There's Something on Your Mind
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| "There's Something on Your Mind" | |
|---|---|
| Song | |
| Released | 1959 |
"There's Something on Your Mind (Part 2)" is a song originally recorded as "There Is Something on Your Mind" in 1957 by Big Jay McNeely. The song credits Cecil James McNeely as its writer, Big Jay McNeely's birth name.[1] The song has been recorded many times since then by Big Jay McNeely himself with various collaborators.
Background
[edit]Though McNeely is listed as the song's writer, he has freely admitted that he purchased the song from the Rivingtons' vocalist John "Sonny" Harris, who in turn had lifted much of it from a gospel song, "Something on My Mind" by the Highway QCs. The lead vocalist on this original recording was Little Sonny Warner. [2] The song was recorded along his band in a small Seattle recording studio, and leased more than a year later to Los Angeles disc jockey Hunter Hancock's Swingin' Records label.
Chart performance
[edit]This first recording reached No. 42 on the Billboard Hot 100 and No. 5 on the R&B chart in early 1959.[3]
Cover version
[edit]In 1960, Bobby Marchan recorded his version. The single was Marchan's most successful release on both the R&B and pop singles chart, where it peaked at No. 1 on the R&B chart and No. 31 on the Billboard Hot 100.[4]
Other versions
[edit]Versions have been recorded by many other artists, including:
- Freddy Fender
- B.B. King, Albert King
- Etta James
- Gene Vincent
- Baby Lloyd Stallworth (of the Famous Flames)
- The Jolly Jacks (who parodied the violence of the Marchan recording)
References
[edit]- ^ "Song: There Is Something on Your Mind written by Big Jay McNeely". Secondhandsongs.com. Retrieved 28 April 2021.
- ^ Blecha, Peter. "Birdland: Seattle's Fabled 1950s R&B Hotspot". HistoryLink. historylink.org. Retrieved 16 March 2023.
- ^ Whitburn, Joel (2004). Top R&B/Hip-Hop Singles: 1942-2004. Record Research. p. 391.
- ^ Whitburn, Joel (2004). Top R&B/Hip-Hop Singles: 1942-2004. Record Research. p. 376.
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