Christian Comedy - Mark Lowry

Mark Lowry has been making people laugh, cry and think for nearly 40 years. Singing publicly and recording albums and videos since age eleven, you could say that Mark has done this most of his life.

Mark attended Liberty College (now Liberty University) in Lynchburg, VA, from 1975 to 1980 where he first intended to gain a Business degree. In 1976, Mark felt God was calling him to a music ministry and, when he graduated in 1980 with a Youth degree, he began performing at independent Baptist churches around the country. His first booking agent, Roy Morgan, booked Mark in 43 cities in 41 days. As Mark put it, "This boy could book a pork chop into a synagogue."

In 1988, Mark was offered the baritone part in the Gaither Vocal Band. Mark remained with the Vocal Band for 13 years, performing dozens of solo concerts each year, as well. Mark's antics on stage with Bill Gaither were an instant hit with Vocal Band audiences and their comedy became the highlight of the evening when the Homecoming tour was born. Mark has been featured on most all of the Gaither Homecoming videos - now numbering more than one hundred - often in the co-hosting role with Bill.

In 1984, Mark wrote the lyric to a song that would establish his status as a songwriter forever. When his church asked him to write a Christmas play, he wrote down a series of questions that he would like to ask Jesus' mother, Mary. These questions were used as a 'filler' between the scenes of the play. Six years later, after two other writers had already tried, Buddy Greene wrote music to Mark's lyric and Mary, Did You Know? was born. This beautiful song, which has become a modern Christmas standard, has been recorded by more than thirty different artists including Michael English, Kathy Mattea, Kenny Rogers, Wynonna Judd, Billy Dean, Natalie Cole, Donnie Osmond and Clay Aiken.

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