Mark Gray

American country music / pop singer, songwriter and keyboardist. Born October 24, 1952, Vicksburg, Mississippi, USA. Died December 2, 2016, Lebanon, Tennessee, USA. He charted over twenty times on the U.S. country charts as a singer and songwriter and as part of the band Exile. He charted four times as a solo singer, with his top song cracking the country top 10 with "Diamond in the Dust", co-written by Sonny LeMaire. He also charted twice as a songwriter with the band Exile, which he was a member of between 1979 and 1982, when the group had country hits. He charted sixteen times as a songwriter between 1980 and 1987, including three #1's. His #1's included "Take Me Down" and "The Closer You Get" by Alabama in 1982-3 as well as Janie Fricke's "It Ain't Easy Bein' Easy" in 1982. He also charted twice with duets with Bobbi Lace in 1988 ("Song in My Heart" & "It's Gonna Be Love") and once with Tammy Wynette "Sometimes When We Touch" (1988, #6).