From “Always On My Mind” to “The Letter”
I have long been very partial to Willie Nelson’s version of this beautiful song. I find it to be understated rather than overdone, with a bittersweet and mature tone of regret. Here it is:
I had a vague memory – very vague – of the Elvis Presley version. When I listened to it after all these years, it just doesn’t move me the same way at all. I’ve never been a Presley fan; maybe that’s it. But it doesn’t reach me with that same tone of sincerity:
I was very surprised, though, to learn that the first recording of the song was by Brenda Lee. As usual, she sings very very well. However, call me sexist, but I don’t see this as a woman’s song. It just doesn’t work as well as when a man sings it. But here you go:
But none of those people wrote the song. It was written by a threesome: Johnny Christopher, Mark James and Wayne Carson. They sing it here; I like their version a lot:
But perhaps the most surprising thing of all is that Carson also wrote “The Letter,” an extremely different song. His rendition is here:
And the fabulous hit version, sung by The Boxtops and their 16-year-old lead singer with the raspy voice, all yukking it up here because they’re lip-syncing:
I like the Box Tops version but I really like the production on Joe Cocker’s version better. I like bigness of it. Plus I really like Joe Cocker maybe that’s just my own bias.
And Willie Nelson is unmatched with the sort of melancholy ‘love’ sings. His ‘Angel Flying Too Close To The Ground’ is one of the most beautiful sad songs ever. Just great.
It is said of you live a good life when you die you go live with Willie. Don’t like his politics but damn he can sing( and play guitar), a good trivia question ” what’s the name of Willie’s guitar?
Ain’t it funny how time sips away!
Sennacherib,
Trigger!
Could go on and on about just the early Willie Nelson writes from before he made it as a recording artist. ‘Funny How Time Slips Away’ that you alluded to and of course he wrote ‘Crazy’ and ‘Hello Walls’ and a favorite of mine called ‘Family Bible’.
Griffin,
I’m probably in a minority, but I can’t stand Joe Cocker. I immediately switch my Sirius channel if they play one of his songs.
The Boxtops version is my favorite.
Song hits too very close to home.
physicsguy:
I’m not keen on Joe Cocker.
I’m not saying Cocker is my favorite or anything and his gyrations were really odd but his knack for covering songs in interesting ways in that late 60s early 70s era was impressive to me. To me his ‘With A Little Help…’ is the only Beatles cover that improved on the original and ‘Feelin’ Alright’ I think is better than the Dave Mason Traffic original. ‘The Letter’ is a closer call and I like his version for the production as much as anything.
Not that much of a Willy Nelson fan but his version is very good.
I recently met someone who said they really loved Willie Nelson’s voice. When I mentioned his cover of Just Breathe, they’d never heard of it. It’s great.
https://youtu.be/ow-Cx9IX4So
Trigger is correct! You can’t beat Willie doing started out with the plans of a wise
man ended up with the heartaches of a fool.!
https://youtu.be/DzfigM_heww?si=lW8l-5FVoK1ko67X
“The Letter” was included in my post “Heartsignals”, featuring songs that center around some kind of communications media:
https://chicagoboyz.net/archives/70780.html
Oh….I thought I’d included ‘The Letter’, but I didn’t…someone did mention it in comments, though.
physicsguy and neo, I’m less in the “not keen” and more in the “can’t stand” camp.
I liked the Box Tops lip-synced video and I remember when the song came out. Under two minutes, short and sweet – perfect!
I also have no use for Joe Cocker’s music, except for Love Lift Us Up Where We Belong, which is a fun karaoke song, especially if you can find a cute partner to sing Jennifer Warnes’ part!
On second thought I also think he did a great job with You Are So Beautiful.
The only time I ever cared for Joe Cocker was when dueted with John Belushi on SNL. And that was only because of John Belushi.
While it’s been said that the world can be divided up into Elvis people and Beetles people, I myself have never been particularly fond of either one, nor of Willie either, which as a particularly xenophobic Texas Native (TM) may surprise some of you.
