Best male singer...

It's been said that you don't pick singers…they pick you.

Most people who read my blogs and website regularly know that I've been on record for the past five years or so saying that Mark Lowry is the best male singer I've ever heard. I was not born yesterday. I've been a serious, and somewhat astute, music listener for most of my life…and a lot of you also know how old I am.

If you've been wondering why I declare all this, let me explain it to you.

To me, the elements of a great singer are: voice quality, emotion, strength, lyrical phrasing, and ability to handle diverse styles well. Some singers are considered great because they have one area that is particularly strong. For instance, they may be able to sing big very, very well. But, for someone to come along and have all of these elements to such a great degree is very rare. The only other singer who to my ears had it all was the late, great Patsy Cline, who I feel is the greatest female singer who ever lived. Barbra Streisand runs a close second for female singers. Michael McDonald was the reigning male singer in my world for about 20+ years prior to my discovering Mark. (Don't feel bad, Michael...that's a good long run and he still hasn't moved far from the top spot).

I encourage you to check out the following performances and hear for yourself what I'm talking about (try Mark's website at www.marklowry.com or Amazon.com for sound bites). Most are from Mark's solo albums.

1. Mary Did You Know (Mark Lowry On Broadway)
The one that started it all…it can probably be said this performance changed my life. It opened the door to a lot of personal blessings over the past five years. I even lobbied for a Grammy nomination for Mark in the male vocal category for this performance. Basically, I watched the video that night on TV, heard Mark sing this and my jaw dropped. I looked at Mark on the screen and said "you don't know me now…but you will". I was only going to write an e-mail to tell him he was the best male singer I ever heard...and the rest is "Wendy V" history. Who knew?

2. Reaching (Still the Greatest Story Ever Told-Gaither Vocal Band)
Mark's solo break in the middle of this song to me has as much breath-taking, emotional, goose bump impact as Patsy Cline's "Faded Love".

3. The Christmas Song (Mary Did You Know)
I have not heard this song sung better (and yes, I've heard many versions). As perfect a pop standard performance as they come. All the elements I mentioned earlier are masterfully demonstrated here and throughout this album: voice, emotion, diverse style, phrasing.

4. Make It Real (Some Things Never Change)
The hit that should have been. Had this song been played on country or adult contemporary radio, it might have done what "Butterfly Kisses" did and gone straight to #1. I believe those markets would have responded in a big way to that voice and a song that expresses where many of us have been at some time or another in our lives.

5. I'll Worship Only At the Feet of Jesus (Best of Mark Lowry, Volume 2).
Even as many times as I've heard this track, I recall at the last Praise Gathering I attended, they played this as people were filing out of the worship service. I just stood there and froze.

6. But Seriously (album).
It's hard to be blown away by 30 second sound samples. But I was when I first heard these on Mark's website. When I finally got a copy of the album, I played it 6 times in a row. A classic, timeless, perfect combination of the right songs and a great singer. (FYI, if you have the Best of Mark Lowry vols.1 & 2 , then you have the whole album).

Mark's next planned release is a hymns with orchestra project. Look out.

Oh, by the way…Happy Birthday, Mark.