Born in California and raised in Florida, Mark Aaron James seemed an unlikely candidate for the Nashville songwriter scene. With a strong pop-rock background in tow, he enrolled in Music City’s reputable Vanderbilt University. After years on the songwriting scene, his time in Nashville culminated with his material being performed by everyone from Jimmy Buffet to the World Peace Choir.
Despite this success, Mark was regularly reminded that he was a rock singer in a town known for country music. After playing well received shows in New York’s Living Room and being featured on PBS, Mark decided it was time to make New York City his home base.
Moving in 2001, Mark began headlining in venues as varied as the Living Room, Rockwood Music Hall, The Bitter End and the Westbeth Theater. New York’s Underground Music Organization (UMO) voted him one of the “Top 14 Singer/songwriters in Greenwich Village,” and featured him as the opening track on their annual CD.
In January, 2008, Mark was awarded a rare Artist Visa for the UK. It merited a move to London. Mark secured several regular shows throughout Europe and became the host of the “On Stage” acoustic showcase at HALO, the PRS Venue of the Year. His “Live in London, Simple Ingredients” CD was released in early 2010 to rave reviews soon after. During the recording process, Mark also made his West End debut, performing with Alan Cumming in the show “I Bought A Blue Car Today.”
Mark returned to NYC in the summer of 2010. Since his return the “Worlds of Warcraft” animated video for his song “Aquaman’s Lament” on the “spiffworld” YouTube page continues to average thousands of hits a day. , Mark was honored with an invitation to perform a Christmas concert at the White House in Washington D.C. A recording of that show was released as a holiday album benefiting the American Red Cross. The follow-up to his critically acclaimed 2015 CD, Play Harder, resulted in more glowing reviews and a successful tour through Japan and Singapore. Mark’s most recent project is the first nationally distributed album only physically available on a USB Stick, (It is also available at all regular digital retailers). “My Mighty MAJic Stick” was released in May of 2017.
In 2019 Mark wrote the music and “book” for a new musical, HERO: An Origin Story. The show was then selected by the New York Musical Festival, and was performed several times at Playwrights Horizons on 42nd street. It was voted runner-up for Best Reading at the festival. While continuing to tour with his music, Mark is currently working on bringing HERO back to the stage in New York.
Mark Aaron James
Partial List of Covers
Ain’t No Sunshine When She’s Gone
Alison
All Along the Watchtower
All Apologies
All Day and All of the Night
All Through The Night
All You Need Is Love
Almost Blue
American Pie
Amie
And It Stoned Me
And She Was
Angie
Angel From Montgomery
Annie’s Song
Another One Bites the Dust
Ants Marching
At Seventeen
Babe
Baby Can I Hold You (Sorry)
Back In The USSR
Back on the Chain Gang
Bad Bad Leroy Brown
Ballad of Billy the Kid
Bang A Gong
Basket Case
Beat It
Beautiful Stranger
Beds Are Burning
Behind Blue Eyes
Be My Yoko Ono
Bennie And The Jets
The Best of My Love
Betty Davis Eyes
Blister in the Sun
Black Water
Borderline
Border Song
Boulevard of Broken Dreams
The Boxer
The Boys Are Back In Town
Brave
Breakdown
Bridge Over Troubled Water
Bring Me Some Water
Brown Eyed Girl
Burning Down the House
California Dreaming
Call Me Maybe
Candle in the Wind
Can’t Help Falling In Love w/ You
Careless Whisper
Carolina In My Mind
Cats in the Cradle
Chasing Cars
Changes
Changes in Latitude
Cheeseburger In Paradise
(Theme from) Cheers
Centerfold
Circle
Closer To Fine
Closer To Free
Come As You Are
Come Back To Bed
Come Dancing
Come Monday
Come On Eileen
Come Together
Come To My Window
Comfortably Numb
Constant Craving
Country Road (James Taylor)
Country Roads (John Denver)
Crazy (Seal)
Crocodile Rock
Cruel Summer
Crying
The Dance
Dancing In the Dark
Dancing With Myself
Daniel
Danny’s Song
Daughters
Day Dream Believer
Dead Or Alive
Delta Dawn
Desperado
Don’t Dream It’s Over
Don’t It Make My Brown Eyes Blue
