Mark James

Every song you're hearing today is the original version before someone else made it a hit, and I promised you a song that was made for a king, and up next is Suspicious Minds.

Here is the 1968 original by Mark James, the songwriter, on Scepter Records.

Take it away, Mark.

We're caught in a trap.

I can't walk out because I love you too much, baby.

But why can't you see what you're doing to me when you don't believe a word I say? Don't you know I'm caught in a trap? I know I, I can't walk out because I love you too much.

There you have it, Mark James' original version of Suspicious Minds from 1968 on Scepter Records.

Elvis Presley recorded his version in Memphis and took it to number one in 1969.

So I agree with, uh, nobody being able to hold a candle to, uh, Dwight's version of this, and that's inclusive of Elvis.

This song was first a flop by Mark James.

It was released in 1968.

'68, never charted.

So it would be impolite and rude and careless to try to push an interview.

The other archival... footage and calling it archival for this particularly it's like it's accurate but it makes it sound older than what it was we got a pretty recent interview with Mark James yeah before he

passed

yeah because he recorded it with the Texas Hall of Fame and I'll tell this story even though it'll be in the documentary but it's probably a good lead to the documentary it's my favorite part of this whole process was I had written Mark a letter.

I found his address because his real name is not Mark James.

It's Francis Sambone.

And I looked up the address.

And then, I mean, it couldn't have been more than a week after that.

and the players.

A favorite track of mine on volume two is your rendition of Always on My Mind, which, of course, was written by Wayne Carson, Johnny Christopher, and Mark James.

But it was made famous by a handful of artists like Elvis and Willie Nelson, Brenda Lee, and Gwen McRae.

But Willie's version won two Grammys for the song.