Mark Wills

Mark Wills
Wills performing at the Military Child Education Coalition conference in Atlanta on June 29, 2005.
Background information
Birth name	Daryl Mark Williams
Born	(1973-08-08)August 8, 1973 Blue Ridge, Georgia,U.S.
Origin	Blue Ridge,Georgia, U.S.
Genres	Country
Occupation(s)	Singer-songwriter
Instrument(s)	Vocals, guitar
Years active	1996–present
Labels	Mercury Nashville, Equity Music Group, Tenacity, Big Red
Website	markwills

Mark Wills(bornDaryl Mark Williams;August 8, 1973)is an Americancountry musicartist. Signed toMercury Recordsbetween 1996 and 2003, he released five studio albums for the label –Mark Wills,Wish You Were Here,Permanently,Loving Every Minute,andAnd the Crowd Goes Wild– as well as agreatest hitspackage. In that same timespan, he charted sixteen singles on theBillboardcountry charts, all of which made the top 40. After leaving Mercury in 2003, he signed toEquity Music Groupand charted three more singles. Two of these were later included on his sixth studio album,Familiar Stranger,which was released on the Tenacity label in 2008.

Of his albums,Wish You Were Hereis the best-selling, with a platinum certification from theRecording Industry Association of America.This album'stitle trackand the late 2002-early 2003 release "19 Somethin'"both reached No. 1; on theHot Country Songscharts. Besides these, six more of his singles have reached top 10 on the chart: his debut single "Jacob's Ladder","Places I've Never Been","I Do (Cherish You)","Don't Laugh at Me","She's in Love",and acover versionofBrian McKnight's "Back at One".Two songs originally recorded by Wills,"Somebody"and"What Hurts the Most",were later hit singles forReba McEntire,Jo O'Meara,Rascal Flatts,andCascadarespectively.

On December 21, 2018, Wills was invited to become the 218th member of theGrand Ole Opry.He was inducted on January 11, 2019.

Early life

Wills was born in Blue Ridge, Georgia.

Career

In his teenaged years, Wills played ingarage bands,taking inspiration from rock groups such asBon Jovi.During his young adulthood, however, he began to take an interest in country music. He entered a local talent contest inMarietta, Georgia,at age 17, and after winning the contest, he began to perform locally.From there, he went to work as a demo singer inAtlanta, Georgia,before doing the same inNashville, Tennessee.While in Nashville, he was discovered by record producers Carson Chamberlain andKeith Stegall,who helped him sign to a recording contract withMercury Records Nashville.

Wills'sself-titled debut albumwas released in 1996 under the production of Chamberlain and Stegall. Its lead-off single, "Jacob's Ladder",went to number six on the country charts." High Low and in Between ", theB-sideto "Jacob's Ladder", was the next single, reaching number 33.Finishing off the single releases was the number-five "Places I've Never Been".Despite the success of its first and third singles, the album did not sell well,and it peaked at number 38 on the country albums charts.

Wish You Were Here,Wills's second album, was his most commercially successful, earning a platinum certification from theRecording Industry Association of America.The lead-off single "I Do (Cherish You)"and its follow-up,"Don't Laugh at Me",both reached number two on the country charts, with the former bringing him to theBillboardHot 100for the first time.Following the pair of number two-peaking songs was the album'stitle track.Co-written byBill Anderson,Skip Ewing,and Debbie Moore, it became Wills's first number-one country hit in 1999.Later that year, the boy band98 Degreescovered "I Do (Cherish You)" on their album98 Degrees and Rising.Following "Wish You Were Here" was "She's in Love",the final single fromWish You Were Here,which peaked at number seven. In 1998, Wills received anAcademy of Country Musicaward for Top New Male Vocalist.

2000–2003

In 2000, he voiced the character of Huckleberry Finn in MGM's animated remake ofTom Sawyer,Wills's only film role to date. Also for the film, Wills andLee Ann Womack,who plays the singing voice of Becky in the film, sing the end title song "Never Ever and Forever" as a duet.

Wills's eighth chart entry was a cover ofR&BsingerBrian McKnight's 1998 hit single "Back at One".This cover was a top-five country hit for Wills in early 2000 and the first single from his third album,Permanently.This album was Wills's highest entry on the country albums charts, peaking at number three. Following "Back at One" was another R&B cover, this time ofBrandy's 1999 single "Almost Doesn't Count".This cover reached the top 20, and was followed by" I Want to Know (Everything There Is to Know About You) ", which reached number 33.Permanentlywas certified gold by the RIAA. Unlike his previous albums, this album was produced entirely by Carson Chamberlain, as Stegall had left Mercury in 2000.

