George Harrison | Got My Mind Set On You
24 years after the Beatles first hit, George Harrison's "Got My Mind Set On You" was at No.1 on the U.S. singles chart. Written by Rudy Clark, James Ray First recorded the song in 1962. George Harrison purchased a copy of the single when he was in Illinois visiting his sister Louise. Several years later while he was writing material for his Cloud Nine album, he remembered the song and decided to cover it. Electric Light Orchestra (ELO) leader Jeff Lynne produced the single with Harrison, his influence can be heard in the backing vocals of the chorus. (In 1988 Jeff Lynne and George Harrison formed The Traveling Wilburys along with Bob Dylan, Tom Petty, and Roy Orbison.)
George Harrison hadn't recorded a hit since 1981 with "All Those Years Ago," and his previous U.S. No.1 was "Give Me Love (Give Me Peace On Earth)" back in 1973. He held the record for longest span between No.1 hits until the Beach Boys released "Kokomo". Released November 2, 1987 Cloud Nine was Harrison's comeback album
Harrison released the album Gone Troppo earlier in 1987 which didn't do well. To Prove that he could whip up a hit, Harrison released this very simplistic cover song and it was a huge commercial success. A lot of Harrison's work was well off the norm, using unconventional instruments and based on Indian music. This proved that he could release a song that required little thought and send it up the charts. Predictably, many of Harrison's loyal fans can't stand this song.
The video for "Got My Mind Set On You", which shows the former Beatle surrounded by household objects that dance on their own, was played regularly on MTV, helping market the song at a time when MTV was still popular and playing a lot of videos.
The song would be George Harrison's last single to chart and the last single by a Beatle as solo artist's to reach No.1 in the U.S. He was also the first Beatle to score a No.1 single with "My Sweet Lord."
Album: Cloud Nine
Released: 1987
