Baby Don’t Get Hooked On Me – Mac Davis | Top 40 Chart Performance, Story and Song Meaning
Chart Performance: Pop (#1 for 3 weeks); 1972
Story Behind The Song By Ed Osborne
Mac sculpted his music from the raw material of his life, e.g. Watching Scotty Grow (recorded by Bobby Goldsboro), inspired by his own son, and Don’t Cry Daddy (Elvis Presley), after Scotty told his dad not to be upset by Vietnam war news.
By 1970, Mac’s folio included hits such as Memories and In The Ghetto, also by Elvis, and Something’s Burning by Kenny Rogers and The First Edition. So sales prospects looked good when Song Dancer – a phrase Glen Campbell once used to describe Mac – hit the bins.
Unfortunately, it didn’t chart, and Mac waited two more years before Baby Don’t Get Hooked On Me rode to #1 on a wave of protest from women’s groups offended by the song’s seeming arrogance. In response, Mac claimed the man in Hooked felt he didn’t deserve the woman’s love.
In fact, the song was written after Mac’s producer asked for a “hook” song; one with an unforgettable phrase that sticks in the listener’s mind. In the end, Hooked was Mac’s only #1 record, as writer or singer.
This content and all Song Meaning articles were created and written by Top 40 Contributing Editor Ed Osborne. © 2024 Ed Osborne. All Rights Reserved. In addition to these song meaning articles, Ed has written our “Year in Music 1960s-1990s” articles.
Produced by:
- Rick Hall
Lyrics Written by:
- Mac Davis
Ed Osborne
Hi. I got my first record at age two and never looked back, spending a decades-long career in radio and the music business. Even after years of reading about and listening to all types of music, I am still fascinated by it. Apart from that, I’m endlessly intrigued by art, nature, and the inner lives of people (and dogs).