Veteran gospel producer/arranger Paul Johnson brings his 35 years of experience in records/TV/movies & theater into producing an album that takes Lowry seriously as a vocalist and not just as a "comic who sings." Says Johnson, "I've always loved Mark's voice and I wanted to showcase him like a pop singer interpreting old standards. That's what he listens to in the car and I knew he could pull this off--and, boy, he made me so proud!"

"Blessed Assurance" has a touch of Ray Charles, and "Count Your Blessings" swings like a World War II track. "What A Friend We Have In Jesus" has a subtle Brazilian backbeat with soaring strings. And all the old songs about Heaven are collected together in a big production Broadway-style medley that Lowry now uses when closing his live shows.

"But my very favorite is 'Does Jesus Care' with string choir and harp," says Johnson. "When we recorded Mark's vocal on that track, all of us in the booth were speechless and in tears. Mark knows how to deliver a lyric like you're hearing it for the very first time. That's remarkable! And I'm so very glad to see him finally recognized as the gifted singer that he is!"

Bill Gaither sums it up best: "Mark has never sounded better. I have always loved the believability in his voice because it's one thing to sing a lyric...it's an entirely different thing to believe it...Paul Johnson's orchestra arrangements remind me of the feeling I get when I throw open a window on the first really warm day of spring and feel the room fill up with fresh, clean air after being closed up all winter. He just knows how to delight the senses with music."

The 39th Annual GMA Dove Awards will be handed out at Nashville’s famed Grand Ole Opry House on April 23, 2008 at 7:00pm CST. The event will air live on Gospel Music Channel. Tickets are on sale now at Ticketmaster.

About Mark Lowry:
It was in 1988 that Bill Gaither invited Lowry to sing baritone in the Gaither Vocal Band--a position he held for 13 years--and this dynamic relationship with Gaither made Lowry an overnight sensation throughout the Christian music world and far beyond. He continues to appear in the Gaither Homecoming videos and he often shows up as a surprise guest in Gaither's live Homecoming concerts. Currently, and regularly, Lowry co-hosts Bill Gaither's Homecoming Radio show on the Salem Music Network.

Mark Lowry has enjoyed a multi-layered career filled with sold-out concert tours and gold and platinum-selling albums and videos. His lyrics include the phenomenal Christmas classic, "Mary Did You Know?" -- recorded by Michael English, Wynonna, Kenny Rogers, Clay Aiken, Reba McEntire, Natalie Cole, Brian Littrell, Donny Osmond and over 50 other international artists. Of Lowry's many best-selling videos, Mark Lowry on Broadway sat at #1 on the Billboard Video Chart for 5 weeks, besting releases from Britney Spears, Christina Aguilera, 'NSYNC and the Backstreet Boys. Mark Lowry Goes to Hollywood was soon to follow and remains one of Lowry's favorites. His Mouth In Motion video won a Dove Award for Long Form Music Video of the Year in 1995. In 2005 he was nominated in the Southern Gospel Album of the Year category for Some Things Never Change. Through the years he has also received multiple Grammy and Dove Awards from a cornucopia of Gaither-related recordings and videos that he has been featured in.

For more information on Mark Lowry, visit: www.marklowry.com. To preview or purchase I Love To Tell The Story-A Hymns Collection, visit: www.amazon.com.

About Paul Johnson:
Paul Johnson is an award-winning producer/arranger/composer/conductor whose production trophies include a Dove Award for Larnelle Harris' Give Me More Love In My Heart and a 1981 Dove Award nomination for his own a cappella release, Paul Johnson Vocal Band. Johnson has composed over 800 songs and produced over 60 albums including children's albums, a cappella projects, comedy albums, church musicals, Christmas collections and numerous CCM/inspirational artists. He was musical director for the Dove Awards in the late 70's / early 80's, arranging and conducting for Cynthia Clawson and Sandy Patti for their very first live Dove Award performances. He was Debby Boone's personal conductor during her "You Light Up My Life" era, and wrote her follow-up song, "You Took My Heart By Surprise." He previously had produced a Grammy-nominated album for her father, Pat Boone. In 1985, he co-produced a Grammy-nominated comedy album with the infamous crazy-man dee-jay, Rick Dees. His Grammy-nominated projects also include the Andrae Crouch album, Gift of Christmas (2000).

From 1985-1992, Johnson was musical director for the prestigious American Cinema Awards in Beverly Hills, where he arranged and conducted for over 100 international performing artists including Whitney Houston, Frank Sinatra, Al Jarreau, Michael Bolton, The Four Tops, Donna Summer, Michael McDonald, Andy Williams, Petula Clark, Janet Jackson, The Temptations, Kim Carnes, Robert Goulet, Randy Travis and the original movie casts of Bye Bye Birdie, Oliver, and Flower Drum Song. Johnson himself received a "Musical of the Year Award" (words and music) in 1996 from the late Sir Peter Ustinov for Red Red Rose. Based on the life of Scotland's legendary poet, Robert Burns, it was taped in Denmark and aired throughout Europe. Johnson has recently relocated to Nashville, Tennessee.

 

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