Gentle On My Mind-The Band Perry (Republic/ Nashville)

Young’uns got no history with this song, don’t know how monstrously huge it was back in the 60’s. Glenn Campbell’s stellar version was #1 on the Country chart, #5 on the Pop charts in ’67 and for several years beginning in January ’69 it was the opening and closing theme song of his TV variety show which was highly rated. Now, on the Pop charts, it was quite a surprising success because the age of the Doors and Hendrix and Sgt. Pepper’s, pop stations were playing fewer and fewer Country “crossovers” than they had in previous years. Literally all ages liked it, it speaks to something in our souls, I think. The record just “feels right”. This is from the soundtrack of a new movie about Campbell, who many people know is sliding deeper into Alzheimers now and has been the subject of a number of profiles on television shows like CBS Sunday Morning. There’s a lot of good nostalgic vibes around the man just now so the recording carries some extra heft with knowledgeable fans in upper demos right off. Besides that, Campbell’s is one of the most listenable songs ever recorded, I think. Lord knows, I’ve heard it a huge number of times in my life and have never tired of it’s gentle calling. And the Band Perry does it justice. This is a very good rendition of the classic.