Snapshot: Mark Crawford

Instrument: 5-String Electric Bass Guitar & Vocalist

Hometown: Waynesville, N.C.

Joined the Band: 2004

Mark's Story

Mark Crawford owes his start in music to two helpful cousins and the deal of a lifetime. Born and raised in Waynesville, N.C., Mark didn't care a whit about playing music until he was 17. A friend offered him a bass guitar in exchange for his FM converter, and Mark made the trade. Coincidentally, two of Mark's cousins were learning to play bass at the same time and were willing to teach him to tune his new instrument.

After graduating from Tuscola High School in 1976, he spent every spare minute that summer on his music. Mark's first public performance was at a high school in Cashiers, N.C., where he played with a group of friends. "We played in a round gym, and the sound was awful," he says. "I was scared to death. It was probably my worst performance, but I loved it even though it was bad. I was having the time of my life that summer."

In 1979, Mark joined up with the country-style Deep South Band and agreed to run lights and sound for them at nightclubs in the Waynesville area. A year later, he was promoted to bass guitarist. Mark spent three more years with Deep South.

Mark got a call from Earl Cowart and the Cullasaja Band in 1984. Earl needed a bass player and wanted him to audition. "Much to my surprise, the audition turned out to be a live show," he says. Mark was hired that night. He played with Earl for four years at venues such as the Moose Lodge, Veterans of Foreign Wars and other local clubs.

After a short stint with Top 40 rock band Boulevard, Mark went on the road with SaddleTramp in 1990. The group got its start thanks to Duvall's Country Connection, a restaurant that staged a country music show broadcasted live on a Waynesville country radio station. SaddleTramp played in circuits from Dayton, Ohio, to Myrtle Beach, S.C.

In 1993, Mark signed with renowned pop and country showman Billy Joe Royal. They performed in 36 states, Canada and Belgium with big country names Ray Stevens, Chet Atkins and "Whispering Bill" Anderson. "It was an incredible experience," Mark says. "I got to meet those guys, talk with them and even play on the same stage with them." Since 1997, when he came off the road with Billy Joe, Mark has played with a gospel group and at his hometown Antioch Baptist Church. He also has kept the Lawmen tradition of performing at The Stompin' Ground Music Hall in Maggie Valley, N.C.

In January 2004, Mark joined the Lawmen as a contract musician. He still has the guitar he acquired in the trade that changed his life. "It was the first time I ever picked up a bass guitar," he says. Twenty-eight years later, he has a hard time putting it down.