Mac Davis

The late pop-country star Mac Davis was born in Lubbock, Texas on January 21, 1942 and began his career in music working at the business end of the industry, first as a regional manager for Vee-Jay Records before joining Liberty three years later as head of the label's publishing arm, Metric Music. This commercial experience was to stand him in good stead, for when Davis's career as a singer-songwriter started to take off he quickly moved into the high-earning A-list of country songwriters, initially writing for artists such as Kenny Rogers, Glen Campbell, Bobby Goldsboro and Lou Rawls. Following a Top five hit in 1969 with "In The Ghetto" performed by Elvis Presley, Davis signed a recording contract in order to perform and record his own material. Two years later, the single "Baby Don't Get Hooked On Me" went to Number 1, received a Grammy nomination and simultaneously reached Number 20 on the Country Charts, marking Davis out as a successful crossover artist. During the next ten years, Davis successfully exploited his wide market appeal and enjoyed many hits across the country and pop charts, both as a performer and a writer. In the late 1970s, Davis began to develop an acting career culminating in a role in The Sting II co-starring with Jackie Gleason and Karl Malden. His final studio album, Will Write For Food, was released on Columbia Records in 1994, while Davis also continued to take on acting roles for the next decade. He died in Nashville on September 29, 2020 following heart surgery.