Marcus Hummon | |
---|---|
Birth name | Marcus Spencer Hummon |
Born | [1] | December 28, 1960
Origin | Washington, DC, U.S. [1] |
Genres | Country |
Occupation(s) | Singer-songwriter |
Instrument(s) | Vocals, guitar, harmonica, mandolin, piano |
Years active | 1994–present |
Labels | Columbia, Velvet Armadillo |
Website |
www |
Marcus Spencer Hummon (born December 28, 1960) [1] is an American country music singer-songwriter. Notable songs written or co-written by Hummon include " Ready to Run" and " Cowboy Take Me Away", recorded by The Chicks; " Born to Fly", recorded by Sara Evans; " Only Love", recorded by Wynonna Judd; " The Cheap Seats", recorded by Alabama; " Pilgrims on the Way", recorded by Michael Martin Murphey; " One of These Days", recorded by Tim McGraw; " Cornfields or Cadillacs", recorded by Farmer's Daughter; " Love Is the Right Place", recorded by Bryan White; and " Bless the Broken Road", recorded by Nitty Gritty Dirt Band as well as Rascal Flatts. Three of his songs reached number one on the country record charts: " Cowboy Take Me Away" by the Dixie Chicks, " Born to Fly" by Sara Evans, and the Rascal Flatts version of " Bless the Broken Road". Hummon has also scored films and written operas and musicals.
Hummon was born in Washington, D.C. [1] His father worked for the United States Department of State and the United States Agency for International Development and he spent much of his childhood in Africa, Italy, [1] Tanzania, Nigeria, the Philippines, and Saudi Arabia. [2] He sang in church as a child and his first performance as a musician was playing African drums on Nigerian TV. [2] He moved back to the Washington metropolitan area as a junior in high school, living in Potomac, Maryland and Bethesda, Maryland. [2] [3] His parents were musicians and theatre buffs and exposed him to the arts, regularly attending performances. [3] As a teen, he played in a group with his three sisters. [4] He attended Bullis School, where he played running back and graduated in 1980. [2] He graduated from Williams College in 1984. [5]
Following college, in 1984, he moved to Los Angeles to seek a recording contract but was unsuccessful. [4] In 1986, Hummon moved to Nashville. [3] He played at the Bluebird Café and other clubs. [4] [6] He was eventually signed to a songwriting contract and then a recording contract with Columbia Records. Hummon met Joe Henry, who collaborated with John Denver, and offered to help him write songs. [7] The first notable song that he wrote was " Pilgrims on the Way", recorded by Michael Martin Murphey in 1988. [6]
His debut album All in Good Time (1995) included the song "God's Country", which reached number 73 on the Hot Country Songs record charts. [8] It also included " Bless the Broken Road", with backing vocals by co-writer Jeff Hanna and Matraca Berg and " One of These Days". The songs and title of the album reference his Christian faith. [9] From 1999 to 2001, Hummon was a member of the alternative country band The Raphaels along with former Big Country lyricist and guitarist Stuart Adamson. The Raphaels' only release was Supernatural in 1998 on Track Records. [10] In 1997, Hummon formed his own label, Velvet Armadillo, on which he released several studio albums. [11]
In 1998, " Bless the Broken Road" was recorded by Melodie Crittenden; this version charted on the Hot Country Songs record chart. In 2006, " Bless the Broken Road" was recorded by Rascal Flatts; this version won a Grammy Award for Best Country Song. Also in 2006, Selah recorded the song and it charted on the Hot Christian Songs chart.
In 2009, Hummon's first book, Anytime, Anywhere: A Little Boy’s Prayer, a children's book, was published by Simon & Schuster. [12] [11]
Hummon wrote Surrender Road, an opera staged by The Nashville Opera Company in 2005. Another opera, Favorite Son, produced with Nashville Opera in February 2022, was nominated for a Regional Emmy for musical composition. [13]
Hummon also wrote six musicals, three of which were featured as part of the New York Musical Theatre Festival in 2005, 2006 and 2011. [1] His musical American Prophet, about the life of Frederick Douglass, co-written with Charles Randolph-Wright, premiered at the Arena Stage in Washington, D.C. in August 2022 and won the Edgerton Award that year. [13] [14]
In 2012 and 2014, Hummon performed at the Greenbelt Festival. [12]
In August 2014, he signed a publishing deal with CTM Writers INK. [15]
Hummon has scored two films: Lost Boy Home and The Last Songwriter, a documentary that he co-produced featuring Garth Brooks and Jason Isbell, which won the Audience Award at the Nashville Film Festival in 2017. [1] [13]
In 2019, Hummon was inducted to the Nashville Songwriters Hall of Fame. [1]
In March 2020, he signed a publishing deal with LBK Entertainment. [16] [17]
Hummon is married to Reverend Becca Stevens, an Episcopal priest and chaplain, speaker, and author of eight books. They have 3 children, including country singer Levi Hummon and live in Nashville. [18] [12]
Songs written by Hummon that were recorded by other notable artists include: [13]
Title | Album details |
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All in Good Time |
|
The Sound of One Fan Clapping |
|
Looking for the Child |
|
Francis of Guernica |
|
Warrior |
|
American Duet |
|
Revolution EP |
|
Atlanta |
|
Nowhere to Go but Up |
|
Surrender Road |
|
Rosanna |
|
Year | Single | Peak positions | Album |
---|---|---|---|
US Country | |||
1996 | "God's Country" | 73 | All in Good Time |
"Honky Tonk Mona Lisa" | — | ||
2005 | "Revolution" | — | single only |
"—" denotes releases that did not chart |
Year | Video | Director |
---|---|---|
1996 | "Honky Tonk Mona Lisa" | R. Brad Murano |