35 years on from George Harrison’s final number one, ‘Got My Mind Set On You’
After George Harrison released his tenth solo album, Gone Troppo, in 1982, the former Beatle went on a musical hiatus, choosing instead to focus on his film production company, Handmade Films. Gone Troppo hadn’t been a success, with critics describing it as “undoubtedly the worst” of his albums. In fact, the project was the only solo album of Harrison’s not to chart in the US Top 20 and failed to chart in the UK entirely.
By the latter end of the 1980s, Harrison felt inspired to make music again and began working on a new album. The result was Cloud Nine, released in 1987, to much success. It became the last album that Harrison would release in his lifetime – his final studio album, Brainwashed, was posthumously released in 2002.
The biggest hit from Cloud Nine was ‘I Got My Mind Set On You’, his first US number-one since 1973’s ‘Give Me Love (Give Me Peace On Earth)’. Despite the song’s success, it was Harrison’s last single to chart. The track is a cover, originally composed by Rudy Clark and performed by James Ray in 1962. Sadly, just a year after Ray released the single, he was found dead at 22, the result of a drug overdose.
When Harrison visited his sister Louise in Illinois in 1963, he bought a copy of Ray’s album that contained the track. Although he took a liking to the song, it took him 25 years to cover it, which resulted in one of his most popular recordings since his time with The Beatles.
Harrison began recording the track in 1987 at his home studio in Friar Park, employing ELO member Jeff Lynne to co-produce it and provide bass and keys. Jim Keltner joined on drums, Jim Horn on saxophone, and Ray Cooper on percussion.
The track is a distinctive departure from Harrison’s usual experimentation with Indian music and psychedelic sounds, instead leaning into the mainstream with a catchy beat and singalong chorus. The musician completely transformed the original track, which is significantly more soulful and orchestral, into a lighthearted pop hit.
Harrison’s version was accompanied by B-side ‘Lay His Head’, a remixed version of an unreleased track initially made for his album Somewhere in England. The single hit number two in the UK, remaining in that position for four weeks. The track appeared on Cloud Nine a month later, reaching number ten in the UK and eight in the US.
The hit was accompanied by two different music videos, both directed by Gary Weis. The first showed actor Alexis Denisof playing a teenager attempting to win over a girl in an arcade; meanwhile, the pair watch a black-and-white video of Harrison and his band playing the song.
In the bizarre alternative video, inspired by Evil Dead II, which had recently been released, household objects begin to move in time with the song before Harrison (well, a stunt double) backflips off his chair and performs a dance routine.
Whether you like the song or prefer his folk and world music-inspired tracks, it is undeniable that when Harrison released ‘I Got My Mind Set On You’, he proved himself capable of making a hit single despite many years of musical absence.
Never Miss A Beat
The Far Out Beatles Newsletter
All the latest stories about The Beatles from the independent voice of culture.
Straight to your inbox.