Christian singer, songwriter, and comedian Mark Lowry was raised in Houston, Texas, where as a child he regularly performed in local theatrical productions. Still, he never considered a career in entertainment until studying business at Liberty University, where he joined an evangelistic team. While on-stage, Lowry began developing a comedic sensibility that often stole the show. He eventually pursued comedy full-time and, following a breakthrough performance at the 1988 Christian Artists' Music Seminar in Estes Park, Colorado, started touring regularly as a solo act. That same year, the performer accepted an invitation to join the Gaither Vocal Band as baritone. In 1993, Lowry issued The Last Word album and home video. Mouth in Motion followed a year later, and in 1996 he released Remotely Controlled. He stayed with the group for the next 13 years, meanwhile releasing a regular series of comedy albums beginning with 1989's For the First Time on the Planet Earth, 1991's This Is the Life, 1992's The Last Word, 1994's Mouth in Motion, and 1996's Remotely Controlled, all with Word Distribution. Spring House put out But Seriously two years later. Word then issued the compilations Twenty Stories Tall and Just Singing...No Kidding. A live show, On Broadway, arrived via Spring House in 2001, the same year he temporarily parted ways with Gaither Vocal Band. It landed on the Billboard 200. Lowry returned in 2003 with Some Things Never Change on Spring House, which also released a solo album of Christmas music, Mary, Did You Know?, in late 2004. A mix of comedy and music, Mark Lowry Goes to Hollywood followed a year later. A trio of serious albums of religious music, Be the Miracle, I Love to Tell the Story, and Life Gets Loud, were next up for the singer, with the latter arriving in 2009, when he rejoined Gaither Vocal Band. He stayed on with them through 2013, during which time he released the solo LPs Unplugged and Unplanned and Whatcha Need: Live in Nashville on Daywind. The contemporary Christian album How We Love followed in 2015 on the Green Hill label, and in 2016 Lowry returned to humor with the comedic music of Dogs Go to Heaven via Spring House. It reached number five on both the comedy and Christian albums charts. ~ Marcy Donelson & Jason Ankeny, Rovi