Song Of The Day 5/19/2013: James Ray - "I've Got My Mind Set On You"

Now that we're done with the first Quarterly Covers Report, let's do something in reverse: the original version of a well-known cover. George Harrison had a huge hit with "Got My Mind Set On You," in fact it was the last song that had anything to do with a Beatle to hit #1 on the Billboard Hot 100. James Ray's original recording was a distorted mambo, with a lot of lyrics and lines that didn't make it to Harrison's translation, plus a weirdly inserted banjo in the final verse. I will always wonder how Harrison stumbled upon this song because it doesn't seem to immediately reflect what influenced the Beatles. But I could see them dancing to it.