Growing up in Seth, West
Virginia, Mark learned to play the guitar by the age of 13 and started
playing bass in the gospel band “Peace of Mind” within three short years. At
the same time, his deep love for country music led him to start his own
local country band, The Rebels.
After graduation and a short stint in college, Mark took his dreams to
Nashville and recorded his first studio album. With the help of his
Uncle/Manager Paul Stover, he was able to work the road with the world
famous Hee-Haw Band led by Harmonica legend Charlie McCoy. Soon afterwards
he formed his next band “Mark Alan and The Blaze” and started opening for
artists such as Jerry Lee Lewis, Earl Thomas Conley, Johnny Paycheck, David
Allen Cole, Exile and T. Graham Brown.
It was at a performance in Tazewell, Virginia with TNN’s Ralph Emory as the
MC, where Ralph strongly encouraged Mark to make the move to Nashville and
Mark took that advice. This proved to be a very beneficial decision as he
was able to experience working with legendary producer Norro Wilson and
began to expand his writing skills by writing with some of Nashville’s
finest writers.
In 2002 Mark was being produced by session drummer extraordinaire turned
producer, Clyde Brooks. From that project, Mark released two singles which
received significant radio play across the country and in Europe. Around the
same time, one of the 300 or so songs that he has written, “Soldier with a
Gun” won the Patriotic Song of the Year award on the Nationally Syndicated
G. Gordon Liddy Show and Mark appeared as a guest as a result of that award.
It was during this time that Mark became burnt out with the struggles of
being an independent artist and decided to take a break from performing to
devote more time to writing. He also began producing other artists and
produced a number one European record “Widow’s Prayer” for Cynda Bennett.
Between 2003 and 2005 he produced over 25 independent artists and hundreds
of demos.
In 2005 he started ALL THAT Productions, Inc. along with long-time friend
George (Skip) Burke, Jr. with a focus on Artist Development and Music
Production. After a couple of years developing and producing other artists,
Mark’s desire to perform resurfaced and he decided to record a new album for
his very own label ATP Records.
The album, titled “Green Grass & Blue Skies” was completed in the spring of
2008. The first two singles from the project, “Perfume & Gasoline” and “Too
Old To Grow Up Now” received airplay on over 150 radio stations across the
country. The singles were quite successful in many European countries as
well.
Folks all over the world are enjoying the music of Mark Alan Thompson and
Mark is having more fun now making music than ever before. With a new single
coming in the fall of 2009 and the desire to perform again, Mark is on the
path to even bigger success!
