"Gentle on My Mind" is a song that was written and originally recorded by John Hartford, and released on his second studio album, Earthwords & Music (1967).

It then caught the attention of Glen Campbell, who recorded his version with a group of session musicians known as the Wrecking Crew, of which he had been a part.

"Gentle on My Mind" was later recorded by several other singers, including Dean Martin, Aretha Franklin, Frank Sinatra, Andy Williams and Elvis Presley.

Inspired by the love story depicted in the film between Yuri Zhivago and Lara Antipova,[2] Hartford returned home and wrote "Gentle on my Mind" in between twenty and thirty minutes.

[9] Twelve years later, Hartford again attributed his inspiration to start writing the song to Doctor Zhivago, and said the content was a result of his personal experience.

[10] He described the song as a banjo tune without a chorus, and with a variety of words he deemed "hard to sing" because it "violated the principles of songwriting".

[11] At the time, Hartford worked as a disc jockey on the radio station WSIX and for the publishing company Tompall & the Glaser Brothers.

[16] Cashbox listed the single under their "Best Bets"; the magazine forecasted in a review that Hartford could get "heaps of spins" with his "poetic folk-country-flavored ballad".

[17][18] Hartford's recording of "Gentle on my Mind" attracted Glen Campbell's attention after he heard it on the radio and bought the single.

[21] Campbell left the demo tape at the studio for producer Al De Lory, who made slight production arrangements that Capitol Records accepted as a master for the single.

[36] The song was recorded by such singers as Tammy Wynette (1968), Frank Sinatra (1968), Patti Page (1968), Waylon Jennings (1968), Dean Martin (1969), Aretha Franklin (1969), and Elvis Presley (1969).

[45] Hartford's producer on the original recording of "Gentle on My Mind", Felton Jarvis, co-produced Presley's album From Elvis in Memphis (1969) with Chips Moman.

[50] Fourteen years later, Brazilian singer Roberto Carlos wrote the song "Caminhoneiro" ("Trucker") in Portuguese using the melody of "Gentle on My Mind."

[51] In 1985, Puerto Rican salsa singer Frankie Ruiz released a Spanish-language version of "Caminhoneiro" entitled "El Camionero".