Mac Davis - In The Ghetto 1972

I am working my IT job today, so have not been on RP very much this morning... I just finished a big segment of one report and so I am posting my first Music Interlude for today with a Country and Western song by Mac Davis titled "In The Ghetto", a song many of you may remember... Mac Davis passed away recently on September 29, 2020, Nashville, TN, so I am going to feature his songs today as a Tribute to him... Here is a short background piece:

Background - Mac Davis:

"Scott Mac Davis[1] (January 21, 1942 – September 29, 2020) was an American country music singer, songwriter, and actor. A native of Lubbock, Texas, he enjoyed success as a crossover artist, and during his early career wrote for Elvis Presley, providing him with the hits "Memories", "In the Ghetto", "Don't Cry Daddy", and "A Little Less Conversation". A subsequent solo career in the 1970s produced hits such as "Baby, Don't Get Hooked on Me". Davis also starred in his own variety show, a Broadway musical, and various films and TV shows.

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.

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.

In 1974, Davis was awarded the Academy of Country Music's Entertainer of the Year award. He had other successes including 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." Read more at Wikipedia.com

LYRICS:

Mac Davis - "In The Ghetto" 1972

As the snow flies
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

Written by: Mac Davis (For Elvis Presley)

I hope you all enjoy it!
Kerry
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