Willie Nelson’s Heartfelt 1982 Acoustic Performance of “Always On My Mind”

An all-time classic. On this day in 1982, Willie Nelson was topping the country album charts with one of his signature records, *Always On My Mind*. It was his 27th studio album and ultimately became the Billboard #1 country album of the year. The album spent 22 weeks at the top of the charts and stayed for a total of 253 weeks on the Billboard Top Country Albums charts.

The title track, “Always On My Mind,” became one of Willie’s signature songs and biggest hits. It peaked at #1 on the Billboard U.S. Hot Country Songs chart in 1982. Written by Wayne Carson, Johnny Christopher, and Mark James, the song was originally recorded by Gwen McCrae as “You Were Always on My Mind” in 1972. Elvis Presley recorded a famous version two weeks after his separation from his wife Priscilla in 1972. To call the song a country standard feels like an understatement.

Willie’s version of “Always On My Mind” secured three wins at the 25th Grammy Awards in 1983. Wayne, Johnny, and Mark won Song of the Year and Best Country Song, while Willie won for Best Male Country Vocal Performance. This version also won CMA awards in two consecutive years, including Song of the Year in 1982 and 1983 for the writers. In 1982, Willie won the CMA for Single of the Year for the track, as well as Album of the Year for *Always on My Mind*.

Each song on the album is truly great. From his cover of Aretha Franklin’s “Do Right Woman, Do Right Man” and Paul Simon’s “Bridge Over Troubled Water,” to his re-recordings of his own songs including “Permanently Lonely” (from his 1969 *Good Times* album) and “The Party’s Over,” which was originally recorded for *The Party’s Over* album that was released in 1967, there isn’t a tune to skip on the whole tracklist.

The album even features another one of my all-time favorite country songs, “The Last Thing I Needed, First Thing This Morning,” which was also covered by Chris Stapleton for his *From A Room: Vol. 1* album. And if you’ve never seen Willie’s solo acoustic performance that was featured on the BBC in 1982, you’re missing out. It was shown on *Country at the BBC* but was originally filmed for the talk show *BBC Wogan* the year of its release.

The simplicity, sadness, and understated nature of this entire performance is pure magic. It is a perfect encapsulation of the greatness and importance of Willie Nelson and his timeless music. Long live the red-headed stranger; it simply doesn’t get any better than this.

“Always On My Mind”
“Last Thing I Needed First Thing This Morning”
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Source: Whiskey Riff