Breakup Ballad, With Over 300 Covers, Didn’t Become a Hit Until Elvis Presley’s 1972 Version

In late 1971, songwriter-guitarist Wayne Carson was working on a track but only had about two verses completed for it. He was in Memphis at the time, and the project he was on required him to stay a little over a week and a half longer than anticipated. He phoned his wife (who was home in Springfield at the time) to let her know, and she was rightfully frustrated with the situation. It prompted Carson to say to her:

“Well, I know I’ve been gone a lot, but I’ve been thinking about you all the time.”

The line struck Carson and he quickly wrapped up the phone call, eager to turn it into a song. With assistance from fellow songwriter Mark James, Carson and his writing parter, Johnny Christopher, finalized the track that would become the song, “Always on My Mind.”

In 1972, Elvis Presley recorded a version of the song just a few weeks after separating with his wife, Priscilla. The version became immensely popular and critically acclaimed, and is to this day considered one of Presley’s best songs of his work from the 1970s. The song was certified gold by the RIAA after being released on the b-side of “Separate Ways” single.

A common misconception about “Always on My Mind” (partially due to the coincidence of when the cover was recorded) is that it was written specifically about Presley’s martial troubles. Carson corrected this and clarified the song was really written for “the everyman”:

“[The song] was one long apology. It’s sort of like all guys who screw up and would love nothing better than to pick up the phone and call their wives and say, ‘Listen, honey, I could have done better, but I want you to know that you were always on my mind.'”

“Always on My Mind” is a massively popular song to cover, with AllMusic listing over 300 different recorded releases of the track to date. Other popular versions include versions by Willie Nelson, John Wesley Ryles, and the Pet Shop Boys. A 2017 holiday campaign by the fashion brand Burberry even included model Cara Delevingne covering the tune.

However the Elvis version truly has withstood the test of time. A 2013 poll conducted by ITV ranked the song as the number one for “The Nation’s Favorite Elvis Songs” ahead of “Suspicious Minds” and “Can’t Help Falling in Love.”

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