Wabash Valley Musicians Hall of Fame
'Promoting fellowship and friendship among all musicians of the Wabash Valley'
Musical History of Mark Wright
Musical Influences
Mark Wright was first influenced by his parents. His father
played guitar, bass fiddle and banjo, and his mother played piano.
With all of the instruments lying around the house, he gradually
became interested.
Mark started on drums in elementary school because they were loud,
and played percussion through high school. He began plinking
around on bass and then guitar around 9th grade. He played in
concert band at Sarah Scott Junior High, and in the Terre Haute
Youth Symphony. He was a percussionist in the marching band,
concert band, jazz ensemble and orchestra at Wiley High School
(1968-71). He played 3 or 4 gigs with the Terre Haute Symphony
when they needed a guitarist.
His band career began in junior high, when he played drums with a
group for a couple of gigs. In high school, he started playing
bass, and a few years later moved to guitar.
Musical Career
Mark has been a member of the following bands:
| 1966 | Played drums with The Vestees |
| 1970-1973 | Played bass and guitar with Soupbone |
| 1973-1975 | Played guitar with the Soul Messengers |
| 1977-1981 | Played guitar with the Hank Roberts Quartet |
| 1980's | Played in several Wabash Valley bands whose names have been forgotten |
| 1991-2011 | Played banjo with Sara and the Boys |
| 2012-Now | Played guitar with The Crowe Committee |
Memorable Moments
Mark played at the Notre Dame jazz festival in 1974 with a small ensemble from the ISU jazz band to an audience of several thousand people. Several famous musician judges critiqued them.
Hall of Fame
Mark was inducted into the Hall of Fame as a part of the Class of 2014. He was elected to the Board of Directors in March 2014. He was elected to the office of Secretary in 2016.
Mark has made many contributions to the Hall since joining the Board. A very special contribution was creating and running the Musical Petting Zoo at the Terre Haute Children's Museum.
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Last update on April 5, 2016