Mark Lewyn Carman (born September 3, 1960) is an American music producer, singer, songwriter, and social activist.

Career

Music

Carman is known primarily for his role as the musical arranger and co-producer of the

Grammy The Grammy Awards (stylized as GRAMMY), or simply known as the Grammys, are awards presented by the Recording Academy of the United States to recognize "outstanding" achievements in the music industry. They are regarded by many as the most pre ...

nominated album by country music artist T. Graham Brown, "Forever Changed". The album features guest performances by other well known artists including

Leon Russell Leon Russell (born Claude Russell Bridges; April 2, 1942 – November 13, 2016) was an American musician and songwriter who was involved with numerous bestselling records during his 60-year career that spanned multiple genres, including rock and ...

Vince Gill Vincent Grant Gill (born April 12, 1957) is an American country music singer, songwriter and musician. He has achieved commercial success and fame both as frontman of the country rock band Pure Prairie League in the 1970s and as a solo artist b ...

The Oak Ridge Boys The Oak Ridge Boys are an American country and gospel vocal quartet originating in Oak Ridge, Tennessee. The group was founded in the 1940s as the Oak Ridge Quartet. They became popular in Southern gospel during the 1950s. Their name was change ...

Jason Crabb Jason Douglas Crabb (born March 3, 1977) is a Christian music singer and musician. He has been the lead vocalist for the group The Crabb Family.

and others. The recording musicians for the album represented an all-star lineup of musicians. Included among them are notable musicians;

David Hungate William David Hungate (born August 5, 1948) is an American bass guitarist noted as a member of the Los Angeles pop-rock band Toto from 1976 to 1982 and again from 2014 to 2015, and the son of judge William L. Hungate. Along with most of his T ...

(bass guitar),

Brent Mason Brent Mason (born July 13, 1959) is an American, Nashville, Tennessee-based recording studio guitarist and songwriter, performing primarily country music. Guitar World Magazine listed him as one of the "Top Ten Session Guitarists of All Time". ...

(electric guitar),

Steve Cropper Steven Lee Cropper (born October 21, 1941), sometimes known as "The Colonel", is an American guitarist, songwriter and record producer. He is the guitarist of the Stax Records house band, Booker T. & the M.G.'s, which backed artists such as Ot ...

(electric guitar),

Jim Horn James Ronald Horn (born November 20, 1940) is an American saxophonist, woodwind player, and session musician. Biography Horn was born in Los Angeles, and after replacing saxophonist Steve Douglas in 1959, he toured with member Duane Eddy for f ...

(saxophone).

Activism

In 2015 Carman involved himself in public efforts related to

gun control Gun control, or firearms regulation, is the set of laws or policies that regulate the manufacture, sale, transfer, possession, modification, or use of firearms by civilians. Most countries have a restrictive firearm guiding policy, with on ...

and other social issues by releasing an internet video that garnered more than 1.5 million views in the first week of publication. As part of that effort, Carman founded an activist group, the American Coalition for Responsible Gun Ownership, and made several contributory appearances on national news programs including

CNN CNN (Cable News Network) is a multinational cable news channel headquartered in Atlanta, Georgia, U.S. Founded in 1980 by American media proprietor Ted Turner and Reese Schonfeld as a 24-hour cable news channel, and presently owned by ...

and

CBC News CBC News is a division of the Canadian Broadcasting Corporation responsible for the news gathering and production of news programs on the corporation's English-language operations, namely CBC Television, CBC Radio, CBC News Network, and CBC.ca. ...

addressing firearms legislation in the United States. Carman's efforts drove the acquisition of more than 1,000,000 signatures on a petition, delivered to Senator

Chuck Schumer Charles Ellis Schumer ( ; born November 23, 1950) is an American politician serving as Senate Majority Leader since January 20, 2021. A member of the Democratic Party, Schumer is in his fourth Senate term, having held his seat since 1999, and ...

urging President

Barack Obama Barack Hussein Obama II ( ; born August 4, 1961) is an American politician who served as the 44th president of the United States from 2009 to 2017. A member of the Democratic Party, Obama was the first African-American president of the U ...

to use

executive order In the United States, an executive order is a directive by the president of the United States that manages operations of the federal government. The legal or constitutional basis for executive orders has multiple sources. Article Two of th ...

to address some of the issues pertaining to firearms legislation. In January 2016, Carman was invited to the

White House The White House is the official residence and workplace of the president of the United States. It is located at 1600 Pennsylvania Avenue NW in Washington, D.C., and has been the residence of every U.S. president since John Adams in 1800. ...

to participate in the announcement of President Obama's executive action on gun control.

Awards

In 2012 Carman was awarded the

President's Call to Service Award The President's Call to Service Award is awarded by the President of the United States to people who have completed more than 4,000 hours of community service. It is the highest level of the President's Volunteer Service Award. Background The Pre ...

(also referred to the President's Lifetime Achievement Award). The Call to Service Award is the most prestigious

President's Volunteer Service Award The President's Volunteer Service Award is a civil award bestowed by the President of the United States. Established by executive order by George W. Bush, the award was established to honor volunteers that give hundreds of hours per year helping ...

