MAC DAVIS Biography - Musicians

 
 

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MAC DAVIS

Name: Mac Davis                                                                       
Birth name: Scott Davis                                                               
Also known as Mac Davis                                                               
Born: 21 January 1942 Lubbock, Texas, U.S.                                             
                                                                                       
Mac Davis (born January 21, 1942) is a country music singer and songwriter, who       
has enjoyed much pop music crossover success. He became one of the most               
successful country singers of the 1970s and 80s and also was an actor.                 
                                                                                       
Mac Davis initially rose to fame as a songwriter, having early success with the       
1969 song for Elvis Presley called "In the Ghetto". He later proved to the             
public that he was more than just a songwriter, but also a Country singer.             
Especially in the 1970s, many of his songs found success on the country and pop       
charts alike, including "Baby, Don't Get Hooked on Me" (a number one hit), "One       
Hell of a Woman," and "Stop and Smell the Roses". In the 1970s, he also was           
active as an actor, hosting his own variety show during this time and also             
appearing in several movies.                                                           
                                                                                       
Mac Davis was born in 1942 in Lubbock, Texas. In his early years, he lived for a       
time in Atlanta, Georgia. In Atlanta, he played rock and roll music. He also           
worked for the Vee Jay record company (home to R&B stars such as Gene Chandler,       
Jerry Butler and Dee Clark) as a regional manager, and later also served as a         
regional manager for Liberty Records. In the meantime, Davis was also writing         
songs. One of the songs he wrote in 1968, called "A Little Less Conversation,"         
was recorded by Elvis Presley (and would become a posthumous hit for Presley           
many years later). Shortly after, Elvis recorded Davis' song "In the Ghetto" in       
his sessions in Memphis. The song became a hit for Elvis and he continued to           
record more of Mac's material, like "Memories" and "Don't Cry Daddy". Bobby           
Goldsboro also recorded some of Mac's songs, like "Watching Scotty Grow," which       
became a number one Adult Contemporary hit for Goldsboro in 1971. Other artists       
that recorded his material included O.C. Smith and Kenny Rogers and The First         
Edition. "I Believe In Music," often considered to be Davis' signature song, was       
recorded by several artists (including Marian Love and Davis himself) before it       
finally became a hit in 1972 for the group Gallery.                                   
                                                                                       
Mac soon decided to pursue a career in Country music. He was soon signed to           
Columbia Records in 1970. His big success came two years later in 1972 when he         
topped the Country and Pop charts with the hit song "Baby Don't Get Hooked on Me".     
                                                                                       
Mac's work in music seemed sometimes to be overtly sexual. For example, "Baby         
Don't Get Hooked on Me" (in which he pleads with a woman not to get too attached       
to him because he doesn't want to commit to a full-time relationship with her)         
was one of them, as well as other hit songs like "Naughty Girl" and "Baby Spread       
Your Love on Me". He wasn't alone in this; many country songs popular in the           
1970s and 1980s featured sexual overtones.                                             
                                                                                       
In 1974, Mac was awarded the Academy of Country Music's Entertainer of the Year       
award. Some of Davis' other hits included "Stop and Smell the Roses" (a number         
one Adult Contemporary hit in 1974), "One Hell of a Woman," and "Burnin' Thing".       
At the end of the 1970s, he moved to Casablanca Records, which had now gone into       
country music and was known primarily for its success with disco diva Donna           
Summer. His first hit for the label in 1980 was the novelty hit "It's Hard To Be       
Humble" which became his first country Top 10. He also had another Top 10 with "Let's 
Keep It That Way" later in the year. He achieved other hit songs like "Texas In       
My Rear View Mirror" and "Hooked on Music" which became his biggest country hit       
in 1981 going to #2. In 1985, he recorded his very last Top Ten country hit with       
the song "I Never Made Love (Till I Made Love With You)".