Pour One Out for Mac Davis

I've gotten way behind on posts of this nature, partly due to the craziness of life and partly because these posts are total bummers to write. Memorial posts are necessary, though, so we can remember and respect the musicians who came before us and what they did for the industry and for the fans.

My introduction to Mac Davis came at a very young age. When I was five years old, my mother stayed up late one night painstakingly recording me a mixtape of her favorite songs from when she was younger, and that "Oldies" tape became one of my most prized possession until its untimely death over a decade later (yes, I actually cried). One of the last songs she was able to squeeze on to that tiny cassette tape was Davis's It's Hard to Be Humble, which I thought was so funny and wonderful that I memorized the chorus almost immediately. Hearing he was gone in September at the age of 78 due to complications following heart surgery felt like losing an old friend, and I'm glad I had an excuse to go back and learn about him and listen to some of his hits for this post.

Scott Mac Davis was born in Lubbock, Texas on January 21st, 1942 to T.J. and Edith Davis. He spent his entire early life there in the Llano Estacado but moved to Atlanta to live with his mom after he graduated high school at age 16. There in Atlanta, he would get his career started by helping form a rock group called The Zots, and by the late 1960s he ended up working for Nancy Sinatra and becoming a prominent songwriter for the one and only Elvis Presley. His songs have become some of the most well-known in Elvis's songbook, including In the Ghetto and A Little Less Conversation. In addition to his songwriting abilities, he had a career as a country music artist as well in the 1970s, and he won the Academy of Country Music's coveted Entertainer of the Year Award in 1974. He even threw some acting into the mix, having his own television show and appearing in many other television shows and movies throughout his life. He was married three times and was the father to three children. Whether you were familiar with his name or just his work, his influence was felt across the industry for his entire 58-year career.

Here are a few of Davis' greatest hits in his honor.

Baby Don't Get Hooked On Me (written by M. Davis)

Davis' "Sara Bareilles Love Song" type moment, he wrote this when his label demanded he write a song with a hook.

Girl, you're getting that look in your eyes/And it's starting to worry me/I ain't ready for no family ties/Nobody's gonna hurry me/Just keep it friendly, girl, 'cause I don't wanna leave/Don't start clinging to me, girl, 'cause I can't breathe/Baby, baby, don't get hooked on me/Baby, baby, don't get hooked on me/'Cause I'll just use you, then I'll set you free/Baby, baby, don't get hooked on me

It's Hard to Be Humble (written by M. Davis)

My favorite - I live for the crowd laughing with him through the whole song.

I used to have a girlfriend, but I guess she just couldn't compete/With all of these love-starved women who keep clamoring at my feet/Well, I probably could find me another, but I guess they're all in awe of me/Who cares, I never get lonesome, 'cause I treasure my own company/Oh, Lord, it's hard to be humble when you're perfect in every way/I can't wait to look in the mirror, I get better looking each day/To know me is to love me, I must be a hell of a man/Oh, Lord, it's hard to be humble, we're doing the best that we can

Texas In My Rear View Mirror (written by M. Davis, M. Davis)

This one has kind of a James Taylor feel to it, love it.

I was just 15 and outta control, lost to James Dean and rock and roll/I knew deep down in my country soul that I had to get away/Hollywood was a lady in red who danced in my dreams as I tossed in bed/I knew I'd wind up in jail or dead if I had to stay/I thought happiness was Lubbock, Texas in my rear view mirror/My mama kept calling me home, but I just did not want to hear/And the vision was getting clearer in my dreams

Hooked On Music (written by M. Davis)

A total bop, very Elvis-esque.

Well, it was New Year's Eve, I was 14 at the time/I was celebrating 4 A.M. with them hoodlum friends of mine/I heard a boy named Elvis Presley singing That's Alright Mama on the radio/And it turned me on/I been hooked on music/Hooked on music from that moment on/Well, all my friends thought I had one brick less than a load/'Cause I'd stop the var and I'd jump out and start dancing in the road/When I heard Jerry Lee Lewis singing Whole Lot of Shakin' Goin' On/It turned me on/And I been hooked on music/Hooked on music from that moment on

Rest In Peace, Mac Davis. As sad as it is, it brings some peace to know you were laid to rest in Lubbock, Texas in your jeans just like you wanted.