Background and career
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 the Gaither Vocal Band from 1988 to 2001, and 2009 to 2013, along with Michael English, Guy Penrod, David Phelps, and Bill Gaither. Lowry has recorded 12 albums, both music and comedy.
Lowry was born in Houston, 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 and attention-deficit disorder in his performances. He had a hard time getting through school, and he could not sit still for very long. He is a self-described "Poster Boy for Hyperactivity".
While attending Liberty Baptist College (now known as Liberty 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 near Carlisle, Pennsylvania, while touring with his college evangelistic team. He sustained 11 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. An elongated pause occurred in his singing performance while he waited for the soundtrack to be changed. Lowry began to fill this pause with a monologue. He soon realized that the audiences at his performances were laughing not at him but at his monologues.
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 ask Mary, 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 songwriter Buddy Greene wrote 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 30 artists, including Cee 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, and Pentatonix. 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. Baptist theologian Michael Frost suggests 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?"
In 1988, Lowry was approached by Bill Gaither and asked to join the Gaither Vocal Band as the baritone. Lowry's career with the band spanned 13 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 the straight man to 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, including I Love to Tell the Story, A Hymns Collection.
On January 14, 2009, Lowry was announced to be returning to the Gaither Vocal Band while maintaining his solo career. In October 2013, Lowry and Michael English were announced as leaving the group to devote more time to their solo careers. Lowry stayed on through the end of the year.
Sources
Net-worth figure: Celebrity Net Worth (October 2026), in USD. Biography and career facts: the person's Wikipedia article and linked reporting. Snapshot date for all StarWorth figures: 28 October 2026.
