Mark Lowry

For the English soccer coach, seeMark Lowry (soccer).For the Arkansas politician, seeMark Lowery.

Mark Lowry
Lowry in 2018
Background information
Birth name	Mark Alan Lowry
Born	(1958-06-24)June 24, 1958 Houston,Texas, U.S.
Genres	Southern gospel
Occupation(s)	Singer, songwriter, minister, comedian
Years active	1980–present
Website	www.marklowry.com

Mark Alan Lowry(born June 24, 1958) is an American singer, comedian, minister and songwriter. He is best known for co-writing the song "Mary, Did You Know?"and being a member of theGaither Vocal Bandfrom 1988 to 2001, and 2009 to 2013,along withMichael English,Guy Penrod,David PhelpsandBill Gaither.Lowry has recorded twelve albums,both music and comedy.

Early life

Lowry was born inHouston,Texas,to Charles, an attorney, and Beverly Lowry.He often uses anecdotes of his young life in his comedy, as well as speaking of his experience with hyperactivity andattention deficit disorderin his performances. He had a hard time getting through school, and he couldn't sit still for very long. He is a self-described "Poster Boy for Hyperactivity".

Early career

While attending Liberty Baptist College (now known asLiberty University), Lowry joined a college evangelistic team made of Charles Hughes and David Musselman and began singing.

In 1978, Lowry was badly injured in a car accident nearCarlisle, Pennsylvania,while touring with his college evangelistic team.He sustained eleven broken bones, and spent a good deal of time in physical therapy recovering from the accident.

After graduating from college, Lowry began singing in Baptist churches professionally. His comedy career inadvertently began from here. There would be an elongated pause in his singing performance while he waited for the soundtrack to be changed. Lowry began to fill this pause with amonologue.He soon realized that the audiences at his performances were laughing not at him but at his monologues.

"Mary, Did You Know?"

In 1984, Lowry wrote the lyrics to the song "Mary, Did You Know?",when asked to write a script for a church Christmas play. He wrote a series of questions that he would like to askMary, the mother of Jesus.These questions were used in between the scenes of the play. Over the next decade, Lowry tried to find music that would complete the song. Eventually, musician and songwriterBuddy Greenewrote the music to the song. The Christmas play script then became the song.

The song has become a popular Christmas song performed by more than thirty artists includingCee Lo Green,Clay Aiken,Kenny Rogers,Wynonna Judd,Michael English,Daniel Childs,Helen Baylor,Natalie Cole,Pippa Wilson,Kathy Mattea,Michael Crawford,Zara Larsson,Peter Hollens,Marnell Tanner,Dolly Parton,andPentatonix.In 2016, Lowry himself sang it, backed by the a cappella group,Voctave.

The lyrics have been criticised for perceived ambiguity or lack of scriptural or theological depth.BaptisttheologianMichael Frostsuggests it is the "most sexist Christmas song ever written... It treats her like a clueless child... Could you imagine a song asking Abraham 17 times if he knew he'd be the father of a great nation?"

The Gaither Vocal Band

Lowry (center) and theGaither Vocal Band,2009

In 1988, Lowry was approached byBill Gaitherand asked to join theGaither Vocal Bandas thebaritone.Lowry's career with the band spanned thirteen years during his first stint with the group. His on-stage antics were popular with audiences. As a result, he became the co-host of the many concerts and shows performed by Gaither and the Vocal Band, with Gaither playing thestraight manto Lowry's antics.

In June 2001, Lowry resigned from the Gaither Vocal Band after performing longer with the group than any previous member except Gaither himself.After that, Lowry released several solo albums, includingI Love to Tell the Story, A Hymns Collection.

Lowry c. 2014

On January 14, 2009, it was announced that Lowry would be returning to the Gaither Vocal Band while maintaining his solo career.In October 2013, it was announced that Lowry andMichael Englishwould be leaving the group to devote more time to their solo careers. Lowry stayed on through the end of the year.

Videos

Lowry's first video wasMark Lowry: My First Comedy Videomade in 1988. Next, he madeMark Lowry: The Last Wordin 1992 at the Tivoli Theatre inChattanooga, Tennessee.He tapedMark Lowry: Mouth in Motionin 1993 at Carpenter's Home Church in Lakeland, Florida. The album won aDove Awardfor Long Form Music Video of the Year at the25th GMA Dove Awardsin 1994. He madeMark Lowry: Remotely Controlledin 1995.Mark Lowry on Broadwaywas performed and captured to DVD at the Beacon Theatre in NYC in 2000, andMark Lowry Goes to Hollywoodwas performed and captured to DVD at the Cerritos Center in Cerritos, California, in January 2005.

Current projects

Lowry continues to tour the United States performing his music and comedy concerts as well as recording music and comedy CD albums and videos. He records and publishes several podcasts, includingSaturdays with Mark and Tony,a weekly podcast withTony Campolo.He co-hostsBill Gaither's Homecoming Radiowith Bill Gaither and Phil Brower. Starting in March 2011, he has been a frequent co-host of theRed Letter ChristiansTV show with Campolo.

Lowry has streamed live almost every day on hisYouTubechannel since the start of theCOVID-19 pandemic.He livestreams "Just Whenever" several times a week, if not daily, and hosts "First Mondays with Mark" on the first Monday of each month, joined by his friends Coleen and Phillip.

Family

Lowry is single. He has a brother, sister, three nieces and three nephews.

On December 2, 2013 Lowry's mother died aged 79 and then on May 18, 2022 his father died aged 90. Lowry has talked often in his comedy about havingADHDwhen he was a child. He has joked that he now has "dropped the H" because he's "too old to be hyper"."

External links

• The "ReMARKable" Site– MarkLowry.com, Lowry's official website
• Gaither.com– home of Gaither records and the Gaither Vocal Band