Gentle On My Mind by Glen Campbell

Album: Gentle On My Mind (1967)

Charted: 39

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Songfacts®:

This song, written by John Hartford, won four 1968 Grammy awards, including one for Hartford for Best Folk Performance, and one for Glen Campbell for Best Country & Western Solo Vocal Performance, Male. Hartford's inspiration for this song was the movie Doctor Zhivago. After watching the film, he sat down and wrote the lyrics in about 15 minutes.
Doctor Zhivago is a poignant love story which takes place during the Bolshevik Revolution. It stars Omar Sharif as Doctor Yuri Zhivago, a married doctor, who falls in love with Julie Christie's Lara Antipova, a political activist. The film won several Academy Awards in 1965.
Glen Campbell's version of this song was the first major hit for John Hartford, who - up to that point - had enjoyed only moderate success as a singer and songwriter. Campbell used this song as the theme to his TV variety show The Glen Campbell Goodtime Hour which ran 1969-1972. More recently the Lucinda Williams recording appeared over the closing credits in the Will Ferrell movie Talladega Nights: The Ballad of Ricky Bobby.
Having been recorded by musical giants including Dean Martin (whose version reached #2 in the UK in 1969) and Aretha Franklin, this song is one of the most-recorded country songs in history. >>
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Angela - San Antonio, TX
The country music group The Band Perry covered the song in 2014 for the soundtrack of the documentary Glen Campbell: I'll Be Me. Their rendition won the Grammy Award for Best Country Duo/Group Performance.

Comments: 23

Cliff Whalen from Lowell Mass.Could this song also be influenced by Jack Kerouac’s novel “On The Road?”
Seventh Mist from 7th HeavenHartford’s own recording of his song is even better than Campbell’s. Give it a listen!
Tom Anderson from Los AngelesSeeing his version on youtube with his guitar solo is a must! I like the song, but it is not until you get older and you read and/or really listen to the lyrics of the song and realize what it is all about. The guy is a total dirty bum who somehow gets a woman to let him occasionally crash at her place in his dirty sleeping bag, and thinks about her as he continues to bum around the country. And, of course, he will never commit to her, she is just a convenient person to use.
Karl Andersen from Warba, Minnesota"My beard a roughenen, coal piled, and a dirty hat pulled low across my face." Listed to any of the You Tube videos and watch and listen to how he pronounces "piled". There's a definite "d" on the end of "piled".
Jessica from Maine, UsaI think the 3rd to last line is "That you're WAVING from the back roads" not waiting. Or at least that is what I have always thought it was. <3
Ed from Westlake Village, CaI forgot to mention that Leonard Cohen sang "Gentle on my mind" in one of the clubs in Old Montreal, Canada. He of course, credited the song to the great Glen Cambell.
Ed from Westlake Village, CaI remember going back to the 60's when I started working in Toronto with Ronnie Hawkins (the Hawk). i used to spend a lotta time at his ranch in Mississauga Ontario where I met some iconic celebrities. At that time Leonard Cohen was not that well known and I met him at one of Ronnie's performance. Later I met Lenny in old Montreal. Glen Cambell visited Toronto and appeared in CBC's show. That where I met him and then again at Ronie's home. What a humble and a gracious man Glen is. I remember him in my prayers and I hope that his journey to the next phase of our travel through this earth would be forever peaceful and with full of great music! My heart and prayers are with him and his lovely family. May the Lord bring all the blessings, love, peace and happiness to him and his loved ones as he shared the love of music with hundreds of millions around the world!
Barry from Sauquoit, NyOn July 2nd 1967, "Gentle On My Mind" by Glen Campbell entered Billboard's Hot Top 100 at position #100; eventually it peaked at #62 and spent 7 weeks on the Top 100...
And one year later on September 8th, 1968 it re-entered the Top 100 at position #89, and remained on the chart for 9 weeks, peaking at #39...
Also in 1968 Patti Page released her own covered version of the song, her version reached #66 on the Top 100...
R.I.P. Ms. Page, born Clara Ann Fowler, (1927 - 2013) and may God bless and watch over Mr. Campbell.
Barry from Sauquoit, NyOn May 4th 1969, Aretha Franklin's covered version of "Gentle On My Mind" entered Billboard's Hot Top 100 chart at position #77; it stayed on the Top 100 for three weeks, peaking at #76 (for 2 weeks) and then dropped of the chart...
The record's A-side, "I Can't See Myself Leaving You", reached #28 on the Top 100 and #3 on Billboard's Hot R&B Singles chart...
Ms. Franklin celebrated her 72nd birthday ten days ago on March 25th, 2014.
Brady from Niagara Falls, NyOne of the greatest. Hard to believe it took Hartford 15 minutes to write the lyrics. Love his recorded version better than Campbell's.
Deanna from Las Vegas , Nvi think it is brilliant ..The perfect marriage of lyrics ,melody and interpretation
Charles Hollingswort from Leeds, AlGlen Campbell recorded an album with Bobbie Gentry with "Gentle On My Mind" on it with added female lyrics for Bobbie. This album came out in either '68 or '69 following the success of Bobbie's "Ode To Billie Joe" and was recorded on Capitol Records,both of the singer's label.
Barry from Sauquoit, Ny"That makes me tend to leave my sleeping bag rolled up and stashed behind your couch."
Great lyrics; 1st time it heard them they stayed inside my head for the longest time!!!!
Ekristheh from Halath, United StatesI've got Leonard Nimoy's recording of this. Not bad at all (can't say as much for the instrumentals).
Stormy from Kokomo, InI, too, remember this song as the opening to the "Glen Campbell Goodtime Hour" back in the 70s. We also had shows like "Laugh In", the "Smothers Brothers Show", the "Sonny and Cher Show", the "Ed Sullivan Show", etc that showcased musical groups. I first saw Kenny Rogers when he was with The First Edition on the Smothers Brothers Show when they had the hit record"Just Dropped In (To See What condition My Condition Was In)" and the video showed them walking through a natural history museum with dinosaurs while they sang the song! It had to be one of the first music videos on television! I truly miss the old variety shows that showcased musical groups.
Wayne from Salem, VaA good Glen Campbell song from the 1960's. Waylon Jennings did a very good cover of this song.
Mrcleaveland from Cleveland,Terrific vagabond imagery.
Matthew from Bromley, United KingdomElvis presley also recorded this song during his classic 1969 sessions that produced some of his finest work
Tony from Cincinnati, OhMy all time favorite song
I could listen to it over and over again. I am haunted by the arrangement.
Donna from College Station, TxAlbum of this title was No 6 on Top Albums of Oct 1968, source Billboard 20 years ago list Oct 8, 1988
Mark from Byrdstown, TnJohn Harford wrote this amazing song,the 't' was added to his name by Chet Atkins when he signed Harford to a contract at RCA.

Harford was a top notch banjo player and also a riverboat pilot.This song has been recorded hundreds of times by various people.
John from Mentor, OhAs a 16year old, I grew to hate this song...my 21 y.o. sister played it over and over and over.
Subsequently, as an English major and Newspaper Reporter, I became most appreciative of Hartford's imagery... to the point of hating him!
Perhaps the style is sadly passe', but the lyrics(imagery)are stunning!
John, Euclid, Ohio
Guy from Woodinville, WaA lovely melody married wo some briliant lyrics--this song is the complete package!

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