Mac Davis

Induction Year: 2000

Birth Name: Morris Mac Davis

Birth Date: 01-21-1942

Place of Birth: Lubbock, Texas

Death Date: 09-29-2020

Place of Death: Nashville, Tennessee

Although born and raised in Texas, Mac Davis first broke into the music business in Atlanta, Georgia, where he attended Emory University. He was the regional manager of Vee-Jay Records and later Liberty Records in that city in the 1960s. He also played in rock bands there and worked as a probation officer.

The Liberty job took him to the West Coast, where he became affiliated with Nancy Sinatra's music publishing company. His big breakthrough as a songwriter occurred in 1969 when Elvis Presley recorded his "In the Ghetto," "Memories" and "Don't Cry Daddy." All three songs became pop hits.

Other notable early copyrights included "Everything a Man Could Ever Need" (sung by Glen Campbell), "Something's Burning" (a hit for Kenny Rogers & the First Edition), "Watching Scotty Grow" (Bobby Goldsboro) and "I Believe in Music" (a hit for the group Gallery that has been recorded by more than 50 artists). Mac Davis also recorded his own songs in the 1960s.

Davis became a pop singing star in 1972 with his self-penned "Baby Don't Get Hooked on Me." Another major success was 1974's "Stop and Smell the Roses." He was named the Academy of Country Music's Entertainer of the Year in 1974.

In the 1980s, Mac Davis made the transition to country radio stardom with such songs as "It's Hard to Be Humble" (1980), "Texas in My Rear View Mirror" (1980), "Hooked on Music" (1981) and "You're My Bestest Friend" (1981). All of these were self-composed.

From 1974 to 1976 he hosted and starred in his own musical variety TV series on NBC. He also acted in such movies as North Dallas Forty (1979), Cheaper to Keep Her (1980), The Sting II (1983) and Jackpot (2001). He played the title role in The Will Rogers Follies in 1992 and 1993, both on Broadway and in the musical's touring company. Davis also had roles in such TV shows as The Dukes of Hazzard (2000) and Rodney (2004).

Mac Davis received a star in the Hollywood Walk of Fame in 1998 and was inducted into the national Songwriters Hall of Fame in New York in 2006.

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Song Catalog

 

"A Little Less Conversation"

(written with Billy Strange)

Elvis Presley1968 #69 pop
Elvis Presley (remix)2002 #26 adult contemporary, #50 pop

"Baby Don't Get Hooked on Me"

Mac Davis1972 #1 pop, #1 adult contemporary, #26 country
Liza Minnelli1973 
The Lettermen1973 
Ace Cannon1973 
Loretta Lynn & Conway Twitty1980 
Blaine Larsen2006 
 

"Clean Up Your Own Back Yard"

(written with Billy Strange)

Elvis Presley1969 #35 pop, #37 adult contemporary, #74 country
Nat Stuckey1969 
O.C. Smith1969 
 

"Daddy's Little Man"

O. C. Smith1969 #6 adult contemporary, #9 R&B, #34 pop
Mac Davis1972 
 

"Dirty Old Man"

(written with Delaney Bramlett)

Delaney & Bonnie1969 
Lulu1970 

"Don't Cry Daddy"

Elvis Presley1969 #3 adult contemporary, #6 pop, #13 country
Conway Twitty1973 
 

"Everybody Loves a Love Song"

Mac Davis1972 #13 adult contemporary, #63 pop
 

"Everything a Man Could Ever Need"

Glen Campbell1970 #3 adult contemporary, #5 country, #52 pop
Roy Drusky1970 
Mac Davis1973 
 

"Friend, Lover, Woman, Wife"

O. C. Smith1969 #17 adult contemporary, #25 R&B, #47 pop
Claude King1969 #18 country
Mac Davis1972 
 

"God Knows I Love You"

(written with Delaney Bramlett)

Nancy Sinatra1969 #40 adult contemporary, #97 pop
 

"Hello L.A., Bye Bye Birmingham"

(written with Delaney Bramlett)

Nancy Sinatra1967 
Blue Cheer1969 
Juicy Lucy1970 
Mac Davis1971 
Bobby Whitlock1972 
 

"Hooked on Music"

Mac Davis1981 #2 country

"I Believe in Music"

Mac Davis1970 #25 adult contemporary
B. J. Thomas1970 
Kenny Rogers & the First Edition1971 
Marian Love1971 #27 adult contemporary
Helen Reddy1971 
Donny Hathaway1971 
The Statler Brothers1972 
Gallery1972 #12 adult contemporary, #22 pop
Perry Como1973 
Lynn Anderson1973 
Pat Boone1973 
Liza Minnelli1973 
Glen Campbell1975 
Wayne Newton1999 
 

"I'll Paint You a Song"

Glen Campbel1970 
Mac Davis1970 #14 adult contemporary, #68 country
Roy Clark1973 

"In the Ghetto"

Elvis Presley1969 #3 pop, #8 adult contemporary, #60 country
Dolly Parton1969 #50 country
Nat Stuckey1969 
Joe Simon1969 
Sammy Davis Jr.1970 
Candi Staton1972 #12 R&B, #48 pop
Merle Haggard1977 
Mac Davis1979 
Loretta Lynn1980 
Nick Cave & the Bad Seeds1984 
Bobby Blue Bland1985 
Solomon Burke1988 
Rev. James Cleveland1990 
The Persuasions2003 
Elvis & Lisa Marie Presley2007 
 

"It's Hard to Be Humble"

Mac Davis1980 #10 country, #43 pop
 

"Memories"

(written with Billy Strange)

Elvis Presley1969 #7 adult contemporary, #35 pop, #56 country
Nancy Sinatra1969 
Andy Williams1969 
The Lettermen1970 #47 pop
 

"One Hell of a Woman"

(written with Mark James)

Mac Davis1974 #11 pop, #20 adult contemporary
Vikki Carr1974 
 

"Slow Dancing with the Moon"

Dolly Parton1993 
 

"Something's Burning"

Kenny Rogers & the First Edition1970 #11 pop
Mac Davis1972 
Candi Staton1973 #83 R&B
Blue Swede1974 
Kathy Barnes1977 #81 country
Dolly Parton1996 
 

"Stop and Smell the Roses"

(written with Doc Severinsen)

Mac Davis1974 #1 adult contemporary, #9 pop, #40 country
Cleo Laine1974 
Candi Staton1974 
 

"Tequila Sheila"

(written with Shel Silverstein)

Bobby Bare1980 #31 country
 

"Texas in My Rear View Mirror"

Mac Davis1980 #9 country, #51 pop
 

"The Lonesomest Lonesome"

Ray Price1972 #2 country
Mac Davis1972 
Roy Clark1973 
Pat Daisy1973 #49 country
 

"The Phantom"

Sam the Sham & the Pharaohs1966 

"Watching Scotty Grow"

Bobby Goldsboro1970 #1 adult contemporary, #7 country, #11 pop
Merle Haggard1971 
Mac Davis1972 
 

"White Limozeen"

(written with Dolly Parton)

Dolly Parton1990 #29 country
 

"Whoever Finds This, I Love You"

Mac Davis1970 #25 adult contemporary, #43 country, #53 pop
Brook Benton1970 
Claude Gray1972 
Sonny James1974 
Connie Cato1977 
The Oak Ridge Boys1987 
Patti Page1993 
 

"You're My Bestest Friend"

Mac Davis1981 #5 country

Other Media

Mac Davis

Induction Year: 2000