Always on My Mind

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

"Always On My Mind" is a song originally recorded by Brenda Lee and released on June 12, 1972, with music and lyrics by Johnny Christopher, Mark James and Wayne Carson Thompson.

1 Early recordings and awards
2 Pet Shop Boys version
3 Other covers
4 External links

[edit] Early recordings and awards

It was Elvis Presley who first made "Always on My Mind" famous, reaching number 16 on Billboard magazine's Hot Country Singles chart in early 1973. Brenda Lee's version had stalled at #45 on the country charts in 1972.

The song was also recorded by Willie Nelson. 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 the chart. The song also did very well on Top 40 radio, peaking at number five on the Billboard Hot 100 chart.

Apart from a Grammy Award for Song of the Year, "Always on My Mind" earned numerous other awards, including the 1982 and 1983 Country Music Association's "Song of the Year" honors (to songwriters Christopher, James and Thompson); and the 1982 CMA Single of the Year (to Nelson). "Always on My Mind" was named Billboard's number one country song for 1982.

[edit] Pet Shop Boys version

In 1987, the Pet Shop Boys performed a version on 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 of "Always on My Mind" was so well-received that the group decided to record and release a version as a single. This version became the U.K.'s Christmas number one single that year, beating "Fairytale of New York" by The Pogues, topping the charts for four weeks in total. It also reached number one in Germany in 1988, and made the top ten in the United States on the Billboard Hot 100 the same year, becoming the duo's fifth and last Top Ten hit there.

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 [1].

In December 2006, West End Girls, the Pet Shop Boys' Swedish tribute synthpop band did their own version of this song and released it on Christmas compilation album The Best Kids Christmas Album in the World Ever Ever Ever!!!.[2]

Preceded by "China In Your Hand" by T'Pau	UK number one single December 13, 1987	Succeeded by "Heaven Is A Place On Earth" by Belinda Carlisle

[edit] Other covers

In 2002, this song was performed by Shakira in the concert of Divas Las Vegas, in an Elvis tribute alongside with singers Celine Dion, Cher, The Dixie Chicks, Whitney Houston and Anastacia.
In 2002, DJ Quicksilver president Base Unique presented a remake of "Always On My Mind", a vocal-trance that includes the vocals by singer Diana Maria.
A punk rock version of the song was performed by Me First and the Gimme Gimmes on their Ruin Jonny's Bar Mitzvah.
Norweigan act Erlend Øye recorded part of the song in a medley on his album that was part of the DJ-Kicks series.
In 2005, American singer songwriter Ryan Adams covered the song which features as a bonus tracks on the vinyl edition, and U.K. CD version of his album Jacksonville City Nights.