let the muSSSic play

This was written by the songwriting trio of Johnny Christopher, Mark James and Wayne Carson Thompson. It was originally recorded by Brenda Lee in 1971.

This song tells the story of a man who admits that he didn't always do the things he should have to show appreciation for his lady, but wants her to know he was always thinking about her.

The Country Music Association named this Single Of The Year in 1982.

Elvis Presley recorded this in 1972. His version reached #9 in the UK. A cover version by The Pet Shop Boys made UK #1 in December 1987. They had released it after performing it on a BBC Elvis tribute show. (thanks, Adam - Dewsbury, England)

Levi's used this in a 2004 commercial where a guy goes to great lengths to retrieve his jeans. He brings his old girlfriend a flower as a peace offering, then grabs his jeans and leaves while she puts it in water.

In the January 2006 issue of Esquire magazine, B.B. King said that this was his favorite song.

In 1987, The Pet Shop Boys released a dance version on their album Introspective which was the Christmas #1 in the UK and reached #4 in the US. Neil Tennant explained to 1000 UK #1 Hits by Jon Kutner and Spencer Leigh, "We were approached by Central TV to be on a program called Love Me Tender, commemorating the 10th anniversary of the death of Elvis Presley, and for some reason, we agreed to do it. Rob Holden, who worked with our manager, Tony watkins, got us a load of Elvis cassettes and the first track on the first one Chris picked up, Magic Moments With Elvis, was Always On My Mind. We were originally going to do a house version of Baby Let's Play House but there wasn't time. We wouldn't have done Always On My Mind unless it was very different from the original, so we added an extra chord to it. There's a B flat at the end of each chorus that wasn't in the original. It makes it far more like a pop song." (thanks, Edward Pearce - Ashford, Kent, England)

As part of a series of re-releases of Elvis songs in the UK in 2007 his version re-entered the UK chart at #17.