. It has been awarded to only a few Americans for extraordinary service. Among the honorees are

S. Truett Cathy Samuel Truett Cathy (March 14, 1921 September 8, 2014) was an American businessman, investor, author, and philanthropist. He founded the fast food restaurant chain Chick-fil-A in 1946. Early life Cathy was born on March 14, 1921, in Eatonto ...

, Zach Bonner, Brandon Pugh, Thomas Smith, Timothy Mayer, Thomas Crilly and Stanley Williams). In 2016 Carman was awarded the

, Gold level, for his volunteer efforts involving public service to orphaned children and homeless adults.

Albums

*1988 – ''Heartland'' - Heartland (producer, artist, composer, keyboards) *1989 – ''You and The Horse Your Rode in On'' – Patsy Cole (producer, composer) *1989 – ''Southern Frame of Mind'' – Heath Locklear (producer, composer) *2006 – ''It Is What It Is'' – Steven Hall (producer, composer) *2007 – ''Lo Mejor De Mi'' – Johnny Vasquez (producer, composer) *2007 – ''She's an Army of One'' – Various Artists (producer, vocals, keyboards, composer, primary artist) *2010 – ''Grace'' (producer, composer) – Palmetto State Quartet *2011 – ''I'm in Him, He's in Me'' –

Marty Raybon Marty Raybon (born December 8, 1959) is an American country music artist. He is known primarily for his role as the lead singer of the country band Shenandoah, a role which he held from 1985 to 1997, until he rejoined the band in 2014. He reco ...

and Various Artists (producer, composer) *2011 – ''Mom's Amazing Grace'' – Mark Templeton (producer, composer) *2012 – ''Hand to the Plow'' –

(producer) *2012 – ''Working on a Building'' –

Trace Adkins Trace may refer to: Arts and entertainment Music * ''Trace'' (Son Volt album), 1995 * ''Trace'' (Died Pretty album), 1993 * Trace (band), a Dutch progressive rock band * ''The Trace'' (album) Other uses in arts and entertainment * ''Trace'' ...

, T. Graham Brown,

Jimmy Fortune Jimmy Fortune (born March 11, 1955) is an American country music singer from Nelson County, Virginia. Fortune sang tenor for The Statler Brothers for 21 years, and wrote the song "Elizabeth" for the group. After The Statler Brothers retired, he c ...

Alan Jackson Alan Eugene Jackson (born October 17, 1958) is an American singer-songwriter. He is known for blending traditional honky-tonk and mainstream country pop sounds (for a style widely regarded as "neotraditional country"), as well as penning many o ...

George Jones George Glenn Jones (September 12, 1931 – April 26, 2013) was an American country musician, singer, and songwriter. He achieved international fame for his long list of hit records, including his best-known song "He Stopped Loving Her Today", ...

Glen Campbell Glen Travis Campbell (April 22, 1936 – August 8, 2017) was an American guitarist, singer, songwriter, actor and television host. He was best known for a series of hit songs in the 1960s and 1970s, and for hosting ''The Glen Campbell Goodt ...

Jason Crabb Jason Douglas Crabb (born March 3, 1977) is a Christian music singer and musician. He has been the lead vocalist for the group The Crabb Family.

Aaron Tippin Aaron Dupree Tippin (born July 3, 1958) is an American country music singer, songwriter and record producer. Initially a songwriter for Acuff-Rose Music, he gained a recording contract with RCA Nashville in 1990. His debut single, "You've Got to ...

(producer, composer) *2013 – ''Follow'' – Cindy Hughlett (producer) *2013 - ''We Were Young'' - The Hunts (Producer) *2014 – ''Forever Changed'' – T. Graham Brown,

, The Booth Brothers, (producer)

Nomination *2014 – ''Something Old-Something New'' – Cindy Hughlett (producer) *2015 – ''Trust Me'' – Cindy Hughlett (producer) *2015 – ''The Wretch'' – Mark Carman (producer, artist, piano) *2015 – ''Carry the Message'' – Steve Hess and Southern Salvation (executive producer) *2015 – ''On Top of the Covers'' – Justin Robinette (executive producer) *2015 – ''Smallest Gifts'' – Kenzie Walker (producer) *2016 – ''Reflections'' – Cindy Hughlett (producer, keyboards, arranger) *2016 – ''Careful Where You Step'' – Mark Carman (producer, artist, piano) *2016 – ''Streets'' – Rie Sanchez (producer, composer, keyboards) *2017 – ''Mississippi'' – Kate Stedelbauer (producer, piano, harmonica, keyboards)

References

External links

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Carman, Mark 1960 births American male singer-songwriters American country singer-songwriters Living people People from Beckley, West Virginia Country musicians from West Virginia Record producers from West Virginia Southern Baptist ministers Musicians from West Virginia People from Joliet, Illinois People from West Virginia Singer-songwriters from West Virginia