American Songwriter and Producer. Born Wayne Carson Thompson, he was the son of radio and TV performers Odie and Olivia Thompson, who performed under the name Shorty & Sue. After learning to play the guitar at 14, he began working in various rock ‘n’ roll bands before moving to Nashville in 1962 where he recorded for various labels. His first major achievement as a songwriter came in 1966 when Eddy Arnold recorded his 'Somebody Like Me' which went to No. 1 and stayed there for four weeks. In 1967, he wrote 'The Letter' for the Box Tops who had a No. 1 pop hit with it. Subsequently, more than two dozen artists would record cover versions, among them Joe Cocker, Tom Jones, the Beach Boys, B.B. King, Dionne Warwick and Al Green. The Box Tops had two other top-40 successes with Carson tunes, 'Neon Rainbow' and 'Soul Deep'. As a recording artist, he didn't chart until 1973, when he scored four singles, including 'You’re Gonna Love Yourself in the Morning' and 'Barstool Mountain'. In 1974, Gary Stewart had a Top 10 country single with 'Drinkin’ Thing' and topped the chart a year later with 'She’s Actin’ Single (I’m Drinkin’ Doubles)'. Carson's biggest success came with 'Always on My Mind', a song which had been recorded by Brenda Lee in 1972 and later by Elvis Presley, but it was Willie Nelson's version in 1982 that topped both the pop and the country charts, winning Carson Grammys for Song of the Year and Best Country Song. Nelson's version proved so popular that the song was named the Country Music Association's song of the year in both 1982 and 1983. In total more than 300 versions of 'Always on my Mind' have been recorded. Among other hit songs he wrote were 'Whiskey Trip', 'You Got What You Wanted', 'No Love at All', 'A Horse Called Music', 'I Want Some More', 'Mr. Bus Driver' and 'Sandman'. In 1997, Carson was inducted into the Nashville Songwriters Hall of Fame, and in 2011, the Country Music Hall of Fame honored him as part of its Poets and Prophets series, which honors songwriters who have made significant contributions to country music. Carson, who had been suffering from various health issues, including congestive heart failure, diabetes and gallstone issues, had been placed in hospice care during the last month of his life.