Song of the Day 10/1: Mac Davis, “It’s Hard to Be Humble”

Mac Davis, who parlayed his songwriting and amiable personality into a recording career and his own TV variety show, died Tuesday at age 78. His best composition is probably “In the Ghetto,” one of several Davis songs that became hits for Elvis Presley, but he had a string of hits himself in the 1970s with tunes that typically reached both the country and Top 40 charts. The most successful were “Baby Don’t Get Hooked on Me,” which reached No. 11 in 1972, and “Stop and Smell the Roses,” a No. 2 country entry in 1974.

This tongue-in-cheek tune might be his most enduring, though. It was recorded in 1974 but wasn’t released as a single until he changed record companies in 1980.

He even performed it on “The Muppet Show” that year, where he sang it as a duet with Link Hogthrob.

Willie Nelson released his version just last year.

Davis’ compositions were covered by a wide variety of singers in the ’70s. One was “I Believe in Music,” which some consider Davis’ signature tune. It was recorded by, among others, Helen Reddy, who coincidentally died on the same day as Davis.