In 1957 while still in high school, Tillotson was making records and performing on stage; as a student at the University of Florida, he had his own musical variety show on regional television. Following graduation in 1959 with a Bachelor's Degree in Journalism and Communications, he signed with Cadence Records and moved to New York City to pursue his music career. In 1960, he recorded his first hit, a composition entitled "Poetry in Motion" (written by Anthony/Kaufman), that went to #2 on the Billboard Hot 100 in the U.S. and #1 on the UK Singles Chart.
A "crossover" artist, several of Tillotson's songs were successful on both the country music charts and pop charts. He earned a Grammy Award nomination for another of his own compositions, "It Keeps Right On a-Hurtin," and also for the song "Heartaches by the Number," nominated for Best Vocal Performance of 1965. He also appeared in the 1963 film "Just for Fun" and sang the theme song for the 1965 Sally Field television comedy "Gidget".
In a career spanning more than 40 years, Tillotson has recorded 26 singles that made it onto Billboard's charts, and performed at venues across the United States and other places around the globe.
He was featured in the 1966 camp comedy The Fat Spy starring Jayne Mansfield, Jack E. Leonard, Phyllis Diller, Brian Donlevy and Jordan Christopher & the Wild Ones. This film was featured in the 2004 documentary The 50 Worst Movies Ever Made (#46).
Out Of My Mind
Johnny Tillotson Lyrics
Jump to: Overall Meaning ↴ Line by Line Meaning ↴
Quite as often as I could have
Maybe I didn't treat you
Quite as good as I should have
If I made you feel second best
Girl I'm sorry I was blind
But you were always on my mind
Maybe I didn't hold you
All those lonely, lonely times
I guess I never told you
That I am so happy that you're mine
If I made you feel second best
Girl I'm sorry I was blind
But you were always on my mind
You were always on my mind
Tell me, tell me that your sweet love hasn't died
Give me, give me one more chance
To keep you satisfied
I'll keep you satisfied
Little things I should have said and done
I just never took the time
But you were always on my mind
You were always on my mind
You were always on my mind
You were always on my mind
The lyrics of Johnny Tillotson’s song “Out of My Mind” express regret for not treating a past lover the way they deserved, but also a deep desire to make things right. He admits to not loving her as often or as well as he could have, and not being there for her during lonely times. He acknowledges that he made her feel like she was second best, but he was blind to her worth at the time. Despite all of this, she was always on his mind, indicating that he never forgot how she made him feel or the impact she had on his life.
By apologizing and asking for one more chance to keep her satisfied, he shows that he is willing to do better and has learned from his mistakes. He recognizes the importance of the little things that he should have said or done, but failed to do so. The lyrics are a plea for forgiveness and a chance to make things right.
Overall, the song speaks to the complexity of relationships and the ways in which we can fail to treat the people we love with the care and respect they deserve. It shows the importance of recognizing our mistakes and making efforts to do better, even if it means acknowledging our own flaws.
Line by Line Meaning
Maybe I didn't love you
Perhaps my love for you wasn't strong or frequent enough
Quite as often as I could have
I missed many opportunities to express my love to you
Maybe I didn't treat you
Possibly, I wasn't kind enough to you
Quite as good as I should have
I should have been better towards you than what I was
If I made you feel second best
I apologize if I ever made you feel less important than you deserved
Girl I'm sorry I was blind
I wasn't aware of the hurt I was causing you, and that's why I apologize
But you were always on my mind
You were always present in my thoughts, even when it didn't look like it
Maybe I didn't hold you
Maybe I didn't give you enough hugs and physical affection
All those lonely, lonely times
During the times you were feeling lonely and down
I guess I never told you
I didn't express enough how content I was that you were with me
That I am so happy that you're mine
I'm positively elated that you chose to be with me
Tell me, tell me that your sweet love hasn't died
Please assure me that the love between us is still alive
Give me, give me one more chance
Please give me another opportunity to rectify my mistakes
To keep you satisfied
So I can ensure you're happy and content with me as your partner
I'll keep you satisfied
I promise to make a concerted effort to tend to your wants and needs
Little things I should have said and done
There were numerous small words and actions I could have used to make you feel my love
I just never took the time
Unfortunately, I neglected the opportunity to make a loving gesture towards you
You were always on my mind
You were never far from my thoughts and feelings
You were always on my mind
You held a special place in my heart and mind, always
You were always on my mind
I could never forget about you, even if I tried
Lyrics © Kanjian Music, Tratore, Sony/ATV Music Publishing LLC, Peermusic Publishing
Written by: Wayne Carson Thompson, John Jr. Christopher, Mark James
Lyrics Licensed & Provided by LyricFind
@miltonmoore5294
This song, WORRY;
I CAN'T STOP
LOVING YOU;
SUFFERING FROM
A HEARTACHE;
PLEASE DON'T GO
AWAY; WHAT AM
I GONNA DO; I'M
SO LONESOME I
COULD CRY; &
BLOWING IN THE
WIND are at the
top of my Tillotson Fave List. But I love
many others too. Regarding OUT OF
MY MIND, Johnny
really had a gift for taking
simple songs and
turning them into
something. He had such an easy voice to sing along to, and his
balIads are the
perfect songs to
sing in the
shower. I well remember the good old days when this song
was on juke boxes
all over West Texas. We heard it often as our family ate at diners during trips
back and forth
to Big Bend National Park, and
environs. (Can you
post HELLO ENEMY? The only
video extant on
you tube is virtually unlistenable due
to harsh and dist-
orted reverbera-
and over-amping.
When I first heard
this song I thought it was going to put him
right back on top,
but it went nowhere.😢 I was
bitterly disappointed as it
is one of his finest
efforts. Keeping
my fingers crossed you can
help with this!😃)
@miltonmoore5294
What an insult.
You should know
from the magnificence of
the audio that this is not the result
of a cassette player set-up. Ironically, my complaint with Johnny Tillotson's
videos is that they
are frequently recorded from set-ups that have the
turntables pitched
up way too high.
This recording is
is perfect in all
respects: it's your
brain, or auditory
senses, that are
dragging!
@johnnymac8680
This song was a huge hit in 1962. For me Johnny was up there with the best in the business. Thank the Lord that we still have him around.
@barrygioportmorien1
I always think of the best three singers of this era, as, Elvis---Ricky Nelson---and Johnny Tillotson, and a lot more great ones not far behind.
@johnnymac8680
@@barrygioportmorien1 I believe that Ricky was on the set of the movie 'Rio Bravo' at the time of his 18th birthday. That year he had his massive hit 'Poor Little Fool.' Ed Twoomey from Hyannis once told me that his brother was born on the same day as Ricky in the same hospital.
@barrygioportmorien1
@@johnnymac8680 Very interesting.
@irenemccann7032
fabulous song and singer, they don't make them like this anymore, today's music is garbage.
@fishonaquarium5717
I'm a young generation (born in 2000) but i think Johnny Tillotson has the most beautiful voice out there. I keep listening to his songs everyday and sometimes i wish that i have his voice 😂😂😂. Johnny is the biggest reason for me to try and practice on singing. I dont know if i'm correct but i think he's definitely one of the most underrated artist out there.
@barrygioportmorien1
You are absolutely right---One of the greatest voices god ever put breath in.
@55condor
Johnny has to be one of the most underrated singers of all time. His songs are so beautiful.. Let me just say this, you don't hear music this good anymore, a lot of people wish they had half johnny's voice.
@daveyvane9431
Really? What is his rating?
@cjdmiracle
When this world gets too out of control I just listen to Johnny and I feel better.