60 min listen
Ep. 18A - MAC DAVIS ("In the Ghetto") - 1 of 2
Ep. 18A - MAC DAVIS ("In the Ghetto") - 1 of 2
ratings:
Length:
49 minutes
Released:
Sep 7, 2015
Format:
Podcast episode
Description
Part 1 of 2: Hailing from Lubbock, Texas, Mac Davis began his music career working for Vee Jay Records and Liberty Records in Atlanta. Relocating to Los Angeles in the late 1960s, he became a staff songwriter for Nancy Sinatra’s music publishing company. His early songwriting success came when Elvis Presley recorded several of his songs, including “A Little Less Conversation,” “Memories,” “Clean Up Your Own Backyard,” “Don’t Cry Daddy,” and “In the Ghetto.” Soon his songs were being recorded by O.C. Smith, Kenny Rogers and the First Edition, Glen Campbell, Ray Price, and Bobby Goldsboro, who enjoyed a major hit with Mac’s “Watching Scotty Grow” in 1971. Thanks to his success as a songwriter, Davis signed an artist deal with Columbia Records, and later Casablanca Records, scoring thirty-three charting singles between 1970 and 1986. Most of those hits were written by Davis himself, including “I Believe in Music,” “One Hell of a Woman,” “Stop and Smell the Roses,” “It’s Hard to be Humble,” “Texas in My Rearview,” “Hooked on Music,” “You’re My Bestest Friend,” and the Grammy-nominated #1 pop hit, “Baby Don’t Get Hooked on Me.” He was named both the the Academy of Country Music’s Entertainer of the Year in 1974, hosted his own NBC variety show from 1974 through 1976, was inducted into the Nashville Songwriters Hall of Fame in 2000, and joined the national Songwriters Hall of Fame in 2006. He’s a three-time Grammy nominee with a star on the Hollywood Walk of Fame, and he continues to write, most recently collaborating with - and having his songs recorded by - Rivers Cuomo of Weezer, Bruno Mars, and Avicii.
Released:
Sep 7, 2015
Format:
Podcast episode
Titles in the series (100)
Ep. 6 - MELISSA MANCHESTER ("Midnight Blue"): Grammy winner Melissa Manchester signed her first publishing deal at the age of 17, before going on to work as a backup singer for Bette Midler. She first came to prominence as an artist with the 1975 single “Midnight Blue,” which climbed to #6 on Billboard’s Pop chart and hit the #1 spot on the Adult Contemporary rankings. Co-written with Carole Bayer Sager, it was the first of nine Manchester-penned compositions to hit the Top 40. Of those, a half dozen reached the Top 10 on the Adult Contemporary chart. In addition to writing her own hits as a performer - including “Just Too Many People” and “Just You And I” - she also found success writing for other artists, including the Top 10 hit “Come In From the Rain” for Captain & Tennille and “Whenever I Call You Friend,” which was a Top 5 Pop hit for Kenny Loggins and Stevie Nicks in 1978. Her songs have been recorded by Roberta Flack, Dusty Springfield, Alison Krauss, and Barbra Streisand. by Songcraft: Spotlight on Songwriters