Mark James, a genre-defying, Grammy-winning songwriter whose hits included “Suspicious Minds,” “Hooked on a Feeling” and “All the time on My Thoughts,” died at his house in Nashville on Saturday. He was 83 years previous.
His demise was confirmed by his daughter, Sammie Zambon. The Houston Chronicle first reported the news of the demise of Mr. James.
A number of stars, together with Elvis Presley and Willie Nelson, have lent their voices to Mr. James’ music catalog through the years.
Her profession of highly effective hits started in 1968 with “The Eyes of a New York Lady,” cut by country and pop hitmaker BJ Thomas. Thomas, a longtime pal of Mr. James, then recorded “Hooked on a Feeling,” Mr. James’ 1968 track celebrating newfound love, which reached the highest 5 that yr. The track returned to the highest 5 in 1974 when Swedish rock band Blue Swede launched their model.
James was catapulted into a special stratosphere in 1969 when Elvis recorded “Suspicious Minds,” a track James recorded and launched for the primary time. as a single, without prior notice, in the previous year. Elvis’ model reached primary in 27 nations and have become considered one of his greatest hits and his final primary single. O The song is included in Rolling Stone’s list of the 500 greatest songs of all time..
“All the time On My Thoughts,” which James co-wrote with Wayne Carson and Johnny Christopher, grew to become considered one of his most adorned works. Brenda Lee recorded the primary model in 1972 earlier than Elvis launched his model in 1973 and John Wesley Ryles made it a prime 20 nation hit in 1979, according to the Texas Heritage Songwriters Association.
Nevertheless, it was Nelson’s 1982 model that earned “All the time On My Thoughts” a Grammy for track of the yr and greatest nation track, in addition to track of the yr from the Nation Music Affiliation. He was later inducted into the Grammy Hall of Fame in 2008..
James’ arsenal of songs has been recorded by quite a few artists, together with Michael Bublé, Jay-Z, The Pet Store Boys, Invoice Withers and The Tremendous Younger Cannibals. They appeared within the movies “Reservoir Canines” and “Lilo & Stich” and the “Guardians of the Galaxy” franchise.
James has been inducted into the New York Songwriters Corridor of Fame, the Nashville Nation Corridor of Fame, and the Texas Songwriters Corridor of Fame. In 1999, Broadcast Music Inc., a music rights management company, named “Hooked on a Feeling”, “Suspicious Minds” and “All the time on My Thoughts” on his record of the 100 best songs of the twentieth century.
James was born Francis Rodney Zambon on November 29, 1940, in Houston. (The Houston Chronicle reported that he was known as Mark James as a result of, when he began taking part in in public, Houston membership house owners “didn’t just like the sound of Francis Zambon.”) He’s survived by his spouse, Karen Zambon; his daughters, Sammie and Dana Zambon; two grandchildren; and prolonged household.
In whole, Elvis recorded 5 of Mr. James’ songs and named two of his albums after them, “Raised on Rock” and “Moody Blue.”
On a interview with the TennesseanJames recalled the second Elvis was employed at a studio in Memphis and realized “Suspicious Minds” could be good for him.
“I circled in my chair and it was like seeing a golden primary and I knew that was the track I used to be in search of,” he stated, including, “I needed to shake Elvis and say, ‘It is a track.’ nice for you man recording. However I knew that most likely everybody on this planet would have most likely advised him that. So all I might do was inform the blokes round him, ‘Make him minimize it, it is nice for him!’”
