Songs You Never Knew Were Covers: ‘Got My Mind Set On You’ [Video]

The latest installment in our weekly feature takes us to 1988 when former Beatle George Harrison had one of his biggest selling singles ever with 'Got My Mind Set On You'. 

The hit marked two firsts for Harrison: It was his first number one single that didn't mention God ('My Sweet Lord' and 'Give Me Love' both mentioned a higher deity), and it was the first hit he didn't write himself.

It was written 25 years earlier by a former mail carrier named Rudy Clark.

Clark wrote the song for a young artist he discovered named James Ray, a diminutive R&B singer, who's soulful take on the song surprisingly went nowhere. Clark would later go on to write hits for Betty Everett ('It's In His Kiss'), and The Rascals ('Good Lovin'').

The Beatles' George Harrison purchased a copy of Ray's album in 1963 when he went to the United States to visit his sister. He loved the song 'Got My Mind Set On You' so much, he laid down the track during sessions for his album 'Cloud Nine'. It hit number one early in 1988, becoming his biggest selling solo record.

The original displayed Ray's emotional vocal qualities, but my have been set back by a tinny production sound, which belied the bigness of the backing band causing it to stall on the R&B charts,