There's Something on Your Mind
Encyclopedia
"There's Something on Your Mind (Part 2)" is a 1960 novelty song
by Bobby Marchan
. The single was Marchan's most successful release on both the R&B and pop singles chart. "There's Something on Your Mind" made it to number one on the R&B charts and number thirty-one on the Billboard Hot 100
.
The song was originally recorded as "There Is Something on Your Mind" in 1957 by Big Jay McNeely
and his band in a small Seattle recording studio
, and leased more than a year later to Los Angeles
disc jockey
Hunter Hancock
's Swingin' Records label
, where it reached #42 on Billboard
s pop chart and number 2 on the R&B chart in early 1959. The lead vocalist on this original recording was Little Sonny Warner
. Though McNeely is listed as the song's writer, he has freely admitted that he purchased the song from the Rivingtons' vocalist John "Sonny' Harris, who in turn had lifted much of it from a gospel song, "Something on My Mind," by The Highway QCs.
The song has been recorded many times since then by Big Jay McNeely
himself with various collaborators, along with Freddy Fender
, B.B. King, Albert King
, Etta James
, Gene Vincent
, the Jolly Jacks (who parodied the violence of the Marchan recording), and others.
Novelty song
A novelty song is a comical or nonsensical song, performed principally for its comical effect. Humorous songs, or those containing humorous elements, are not necessarily novelty songs. The term arose in Tin Pan Alley to describe one of the major divisions of popular music. The other two divisions...
by Bobby Marchan
Bobby Marchan
Bobby Marchan was a well-respected American rhythm and blues bandleader, MC, singer-performer, recording artist, and female impersonator, who initially began performing in New Orleans nightclubs, specifically the Dew Drop Inn and the Club Tijuana in the mid 1950s.Marchan also toured with the band of...
. The single was Marchan's most successful release on both the R&B and pop singles chart. "There's Something on Your Mind" made it to number one on the R&B charts and number thirty-one on the Billboard Hot 100
Billboard Hot 100
The Billboard Hot 100 is the United States music industry standard singles popularity chart issued weekly by Billboard magazine. Chart rankings are based on radio play and sales; the tracking-week for sales begins on Monday and ends on Sunday, while the radio play tracking-week runs from Wednesday...
.
The song was originally recorded as "There Is Something on Your Mind" in 1957 by Big Jay McNeely
Big Jay McNeely
Big Jay McNeely is an American rhythm and blues saxophonist.-Biography:...
and his band in a small Seattle recording studio
Recording studio
A recording studio is a facility for sound recording and mixing. Ideally both the recording and monitoring spaces are specially designed by an acoustician to achieve optimum acoustic properties...
, and leased more than a year later to Los Angeles
Los Ángeles
Los Ángeles is the capital of the province of Biobío, in the commune of the same name, in Region VIII , in the center-south of Chile. It is located between the Laja and Biobío rivers. The population is 123,445 inhabitants...
disc jockey
Disc jockey
A disc jockey, also known as DJ, is a person who selects and plays recorded music for an audience. Originally, "disc" referred to phonograph records, not the later Compact Discs. Today, the term includes all forms of music playback, no matter the medium.There are several types of disc jockeys...
Hunter Hancock
Hunter Hancock
Hunter Hancock was a white American disc jockey regarded as the first in the Western United States to play rhythm and blues records on the radio, and among the first to broadcast rock and roll....
's Swingin' Records label
Record label
In the music industry, a record label is a brand and a trademark associated with the marketing of music recordings and music videos. Most commonly, a record label is the company that manages such brands and trademarks, coordinates the production, manufacture, distribution, marketing and promotion,...
, where it reached #42 on Billboard
Billboard (magazine)
Billboard is a weekly American magazine devoted to the music industry, and is one of the oldest trade magazines in the world. It maintains several internationally recognized music charts that track the most popular songs and albums in various categories on a weekly basis...
s pop chart and number 2 on the R&B chart in early 1959. The lead vocalist on this original recording was Little Sonny Warner
Little Sonny Warner
Little Sonny Warner was an American blues singer.Haywood S. Warner was born in 1930 in Falls Church, Virginia, and in the early 1950s, Warner sang as a backing vocalist for Van Walls on the Atlantic Records releases "After Midnight" and "Open the Door"...
. Though McNeely is listed as the song's writer, he has freely admitted that he purchased the song from the Rivingtons' vocalist John "Sonny' Harris, who in turn had lifted much of it from a gospel song, "Something on My Mind," by The Highway QCs.
The song has been recorded many times since then by Big Jay McNeely
Big Jay McNeely
Big Jay McNeely is an American rhythm and blues saxophonist.-Biography:...
himself with various collaborators, along with Freddy Fender
Freddy Fender
Freddy Fender , born Baldemar Garza Huerta in San Benito, Texas, United States, was a Mexican-American Tejano, country and rock and roll musician, known for his work as a solo artist and in the groups Los Super Seven and the Texas Tornados...
, B.B. King, Albert King
Albert King
Albert King was an American blues guitarist and singer, and a major influence in the world of blues guitar playing.-Career:...
, Etta James
Etta James
Etta James is an American blues, soul, rhythm and blues , rock and roll, gospel and jazz singer. In the 1950s and 1960s, she had her biggest success as a blues and R&B singer...
, Gene Vincent
Gene Vincent
Vincent Eugene Craddock , known as Gene Vincent, was an American musician who pioneered the styles of rock and roll and rockabilly. His 1956 top ten hit with his Blue Caps, "Be-Bop-A-Lula", is considered a significant early example of rockabilly...
, the Jolly Jacks (who parodied the violence of the Marchan recording), and others.