JACKSON, Miss. — Paul Davis, a singer and songwriter whose 1977 soft rock hit “I Go Crazy” had a record-setting run on the pop chart, died Tuesday. He was 60.
Davis died of a heart attack at Rush Foundation Hospital in Meridian, the city in which he grew up, cousin James Edwards said.
Davis’ other popular hits included ” ’65 Love Affair,” “Cool Night,” Sweet Life” and “You’re Still New to Me,” a country duet with Marie Osmond.
His 1977 album “Singer of Songs — Teller of Tales” featured the ballad “I Go Crazy.” The song slowly climbed the Billboard Hot 100, peaking at No. 7 eight months after its release. The song stayed on the chart for 40 weeks, beating the Hot 100 record set by Johnny Mathis’ “Wonderful! Wonderful” in 1957 and later tied by Bill Doggett’s “Honky Tonk (Parts 1 & 2)” and Chubby Checker’s “The Twist.”
Davis’ record was broken by Soft Cell’s “Tainted Love” in 1982 and has since been surpassed many times; the current record holder is LeAnn Rimes’ “How Do I Live” at 69 weeks.
Davis spent part of his early career in Jackson at Malaco Records, company President Tommy Couch said.
Couch said Davis arrived at Malaco with his writing partner, George Soule, around 1968.
After Davis left Jackson, he moved to New York, Nashville and then back to Meridian, Couch said.
Edwards said his cousin had returned to Mississippi to retire.
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