Mark James

Mark James (1940–2024) was an American songwriter who both wrote ‘Suspicious Minds’ and recorded it first, on Scepter Records in 1968. His own version flopped, but he went on to write ‘Hooked on a Feeling’ and co-write ‘Always on My Mind’ — a catalogue of songs made famous by other voices. It is a fitting irony that the song most people call an Elvis record began as his own single, sung in his own voice, and sank without trace.