Francis Rodney Zambon (November 29, 1940 – June 8, 2024), known professionally as Mark James, was an American songwriter.
[1] Mark James was born an Italian-American in Houston, Texas, on November 29, 1940,[1][2] the son of an Italian-born building contractor and a school teacher,[3] and he was raised there.
[5] He began writing songs and performing in clubs in Houston, and changed his name to Mark James after he was told that 'Francis Zambon' was "a non-starter" .
[5] In 1968 and 1969 Moman produced Thomas’s versions of "The Eyes of a New York Woman", "Hooked on a Feeling", and "It's Only Love", all of which were successful.
[9] James released his own version of his song "Suspicious Minds", also produced by Moman, on Scepter Records in 1968.
Elvis Presley, looking for a song with which to relaunch his career, had "Suspicious Minds" played to him by Moman[10] and recorded a version in 1969 with an almost identical arrangement.
James's greatest success came with "Always on My Mind", which he wrote with Johnny Christopher and Wayne Carson.
A decade after "Always on My Mind" was released, Willie Nelson covered it and made the song a huge hit.