I ran this post past Mr Whatsit, a pianist and singer who ordinarily loves Willie Nelson. To my surprise, he does not like “You Were Always on my Mind” one bit, though I do. He says, “Excuses, excuses!” What good does it do the poor girl he was supposedly remembering if all that time he was somewhere else, doing what he felt like doing, no matter how she felt or what he remembered or didn’t bother to remember? Mr Whatsit hears the song as maybe Shirehome does.
The funny thing is that we’ve had this same argument before about an entirely different song, “Gentle on my Mind,” written by John Hartford and made famous by Glen Campbell. Mr W likes the song and I can’t stand it, because of just the sort of excuse-making that Mr W’s objecting to in the Willie Nelson song. Oh yeah, he loves her because she lets him keep his sleeping bag rolled up behind her couch, and she’s gentle on his mind when he’s off somewhere going wherever he wants and she’s back home alone? I’m sure she’s absolutely delighted. Give me a break!
Mr W agrees with me that the message is the same but says the Gentle song is lyrically and musically worlds above the Willie Nelson song. One, he says, is poetry, and one isn’t.
So that’s the musical discourse going on in the Whatsit household. Thanks for posting the song, Neo. It gave rise to interesting conversation as the freezing rain slants down and the day outside darkens and December slips closer to its end.
As for Joe Cocker, Mr Whatsit would like me to add that the difference between Joe Cocker’s “With a Little Help from my Friends” and the Beatles’ original is that the Beatles sang it in 4/4 and Joe Cocker sang it in 3/4.
Whether or not that’s the reason, it’s one of the only Joe Cocker songs I can get myself to listen to.
I noticed you like the Belmont Club.
Re: “With a Little Help from My Friends.”
Mrs Whatsit:
Hmm … you’re right. Cocker does sing it in 3/4 and the Beatles in 4/4. Pretty tricky!
FWIW the Beatles loved Cocker’s version. He brought a black sound to their song that they greatly admired.
One critic remarked, well, Joe Cocker is not Ray Charles, but he’s close enough to give us songs Ray didn’t have time to get to.
Re: Joe Cocker
I will full-throatedly defend Joe Cocker and his first three albums, culminating in his live album and film, “Mad Dogs & Englishmen,” from which his version of “The Letter” emerged.
“Mad Dogs” is a peak moment in rock’n’roll, never surpassed IMO for its unique, near orchestral (~40 players) blend of rock, blues and country. Leon Russell, who produced and conducted the performances, gets equal credit.
Unfortunately, it was also Cocker’s peak. He was already exhausted from previous tours and discovered he was obligated to tour again. Russell did the heavy lifting, but between Cocker’s alcoholism, other drugs, and the stress, it took him years to recover and he never fully recovered his prime.
–“Joe Cocker – The Letter (Live From Mad Dogs & Englishmen)
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=LqnatdH4jmA
RIP Joe Cocker (1944–2014)
Cocker bought a ranch near my parents, he was a good guy.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=hIuryZ8JUJM
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=c5dwksSbD34
The Pet Shop Boys did a cover of “You Were Always On My Mind” back during the Cold War, when MTV still played videos. This one seems like they couldn’t decide on a concept, so they mixed it all into a surreal soup, along with a promo at the end for their next single.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=wDe60CbIagg&list=RDwDe60CbIagg&start_radio=1
Bj
I know it’s the Pet Shop boys, but it sounds a little like Willie.
@ Sennacherib,
Yes, it does. The PSB undoubtably heard Willie’s version and subconsciously or not, echoed him.
BTW, the PSB had a surprisingly encyclopedia like knowledge of recent music history. When they recorded their single “What Have I Done To Deserve This”, they knew the only feminine voice for the counterpoint was Dusty Springfield’s. There were plenty of contemporary stars who would have filled in, but hers was perfect and they knew it.