Mark James, Grammy-Winning Songwriter of ‘Always on My Mind,’ Passes Away at 83

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Songwriters are fortunate if they leave one track that every person recognizes and likes. Mark James, that y the Houston Chronicle reported passed away at his home in Nashville on June 8 at age 83, left 3: “Suspicious Minds,” the lastNo 1 appeal the Billboard Hot 100 by Elvis Presley; “Always on My Mind,” which was a leading 5 Hot 100 pinch hit both Willie Nelson and Pet Shop Boys; and “Hooked on a Feeling,” which was a leading 5 Hot 100 pinch hit both B.J. Thomas and Blue Swede.

James won 2 Grammy Awards– track of the year and ideal nation track– for “Always on My Mind,” an elegant ballad he co-wrote with Johnny Christopher and the lateWayne Carson The track was likewise called track of the year by the Country Music Association in both 1982 and 1983. (CMA guidelines at the time enabled tracks to win two times in this classification, an excessively charitable plan which we can forgive if it functioned to the advantage of a track this ageless and timeless.).

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James was sworn in right into the Songwriters Hall of Fame in 2014 and the Nashville Songwriters Hall of Fame the list below year. Thomas and Hunter Hayes carried out James’ tracks at the last occasion.

James’ various other noteworthy hits consisted of “The Eyes of a New York Woman,” a leading 30 Hot 100 pinch hit Thomas in 1968; “Moody Blue,” a leading 40 Hot 100 pinch hit Presley in 1977 and the title track of his last workshop cd launched in his life time; and “Sunday Sunrise,” a leading 10 appealed Hot Country Songs in 1973 for Brenda Lee.

James was birthed Francis Rodney Zambon onNov 29, 1940, in Houston,Texas He befriended Thomas, that matured in neighboring Rosenberg, Texas, while both were still young. (Thomas passed away in 2021 at age 78.)

By the late 1960s, James was authorized as a personnel songwriter to Memphis manufacturer Chips Moman’s releasing firm. Moman generated Thomas’ variations of James’ tracks “The Eyes of a New York Woman”, “Hooked on a Feeling” and “It’s Only Love” (which James co-wrote with Steve Tyrell). All 3 songs made the leading 50 on the Hot 100 in 1968-69.

James launched his very own variation of “Suspicious Minds,” likewise generated by Moman, on Scepter Records in 1968. Presley’s 1969 variation, co-produced by Moman and Felton Jarvis, covered the Hot 100 in the concern datedNov 1, 1969, coming to be the lastNo 1 for the King of Rock andRoll

In 1972, Lee had the initial noteworthy recording of “Always on My Mind.” Her variation got toNo 45 on Billboard‘s Hot Country Songs graph. Presley taped the track that exact same year, however, in what might have been a missed out on possibility, enabled the track to head out as the B-side of a much much less remarkable track, “Separate Ways.” “Separate Ways,” Presley’s follow-up to hisNo 2 Hot 100 hit “Burning Love,” got toNo 20, however “Always on My Mind” might have had much better capacity. As kept in mind, succeeding cover variations by Nelson and Pet Shop Boys both made the leading 5. (Pet Shop Boys’ 1988 EDM variation of this timeless ballad functioned as a tip that an excellent track can be analyzed any type of variety of means.)

Also in 1972, James authorized a lasting agreement with Screen Gems-Columbia Music In 1973, Lee landed a leading 10 appealed Hot Country Songs with James’ “Sunday Sunrise.” Anne Murray restored the track with some success in 1975.

In 1974, James landed his 2ndNo 1 on the Hot 100 when Blue Swede, a Swedish team, taped “Hooked on a Feeling.” The track was driven by a punchy efficiency and, particularly, an “ooga chaka” intro (obtained from a 1971 cover by Jonathan King) that went to as soon as grating and fiendishly smart. It was the love-it-or-hate-it hook that sent out the track toNo 1 in April 1974.

Fine Young Cannibals, Jay- Z, Dwight Yoakam and Bill Withers are amongst the various other musicians that have actually taped James’ tracks. James’ tracks have actually likewise been included in such movies as Kramer vs. Kramer, Black Hawk Down and Reservoir Dogs.

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