His work in that capacity for Liberty Records eventually landed him in Los Angeles and in the orbit of Nancy Sinatra, who then hired him to write songs for her and her company.Mac Davis, Iconic Artist & Elvis Songwriter, Dies at 78Įlvis Presley, “A Little Less Conversation” (1968)Ī slice of southern-fried funk unlike quite anything he’d ever recorded before, Elvis’ “A Little Less Conversation” married a slithering drum-and-bass groove with jagged guitars and some of The King’s friskiest lyrics, courtesy of Mac Davis and co-writer Billy Strange.

It was there, around the age of 20, that Davis began performing in bands and writing songs while working as a 'promotions man' for record labels, trying to secure radio play for their releases. At 16, upon graduating from high school, Davis left Lubbock to join his mother, Edith, in Atlanta. In all, he released 19 albums over 25 years, beginning with 1970's Song Painter and ending with 1994's Will Write Songs For Food.ĭavis was born in Texas on Jan. He was an inductee to the Songwriters Hall of Fame, the Nashville Songwriters Hall of Fame, the Texas Country Music Hall of Fame, the Georgia Music Hall of Fame and was a recipient of the BMI Icon Award. He was 78.ĭavis' songwriting work was recorded by dozens of artists, including Nancy Sinatra, Elvis Presley, Dolly Parton, Johnny Cash, Reba McEntire, Tom Jones, Kenny Rogers, Merle Haggard and more. His death was confirmed by his manager, Jim Morey. Mac Davis, a songwriter and performer who began a decades-long ascent in music and entertainment in the early 1960s, died Tuesday in Nashville following heart surgery.

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