Mary, Did You Know?

The words for this song were written by former Gaither Vocal Band baritone singer Mark Lowry after his pastor asked him to write a Christmas musical for their church. Lowry ended up penning a series of monologues based on Christmas songs including a conversation with Mary about the birth and life of her son Jesus. "I wanted to ask her what it was like to raise God," he told The Lubbock Avalanche Journal. "We read that the word became flesh, and it was just a very powerful thought, to look at those little hands of Jesus that had scooped out oceans, land and rivers." Lowry worked on the lyrics for years, until he approached southern gospel singer-songwriter and harmonica player Buddy Greene on a tour bus and told him he had written some "questions for Mary." Greene agreed to Lowry's request to come up with some music for his words, completing the instrumentation within a few days. The result was this Christmas classic. "That's what happened," said Lowry. "Really, all I did was write a poem. Buddy turned it into a song."

American Christian singer Michael English was the first artist to record and release the song when he included it on his 1991 self-titled debut solo album. English had been in the Gaither Vocal Band between 1985 and 1994, for the last six years with Mark Lowry.

Pentatonix recorded the song for their 2014 album That's Christmas to Me. Their a cappella version became a Hot 100 Top 40 hit, after its video took the internet by storm.