Today’s classic song of the day is one that I’m sure almost all of you know and many of you like. The song is “Gentle on My Mind,” as performed by Glen Campbell. Originally released in June of 1967, the record peaked at just #62 on the Billboard Hot 100 and #30 on Billboard’s Hot Country Songs chart. Capitol Records re-released “Gentle on My Mind” in 1968, after Campbell’s success with Jimmy Webb’s “By the Time I Get to Phoenix,” and this time the single went to #39 on the Hot 100, #44 on the Hot Country Singles chart, and #8 on Billboard’s Easy Listening chart.
That moderate success belies the fact that the song became a lasting classic. It’s long-term popularity might be due to Mr. Campbell using “Gentle on My Mind” as the theme song for his CBS variety show, The Glen Campbell Goodtime Hour. Or it could be because everybody and his brother recognized “Gentle on My Mind” and recorded their own versions of it; it’s been recorded by the likes of Patti Page, Aretha Franklin, Frank Sinatra, Dean Martin, Elvis Presley, and the Band Perry. According to performing rights organization BMI, “Gentle on My Mind” became the second-most-played song in the history of radio.
“Gentle on My Mind” is about a drifter (we called them hobos back then) reminiscing about the love he left behind as he travels through the back roads and the highways of America. The song was written by John Hartford, who said he was inspired by the love story in the movie Doctor Zhivago and by his own personal experiences. It took him less than a half-hour to write, or so he claims.
I love the poetry in the lyrics:
It’s knowing that your door is always open
And your path is free to walk
That makes me tend to leave my sleeping bag
Rolled up and stashed behind your couch
And it’s knowing I’m not shackled
By forgotten words and bonds
And the ink stains that are dried upon some line
That keeps you in the back roads
By the rivers of my memory
That keeps you ever gentle on my mind
John Hartford released his own recording of “Gentle on My Mind” in May of 1967, but it peaked at just #60 on Billboard’s country chart. Fortunately, a guitar-playing kid named Glen Campbell heard the song on the radio, bought the single, and decided to record it himself. Mr. Campbell was, at that point in time, a studio musician, a member of the famed Wrecking Crew, who wanted to break into the business as a performer. He’d already toured with the Beach Boys, subbing for a homebound Brian Wilson, and recorded one of Wilson’s songs, “Guess I’m Dumb,” which sunk without a splash. It would be “Gentle on My Mind” that put him on the map and helped to make him a bona fide superstar.
For his recording of “Gentle on My Mind,” Campbell called in several of his Wrecking Crew buddies, including James Burton on second guitar, Douglas Dillard on banjo, Leon Russell (yes, that Leon Russell) on piano, Joe Osborn on bass, and Jim Gordon on drums. Glen himself played the main guitar part. (He was a hell of a guitar player, if you didn’t know.)
Despite its lackluster initial chart performance, “Gentle on My Mind” garnered a number of industry accolades. It won four Grammy Awards in 1968, including Best Country & Western Song and Best Folk Performance for songwriter John Hartford and Best Male Country & Western Solo Performance and Best Country & Western Recording for Glen Campbell. Mr. Campbell’s recording of the song was inducted into the Grammy Hall of Fame in 2008 and, in 2015, the Band Perry’s cover of the song won a Grammy for Best Country Duo/Group Performance. Not bad for a song that barely cracked the top forty.
And here’s an extra special daily bonus video of the day for you, Glen Campbell and John Hartford together, performing “Gentle on My Mind” on The Glen Campbell Goodtime Hour. These two gentleman were the best.
