"My Heart Has a Mind of Its Own" is a song written by

Howard Greenfield Howard Greenfield (March 15, 1936 – March 4, 1986) was an American lyricist and songwriter, who for several years in the 1960s worked out of the famous Brill Building. He is best known for his successful songwriting collaborations, including o ...

and Jack Keller which was a No. 1 hit for

Connie Francis Concetta Rosa Maria Franconero (born December 12, 1937), known professionally as Connie Francis, is an American pop singer, actress, and top-charting female vocalist of the late 1950s and early 1960s. Called the “First Lady of Rock & Roll” ...

in 1960.

Connie Francis recording

Francis recorded "My Heart Has a Mind of Its Own" at

Radio Recorders Radio Recorders, Inc. was an American recording studio located in Los Angeles, California. During the 1940s and 1950s, Radio Recorders was one of the largest independent recording studios in the world. Notable musicians recorded at Radio Recorder ...

studio in Hollywood over three different sessions on July 9, 25, and 31, 1960 with Jesse Kaye and Arnold Maxin acting as producers; Gus Levene arranged the orchestration and conducted. Jack Keller brought one of the LA tapes back to New York for a Sax & Guitar overdub at Olmstead Studios.

Artie Kaplan Artie Kaplan is an American recording artist, songwriter and a session musician. He has also been a music contractor where he was hired to musicians for sessions. In the 1960s, he was casting musicians for sessions for Aldon Music. When musicia ...

and Al Gorgoni were brought in for the sax and guitar overdub. Several takes from these sessions are still extant. The original MGM K 12923 single utilized Take 49 (recorded July 31, 1960) but two weeks into release this was replaced by Take 37 (recorded July 25, 1960) at the behest of Francis and the song's writers. "My Heart Has a Mind of Its Own" became Francis' second consecutive A-side to top the ''Billboard'' Hot 100 reaching No. 1 on the chart dated 26 September 1960 and holding there the following week. The single also marked Francis' final appearance of the

R&B charts The Hot R&B/Hip-Hop Songs chart ranks the most popular R&B and hip hop songs in the United States and is published weekly by '' Billboard''. Rankings are based on a measure of radio airplay, sales data, and streaming activity. The chart had 100 ...

at No. 11. In the UK "My Heart Has a Mind of Its Own" reached No. 3.

Chart performance

Weekly charts

All-time charts

Mein Herz weiß genau, was es will

Francis recorded German versions of her US hits such as ''

Everybody's Somebody's Fool "Everybody's Somebody's Fool" is a song written by Jack Keller and Howard Greenfield that was a No. 1 hit for Connie Francis in 1960. A polka-style version in German, "Die Liebe ist ein seltsames Spiel", was the first German single recorded and ...

'' (entitled ''"Die Liebe ist ein seltsames Spiel"''). On 18 October 1960, Francis recorded a German-language version of "My Heart Has a Mind of Its Own" ("Mein Herz weiß genau, was es will" which translates to ''My heart knows exactly what it wants''), with German lyrics by Ralph Maria Siegel. It was recorded at the tail end of the same session which produced Francis' subsequent U.S. hits "

Where the Boys Are ''Where the Boys Are'' is a 1960 American CinemaScope comedy film directed by Henry Levin and starring Connie Francis, Dolores Hart, Paula Prentiss, George Hamilton, Yvette Mimieux, Jim Hutton, and Frank Gorshin. It was written by George ...

