Always on My Mind (Willie Nelson album)

Always on My Mind is the twenty-seventh studio album by country singer Willie Nelson. It was the Billboard number one country album of the year for 1982, and stayed 253 weeks on the Billboard Top Country Albums charts, peaking at number one for a total of 22 weeks, as well as spending 99 weeks on the Billboard 200 for all albums, peaking at number two for 3 weeks.

Always on My Mind
Studio album by
ReleasedFebruary 1982
GenreCountry, pop, rock and roll
Length33:29
LabelColumbia
ProducerChips Moman
Willie Nelson chronology
Somewhere Over the Rainbow
(1981)
Always on My Mind
(1982)
The Winning Hand
(1982)
Singles from Always on My Mind
  1. "Always on My Mind"
    Released: March 6, 1982
  2. "Last Thing I Needed First Thing This Morning"
    Released: October 1982
Professional ratings
Review scores
SourceRating
Allmusic[1]

Background and recording

During the recording sessions for Nelson's collaboration album with Merle Haggard, Pancho & Lefty, the producer Chips Moman and Bobby Emmons suggested that they record Johnny Christopher's "Always on My Mind".[2] Haggard had no interest in recording a version of the song for the album, so instead Nelson recorded his own version—the first for the album entitled Always on My Mind. In his autobiography, Nelson stated: "We'll never know what would have happened if Merle had really heard the song right. 'Always on My Mind' bowled me over the moment I first heard it, which is one way I pick songs to record".[3]

The rest of the album was constituted by adult-contemporary and pop standards, such as "Do Right Woman, Do Right Man" and Paul Simon's "Bridge Over Troubled Water",[4] as well as re-recordings of his own songs including "Permanently Lonely" (originally recorded for 1969's Good Times LP) and "The Party's Over" (originally recorded for The Party's Over released in 1967).

A 2003 re-release of the album included two bonus tracks: "The Man Who Owes Everyone" and "I'm a Memory" (another re-recording of an earlier release).

No.TitleWriter(s)Length
1."Do Right Woman, Do Right Man"(Chips Moman, Dan Penn)2:58
2."Always on My Mind"(Johnny Christopher, Mark James, Wayne Carson Thompson)3:34
3."A Whiter Shade of Pale"(Gary Brooker, Keith Reid, Matthew Fisher)4:01
4."Let It Be Me"(Mann Curtis, Pierre Delanoë, Gilbert Bécaud)3:33
5."Staring Each Other Down"(Chips Moman, Bobby Emmons)2:16
6."Bridge over Troubled Water"(Paul Simon)4:39
7."Old Fords and a Natural Stone"(Bobby Emmons, Chips Moman)2:33
8."Permanently Lonely"(Willie Nelson)2:41
9."Last Thing I Needed First Thing This Morning"(Gary P. Nunn, Donna Sioux Farar)4:22
10."The Party’s Over"(Willie Nelson)2:52
Total length:33:29

2003 re-release bonus tracks

No.TitleWriter(s)Length
11."The Man Who Owes Everyone"(Dave Anderson, Willie Nelson)3:16
12."I'm a Memory"(Willie Nelson) – 2:422:42
Total length:39:27

Personnel

Technical
  • Virginia Team - art direction
  • Beverly Parker - photography

Charts

Chart performance

1982 Weekly Chart Peak
position
U.S. Billboard Top Country Albums 1
U.S. Billboard 200 2
Canadian RPM Top Albums 20
Dutch Albums Chart 28
Australian Albums Chart 60

End of year charts

1982 Year-end Chart Position
U.S. Billboard Country Album 1
U.S. Cashbox Top 100 7
U.S. Billboard 200[5] 26
Canadian RPM Top Albums 96

Charting Singles

Single Peak positions
US Country
US
US AC CAN Country
CAN
CAN AC
IRE AUS UK
"Always on My Mind"[A] 1 5 2 1 10 4 8 39 49
"Let It Be Me" 2 40 11 1 1
"Last Thing I Needed First Thing This Morning" 2 1

References

  1. Always on My Mind at AllMusic
  2. Jones 2010, p. 337.
  3. Nelson, Shrake & Shrake 2000, p. 145.
  4. Erlewine, Stephen Thomas. "Always on My Mind". Allmusic. Rovi Corporation.
  5. http://www.sporcle.com/games/Alstair/1982-top-100-albums

Bibliography

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