George Harrison’s 1987 single ‘Got My Mind Set On You’ holds a special position among post-Beatles solo work. It marked Harrison’s third #1 hit on the Billboard Hot 100 as a solo artist, giving him one more than both John Lennon and Ringo Starr (McCartney’s #1 hits were all recorded with Wings or as duets, complicating matters).
The song is also the last #1 hit by any member of The Beatles to date. Come on, Paul and Ringo… it’s not too late!
Unlike Harrison’s other #1 singles, however, this one was not written by him (to be fair, 1970’s ‘My Sweet Lord’ kinda wasn’t either). ‘Got My Mind Set On You’ is a cover of a song written by Rudy Clark and first recorded in 1962 by R&B singer James Ray.
Harrison first heard the track during the early years of The Beatles, and it made enough of an impression that he chose to cover it a quarter century later.
I got my mind set on you
I got my mind set on you
I know what I got to do
It’s gonna take money
Whole lotta spending money
It’s gonna take hard money
To do it up right, child
It’s gonna take time
A whole lot of precious time
It’s gonna take patience and time, oh
To do it, to do it, to do it, to do it, to do it
To do it, oh yeah
Everywhere I go, you know
Bad luck follows me
Every time I’ve fallen in love
You know I’m left in misery
This time I really feel
I feel that it’s really real
I feel if I put my mind to it
I feel that I really could do it
I got my mind set on you
I got my mind set on you
I got my mind set on you
I know what I got to do
It’s gonna take money
Whole lotta spending money
It’s gonna take hard money
To do it up right, child
It’s gonna take time
A whole lot of precious time
It’s gonna take patience and time, oh
To do it, to do it, to do it, to do it, to do it
To do it, to do it, to do it, to do it
I got my mind set on you
I know what I got to do
It’s gonna take money
Whole lotta spending money
It’s gonna take hard money
To do it up right, child
It’s gonna take time
A whole lot of precious time
It’s gonna take patience and time, oh
To do it, to do it, to do it, to do it, to do it
To do it, oh yeah
Everywhere I go you know
Bad luck follows me
Every time I fall in love
I’m left in misery
This time I really feel
I feel that it’s really real
I feel if I put my mind to it
I feel that I really could do it
It’s gonna take money
Whole lotta spending money
It’s gonna take hard money
To do it up right, child
It’s gonna take time
A whole lot of precious time
It’s gonna take patience and time, oh
To do it, to do it, to do it, to do it, to do it
To do it, oh yeah
To do it, to do it, to do it, to do it
Meet Me In Montauk 
Wow, I really had no idea this one was a cover!
What a fun romp! You really unearth some gems💝💝💝
I’ll do you one better. I never realized the cover was performed by George Harrison! Love that he admired the song for years before recording it, though I hope James Ray got some love and money (a whole lot of spending money) when Harrison got a hit off his song.