Davis graduated at 16 from Lubbock High School in Lubbock, Texas. He spent his childhood years with his sister Linda, living and working at the former College Courts, an efficiency apartment complex owned by his father, T. J. Davis, located at the intersection of College Avenue and 5th Street. Davis describes his father, who was divorced from Davis's mother, as "very religious, very strict, and very stubborn." Though Davis was physically small, he had a penchant for getting into fistfights. "In those days, it was all about football, rodeo, and fistfights. Oh, man, I got beat up so much while I was growing up in Lubbock," Davis said in a March 2, 2008, interview with the Lubbock Avalanche-Journal newspaper. "I was 5 feet, 9 inches, and weighed 125 pounds. I joined Golden Gloves, but didn't do good even in my (own) division." After he finished high school, Davis moved to Atlanta, Georgia, where his mother lived, to get out of Lubbock.
Once he 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. Davis also worked for the Vee Jay record company (home to such R&B stars as Gene Chandler, Jerry Butler, and Dee Clark) as a regional manager, and later also served as a regional manager for Liberty Records.
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", "It's Such a Lonely Time of Year", and "Memories", which were recorded by Elvis Presley, Nancy Sinatra, B. J. Thomas, and many others. Davis left Boots Enterprises in 1970 to sign with Columbia Records, taking all of his songs with him.
One of the songs he wrote in 1968, called "A Little Less Conversation", was recorded by Elvis Presley (and would become a posthumous success for Presley years later). Presley recorded "In the Ghetto" in sessions in Memphis. According to maverick record producer Jimmy Bowen, "Ghetto" was originally pitched to Sammy Davis, Jr. Mac, guitar in hand, played the song in a studio, with onlookers such as Rev. Jesse Jackson and other members of the black activist community. Mac Davis, the only white man in the room at the time, eventually told Bowen, "I don't know whether to thank ya, or to kill ya." Mac Davis eventually recorded the tune after Presley's version became a success, and was released in a Ronco In Concert compilation in 1975. It was later released on a campy Rhino Records Golden Throats compilation in 1991. The song became a success for Presley and he 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", which became a #1 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. "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, and Davis himself) before it finally became a success in 1972 for the group Gallery.
Later, he also became known as a country singer. 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" (a number one Grammy-nominated success), "One Hell of a Woman" (pop no. 11), and "Stop and Smell the Roses" (a no. 9 pop hit). Also, during the 1970s, he was very active as an actor, appearing in several movies, as well as hosting a successful variety show.
Davis soon decided to pursue a career of his own in country music; he was signed to Columbia Records in 1970. After several years of enriching the repertoires of other artists, his big success came two years after signing with Columbia. He topped the Country and Pop charts with the song "Baby Don't Get Hooked on Me". It sold over one million copies and was awarded a gold disc by the Recording Industry Association of America in September 1972.
Some of Davis's lyrics invoked overtly sexual relationships. In the song "Baby Don't Get Hooked on Me", he pleads with a woman not to become too enamored with him, because he does not want to commit to a full-time relationship. Other successful songs, such as "Naughty Girl" and "Baby Spread Your Love on Me", contained similar lyrics.
In 1974, Davis was awarded the Academy of Country Music's Entertainer of the Year award. Some of Davis's other successes include the songs "Stop and Smell the Roses" (a number one Adult Contemporary success in 1974) (pop no. 9), "One Hell of a Woman" (pop no. 11), "Rock'n'Roll (I Gave You The Best Years Of My Life)" (pop no. 15), and "Burnin' Thing" (pop no. 53). At the end of the 1970s, he moved to Casablanca Records, which was best known at the time for its successes with disco star Donna Summer and rock'n'roll band Kiss. His first success for the company in 1980 was the novelty song "It's Hard To Be Humble", a light-hearted look at how popularity and good looks could go to one's head. The song became his first Country music top 10 and a rare top 30 hit in the UK. (It was translated into Dutch as "Het is moeilijk bescheiden te blijven" and became a hit for the Dutch singer Peter Blanker in 1981). Later that year, he also had another top 10 song with "Let's Keep It That Way". In November, "Rock'n'Roll (I Gave You The Best Years Of My Life)" was played by KHJ in Los Angeles as its last song before it switched from Top 40 to Country music. He achieved other successful songs, such as "Texas In My Rear View Mirror" and "Hooked on Music", which became his biggest Country music success in 1981, going to no. 2. In 1985, he recorded his last top 10 country music success with the song "I Never Made Love (Till I Made Love With You)".
