Hellyeah and Mudvayne frontman Chad Gray has released his first song as a solo artist, a cover of “Always on My Mind,” as made famous by Elvis Presley and written by Willie Nelson. He originally covered the song for his wedding in the fall of 2020.

This cover is quite a sonic departure from how we’re used to hearing Gray, but refreshing nonetheless. Gray croons gently over a piano and some strings, and the video features clips of him dancing with his wife, SiriusXM’s Shannon Gunz, on their wedding day.

Watch the video below.

“Planning a wedding is grueling — from flowers to location to picking the music. We initially chose ‘Dream On’ for our first dance song. Now I’m not sure how or why I landed on ‘Always on my Mind,'” Gray said in a press release.

The vocalist recalled hearing the song in passing and being moved by its lyrics.

“It was super cool when I started it, because I realized that this was such a different way of singing. No one has ever heard me doing anything like this,” he continued. “This was done for my wedding, but I thought, ‘Should I release this song to the public?’ I always talk about how I look at my fans as more than fans. They’re family, and I wanted to share this moment with them.”

Chad Gray – “Always on My Mind”