Mark Wright

Born in 1957 in Fayetteville, Arkansas, Wright first encountered music through his father, who directed school music programs in the same city. High school brought choir participation across several ensembles and membership in the All State Choir. He began college studies at the University of Arkansas before transferring to Belmont College in Nashville, Tennessee, where he entered the music business curriculum. Turning his attention to songwriting, he created country material that yielded multiple number 1 hits and other major successes across two decades. Mark Chesnutt, George Strait, Kenny Rogers, Crystal Gayle, Eddie Rabbitt, Reba McEntire and Clint Black have all recorded his songs.

Alongside ownership of his own label, Wright occupied senior executive roles at MCA, United Artists Records and RCA Records, then served in the mid-00s as Executive Vice President of Artists and Repertoire for Sony Records-Nashville. He holds seats on the Board of Trustees of Belmont University and the Tennessee Governor’s Film, Entertainment, and Music Commission, plus additional prominent boards. He was also inducted into the Arkansas Entertainers Hall of Fame.