Mark James (songwriter)

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Mark James (b. 1940) is a songwriter, famous for writing hits for singers B.J. Thomas, Brenda Lee, and Elvis Presley, most notably Elvis' #1 hit of his career, "Suspicious Minds."

Mark James, whose real name is Francis Zambon, grew up in Houston, Texas, befriending Thomas while both were still young. By the late 1960s, James was signed as a staff songwriter to Memphis producer Chips Moman’s publishing company, Moman producing Thomas’s versions of "The Eyes Of A New York Woman", "Hooked On A Feeling" and "It's Only Love" in 1968-69, all of which achieved success. The songwriter issued his own version of "Suspicious Minds," also produced by Moman, on Scepter Records in 1968, but in the same arrangement the song became a smash for Presley the following year. Brenda Lee had a hit with "Sunday Sunrise," and Presley continued to record James's songs, "Raised On Rock" and "Moody Blue." But James's greatest success came with "Always on My Mind," a collaboration with Johnny Christopher and Wayne Carson, issued as a b-side by Presley in 1972, but becoming a huge hit for Willie Nelson a decade later. James won a Grammy Award for Song of the Year for Nelson's version. UK duo The Pet Shop Boys had a UK #1 and US #4 with their 1987 revival. James also wrote the song Moody Blue, which is also the name of Elvis's last studio album (named after the song).