Obituaries: Two Notables From the 1970s

There was so much to note yesterday in terms of Trump's disastrous debate "performance"--more like an unhinged rant--that I overlooked two deaths of prominent entertainers of the 1970s.

Helen Reddy and Mac Davis died hours apart

The first death to mention was the death of singer Helen Reddy, 78, who was known for her hit song, "I Am Woman."  She was originally from Australia but was a single mother living in New York when she embarked on her singing career.

Reddy had suffered from poor health for years.  She had Addison's disease and suffered from dementia.  She died yesterday.

BBC:

Born in Melbourne in 1941, Reddy grew up in a showbiz family with actor parents, and performed regularly as a child.

After winning a talent contest in Australia, her prize ticket took her to New York City in the 1960s, where she auditioned for a recording contract.

That opportunity fell through but the soprano decided to stay on in the US, later signing with Capitol Records.

Her first hit, I Don't Know How to Love Him, was followed by a succession of others including Crazy Love, Delta Dawn, and Angie Baby.

But it was her second hit, I Am Woman, which catapulted her to international fame and became a defining song for a generation of women.

Reddy said she had penned the lyrics - with lines such as "I am woman, hear me roar" and "I am strong, I am invincible, I am woman" - after struggling to find other songs which reflected her pride in being a woman.

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Another famous singer-songwriter from the 1970s passed away.  Mac Davis, 78, died yesterday at the age of 78 following heart surgery.  He had written songs for performers such as Elvis Presley including "In the Ghetto," "Memories," "A Little Less Conversation," and "Don't Cry Daddy," before he struck out on his own.  A very good-looking man, he had huge success in the 1970s with hits like "Baby Don't Get Hooked On Me" and and was involved with his own television show, Broadway, and in films.

Rolling Stone:

Born in Lubbock, Texas, in 1942, Davis would evolve into a country and Adult Contemporary crossover star with solo hits like “Baby Don’t Get Hooked on Me,” “Stop and Smell the Roses,” and “One Hell of a Woman.” In 1974, he was named Entertainer of the Year by the Academy of Country Music, beating out nominees like Loretta Lynn and Merle Haggard. That same year, he was nominated for Entertainer of the Year by the Country Music Association.

Davis experienced a resurgence in the Eighties, thanks to the novelty hit “It’s Hard to Be Humble” (covered by Willie Nelson on 2019’s Ride Me Back Home), “Texas in My Rearview Mirror,” and the rockabilly “Hooked on Music,” which nodded, both lyrically and musically, to his greatest champion: Elvis Presley. In the late Sixties, he cut a string of Davis compositions, including “A Little Less Conversation” and the tale of inner-city poverty “In the Ghetto,” which Davis also recorded. The former was a posthumous hit for Presley, on the strength of a 2002 remix by Dutch DJ Junkie XL, while the latter’s success endeared Davis’s material to Presley. Elvis would go on to record other compositions like “Memories” and “Don’t Cry Daddy,” both staples of his Seventies live performances.