country Airplay)". Billboard.
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{{cite journal}}
: CS1 maint: numeric names: authors list (link) - Sawyer, Kathy (February 25, 1968). "Fame Gives 'Gentle' Nudge to Nashville's John Hartford". The Tennessean. Vol. 62, no. 304. Retrieved September 28, 2021 – via Newspapers.com.
- Sawyer, Kathy 2 (March 1, 1968). "John Hartford, 'Gentle on My Mind' Grab 4 Grammies". The Tennessean. Vol. 62, no. 309. Retrieved September 21, 2021 – via Newspapers.com.
{{cite news}}
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- ISBN 978-0-898-20175-8.
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Further reading
- Cooper, Rand Richards (January 2023). "The life of a song : relistening to Glen Campbell's 'Gentle on My Mind'". Commonweal. 150 (1): 72–75.
External links
- Handwritten lyrics for "Gentle on My Mind" at John Hartford's official website.
- "Gentle on My Mind" at Discogs (list of releases)