Country Legend Mac Davis Dead at Age 78

By Amanda Thomason October 1, 2020 at 11:10am

Mac Davis, a well-decorated songwriter and actor, passed away on Tuesday after suffering complications from heart surgery. He was 78.

Perhaps best known for the songs he wrote for Elvis Presley, the Lubbock, Texas, native will be remembered for hits like “In the Ghetto,” “A Little Less Conversation,” “Don’t Cry, Daddy” and “Memories.”

According to IMDb, Presley needed a moment after reading through “Don’t Cry, Daddy.”

“‘Don’t Cry Daddy’ is a pretty sad song,” Davis said. “He got to the end of it and it was just real quiet and Elvis says, ‘I’m gonna cut that someday for my daddy.’ And, by God, he did. He lived up to his word.”

“Baby Don’t Get Hooked on Me,” “Stop and Smell the Roses,” “It’s Hard to Be Humble” and “I Never Made Love (Till I Made it with You)” were other songs he is well-known for, published under his own name.

He always seemed to be working on something, and as recently as 2013 was collaborating with Swedish DJ Avicii to write “Addicted to You.”

Davis also took up acting, making a name for himself in “North Dallas Forty.” He had parts in a variety of other productions, including “That ’70s Show,” “King of the Hill,” Dolly Parton’s “Heartstrings” and two seasons of the aptly named “The Mac Davis Show” on NBC.

The man of many talents has many awards to his name. In 1974, he was named the Academy of Country Music’s Entertainer of the Year.

He made it into the Songwriters Hall of Fame in 2006, was given a Hollywood Star, and his acting was recognized with an induction into the Texas Film Hall of Fame in 2014.

“One of my real goals was to hear someone whistling a song I’d written,” he said, according to IMDb.

Kenny Chesney posted about the famed songwriter and his down-to-earth demeanor, praising his talent, humility and kindness.

Goodbye to my great friend Mac Davis. pic.twitter.com/enll3MAQ4O

— Kenny Chesney (@kennychesney) September 30, 2020

“I met Mac as a young artist just starting out on my journey, when he was already a legend and a songwriter hero to me,” Chesney tweeted on Wednesday. “He welcomed me into his home, and turned that tremendous creative light on me. Even though he’d written ‘In the Ghetto’ for Elvis and had so many incredible hits of his own, he made me feel like what I was doing mattered.”

“A small town boy who’d achieved the greatest kinds of fame, he remained a good guy, a family man. That was Mac: a giant heart, quick to laugh and a bigger creative spirit. I was blessed to have it shine on me.”

“And Mac, who was joyous, funny and created a family around him, never stopped writing great songs, creating music and inspiring everyone around him.”

“He loved his wife Lisa and his kids, and all kinds of people. He kept in touch, always a kind word, a new joke or a piece of a song he was working on, which made him a blessing to everyone who came into his life.”

Davis has certainly made an impact on those who knew him personally and through his craft, and he will continue to live on and reach people through his work.

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