He was still writing later in life, getting co-writing credits on songs by Avicii ( “Addicted to You”) and Bruno Mars (“Young Girls.”) He also wrote songs recorded by Kenny Rogers (“Something’s Burning”), Dolly Parton (“White Limozeen”) and Ray Price (“Lonesomest Lonesome”).
“Beyond his extraordinary talent, Mac was a dedicated friend and advocate for songwriters everywhere.” “He was the songwriter behind some of the most iconic and timeless songs that transcend genres and generations and was named a BMI Icon in 2015,” said BMI President and CEO Mike O’Neil. The group Gallery had a hit on his song “I Believe in Music.”
He had his own TV series, “The Mac Davis Show” on NBC, and also acted in TV and film, including alongside Nick Nolte in the football film “North Dallas Forty.” He even starred on Broadway, in “The Will Rogers Follies” and toured with the musical. Davis got a recording deal of his own in 1970, recording “Hooked on Music,” “It’s Hard to be Humble,” and “Texas in my Rearview Mirror,” and getting crossover success on pop charts.
The song reached the top of the UK charts in 2002 after it was used in a Nike commercial and was featured in the hit movie “Ocean’s 11.” Davis worked as a staff songwriter in Los Angeles for Nancy Sinatra’s publishing company when in 1968 Presley cut “A Little Less Conversation.”Īlthough it had a little success at the time, the song became a bigger hit after Presley’s death, being covered by more than 30 artists and became Mr. Davis was inspired by fellow Lubbock native Buddy Holly, but it was Elvis who gave him his first musical big break. I’m so blessed to have been one of his many friends.”īorn in Lubbock, Texas, and raised in Georgia, Mr. What a wonderful legacy he left all of us with his music. “He entertained and spread joy to so many people. “Thank you, dear Lord Jesus, for letting us know the man to whom you gave the most incredible talent,” said Reba McEntire in a statement. He was named 1974′s entertainer of the year by the Academy of Country Music and has a star on the Hollywood Walk of Fame. Davis had a long and varied career in music for decades as a writer, singer, actor and TV host and was inducted into the Songwriters Hall of Fame in 2006. Davis died in Nashville on Tuesday after heart surgery and was surrounded by family and friends. His longtime manager Jim Morey said in a press release that Mr. Country star Mac Davis, who launched his career crafting the Elvis hits “A Little Less Conversation” and “In the Ghetto,” and whose own hits include “Baby Don’t Get Hooked On Me,” has died. I joined Golden Gloves but didn’t do good even in my division.” After he finished high school, Davis moved to Atlanta, Georgia, where his mother lived.NASHVILLE, Tenn. “I was 5 feet, 9 inches, and weighed 125 pounds. Oh, man, I got beat up so much while I was growing up in Lubbock,” Davis said in a March 2, 2008, interview with the Lubbock Avalanche-Journal newspaper. “In those days, it was all about football, rodeo and fistfights. Davis describes his father, who was divorced from Davis’ mother, as “very religious, very strict, very stubborn.” Though Davis was physically small, he had a penchant for getting into fistfights. Davis, located at the intersection of College Avenue and 5th Street. He spent his childhood years with his sister Linda, living and working at the former College Courts, an efficiency apartment complex owned by his father, T.J. During the 1970s, he also was active as an actor, hosting his own variety show and also acting in several movies.ĭavis graduated at sixteen from Lubbock High School in Lubbock, Texas. Especially during the 1970s, many of his songs scored successfully on the country and popular music charts, including “Baby, Don’t Get Hooked on Me”, “One Hell of a Woman”, and “Stop and Smell the Roses”. He became known later also as a country singer. in 1970 to sign with Columbia Records, taking his songs with him. Boots Enterprises was also Davis’ publishing company, publishing songs such as “In the Ghetto”, “Friend, Lover, Woman, Wife”, “Home,” “It’s Such a Lonely Time of Year,” and “Memories”, which were recorded by Elvis Presley, Nancy Sinatra and others. During his time there, he played on many of Sinatra’s recordings and she put him in her stage shows. Davis was with Boots for several years in the late ’60s. He is also an actor.ĭavis initially became famous as a songwriter and got his start as an employee of Nancy Sinatra’s company, Boots Enterprises, Inc. He became one of the most successful country singers of the 1970s and 1980s. Morris Mac Davis, known as Mac Davis, is a country music singer and songwriter originally from Lubbock, Texas who has enjoyed much pop music crossover success.