On This Day in 1982, Willie Nelson Began a 22-Week Reign at No. 1 With the Year’s Biggest Country Album

More than a singer, guitarist, and activist, Willie Nelson is also a gifted songwriter. Among the gems in his catalog are “Crazy” by Patsy Cline and his own 1981 chart-topper “Angel Flying Too Close to the Ground”. However, one of the Red-Headed Stranger’s most successful albums contained no original material at all. On this day (August 6) in 1982, Nelson was back on top of the country albums chart with Always On My Mind.

Willie Nelson, Alabama Dominated the Charts That Year

Spending a total of 253 weeks on Billboard’s Top Country Albums chart, Always On My Mind consisted primarily of adult-contemporary and pop standards, such as Paul Simon’s “Bridge Over Troubled Water” and “Do Right Woman, Do Right Man”—originally recorded by Aretha Franklin.

The album first reached number one in May 1982, dethroning Alabama’s Mountain Music.

In fact, the 1982 Top Country Albums chart was mainly a tug-of-war between Willie Nelson and the Country Music Hall of Fame band.

Alabama rang in the new year with their first-ever number-one album, Feels So Right. Two weeks later, Nelson pushed the Grammy winners out of the top spot with Greatest Hits (& Some That Will Be).

Only two other acts—Ricky Skaggs and the Oak Ridge Boys—would reach number one on the country albums chart that year.

Alabama reclaimed the top spot in April with Mountain Music, holding steady until Nelson arrived with Always On My Mind.

Selling more than four million copies, the LP spent 22 non-consecutive weeks on top of the chart.

Additionally, Always On My Mind boasts the longest run at number one of any Nelson’s chart-topping albums—spending twice as long on top as any of his other 12 LPs to reach that milestone.

The Country Music Association also named Always On My Mind its Album of the Year for 1982.

Merle Haggard Turned Down This Hit

Perhaps Always On My Mind owes much of its success to its title track.

“Always On My Mind” quickly climbed to number one on Billboard‘s Hot Country Singles chart, where it stayed for two weeks. It also spent some time on the pop chart, reaching number five on the Billboard Hot 100.

Willie Nelson first heard “Always On My Mind” while he and Merle Haggard were putting the finishing touches on Pancho & Lefty, their 1983 duet album.

Co-writer Johnny Christopher—who played guitar on Pancho & Lefty—played the song for the two outlaw country icons.

Their reactions couldn’t have been more different. Haggard wasn’t a fan at all; whereas Nelson immediately booked extra time in the studio to record a solo demo.

[RELATED: “Let’s Not Allow Our Own Demise”: Willie Nelson Sounds Alarm Over Threat to Rural America]

“We’ll never know what would have happened if Merle had really heard the song right,” Nelson, now 93, said in his 1988 autobiography. “‘Always on My Mind’ bowled me over the moment I first heard it, which is one way I pick songs to record. There are beautifully sad songs that bowl me over… haunting melodies you can’t get out of your mind, with lines that really stick.”

Featured image by Paul Natkin/Getty Images