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Mac Davis (born Scott Davis, January 21, 1942, in Lubbock, Texas) 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. He seemed to be quite gifted in songwriting, writing the 1969 hit 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 the number-one smash "Baby, Don't Get Hooked On Me," "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 had 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 "Lubbock 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)".
From 1974 to 1976, Davis had his own television variety show on NBC, The Mac Davis Show. He made his feature film debut opposite Nick Nolte in the football film, North Dallas Forty (1979) and as a result, was listed as one of twelve "Promising New Actors of 1979" by Screen World magazine. This proved that Mac could have success in not just singing and songwriting, but also as an actor. He soon became well known for all three of these careers.
Mac Davis played Will Rogers in the Broadway production of The Will Rogers Follies. Mac Davis was inducted into the Nashville Songwriters Hall of Fame in 2000. For his contribution to the recording industry, he has a star on the Hollywood Walk of Fame at 7080 Hollywood Blvd. At this point there seemed that there was nothing that Mac Davis couldn't do.
In 1980, Davis hosted an episode of The Muppet Show.
Davis served as the balladeer for the 2000 telefilm The Dukes of Hazzard: Hazzard in Hollywood, replacing Don Williams, who served the part in 1997's The Dukes of Hazzard: Reunion!, and Waylon Jennings, who narrated the original Dukes of Hazzard TV show. Davis was the first balladeer to appear on screen to welcome the audience and provide exposition.
Davis also guest starred briefly in the 8 Simple Rules episode Let's Keep Going, Part II in April 2004.
By the mid 1980s, his career in music was declining. His chart success was falling rapidly; Davis was one of many Country singers who had Pop music crossover success in the 70s and 80s whose careers slowed down to make way for artists like Garth Brooks and Clint Black. After Casablanca Records closed down, Davis recorded for a short period of time with MCA Records in the mid 1980s. In 1990, he gained attention when he helped write the hit song for Dolly Parton called "White Limozeen". That same year, he also was on Broadway, performing in the show The Will Rogers Follies. Mac Davis was inducted into the Songwriters Hall of Fame in June of 2006.
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