Dave's Top Eight

1. Jerry Reed...Revisited by Darrell Toney (reviewed 6/07) (5 Stars)
2. Sounds Like Sunday by Janet Paschal (reviewed 5/07) (5 Stars)
3. True To The Call by Kingdom Heirs (reviewed 3/07) (4 1/2 Stars)
4. Revival by Gold City (reviewed 10/06) (4 1/2 Stars)
5. Get Away Jordan by Ernie Haase & Signature Sound (reviewed 2/07) (4 1/2 Stars)
6. Breakin' Chains by Three Bridges (reviewed 5/07) (4 1/2 Stars)
7. Big Sky by The Isaacs (reviewed 4/07)
8. Skywriting by Mercy's Well (reviewed 7/07)

Click title to purchase at CBD.com...click artist name to read Dave's Review. A CD will automatically fall out of the Top Eight after twelve months if no CD surpasses it before then.

Most Recent Articles

Lee Roy Abernathy Biography
Bob Terrell's The Music Men
Isaacs Biography
Legacy V Biography
Janet Paschal Biography
Nelons Biography
Videt Polk Biography
SG History Quiz
It's Ballot Time
Sing A Song For Heaven's Sake

I'mWithFred - Contribute Now

-----------

August 10, 2005

Mark Lowry Biography

Mark Lowry
(June 24, 1958-)
Mark Lowry was born in Houston, TX, the middle child of Charles and Beverly Lowry. Lowry’s mother is a noted songwriter whose songs include classics like “I Thirst” and “The Ground Is Level” as well as more recent songs like “Monuments” (Wilburns). After graduating from Liberty University in 1980, Mark began his career as a solo singer, but he soon began telling jokes to fill in the gaps between songs. The comedy routines he developed ultimately came to be as much a part of his act as the singing.

In 1988, Lowry’s popularity took a quantum leap when he joined the Gaither Vocal Band to sing baritone and provide comic relief during concerts. Within a year, he had released a solo comedy recording on the Word label called For The First Time On Planet Earth. Following in his mother’s footsteps, he began to receive recognition for his songwriting ability in 1990 after Buddy Greene set music to a lyric Lowry had composed in 1984. Since Michael English’s initial recording of “Mary, Did You Know?” in 1991, more than 30 major recording artists have released their own versions of the song, including Kenny Rogers, Kathy Mattea, Natalie Cole, and Donnie Osmond.

When the Gaither Homecoming video series exploded in popularity in the 1990s, Lowry had a recurring platform for his creative output. Bill Gaither became the straight man for his comedy. Lowry was regularly featured on solos with the Vocal Band, and developed close friendships with a number of the legends that appeared on the series including J. D. Sumner, Howard and Vestal Goodman, Jake Hess, and others.

During the 1990s, Lowry was quick to take advantage of the then emerging Internet. He launched his own website where he developed a personal connection with fans (which he came to call “reMarkables”) and also published an email newsletter he titled “reMarks.” During the same time period, Lowry wrote a series of children’s books featuring a hyperactive mouse named Piper and hosted a television talk show with Kathy Troccolli. In addition to touring with the Gaither Vocal Band, Lowry did a number of concert tours to support his comedy releases on the Word label. He ultimately moved to the Spring House label in 1998 to release But Seriously, a recording that had no spoken comedy and very little musical comedy.

In 2001, Lowry left the Gaither Vocal Band, but continued to maintain close ties with the Homecoming video series. A two-volume set of videos called The Best Of Mark and Bill was released in 2004. He has four videos that are certified Gold (50,000 units) and two that have reached the Platinum level (100,000 units). Lowry’s tours in recent years are typically booked through one concert promoter and featured a select cast of performers such as Stan Whitmire, Lordsong, and the McCraes. In 2005, Lowry launched another unique venture, a multi-day, multi-activity “Senior Trip” to Nashville, TN…where no one under 50 years old is allowed to attend unless their spouse is over 50.

Labels:

posted by David Bruce Murray @ 1:32:00 AM


Links to this post:

Create a Link



<< Home

This page is powered by Blogger. Isn't yours?