“My idea of Christmas, whether old-fashioned or modern, is very simple: loving others.
Come to think of it, why do we have to wait for Christmas to do that?”
~ Bob Hope
~~~~~
No one sings Mary, Did You Know? like Clay Aiken. He is the master of this song. His beautiful voice soars. Clay doesn’t just sing the song…he puts his heart and soul into the performance. It seems that every fiber of his being is involved in his interpretation.
It takes a strong vocalist with a big range to sing this song. It also takes a huge heart and understanding of the lyrics to perform with feeling. Clay shows all this when he performs this beautiful song.
Two popular Christian musicians collaborated to write Mary, Did You Know? Mark Lowry wrote the moving lyrics and Buddy Greene wrote the simple, but beautiful music.
According to his official biography:
Mark Lowry has been making people laugh, cry and think for nearly 40 years. Singing publicly and recording albums and videos since age eleven, you could say that Mark has done this most of his life.
Mark graduated from Liberty College in 1980 with a degree in Youth – Music ministry. He began his career by performing at independent Baptist churches around the country.
In 1984, his church asked him to write a Christmas Play. Trying to put a different twist to the play, Mark wrote down a series of questions that he thought he would like to ask Mary, the mother of Jesus. The questions were used between the scenes as “fillers”
Six years later, Buddy Greene wrote the music to the beautiful lyrics and Mary, Did You Know? was born.
Buddy Greene grew up in Macon, GA. He spent his childhood learning folk songs, first on the ukulele and then the acoustic guitar.
Buddy has a strong reputation as a singer/songwriter and guitarist. Today, he is one of Nashville’s finest harmonica stylists.
The collaboration of these two outstanding musicians produced the beautiful song, Mary, Did You Know? that quickly became a modern-day Christmas standard. It has been recorded by more than thirty different artists including Kenny Rogers & Wynonna, Kathy Mattea, Christopher Parkening & Kathleen Battle, Natalie Cole, Reba McEntire, Gary Chapman, and countless others.
A huge thank – you to Mark, Buddy, and Clay.
The talent of these three men makes Mary, Did You Know?
one of my favorite holiday songs.
What about you?
Clay is heaven sent! Love the song, Love the man!
Do you know that first time I ever heard this song was when Clay sang it? I'd never heard of it. So beautiful the ways he sings it. So reverent.
I didn’t know this song until Clay sang it either. Beautiful song and I do believe Clay is in another realm when he sings songs like this. Thank you for bringing this performance to us, I’d never heard it or of it, and the background of lyrics and music is very interesting.
I do love the whole oh MCWL though, the only Christmas album by a “pop” singer I totally enjoy.
As always, I treasure your Newsletter gems and keep them all, lol. Thank you and Merry Christmas to you and yours.
Clays voice is God given.And he keeps it that way.LOVE you Clay. I hope 2017 brings you lots of Love and Joy!! Love you Clay.