THE PAGES OF MY MIND

THE PAGES OF MY MIND

(Byron Hill & J. Remington Wilde)

Recorded by Ray Charles, Columbia Records, 1986

I knew we had something special with this song ever since I received a letter from Chet Atkins (unrelated to the Ray Charles recording) saying how much he liked the song. I was so proud of that letter that I sent it to my folks back in North Carolina, who still have it framed on their wall (see the text of the letter at the bottom of this page). J Wilde and I wrote this song in 1982. Four years later, I was working in the studio one day when I got a phone call from Margie Hunt at CBS. She asked "Did you know that Ray Charles recorded one of your songs?" Then she said it was scheduled to be a single! Those kinds of calls are very rare. In this business, you sometimes hear stories about nice surprises that happen to people, or successes that come out of the blue and change people's lives. This was one of those stories. I was on cloud nine when I heard the news, and to this day, I'm back on cloud nine every time I think about Ray Charles having recorded one of my songs. I had been a Ray Charles fan since I was very young, back when my parents used to wear out his 1962 LP 'Modern Sounds In Country & Western Music'. Twenty-four years later I couldn't believe I had the title cut of a Ray Charles album!

[LISTEN TO A SAMPLE OF RAY CHARLE'S VERSION]

THE PAGES OF MY MIND (Hill/Wilde)

YOU'RE THE FIRST AND ONLY ONE

WHO'S EVER HAD MY HEART

WRAPPED AROUND YOUR FINGER

AND EVERY TIME I THINK OF YOU

I'M NOT SURPRISED THAT THE

MEMORIES STILL LINGER

CAUSE I STILL HEAR THE SONGS THAT WE SANG

EACH STEP I TAKE DOWN MEMORY LANE

JUST TAKES ME FURTHER BACK IN TIME

THOSE MEMORIES ARE ALL I SEE

LIKE PHOTOGRAPHS OF YOU AND ME

AS I TURN THE PAGES OF MY MIND

THE PAGES OF MY MIND

SOMETIMES ALONE AT NIGHT

I CLOSE MY EYES AND

FEEL YOU THERE BESIDE ME

BUT DEEP DOWN INSIDE MY HEART

I KNOW THAT I HAVE

ONLY TOUCHED YOUR MEMORY

(REPEAT CHORUS)

(INSTRUMENTAL)

(REPEAT CHORUS)

YOU'RE THE FIRST AND ONLY ONE

WHO'S EVER HAD MY HEART

WRAPPED AROUND YOUR FINGER

--------------------------

LETTER FROM CHET ATKINS

Dear Byron,

Perry Como is going to delay recording for quite a while. I am telling you this because I don't want to tie up your song for too long. I still love "PAGES OF MY MIND" and would like to do something with it. Would appreciate having an exclusive on it for a little while longer. Could you please send me another cassette and lead sheet?

Regards,

Chet Atkins

January 25, 1984