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, and often referred to as The Grammys, are awards presented by The Recording Academy of the United States to recognize outstanding achievements in music. They are regarded by many as the most prestigious a ...

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

Vince Gill Vincent Grant Gill (born April 12, 1957) is an American singer, songwriter, and musician. He played in a number of local bluegrass music, bluegrass bands in the 1970s, and from 1978 to 1982, he achieved his first mainstream attention after ta ...

, The Oak Ridge Boys, Jason Crabb and others. The recording musicians for the album represented an all-star lineup of musicians. Included among them are notable musicians;

David Hungate David Hungate (born August 5, 1948) is an American retired 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 ...

(bass guitar), Brent Mason (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 was the guitarist of the Stax Records house band, Booker T. & the M.G.'s, which backed artists such as ...

(electric guitar), Jim Horn (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 and ammunition by civilians. Most countries allow civilians to own firearms, bu ...

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 Cable News Network (CNN) is a multinational news organization operating, most notably, a website and a TV channel headquartered in Atlanta. Founded in 1980 by American media proprietor Ted Turner and Reese Schonfeld as a 24-hour cable ne ...

and

CBC News CBC News is the 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 ...

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 the Seniority in the United States Senate, senior United States Senate, United States senator from New York (state), New York, a seat he has held since 1999. ...

urging President

Barack Obama Barack Hussein Obama II (born August 4, 1961) is an American politician who was the 44th president of the United States from 2009 to 2017. A member of the Democratic Party, he was the first African American president in American history. O ...

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 the ...

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. Located at 1600 Pennsylvania Avenue Northwest (Washington, D.C.), NW in Washington, D.C., it has served as the residence of every U.S. president ...

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 (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 helpin ...

. It has been awarded to only a few Americans for extraordinary service. Among the honorees are S. Truett Cathy, Zach Bonner, Brandon Pugh, Thomas Smith, Timothy Mayer, Thomas Crilly and

Stanley Williams Stanley Tookie Williams III (December 29, 1953 – December 13, 2005) was an American gangster who co-founded and led the Crips gang in Los Angeles. He and Raymond Washington formed an alliance in 1971 that established the Crips as Los Angele ...

). 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 and Various Artists (producer, composer) *2011 – ''Mom's Amazing Grace'' – Mark Templeton (producer, composer) *2012 – ''Hand to the Plow'' – Marty Raybon (producer) *2012 – ''Working on a Building'' –

Trace Adkins Tracy Darrell Adkins (born January 13, 1962) known professionally as Trace Adkins, is an American country music singer and actor. Adkins made his debut in 1996 with the album ''Dreamin' Out Loud'', released on Capitol Records Nashville. Since t ...

, Marty Raybon, T. Graham Brown, Jimmy Fortune, Alan Jackson,

George Jones George Glenn Jones (September 12, 1931 – April 26, 2013) was an American Country music, country musician, singer, and songwriter. He achieved international fame for a long list of hit records, and is well known for his distinctive voice an ...

Glen Campbell Glen Travis Campbell (April 22, 1936 – August 8, 2017) was an American country musician and actor. He was best known for a series of hit songs in the 1960s and 1970s, and for hosting ''The Glen Campbell Goodtime Hour'' on CBS television from ...

, Jason Crabb, Aaron Tippin (producer, composer) *2013 – ''Follow'' – Cindy Hughlett (producer) *2013 - ''We Were Young'' - The Hunts (Producer) *2014 – ''Forever Changed'' – T. Graham Brown, Leon Russell, The Oak Ridge Boys,

, 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) *2024 - ''Pieces of Me'' – Mark Carman (Artist, Arranger, Producer, Piano, Keyboards, Engineer)

References

External links

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