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.
In the Ghetto
Mac Davis Lyrics
Jump to: Overall Meaning ↴ Line by Line Meaning ↴
On a cold and gray Chicago mornin'
A poor little baby child is born
In the ghetto
And his mama cries
'Cause if there's one thing that she don't need
It's another hungry mouth to feed
In the ghetto
People, don't you understand
The child needs a helping hand
Or he'll grow to be an angry young man some day
Take a look at you and me,
Are we too blind to see,
Do we simply turn our heads
And look the other way
Well the world turns
And a hungry little boy with a runny nose
Plays in the street as the cold wind blows
In the ghetto
And his hunger burns
So he starts to roam the streets at night
And he learns how to steal
And he learns how to fight
In the ghetto
Then one night in desperation
A young man breaks away
He buys a gun, steals a car,
Tries to run, but he don't get far
And his mama cries
As a crowd gathers 'round an angry young man
Face down in the street with a gun in his hand
In the ghetto
As her young man dies,
On a cold and grey Chicago mornin',
Another little baby child is born
In the ghetto
And his mama cries
In the ghetto
In the ghetto
The song's opening lines set the scene of a cold and gray Chicago morning, where a baby is born in the ghetto, an area in a city with a high poverty rate and a history of socioeconomic struggle. The lyrics describe the struggles that the child and his mother will likely face due to their limited resources and the poverty in which they live. The mother cries because another hungry mouth to feed is not what she needs in her life.
The chorus then appeals to the broader audience, asking them to understand the importance of helping those in the ghetto. If they don't, the child may grow up to become an unhappy and angry young man. Davis then challenges the audience, asking them to look at themselves and question whether they turn a blind eye to these issues. The lyrics then describe the struggles that the child will endure, such as hunger, which may lead him to turn to a life of theft and violence.
The song's final verse shows the cycle of poverty that continues as another baby is born into the same situation as the previous child. The song's message is that society needs to take care of those in need, and if they don't, the consequences will be grave. The song is a reflection on the societal issues afflicting low-income communities in America and serves as a call to action to help those in need.
Line by Line Meaning
As the snow flies
During a snowy day in Chicago,
On a cold and gray Chicago mornin'
On a morning that is colorless and dull due to the cold weather in Chicago,
A poor little baby child is born
A newborn baby is born into poor circumstances,
In the ghetto
In an impoverished part of the town,
And his mama cries
The baby's mother cries,
'Cause if there's one thing that she don't need
Because she cannot afford to cater for another mouth to feed,
It's another hungry mouth to feed
Another child who needs more food,
In the ghetto
In an impoverished part of the town,
People, don't you understand
Everyone, do you not realize,
The child needs a helping hand
The baby needs caring and assistance,
Or he'll grow to be an angry young man someday
Or else he could become a resentful and frustrated adult,
Take a look at you and me
Observe yourself and me,
Are we too blind to see
Are we ignorant of what's happening in the ghetto,
Do we simply turn our heads
Do we ignore this unsettling reality,
And look the other way
And pretend like the situation doesn't exist,
Well the world turns
Nonetheless, time moves on,
And a hungry little boy with a runny nose
But still, one impoverished boy with a cold and runny nose,
Plays in the street as the cold wind blows
Plays outside without proper clothing despite the chilly weather,
In the ghetto
In this impoverished part of the town,
And his hunger burns
His hunger intensifies,
So he starts to roam the streets at night
To alleviate his hunger, he begins to wander the streets at night,
And he learns how to steal
He starts to steal to survive,
And he learns how to fight
He also comes to know how to fight for his survival,
In the ghetto
In this impoverished part of the town,
Then one night in desperation
One night, greatly in need,
A young man breaks away
A young man flees from the ghetto,
He buys a gun, steals a car
He buys a firearm and also carjacks someone,
Tries to run, but he don't get far
He tries to escape, but his efforts prove futile,
And his mama cries
His mother cries,
As a crowd gathers 'round an angry young man
As onlookers gather around a furious youth,
Face down in the street with a gun in his hand
Lying on the ground face down with a firearm in hand,
In the ghetto
In this impoverished part of the town,
As her young man dies
As her son perishes,
On a cold and grey Chicago mornin'
On another morning in Chicago, which is gloomy and cold,
Another little baby child is born
Another newborn baby arrives,
In the ghetto
In this impoverished part of the town,
And his mama cries
And his mother weeps,
In the ghetto
In this impoverished part of the town.
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!