Loving Every Minutewas the title of Wills's fourth studio album and its lead-off single. This song, co-written byMichael White,only peaked at number 18, however, and the album's other single – theJamie O'Nealduet "I'm Not Gonna Do Anything Without You", which was also on O'Neal's debut albumShiver– reached number 31. Also included on this album was the song "Somebody",which later became a number-one hit in 2004 whenReba McEntirerecorded it for her 2003 albumRoom to Breathe.

Wills's biggest chart hit, "19 Somethin'",was released in late 2002. It topped the country charts in early 2003, and stayed at number one for six weeks. The song was also his highest Hot 100 entry, peaking at number 23. This song was the first of two newly recorded songs on his 2003greatest hitsalbum, which reprised all of his chart singles to that point except "High Low and in Between" and "I Want to Know (Everything There Is to Know About You)". The other new song on this album, "When You Think of Me", was a number-28 country hit in early 2003. Wills produced these two new tracks withChris Lindsey.

And the Crowd Goes Wild,his fifth studio album, came later in 2003. This was his first full studio album, which he co-produced, again doing so with Chris Lindsey. Although the album itself peaked at number five on theBillboardTop Country Albums chart, its two singles only made the middle and lower top-40 regions on the Hot Country Songs chart. ItsJeffrey Steele-pennedcountry rockandcountry rap-generated title track was the lead-off single, reaching number 29 on the country charts. Following it was "That's a Woman", which stopped at number 40. Like his previous studio release, this album included a song that later became a number-one hit for another artist: "What Hurts the Most",which was a number-one country and adult contemporary hit for the groupRascal Flattswhen they covered it on their 2006 albumMe and My Gang.This song was also a single forJo O'Mearain 2005 andCascadain 2007. Wills's own rendition was a minor hit on the Hot Digital Songs charts in 2006. Also included onAnd the Crowd Goes Wildwas a cover ofRonnie Milsap's hit "Prisoner of the Highway",recorded as a duet with Milsap.

2006–present

Mark Wills in 2008

Due to the poor performance ofAnd the Crowd Goes Wild,Wills left Mercury in 2004. In 2004, Wills also recorded a cover ofElvin Bishop's "Fooled Around and Fell in Love"for thesouthern rocktribute albumSouthern Rock Country Style.He did not record again until country singerClint Blacksigned him to hisEquity Music Grouplabel in 2006. Wills's first release for the label was "Hank", which peaked at number 49 and was never included on an album. His first album for the label, titledFamiliar Stranger,was originally slated for release in September 2007,and was repeatedly pushed back due to the poor chart performance of "Take It All Out on Me" and "Days of Thunder." Tenacity Records then acquired the album and released it in 2008, issuing "The Things We Forget" as its third single. After this song came "Entertaining Angels", co-written byWillie Mack.In late 2009, he released then a fifth single, "Crazy White Boy", written by Brett James and Blair Daly. Wills released the compilation album2nd Time Aroundin July 2009, which comprises re-recordings of several Mercury singles.

Wills released a new single in January 2011 called "Looking for America", written by Bernie Nelson, Philip Douglas, and Jeremy Bussey.It served as the title track to his 2011 album of the same name, released June 21, 2011, from Big Red Records and Tenacity Records.

He was invited byVince Gillto become the 218th member of theGrand Ole Opryon December 21, 2018, and was inducted on January 11, 2019

Personal life

In 1996, Wills married his wife, Kelly, whom he met at Atlanta's music club, Buckboard. They have two daughters.

In November 2010, Wills was hospitalized for surgery after his large intestine ruptured. He was told that had he waited any longer to seek medical help, he would have died.

Discography

Main article:Mark Wills discography

• 1996:Mark Wills
• 1998:Wish You Were Here
• 2000:Permanently
• 2001:Loving Every Minute
• 2003:And the Crowd Goes Wild
• 2008:Familiar Stranger
• 2011:Looking for America

Awards and nominations

Academy of Country Music Awards

Year	Nominee / work	Award	Result
1999	Mark Wills	Top New Male Vocalist	Won
	"Don't Laugh at Me"	Song of the Year	Nominated
2003	"19 Somethin'"	Single Record of the Year	Nominated

Country Music Association Awards

Year	Nominee / work	Award	Result
1999	"Don't Laugh at Me"	Single of the Year	Nominated
		Video of the Year	Nominated

Filmography

Film
Year	Film	Role	Notes
2000	Tom Sawyer	Huckleberry Finn	Direct-to-video

External links

• Official website