In 1988 I bought Cloud Nine by George Harrison. It stayed on my turntable and in my cassette player for months. This song is not my favorite on the album but I was happy to see George at the top of the charts for the first time since “Give Me Love (Give Me Peace on Earth)” in 1973.
The song was written and composed by Rudy Clark and originally recorded by James Ray in 1962 but it was not a hit for James.
ELO’s Jeff Lynne produced this song with Harrison. His influence can be heard in the backing vocals of the chorus. The song peaked at #1 in the Billboard 100, #1 in Canada, #2 in the UK, and #4 in NewZealand in 1988.
This song is the last number 1 song by a Beatle. Paul did have a number 1 album in 2018 with Egypt Station. Cloud Nine peaked at #8 in the Billboard Album Chart.
From Songfacts
This was written by Rudy Clark and originally recorded by James Ray in 1962. Harrison bought a copy of the single in the summer of 1963 when visiting his sister Louise in Illinois. Many years later when he was writing his Cloud Nine album, he remembered the song and decided to cover it.
Cloud Nine was Harrison’s comeback album. He hadn’t had a hit since 1981 with “All Those Years Ago,” and his previous US #1 was “Give Me Love (Give Me Peace On Earth)” in 1973. Until the Beach Boys released “Kokomo,” Harrison had the record for longest span between #1 hits. “Got My Mind Set On You,” however, was his last single to chart.
Harrison released another album earlier in 1982 called Gone Troppo, which flopped. Proving that he could whip up a hit, he released this very simplistic cover song and it was a huge commercial success. A lot of Harrison’s work was well off the mainstream, using unusual instruments and based on Indian music. This proved that he could release a song requiring very little thought and send it up the charts. Predictably, many of Harrison’s ardent followers can’t stand this song.
Along with Roy Orbison, Bob Dylan, and Tom Petty, Harrison and Lynne formed The Traveling Wilburys in 1988.
Got My Mind Set On You
I got my mind set on you
I got my mind set on you
I got my mind set on you
I got my mind set on you
But it’s gonna take money
A whole lot of spending money
It’s gonna take plenty of money
To do it right, child
It’s gonna take time
A whole lot of precious time
It’s gonna take patience and time, um
To do it, to do it, to do it, to do it, to do it
To do it right, child
I got my mind set on you
I got my mind set on you
I got my mind set on you
I got my mind set on you
And this time I know it’s for real
The feelings that I feel
I know if I put my mind to it
I know that I really can do it
I got my mind set on you
Set on you
I got my mind set on you
Set on you
But it’s gonna take money
A whole lot of spending money
It’s gonna take plenty of money
To do it right, child
It’s gonna take time
A whole lot of precious time
It’s gonna take patience and time, um
To do it, to do it, to do it, to do it, to do it
To do it right
I got my mind set on you
I got my mind set on you
I got my mind set on you
I got my mind set on you
And this time I know it’s for real
The feelings that I feel
I know if I put my mind to it
I know that I really can do it
But it’s gonna take money
A whole lot of spending money
It’s gonna take plenty of money
To do it right, child
It’s gonna take time
A whole lot of precious time
It’s gonna take patience and time, um
To do it, to do it, to do it, to do it, to do it
To do it right
Set on you
Set on you
Set on you
Set on you
Set on you
Set on you
Set on you
Set on you
I set my mind on you
I’m gonna set on you
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