Artists get requests from record producers all the time, some of them on the unreasonable side. Mac Davis decided to respond to one of these requests with a bit of sarcasm, at least from his perspective.
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But his producer realized that Davis had inadvertently created the bones of a hit single. That song, “Baby Don’t Get Hooked On Me”, turned into the most successful song of Davis’ recording career.
Mac and The King
Growing up in Texas, Mac Davis fell in love with music as a youngster when he heard the likes of Buddy Holly and Elvis Presley. He found some footing in the 60s by working behind the scenes in the music industry. While helping plug the songs of other writers, he also started working up demos of songs that he wrote.
That landed him a gig writing for Nancy Sinatra’s production company. Once he had that exposure, his songs started landing with others. His big breakthrough came when Presley, his idol, recorded several of Davis’ songs, including the comeback hit “In The Ghetto”.
Other artists, including Bobby Goldsboro and The First Edition, scored hits with Davis originals. Eventually, he decided he’d strike out on his own and start recording his own material. After two albums failed to produce any big hits, his third LP delivered a title track that made Davis a pop sensation. Not bad for a song that he mostly wrote in jest.
Getting “Hooked”
Rick Hall acted as Davis’ producer on the LP he scheduled for a 1972 release. Hall complained one day that Davis was coming in with a bunch of somber ballads, wondering where all the hooks were. As a lark, Davis went away and came back with a song that put the “hook” right in the title.
Davis played Hall the chorus of “Baby Don’t Get Hooked On Me”. Instead of laughing, Hall immediately heard the potential of the idea. He asked Davis to go write the rest of the song. Cornered into the idea, Davis came up with lyrics about a wayward narrator who warned a loyal girl away from him.
Davis took some heat from some women’s groups who thought that this narrator was a male chauvinist. Judging it now, the guy just seems like he’s being honest about his faults and trying to spare the girl some heartbreak. In any case, “Baby Don’t Get Hooked On Me” did what Hall hoped it would, going all the way to No. 1 on the pop charts in 1972.
Behind the Lyrics of “Baby Don’t Get Hooked On Me”
The narrator of the song can see where this relationship is going, and it’s just not in his plans. “I ain’t ready for no family ties,” he warns. “Nobody’s gonna hurry me.” “Don’t start clinging to me, girl,” he says. “’Cause I can’t breathe.”
Even though he’s a cad, he’s a self-aware one, and he sympathizes with the girl’s plight. “But I can see your tremblin’ smile,” he says. “You’re seein’ way too much in me.” In the chorus, he pleads with her to keep her distance. “’Cause I’ll just use you, and I’ll set you free.”
Mac Davis never again scored that kind of pop success, but he enjoyed a great stretch of country hits. That dovetailed with memorable acting roles and even a stint as a variety show host. “Baby Don’t Get Hooked On Me” helped make all that happen. Good thing he tried to one-up his producer that fateful day.
Photo by PL Gould/IMAGES/Getty Images
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