Mark James wrote tunes for Elvis!
In 1967, Mark James held down a job as a songwriter in Memphis for a publishing company owned by producer Chips Moman.
His first success came with Hooked On A Feeling, recorded by B.J. Thomas in 1968, 1971 by Jonathan King, and in 1974 by Blue Swede (#1 in the U.S).
1968 was a great year for Mark as he also wrote and recorded Suspicious Minds. The following year, Elvis covered it and had a worldwide hit.
This led to Mark signing a new deal as a songwriter in 1972 with Columbia, his first big hit was with country singer Brenda Lee in Sunday Sunrise.
Brenda also recorded Always On My Mind, and so did Elvis, both in 1972 but Elvis only did it as a B-side so it never charted.
Ten years later, Willie Nelson covered Always On My Mind with great success, earning Mark a #1 and a Grammy 10 years after he’d written it.
Mark must have thought that was it for Always On My Mind but in 1987, Pet Shop Boys did their version and landed another #1, this time in the U.K.
Mark James Tunes | Related Pages
Hooked On A Feeling
You can learn how to play Hooked On A Feeling by Blue Swede (Björn Skifs) using chords, lyrics, chord analysis, and the original recording.
| Ab | Eb | Ab7 | Db |
I can’t stop this feeling, deep inside of me…
Suspicious Minds
You can learn how to play Suspicious Minds by Elvis Presley using chords, lyrics, chord analysis, TAB, and the original recording.
| G (C/G) | G (C/G) | C (F/C) | C (F/C) |
We’re caught in a trap, I can’t walk out…
Mark James on the web
Artists & Bands
Behind every single tune you learn, there’s an artist or band with an entire catalogue of music, waiting to be discovered.
Find out more about these great Artists & Bands, and let their tunes guide you to success.
About me | Dan Lundholm
This was an article about Mark James tunes, by Dan Lundholm. Discover more about him and learn guitar with Spytunes.
Most importantly, find out why you should learn guitar through playing tunes, not practising scales, and studying theory in isolation.