", " Breakin' in a Brand New Broken Heart". "Mein Herz weiß genau, was es will", however, remain unreleased until 1988 when it appeared for the first time ever on anthology of Francis' complete German, Dutch and Swedish recordings.Richard Weize: ''Connie Francis'', companion book to 8-LP-Boxed Boxed Set ''Connie Francis in Deutschland'', Bear Family Records BFX 15 305, Hambergen/Vollersode (Germany) 1988 "My Heart Has a Mind of Its Own" was subsequently provided with an alternate set of German lyrics – also by Ralph Maria Siegel - entitled "So wie es damals war" (which translates to "Just like it was before") and recorded by

Siw Malmkvist Siw Gunnel Margareta Malmkvist (born 31 December 1936) is a Swedish schlager singer and actress popular in Scandinavia and West Germany. She had a number one hit in West Germany in 1964 with "''Liebeskummer lohnt sich nicht''" (''"Lovesickness ...

as well as Trixie Kühn, Gina Dobra, Nana Gualdi, and Charlotte Marian. Neither version did chart.

Cover versions

Unlike Francis' preceding No. 1 "Everybody's Somebody's Fool", "My Heart Has a Mind of Its Own" did not become a C&W

crossover hit Crossover is a term applied to musical works or performers who appeal to different types of audience. This can be seen, for example, (especially in the United States) when a song appears on two or more of the record charts which track differ ...

for Francis herself but the song was subsequently recorded by several high-profile C&W songstresses beginning with

Connie Smith Connie Smith (born Constance June Meador; August 14, 1941) is an American country music singer and songwriter. Her contralto vocals have been described by music writers as significant and influential to the women of country music. A similarity h ...

on her 1966 album '' Downtown Country''. In 1971 Smith's version was included on a compilation release which was entitled ''

My Heart Has a Mind of Its Own "My Heart Has a Mind of Its Own" is a song written by Howard Greenfield and Jack Keller which was a No. 1 hit for Connie Francis in 1960. Connie Francis recording Francis recorded "My Heart Has a Mind of Its Own" at Radio Recorders studio in Ho ...

''. The most successful country version was by

Susan Raye Susan Raye (born October 8, 1944) is an American country music singer. She enjoyed great popularity during the early and mid-1970s, and chalked up seven top-10 and 19 top-40 country hits, most notably the song "L.A. International Airport", an i ...

in 1972 which hit Billboard's Top 10 Country Singles.

Debby Boone Deborah Anne Boone (born September 22, 1956) is an American singer, author, and actress. She is best known for her 1977 hit, " You Light Up My Life", which spent ten weeks at No. 1 on the ''Billboard'' Hot 100 chart and led to her winning the ...

made a slightly less successful hit of it in 1979, peaking at No. 11; Boone subsequently made less successful bids for C&W chart success with remakes of the Connie Francis hits " Breakin' in a Brand New Broken Heart" (No. 25) and "

" (No. 48). "My Heart Has a Mind of Its Own" was recorded by

Reba McEntire Reba Nell McEntire (born March 28, 1955), or simply Reba, is an American country music singer and actress. Dubbed " the Queen of Country", she has sold more than 75 million records worldwide. Since the 1970s, McEntire has placed over 100 single ...

early in her career; that version was first released on the 1994 compilation '' Oklahoma Girl''. "My Heart Has a Mind of Its Own" was also one of several Pop classic hits covered by

Sandy Posey Sandy Posey (born Sandra Lou Posey, June 18, 1944) is an American popular singer who enjoyed success in the 1960s with singles such as her 1966 recording of Martha Sharp's compositions "Born a Woman" and "Single Girl". She is often described as a ...

on ''One Fine Day'' a 2005 CD release which marked Posey's return to her

countrypolitan The Nashville Sound originated during the mid-1950s as a subgenre of American country music, replacing the chart dominance of the rough honky tonk music, which was most popular in the 1940s and 1950s, with "smooth strings and choruses", "sophist ...

roots on which Francis' " Who's Sorry Now?" and " My Happiness" were also remade.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:My Heart Has A Mind Of Its Own 1960 singles Connie Francis songs Debby Boone songs Susan Raye songs Billboard Hot 100 number-one singles Cashbox number-one singles Songs with lyrics by Howard Greenfield Songs written by Jack Keller (songwriter) 1960 songs MGM Records singles Songs written by Ralph Siegel