Mac Davis dead at 78

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Mac Davis

Mac Davis, the singer and songwriter behind Elvis Presley's hits In the Ghetto and A Little Less Conversation, has died following heart surgery.

The 78 year old passed away on Tuesday night.

His longtime manager, Jim Morey, broke the sad news, calling Davis "a music legend" and "a loving husband, father, grandfather and friend."

"I will miss laughing about our misadventures on the road and his insightful sense of humor," Morey wrote in a statement.

Davis' songs were also recorded by Kenny Rogers, Dolly Parton, Glen Campbell, Tom Jones and Johnny Cash, and he tasted solo success himself with the hits Baby Don't Get Hooked on Me, Stop and Smell the Roses, and Rock N Roll (I Gave You the Best Years of My Life).

Mac, who also fronted his own U.S. TV variety series in the mid-1970s, was named Entertainer of the Year at the Academy of Country Music Awards in 1974.

Born in January, 1942, Davis was a member of the Songwriters Hall of Fame and the Nashville Songwriters Hall of Fame.

The Texan was hospitalized after falling ill recently, and Morey asked fans for their prayers via Facebook over the weekend.

Parton picked up on the messages of support and asked her fans to keep her friend in their thoughts.

She retweeted the hashtag "#PrayForMacDavis" and the message, "We are sorry to report that legendary singer/songwriter Mac Davis is critically ill following heart surgery in Nashville. Your love and prayers will be deeply appreciated at this time."

Davis recently appeared in Dolly Parton's Heartstrings TV movie series in 2019.