1987 Pop Song, Originally a Flop, Became a Number 1 Hit When a Rock Legend Sang It
George Harrison's Got My Mind Set on You is an iconic song now, but the 1987 pop hit was originally a flop.
Here's what happened. According to Mix Online,Got My Mind Set on You was originally recorded by R&B singer James Ray in 1962. But it flopped. It was written by Rudy Clark, who, according to Mix Online, was "best known for Good Lovin' and It's In His Kiss."
How did Harrison get the song? "Harrison bought the single on his first trip to America and the song stuck with him through the years," Mix Online explained.
What happened to James Ray? Tragically, the artist died of a drug overdose in his 20s, just 10 months after his first album dropped. So, he never received the acclaim he deserved. But his version of the song did get renewed attention after Harrison made it a hit.
You Can Listen to James Ray's Version on YouTube
You can listen to Ray's version on YouTube.
Here, of course, is the Harrison version of the iconic song.
Harrison seemed like an "artist reborn" when the song sailed to the number one spot, according to Covermesongs, and many people don't realize that the song is a cover.
The site noted that the song was "exactly the kind of catchy rock ‘n' roll number someone who'd been in the Beatleswould come up with." The reason many people don't realize the song was a cover is also because Ray was a largely unknown soul singer, Covermesongs explained.
Harrison, the site reported, discovered the song at age 20 while "visiting his sister in the small mining town of Benton, Illinois, USA, while on a break from recording sessions for the Beatles' second album at Abbey Road, London." He bought Ray's album in a Benton music store. The cover did help Ray's version become his best known song.
The George Harrison Official Instagram page quotes Harrison as saying, "The song itself stuck in my head and every so often I sang it to myself."
The George Harrison Song Ranked High on a List of the Greatest Cover Songs in Music History
Classic Music named the song 10th on a list of the greatest cover songs in history.
According to Classic Music, it wasn't the only James Ray song to end up a hit after a legend covered it.
"The song was nothing new, however, having been written by Rudy Clark and recorded by James Ray in 1962," Classic Music noted. "It wasn't the only Rudy Clark song to have an unexpected rebirth, with a version of his ‘The Shoop Shoop Song (It's in His Kiss)' by Cher becoming a UK number one in 1990."
"I've Got My Mind Set on You helped propel Harrison back into the public eye. "The Beatle known as the quiet one had been out of the public glare – not to mention the singles charts – for a number of years when his 1987 album Cloud Nine became his most successful album both critically and commercially for well over a decade, spawning the internation smash hit Got My Mind Set On You," explained Classic Music.
This story was originally published by Men's Journal on Jun 20, 2026, where it first appeared in the Entertainment section. Add Men's Journal as a Preferred Source by clicking here.
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This story was originally published June 20, 2026 at 11:00 AM.