On January 19, 1985, Davis performed "God Bless the USA" at the 50th Presidential Inaugural Gala, held the day before the second inauguration of Ronald Reagan.
Davis was inducted into the Nashville Songwriters Hall of Fame in 2000.
Hollywood Humpty Dumpty
Mac Davis Lyrics
Jump to: Overall Meaning ↴ Line by Line Meaning ↴
As long as I'm making my music ain't gonna do nobody no harm
And who knows maybe I'll come up with a song
To make people want to stop all this fussing and fighting
Long enough to sing along
I believe in music
I believe in love
I believe in love
Music is love and love is music if you know what I mean
People who believe in music are the happiest people I've ever seen
So clap your hands and stomp your feet and shake those tambourines
Lift your voices to the sky tell me what you see.
I believe in music
I believe in love
I believe in music
I believe in love
Music is the universal language, and love is the key
To peace hope and understanding, and living in harmony
So take your brother by the hand and come along with me
Lift your voices to the sky, tell me what you see
I believe in music
I believe in love
I believe in music
I believe in love
The lyrics to Mac Davis's song Hollywood Humpty Dumpty express his belief in the profound power of music and love to bring people together and create positive change. The opening lines suggest that Davis could spend all his time creating music without causing harm to anyone, highlighting the harmless and uplifting nature of music. He expresses hope that his music will inspire people to stop fighting and come together in unity, perhaps even singing along to his songs.
Davis goes on to declare his belief in music and love as interconnected entities. He observes that those who believe in music are often the happiest people he's ever met. The following lines urge listeners to join in with the music, using their bodies and voices to create an atmosphere of joy and celebration. The song's chorus repeats the lines "I believe in music, I believe in love", driving home Davis's heartfelt message that these two forces can bridge differences and bring people closer together.
The final verse of the song reinforces the idea that music and love can create a more harmonious world. Davis suggests that music is a universal language that can help foster peace, hope, and understanding between people, while love is the key to unlocking these positive forces. He urges his listeners to reach out to their fellow humans and take them by the hand, joining him in lifting their voices to the sky to create a more beautiful and unified world.
Line by Line Meaning
I could just sit around making music all day long
I have a passion for music and would love to spend my life creating and playing music.
As long as I'm making my music ain't gonna do nobody no harm
I believe that music has the power to bring people together and heal souls without harming anyone.
And who knows maybe I'll come up with a song
I have faith in my abilities to write songs that can significantly impact individuals and even society as a whole.
To make people want to stop all this fussing and fighting
My music has the power to inspire people to end their conflicts and live in peace.
Long enough to sing along
The beauty of my music is that it brings people together to sing and dance along in harmony.
Music is love and love is music if you know what I mean
Music is not just a collection of sounds, but it represents love in every way possible, and love is only accomplished through a combination of sounds the way good music does.
People who believe in music are the happiest people I've ever seen
Music is a source of happiness and contentment, and those who have faith in its power tend to be more fulfilled in life.
So clap your hands and stomp your feet and shake those tambourines
Music inspires active engagement from individuals and encourages them to participate in rituals such as clapping, shouting, and dancing.
Lift your voices to the sky tell me what you see
Music is a celebration of life, and when we come together to sing, we see a world full of hope, possibilities, and a bright future ahead.
Music is the universal language, and love is the key
Music is a language that everyone can understand regardless of their background, and love is what unites us all in harmony.
To peace hope and understanding, and living in harmony
Music has the power to bring about peace, hope, and mutual understanding among people of different races, cultures, and religions, encouraging them to live in peace and harmony.
So take your brother by the hand and come along with me
Music is a great way to connect with others and create a sense of commonality and togetherness, and that is why I am constantly inviting people to come along with me on this journey.
Lift your voices to the sky, tell me what you see
When we sing and make music together, we see a better world that is full of hope, peace, and understanding if we listen attentively.
I believe in music
Music is at the heart of everything I do, and I have great hope in its power to bring about a better world.
I believe in love
Love is the energy that inspires and underpins all great music, and it is what makes the world a better place for everyone.
I believe in music
My faith in music to connect and inspire people is unwavering, it has the power to provoke a great deal of positive emotions.
I believe in love
Love is a universal emotion that brings people together in ways that are impossible to achieve with anything other than music.
Lyrics © Sony/ATV Music Publishing LLC
Written by: MAC DAVIS
Lyrics Licensed & Provided by LyricFind
Gregg Gregory
on Me 'n Fat Boy
I worked along side Bill Pruitt aka "fat boy" as an electrician in 1990 in NYC. Nicest guy yay ever wanted to meet ! And he wasn't fat anymore!