Released December 1996 Genre Country Label Magnatone | Format CD single Length 3:53 | |
Writer(s) Mark Lowry, Buddy Greene | ||
"Mary, Did You Know?" is a Christmas song with lyrics written by Mark Lowry and music written by Buddy Greene. It was originally recorded by Christian recording artist Michael English on his self-titled debut solo album in 1991 (English and Lowry were both members of the Gaither Vocal Band at the time). It reached No. 6 on CCM Magazine's AC Chart. Lowry would record the song several times himself, most notably with the Gaither Vocal Band on their 1998 Christmas album Still the Greatest Story Ever Told.
Contents
- Kenny Rogers Wynonna Judd version
- Clay Aiken version
- Cee Lo Green version
- Pentatonix version
- Other notable versions
- Musical
- Criticism
- References
The song has since gone on to become a modern Christmas classic, being recorded by many artists over the years across multiple genres.
Kenny Rogers & Wynonna Judd version
A duet version recorded by Wynonna Judd and Kenny Rogers on Rogers' holiday album The Gift peaked at No. 55 on the Billboard Hot Country Singles & Tracks chart in 1997.
Chart positions
Clay Aiken version
"Mary, Did You Know?" is Clay Aiken's fifth single for his Christmas album Merry Christmas with Love. Aiken performed the song on The Tyra Banks Show.
Chart positions
Cee Lo Green version
"Mary, Did You Know?" is the eleventh track on Cee Lo's Christmas album Cee Lo's Magic Moment. On December 15, 2012 the song appeared on the US R&B Songs chart at number 22. It also served as the closing credits song to the 2014 20th Century Fox movie Son of God.
Chart positions
Pentatonix version
"Mary, Did You Know?" is the sixth track on Pentatonix's second Christmas album, That's Christmas to Me. The song both debuted and peaked at No. 26 on the weekly Billboard Hot 100 chart for the week ending December 6, 2014.
Chart positions
Other notable versions
Musical
The song was also used as the basis for a stage musical, also titled Mary, Did You Know and written by Bruce Greer, that won the 1999 Dove Award for Musical of the Year.
Criticism
The song has been criticized by some as being a bit shallow or unbiblical, but that hasn't seemed to slow down it's enormous popularity.