87R7160 JGH-D
 
  By: Burrows 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.