With hits like Elvis Presley's "Suspicious Minds" and "Always on My Mind", Mark James has been described as one of the most influential songwriters of the 20th century.
He has now passed away, 83 years old. He died on 8 June at his home in Nashville in the American state of Tennessee, reports BBC.
"He was a skilled storyteller with the loveliest of smiles, an infectious laugh and a constant twinkle in his eye", writes James's relatives in a statement.
Besides the aforementioned Elvis hits, James also wrote the original version of "Hooked on a Feeling", which Björn Skifs's band Blue Swede later made a famous cover of.
James was inducted into the Songwriters Hall of Fame in 2014.
