Mark James, songwriter of “Suspicious Minds”, has died at the age of 83

Mark James, a genre-bending, Grammy-winning songwriter whose hits included “Suspicious Minds,” “Hooked on a Feeling” and “Always on My Mind,” died Saturday at his home in Nashville. He was 83.

His death was confirmed by his daughter, Sammie Zambon. The Houston Chronicle first reported Mr. James’ death.

Various stars, including Elvis Presley and Willie Nelson, have lent their voices to Mr. James’s song catalog over the years.

His career of hard-hitting hits began in 1968 with “The Eyes of a New York Woman,” recorded by country and pop songwriter B.J. Thomas. Mr. Thomas, a lifelong friend of Mr. James, then recorded “Hooked on a Feeling,” Mr. James’ 1968 song celebrating his newfound love, which reached the Top 5 that same year. The song made the Top 5 again in 1974 when Swedish rock band Blue Swede released its version.

Mr. James catapulted into another stratosphere in 1969 when Elvis recorded “Suspicious Minds,” a song that Mr. James had first recorded and released as a single the year before to little fanfare. Elvis’ version reached No. 1 in 27 countries and became one of his biggest hits and his last No. 1 single. The song is on Rolling Stone’s list of the 500 greatest songs of all time.

“Always On My Mind,” which Mr. James co-wrote with Wayne Carson and Johnny Christopher, became one of his most awarded works. Brenda Lee first recorded the version in 1972 before Elvis released his version in 1973, and John Wesley Ryles made it a top 20 country hit in 1979, according to the Texas Heritage Songwriters Association.

But it was Mr. Nelson’s 1982 version that earned “Always On My Mind” a Grammy for Song of the Year and Best Country Song, as well as Song of the Year from the Country Music Association. The song was later inducted into the Grammy Hall of Fame in 2008.

Mr. James’s catalog of songs has been recorded by a range of artists, including Michael Bublé, Jay-Z, The Pet Shop Boys, Bill Withers and The Fine Young Cannibals, and has been heard in the films “Reservoir Dogs” and “Lilo & Stich” as well as the “Guardians of the Galaxy” series.

Mr. James has been inducted into the New York Songwriters Hall of Fame, the Nashville Country Hall of Fame and the Texas Songwriters Hall of Fame. In 1999, Broadcast Music Inc., the music rights management company, included “Hooked on a Feeling,” “Suspicious Minds” and “Always on My Mind” in its list of the 100 greatest songs of the 20th century.

Mr. James was born Francis Rodney Zambon in Houston on Nov. 29, 1940. (The Houston Chronicle reported that he called himself Mark James because Houston club owners “didn’t like the sound of Francis Zambon” when he began playing music in public.) He is survived by his wife, Karen Zambon, daughters Sammie and Dana Zambon, two grandchildren and extended family.

In total, Elvis recorded five songs by Mr. James and named two of his albums after them: “Raised on Rock” and “Moody Blue.”

In an interview with The Tennessean, Mr. James recalled the moment when Elvis was booked into a studio in Memphis and he realized that “Suspicious Minds” would be perfect for him.

“I turned around in my chair and it was like I saw a gold number one and I knew that was the song I was looking for,” he said, adding, “I wanted to shake Elvis and say, ‘That’s a great song for you, man, to record.’ But I knew that probably everyone in the world had said that to him. So all I could say to the people around him was, ‘Let him record that, that’s a great song for him!'”