H.R. No. 174
R E S O L U T I O N
WHEREAS, Music fans around the state and nation mourn the
loss of the celebrated Texas singer and songwriter Mac Davis, who
died on September 29, 2020, at the age of 78; and
WHEREAS, A native of Lubbock, Morris Mac Davis was born on
January 21, 1942, to T. J. and Edith Davis, and he enjoyed the
companionship of two siblings, Linda and Kim; after graduating from
high school and joining his mother in Atlanta at the age of 16, he
started performing with a local band, the Zots; and
WHEREAS, In 1961, Mr. Davis went to work for the Vee-Jay
record company, and by 1966, he was a "plugger" for Liberty Records
in Hollywood, pitching other songwriters' material to recording
artists while also sneaking in demos of his own songs; soon he was
writing for such artists as Nancy Sinatra, Bobby Goldsboro, and
Kenny Rogers and the First Edition, and in 1968, Elvis Presley
performed Mr. Davis's song "A Little Less Conversation" in the 1968
film Live a Little, Love a Little; he went on to write several more
tracks for Presley, including the classic "In the Ghetto," which
has since been recorded by 170 artists, from Dolly Parton to Nick
Cave & the Bad Seeds; and
WHEREAS, Starting in the 1970s, Mr. Davis became a successful
singer in his own right, with hits such as "Baby, Don't Get Hooked
on Me," "Stop and Smell the Roses," "It's Hard to Be Humble," and
"Hooked on Music"; with his good looks and genial Texas charm, he
also enjoyed a career as an actor, appearing in such films as North
Dallas Forty, Cheaper to Keep Her, and The Sting II, as well as such
television series as The Muppet Show, Rodney, and King of the Hill;
in 1993, he played the title role in a Broadway musical, The Will
Rogers Follies; and
WHEREAS, Mr. Davis continued to work as a songwriter well
into his 70s; with Bruno Mars, he cowrote "Young Girls" for the
album Unorthodox Jukebox, and in 2014, he cowrote "Addicted to
You," a dance club hit for the Swedish performer Avicii; during his
solo music career, he charted 30 times on the Billboard Hot Country
Songs chart between 1970 and 1986, and in 1998, he received a star
on the Hollywood Walk of Fame; he was inducted into the Nashville
Songwriters Hall of Fame in 2000 and into the Songwriters Hall of
Fame in 2006; and
WHEREAS, In all his endeavors, Mr. Davis benefited from the
love and support of Lise Gerard, his wife of 38 years, and he was the
proud father of three children, Noah, Cody, and Joel; and
WHEREAS, As a writer and performer, Mac Davis brought joy to
multitudes of people, and he leaves behind a legacy of memorable and
beautifully crafted songs that will continue to delight listeners
for generations to come; now, therefore, be it
RESOLVED, That the House of Representatives of the 87th Texas
Legislature hereby pay tribute to the life of Mac Davis and extend
heartfelt sympathy to his family and many friends; and, be it
further
RESOLVED, That an official copy of this resolution be
prepared for his family and that when the Texas House of
Representatives adjourns this day, it do so in memory of Mac Davis.
Burrows
______________________________
Speaker of the House
I certify that H.R. No. 174 was unanimously adopted by a
rising vote of the House on March 10, 2021.
______________________________
Chief Clerk of the House