Mac Davis, hit songwriter and performer, died 78: N.P.R.

Portrait of Mac Davis taken on October 12, 1981.

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CBS Photo Gallery via Getty Images / CBS

Portrait of Mac Davis taken on October 12, 1981.

CBS Photo Gallery via Getty Images / CBS

Mac Davis, a songwriter and artist who began to rise in music and entertainment for decades in the early 1960s, died Tuesday in Nashville following heart surgery. His manager Jim Morey confirmed his death. He is 78 years old.

Davis’ songwriting work was recorded by Nancy Sinatra, Elvis Presley, Dolly Barton, Johnny Cash, Reba McEntyre, Tom Jones, Kenny Rogers, Merle Hoggard and many more. He has been inducted into the Songwriters Hall of Fame, Nashville Songwriters Hall of Fame, Texas Country Music Hall of Fame, Georgia Music Hall of Fame and is a BMI Icon Award winner. In total, he has released 19 albums in 25 years, starting in the 1970s Song painter Ends with 1994 He writes songs for food.

Davis was born on January 21, 1942 in Texas. At the age of 16, after graduating from high school, Davis left Lupac to join his mother, Edith, in Atlanta. At the age of 20, Davis began writing for bands and songs, working as an “advertising man” for recording labels, and trying to secure radio drama for their releases. His work on that ability for Liberty Records eventually landed him in Los Angeles and the orbit of Nancy Sinatra, who later commissioned him to write songs for him and his company.

After writing for Sinatra and the pop community around him, Davis’ songs caught Elvis Presley’s attention and he enjoyed coming back. The mix went on to become a hit, including “In the Ghetto,” “Memories” and “Don’t Cry Daddy”. (Presley’s first recording of the Davis song “A Little Less Conversation” since 1968 and co-authored with organizer and producer Billy Strange, which was not an immediate success, but reached number one in the UK. XL) Glenn Campbell, Dolly Barton, Bobby Goldbrough And Kenny Rogers and The First Edition were all successful works by Davis.

In the ’70s, Davis began to develop his own career as a recording artist, receiving a Grammy nomination for “Baby Don’t Get Hook on Me” which topped the 1972 charts. By the middle of the decade, Davis was ubiquitous in American celebrity life, hosting a variety of shows of his own (like Sony & Cher, Johnny Cash and many more); Through its closeness, he began to appear in films as well.

Nick Nolde and Mac Davis in a scene from the film North Dallas Forty Since 1979.

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Nick Nolde and Mac Davis in a scene from the film North Dallas Forty Since 1979.

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Michael Oz Archives / Getty Images

Davis’ songwriting career peaked in the ’70s, but his personal record career peaked in the’ 80s, based on the strength of hits such as “It’s Heart to Be Humble” (quoted by Kendrick Lamar and Rihanna in the song).Faith“) And” Texas in My Rearview Mirror. “

In that latter song he sang, “I thank God every day for giving me music and the words to say.” In a statement, his family confirmed that Lubbock, in blue jeans from Texas, would be buried, according to the song’s final lines.