Glen Campbell – Gentle On My Mind (1967)

Gentle On My Mind , Glen Campbell , 1967 Vinyl

 

“Gentle on My Mind” was written and recorded by John Hartford, which won four 1968 Grammy Awards. Hartford won the award for Best Folk Performance and Best Country & Western Song (Songwriter). The other two awards, Best Country & Western Solo Vocal Performance, Male and Best Country & Western Recording, went to Glen Campbell for his version of Hartford’s song.

John Hartford -- Gentle On My Mind

 

John Cowan Hartford was an American folk, country, and bluegrass composer and musician known for his mastery of the fiddle and banjo, as well as for his witty lyrics, unique vocal style, and extensive knowledge of Mississippi River lore.

Hartford reported that he was inspired to write the song after seeing the film Doctor Zhivago when his own memories took over, and that it took about thirty minutes to write down. Hartford said of the writing:

I went to see the movie Doctor Zhivago the night I wrote it. Everyone’s made a whole lot out of that. I know it gave me a feeling that caused me to start writing, but as far as saying it came from that, I don’t know. It just came from experience. While I was writing it, if I had any idea that was going to be a hit, it probably would have come out differently and it wouldn’t have been a hit. That just came real fast, a blaze, a blur.

Campbell heard Hartford’s original version on the radio and decided at once that he wanted to record it. At the time, Campbell was under contract with Capitol Records as a solo artist but had little success in establishing a name for himself. Campbell gathered some of his fellow Wrecking Crew session players to come into the Capitol studio to record a demo version that he could pitch to his producer Al De Lory. Between phrases and stanzas, Campbell would yell instructions to the players. He then left the rough recording for his producer to listen to. De Lory fell in love, not only with the song, but with the recording itself. Without telling Campbell, he took the tape back into the studio and removed the unwanted verbiage from between the phrases. He then released the demo recording, which became a hit for Campbell.

There is some question as to Hartford’s inspiration. This song, whose authorship is attributed to John Hartford, is both harmonically and melodically nearly identical to a substantial portion of Brazilian composer Dorival Caymmi’s 1954 version of his song “O Mar” (which also exists in a 1940 version that is orchestrated and more harmonically complex).

DORIVAL CAYMMI "O MAR"

 

That 1940 Brazilian song has a structure of the same basic melody (with some slight rhythmic variation.) This poses the question as to whether John Hartford was familiar with Dorival Caymmi’s 1954 version of Caymmi’s own composition “O Mar” and may have subconsciously taken its D-Section melody & harmonies and based his own composition (“Gentle On My Mind”) on the earlier Brazilian song.

“Gentle On My Mind” was ranked number 16 on BMI’s Top 100 Songs of the Century. Altogether it has been recorded by over 300 famous artists, Campbell’s version remains the best known in the United States.

 

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