Mark Wills got the world of country music's attention in 1996 when he hit #6 with his debut single, "Jacob's Ladder," and he's been climbing around the upper rungs of country's stepladder to fame ever since. With the release of his 3rd album Loving Every Minute, Wills offers up a collection of songs that should take him several rungs higher than ever.
"I'm pretty excited and pumped up about this new one," declares Wills. "I definitely think it has the possibility of being really big."
Part of Mark's excitement comes from watching the title-song first single's steady climb on the charts. He says the unique rhythm track of this song is indicative of some of the departures on this album.
"It's a little different, yes. When we decided to do this record we found a couple of songs that had some drum loops in them and when you listen to the song without them it sounds kind of empty. So we put it in there and it sounds a little different for me but is different enough that it just really sounds cool," he explains. "It's just different enough that it kind of takes on a character of its own."
Wills' music has always had a character of its own because he's country, yet still has been bold enough to record what he thinks is simply good music, like his cover of Bobby McKnight's heart-wrenching ballad, "Back at One."
Because of that, Mark has tried to stay above the current controversy between people who want country music to lean toward the traditional sound and the more progressive folks who see pop-oriented country songs having greater success and selling more records.
"Country music, as a whole, needs to accept the fact that we're all in the same business," Wills reasons. Ultimately he says it should always be left up to the fans to decide. "If you like whatever you're hearing, support it. If you don't like it you don't have to listen to it, but you don't have to start calling somebody the Anti-Christ because you put something in it that has a drum loop in it, for crying out loud! I'm in the same business that Hank Williams, Eddy Arnold and George Jones are, we're all in the music business," Mark asserts.
WILLS BORN IN TENNESSEE, HIS CAREER BORN IN GEORGIA
Born the son of a church Deacon in August of 1973 in Cleveland, Tennessee, Mark grew up in Blue Ridge, GA. Mark's decision to make music his career came after he entertained thoughts of either a career in religion or in law enforcement. But, his singing talent was undeniable. After winning a series of talent contests in his teens, his attention turned irreversibly toward music. At age 17, he turned to his parents and said he was heading to Atlanta to pursue music full time.
"Imagine that you've got a 17 year-old kid who's starting to make his own decisions and one of the first is that he's going to start singing in a bar! My dad wasn't real happy about it," says Mark. Mark himself was never worried about the decision. "I've never been a drinker. I'm not a weak person, I don't fall under people's peer pressure. And at the same time, I'm headstrong enough to say, 'I see my chance here, and I'm taking it," Wills adds.
Wills took the chance and honed his talents on the active country club circuit in and around Atlanta, where other Georgia-born talents also plied their trade like Travis Tritt, and where every big country star in the business eventually played.
LIFE-CHANGING MILESTONES
The year 1996 brought two milestones. First he married his wife, Kelly, and kick-started his career on Mercury Records by taking his first chart record, "Jacob's Ladder" to #6 in the nation. Since then he's revisited the Top Ten ranks with "Places I've Never Been" - '97, "I Do (Cherish You)" - '98, "Don't Make Me Laugh," - '98, "Wish You Were Here" - '99, "She's in Love" - '99, and "Back at One" - 2000.
HIS FIGHT WITH ADD ONLY CHALLENGE
The only challenge Mark has faced is having to deal with a childhood disorder that lingers in his adult life. Mark grew up diagnosed as a hyper-active child and was on Ritalin until adulthood. Unfortunately his ADD (Attention Deficit Disorder) did not go away as an adult. He didn't realize it was still affecting his life until his daughter Mally was born in 1998.
"After Mally was born, I realized that I hadn't been feeling right for some time. I was aggravated; I had no patience," Mark explains. He told his doctor that he couldn't concentrate or pay attention. That's when he learned that he would have the ADD all his life. He went back on medication and says he feels a hundred times better.
NEW ALBUM HAS SOMETHING FOR EVERYBODY
Mark Wills is loving every minute of his life and career these days. His new Loving Every Minute CD contains 12 sensational and diverse songs, including the great duet with Jamie O'Neal titled "I'm Not Gonna Do Anything Without You" that also appears on O' Neal's album.
There's a song titled "Back On Earth" that includes a line he changed to personalize it for his daughter. The title of the song refers to all the things a traveling singer leaves behind like wife and daughter. There's a line that reads, "Back on earth there's a brown-eyed baby/ Who's old enough now to tell me all the ways she's needing her daddy/ And wondering when he's coming home." Mark revised the line to say "There's a blonde-haired baby" a description of his tow-headed 3 year-old, Mally.
There are a couple of powerful-Mark Wills' type ballads that are sure, future hits. "The Balloon Song" is a heart-tugging tale of a young child who scrawls a message on helium balloons and floats it toward the clouds where he hopes his mother in Heaven will catch it and read the note. "That's one of those songs, we couldn't step too far away and had give them a Mark Wills song," comments Mark. He says that one of the reasons the song is so touching and rings so true, is that it was written from an actual experience.
Plus, there's one called "Love Can't" that asserts that no matter what other things are going on in your life, they can wait, but love can't.
Mark's personal pick for another single is a song called "Somebody." It's a hopeful anthem that says if you're looking for love, no matter where you are, in a restaurant, in your car, in a coffee shop, the person next to you could be the "somebody" you've been looking for to love. "I think that and I hope that one can be a single. I just like what it says," says Wills.
The bottom line for Mark Wills' new album Loving Every Minute is that his loyal fans will certainly love every minute of this superb collection. At the same time it is so diverse and fresh that it should garner him a cadre of new fans as well.
Mark's plans for now? "We're just hitting the road, going all over the country to support the album, just doing what we always do. We're just focused on the record right now. We've got a good one and just want to get it in front of the people."
Mark Wills became one of the most important young acts in country music when he appeared on the scene in 1996 with his first hit, "Jacob's Ladder." He remains a top up-and-coming star with the potential to break out to superstardom. With this new album he's more than likely to step up several rungs on "Mark's Ladder" to success.
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