Mark Lowry

Christian singer, songwriter, and comedian Mark Lowry grew up in Houston, Texas, regularly appearing in local stage productions during childhood. He gave no thought to an entertainment career until enrolling in business studies at Liberty University and joining an evangelistic team, where his onstage comedic flair began to dominate performances. Eventually committing to comedy full-time, he gained notice after a breakthrough set at the 1988 Christian Artists' Music Seminar in Estes Park, Colorado, which led to regular solo touring. That same year he accepted an invitation to sing baritone with the Gaither Vocal Band.

Lowry released the album and home video The Last Word in 1993. Mouth in Motion appeared the following year, and Remotely Controlled came out in 1996. He remained with the Vocal Band for thirteen years while issuing comedy albums through Word Distribution, beginning with For the First Time on the Planet Earth in 1989, followed by This Is the Life in 1991, The Last Word in 1992, Mouth in Motion in 1994, and Remotely Controlled in 1996. Spring House issued But Seriously two years afterward, after which Word released the compilations Twenty Stories Tall and Just Singing...No Kidding. The live recording On Broadway arrived on Spring House in 2001 and reached the Billboard 200, coinciding with his temporary departure from the Gaither Vocal Band.

Lowry returned in 2003 with Some Things Never Change on Spring House, which also put out the Christmas album Mary, Did You Know? late the next year. The comedy-and-music project Mark Lowry Goes to Hollywood appeared in 2005. Three subsequent religious albums—Be the Miracle, I Love to Tell the Story, and Life Gets Loud—preceded his 2009 reunion with the Gaither Vocal Band. He continued with the group until 2013, issuing the solo projects Unplugged and Unplanned and Whatcha Need: Live in Nashville on Daywind during that period. The contemporary Christian album How We Love arrived on Green Hill in 2015, and he returned to humorous material with Dogs Go to Heaven on Spring House the following year, placing at number five on both the comedy and Christian albums charts.