Born in England, Air Force brat Mark True lived in Virginia, Alaska, Colorado and
Ohio before ending up in Valdosta, GA where he got his first guitar for Christmas
while in the fifth grade. He began writing songs in the seventh grade even before he owned a record album. His first song was about the Vietnam War.

Mark went to the University of Tennessee in Knoxville, where he played trombone in the “Pride of the Southland” band and majored in music composition. In the spring of his freshman year, he auditioned for, and was
invited to be a cast member in one of the music shows at the newly created
Opryland USA music theme park.

Bobby Bond, the guitar player in the show’s band heard a few of Mark’s original
songs and took him to meet with Don Gant, then head of and producer for ABC/Dot records. Don was impressed enough to have Dianne Petty sign Mark as a staff songwriter for ABC/Dot publishing at the age of 18.