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Mark James, a genre-defying, Grammy Award-winning songwriter whose hits included “Suspicious Minds,” “Hooked on a Feeling” and “All the time on My Thoughts,” died on Saturday at his residence in Nashville. He was 83.
His loss of life was confirmed by his daughter Sammie Zambon.
Among the many many stars who lent their voices to Mr. James’s catalog of songs over time had been Elvis Presley and Willie Nelson.
His profession of powerhouse hits started in 1968 when the nation and pop hitmaker B.J. Thomas, a lifelong buddy, recorded “The Eyes of a New York Lady,” which reached the Billboard High 40. Mr. Thomas adopted it with one other music by Mr. James, “Hooked on a Feeling,” a celebration of newfound love that hit No. 5 that 12 months. It did even higher in 1974, when the Swedish rock band Blue Swede’s model reached No. 1.
Mr. James catapulted into a unique stratosphere in 1969 when Elvis Presley reduce “Suspicious Minds,” a music Mr. James himself had recorded and launched as a single, to little discover, the earlier 12 months. Presley’s model grew to become considered one of his greatest hits, reaching No. 1 in 27 international locations. It was his final No. 1 single.
“Suspicious Minds” was twice included on Rolling Stone’s listing of the five hundred biggest songs of all time — at No. 91 in 2004 and No. 70 in 2024.
“All the time on My Thoughts,” which Mr. James wrote with Wayne Carson and Johnny Christopher, grew to become considered one of his most celebrated works. Brenda Lee recorded the primary model, in 1972; Presley launched his soak up 1973; and John Wesley Ryles had a High 20 nation hit together with his model in 1979, in accordance with the Texas Heritage Songwriters Affiliation.
However the best-known model of “All the time on My Thoughts” was Willie Nelson’s, launched in 1982. It earned Mr. James and his collaborators the Grammy for music of the 12 months and finest nation music, and it was additionally named music of the 12 months by the Nation Music Affiliation. The file was inducted into the Grammy Corridor of Fame in 2008.
Mr. James’s songs have additionally been recorded by Michael Bublé, Jay-Z, the Pet Store Boys, Invoice Withers, Fantastic Younger Cannibals and others. They’ve been featured within the movies “Reservoir Canine” and “Lilo & Stich” and within the “Guardians of the Galaxy” franchise.
Mr. James was inducted into the Songwriters Corridor of Fame, the Nashville Songwriters Corridor of Fame and the Texas Songwriters Corridor of Fame. In 1999, Broadcast Music Inc., the music rights administration firm, included “Hooked on a Feeling,” “Suspicious Minds” and “All the time on My Thoughts” on its listing of the 100 biggest songs of the twentieth century.
Mr. James was born Francis Rodney Zambon on Nov. 29, 1940, in Houston. (The Houston Chronicle reported that he used the title Mark James as a result of, when he started performing, membership homeowners in Houston “didn’t just like the sound of Francis Zambon.”)
Along with his daughter Sammie, his survivors embrace his spouse, Karen Zambon; one other daughter, Dana Zambon; a brother, Rollin; and two grandchildren.
Elvis Presley recorded 5 songs by Mr. James in all. They had been the title tracks of two of his albums, “Raised on Rock” and “Moody Blue.”
In an interview with The Tennessean, Mr. James recalled the second when Presley was booked for a studio in Memphis and he realized that “Suspicious Minds” could be good for him.
“I circled within the chair and it was like seeing a golden primary and I knew that was the music I’d been on the lookout for,” he stated. He felt, he added, like “shaking Elvis and saying, ‘This can be a nice one for you, man, to file.’ However I knew in all probability everybody on this planet had in all probability stated that to him. So all I might do is inform the blokes round him, ‘Get him to chop this, it is a nice one for him!’”
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