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Song: Got My Mind Set On You (1987)
Artist: George Harrison
Album: Cloud Nine
Label: Dark Horse
Writer: Rudy Clark
George Harrison had a number one hit with Got My Mind Set on You in January of 1988. It was his last number one hit and the only one he didn’t write himself. The song was written by Rudy Clark and first recorded by James Ray in 1962. Harrison first heard it in 1963 while visiting his sister in Illinois, where he bought several albums, one of which was James Ray’s 1962 album containing the song. As a single, it was the b-side of the song Always.
Rudy Clark, who started out as a mailman in New York City in 1961, wrote many songs performed by artists such as James Ray, King Curtis, Wayne Newton, Ben E. King, Wilson Pickett, The Four Tops, and others. Several of the songs he wrote reached the top 100 in several charts including the Billboard Hot 100 and R&B, including at least six in the top 40.
His first songs were recorded by James Ray whose most famous hit was If You Gotta Make a Fool of Somebody, written by Rudy Clark. It reached number 1- on the Billboard R&B chart and 22 on the Hot 100 in 1962. Clark met Ray after seeing him perform in a small nightclub and suggested that he record some of his songs after Gerry Granahan of Caprice Records became interested. Rudy Clark was also close friends with singer Bobby Darin, who employed him in his TM Music/Trio music company.
George Harrison originally released his cover version of Got My Mind Set On You as a single and then on his album, Cloud Nine, which was released under his own label, Dark Horse Records. George Harrison’s other number one hits were:
Give Me Love (Give Me Peace on Earth) in 1973 and My Sweet Lord in 1970.