“When You Were Mind” was originally written by Prince and was released on his 1980’s album Dirty Mind. Cyndi Lauper also recorded a cover version of the song that was a mid-tempo ballad and was included on her 1983 album She’s So Unusual. Although I had heard both versions of the song, the one I like the most is the one that Mitch Ryder did (also released in 1983) and was included on his album Never Kick a Sleeping Dog.
This version of the song made it into the movie Hot Dog…The Movie which was released in 1984 about a freestyle skier from Idaho who was looking to prove himself in a freestyle skiing competition at Squaw Valley. Although the movie was never quite Oscar material, I found the soundtrack to be pretty solid. It included songs like “Hungry Like The Wolf” by Duran Duran and “Do You Love Me? by Patti Austin. Between the guitar work and Mitch Ryder’s voice, this has become one of my favorite songs from the 1980s. The video below is from the movie Hot Dog…The Movie featuring Mitch Ryder’s version of “When You Were Mine”. It makes me want to go skiing!
Please enjoy!!
Kevin McKeown 