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Country star and hit Elvis songwriter Mac Davis dies at 78

FILE - Musician Mac Davis performs at the Texas Film Awards in Austin, Texas on March 6, 2014. Davis, a country star and Elvis songwriter, died on Tuesday, Sept. 29, 2020 after heart surgery. He was 78. Davis started his career writing hits for Presley, including “A Little Less Conversation” and “In the Ghetto.” The Lubbock, Texas-native had a varied career over the years as a singer, actor and TV host and was inducted into the Songwriters Hall of Fame in 2006. He was named ACM entertainer of the year in 1974 after the success of songs like “Baby Don
FILE - Musician Mac Davis performs at the Texas Film Awards in Austin, Texas on March 6, 2014. Davis, a country star and Elvis songwriter, died on Tuesday, Sept. 29, 2020 after heart surgery. He was 78. Davis started his career writing hits for Presley, including “A Little Less Conversation” and “In the Ghetto.” The Lubbock, Texas-native had a varied career over the years as a singer, actor and TV host and was inducted into the Songwriters Hall of Fame in 2006. He was named ACM entertainer of the year in 1974 after the success of songs like “Baby Don't Get Hooked on Me.” (Jack Plunkett)
By Kristin M. Hall Associated Press

NASHVILLE, Tenn. – Country star Mac Davis, who launched his career crafting the Elvis hits “A Little Less Conversation” and “In the Ghetto,” and whose own hits include “Baby Don’t Get Hooked On Me,” has died. He was 78.

His longtime manager Jim Morey said Davis died in Nashville on Tuesday after heart surgery and was surrounded by family and friends.

Davis had a long and varied career in music for decades as a writer, singer, actor and TV host and was inducted into the Songwriters Hall of Fame in 2006. He was named 1974’s entertainer of the year by the Academy of Country Music and has a star on the Hollywood Walk of Fame.

Born in Lubbock, Texas, and raised in Georgia, Davis was inspired by fellow Lubbock native Buddy Holly, but it was Elvis who gave him his first musical big break. Davis worked as a staff songwriter in Los Angeles for Nancy Sinatra’s publishing company when in 1968 Presley cut the funky “A Little Less Conversation.”

Although it had a little success at the time, the song became a bigger hit after Presley’s death.

Davis got a recording deal of his own in 1970. He had his own TV series, “The Mac Davis Show” on NBC, and also acted in TV and film, including alongside Nick Nolte in the football film “North Dallas Forty.”