Editing Mac Davis (section)

===Career as a songwriter===
Once Davis was settled in Atlanta, he organized a [[rock and roll]] group called the Zots, and made two singles for OEK Records, managed and promoted by OEK owner Oscar Kilgo.<ref name="Newman"/><ref name="Ososeje"/><ref name="Wood"/>
<ref>{{cite news |first=William |last=Kerns |url=http://www.lubbockonline.com/stories/030208/loc_252890600.shtml |title=Mac Davis remembers his days in Lubbock |newspaper=[[Lubbock Avalanche-Journal]] |date=March 2, 2008 |access-date=April 11, 2020 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20150814045935/http://lubbockonline.com/stories/030208/loc_252890600.shtml |archive-date=August 14, 2015 |url-status=dead}}</ref> Davis also worked for the [[Vee Jay]] record company (home to such R&B stars as [[Gene Chandler]], [[Jerry Butler (singer)|Jerry Butler]], and [[Dee Clark]]) as a regional manager and later became a regional manager for [[Liberty Records]].<ref name="Larkin"/>

[[Image:Mac Davis Lane, Lubbock, TX IMG 0194.JPG|left|thumb|200px|Mac Davis Lane intersects Avenue Q ([[U.S. Highway 84]]) in Davis's hometown of [[Lubbock, Texas|Lubbock]].]] 
Davis became famous as a songwriter and got his start as an employee of [[Nancy Sinatra]]'s company, Boots Enterprises, Inc. Davis was with Boots for several years in the late 1960s. During his time there, he played on many of Sinatra's recordings, and she worked him into her stage shows. Boots Enterprises also acted as Davis's publishing company, publishing songs such as "In the Ghetto", "Friend, Lover, Woman, Wife", "Home", and "[[Memories (Elvis Presley song)|Memories]]", which were recorded by [[Elvis Presley]], [[Nancy Sinatra]], [[B. J. Thomas]] and many others. During a short timespan Davis used the pseudonym "Scott Davis" for songwriting purposes (borrowing from the given name of his son) to avoid confusion with songwriter [[Mack David]].<ref>{{cite web|url=https://www.elvisinfonet.com/interview_mac_davis.html|title=Elvis Information Network - Mac Davis Interview|publisher=elvisinfonet.com|access-date=21 October 2021}}</ref> Davis left Boots Enterprises in 1970 to sign with [[Columbia Records]], taking all of his songs with him.<ref name="Newman"/><ref name="Ososeje"/><ref name="Wood"/>

One of the songs he wrote in 1968, called "A Little Less Conversation", was recorded by Elvis Presley (and became a posthumous success for Presley years later). Presley also recorded Davis's "In the Ghetto" in sessions in Memphis. Mac Davis eventually recorded the tune after Presley's version became a success, and was released in a Ronco In Concert compilation in 1975. Presley continued to record more of Davis's material, such as "Memories", "Don't Cry Daddy", and "Clean Up Your Own Backyard". [[Bobby Goldsboro]] also recorded some of Davis's songs, including "[[Watching Scotty Grow]]",<ref name="Larkin"/> which became a No. 1 [[Adult Contemporary (chart)|Adult Contemporary]] success for Goldsboro in 1971. Other artists who recorded his material included [[Vikki Carr]], [[O.C. Smith]], and [[Kenny Rogers]] and [[The First Edition (band)|The First Edition]]. "I Believe in Music", often considered to be Davis's [[signature song]], was recorded by several artists (including Marian Love, B.J. Thomas, [[Louis Jordan]], [[Perry Como]], [[Helen Reddy]], [[Lynn Anderson]], and Davis himself) before it finally became a success in 1972 for the group [[Gallery (band)|Gallery]].<ref name="Newman"/><ref name="Ososeje"/><ref name="Wood"/>

During the 1970s, many of his songs "crossed over", successfully scoring on both the country and popular music charts, including "Baby Don't Get Hooked on Me"<ref name="Larkin"/> (a number one Grammy-nominated success), "[[One Hell of a Woman]]" (pop no. 11), and "[[Stop and Smell the Roses (song)|Stop and Smell the Roses]]" (a no. 9 pop hit).<ref name="Larkin"/> Also, during the 1970s and 1980s, he was very active as an actor, appearing in several movies, including 1979's ''North Dallas Forty'', as well as hosting a successful variety show.[3][4][5] In 2010, Davis co-wrote the song "Time Flies" with Rivers Cuomo which appeared on Weezer's Hurley album. In 2013 he was part of the Los Angeles writing and producing team that created the hit "Young Girls" for Bruno Mars.<ref>[[Young Girls#Background and writing]]</ref> Davis also wrote and collaborated with the Swedish D.J. and music producer Avicii, penning the song "Addicted to You" for Avicii's debut studio album True. They performed the song "Black and Blue" together at the Ultra Music Festival in Miami in 2013.