Don’t Stop Believing
Don’t You Forget About Me
Downeaster Alexa
Down Under
Dream On
Dream Weaver
Drops of Jupiter
Elenor Rigby
Escape (Pina Collada Song)
Eternal Flame
Every Breath You Take
Every Day
Every Little Thing She Does is Magic
Eye of the Tiger
Faith
Fat Bottom Girls
Father and Son
Father Figure
Feel Like Making Love
Fever
Fifty Ways to Leave Your Lover
Fire And Rain
Firework
First Cut is the Deepest
500 Miles
Fly Me To The Moon
Follow Me
For What It’s Worth (Stop Hey, What’s…)
Free Bird
Free Falling
Friday I’m In Love
Friend of the Devil
Friends In Low Places
Frozen
Galileo
Get Back
Get Here
Get This Party Started
Gimme Shelter
Gimme 3 Steps
Girls Just Wanna Have Fun
Give Me One Reason to Stay Here
Goodbye Yellow Brick Road
Grace Kelly
Grandma’s Feather Bed
Greatest Am. Hero (Believe it or not)
Grenade
Guitar Man
Halleluiah
Hammer and a Nail
Handy Man
Happy Together
Have I Told You Lately
Hazy Shade of Winter
Heart of a Saturday Night
Heart of Gold
Heart Shaped Box
Hello (Lionel Richie)
Here Comes the Rain Again
Here Comes the Sun
Here You Come Again
Hey Jude
Homeward Bound
Horse With No Name
Hotel California
How Sweet It Is
Human Nature
I Can’t Make You Love Me
I Feel For You
If I Can’t Have You
If I Had A Boat
If I Had $1,000,000
If It Makes You Happy
I Have to Say I Love U In A Song
I Honestly Love You
I Love a Rainy Night
Imagine
I’m Easy
I’m Not A Girl, Not Yet A Woman
I’m Yours (Jason Mraz)
I Need You Now
In My Life
In Your Eyes
I Shot the Sheriff
Istanbul
Is This Love
I Still Haven’t Found W/ I’m Looking 4
I Touch Myself
I Try
It’s Not Easy Being Green
It’s Still Rock And Roll To Me
It Was
I’ve Got a Name
I Will Always Love You
I Will Survive
Jealous Guy
Jenny (867 5309)
Joey
The Joker
Jolene
Josie & The Pussy Cats Theme
Just Like A Pill
Just Like Heaven
Just the Two of Us
Just What I Needed
Karma Police
Keep Your Hands to Yourself
King of Pain
King of the Road
Kiss From A Rose
Knee Deep
Knockin on Heaven’s Door
Kokomo
Kyrie Eleison
Landslide
Lay Down Sally
The Lazy Song
Leader of the Band
Lean On Me
Learning To Fly
Leaving on a Jet Plane
Leroy Brown
Let Her Go
Let It Be
Let’s Stay Together
The Letter
Light My Fire
Like A Prayer
Living On A Prayer
Lola
Longer
Longview
Losing My Religion
Lovely Day
Love Me Two Times
Love Song
Loving You
Lucy In the Sky With Diamonds
Maggie May
Magic
Mandy
Man Eater (Hall & Oats)
Margaritaville
Maybe I’m Amazed
Me And Bobby McGee
Me & Julio Down By the Schoolyard
Melissa
Mellow Yellow
Mexico
Midnight Train to Georgia
Mr. Bojangles
Mr. Brightside
Mr. Jones
Mrs. Robinson
Missing You
Missionary Man
Moon Dance
Moonshadow
More Than Words
Morning Has Broken
Moving Out
My Life
New Kid In Town
Nine To Five
Nobody Does It Better
No More I Love Yous
No One Is To Blame
No Such Thing As The Real World
No Woman No Cry
No Rain
Obladi Oblada
One (Is the Loneliest Number)
One More Time
One of Us
One Tin Soldier
Only the Good Die Young
Oops I Did It Again
Overkill
Passionate Kisses
Patience
Peaceful Easy Feeling
Peace Train
Physical
Piano Man
Pink Houses
Please Come To Boston
Please, Let Me Get What I Want
Poker Face
Pour Some Sugar On Me
Power of Love
Pretty In Pink
Pride (In the Name of Love)
Private Dancer
Proud Mary
Pumped Up Kicks
Rainbow Connection
Raspberry Beret
Redemption Song
Red Solo Cup
Rehab
Rhiannon
Rhinestone Cowboy
Rich Girl
Ring of Fire
River Deep, Mountain High
Rocket Man
Rock’n Me Baby
Rockin’ in the Free World
Rocky Mountain High
Rolling in the Deep
Roxanne
Santeria
Sarah Smile
Satisfaction
Sat. Night’s Alright For Fighting
Secure Yourself
Sexy Back
Shameless
She Bop
She’s Gone
She Talks To Angels
Shine
Shooting Star
Shower the People
Shut Up and Dance with Me
Silver Thunderbird
Single Ladies
Sister Golden Hair
Sitting On the Dock Of the Bay
Sixteen Tons
Slip Sliding Away
Smells Like Teen Spirit
Smooth Criminal
Somebody’s Baby
Something (In the Way She moves)
Something To Talk About
Son of a Preacher Man
Soul of a Man (from Kinky Boots)
Sound Of Silence
Southern Cross
Space Oddity
Spinning Wheel
Stand
Stand Back
Stand By Me
Stay
Stuck On You
Summer Breeze
Summer of 69
Sunshine on My Shoulder
Sweet Baby James
Sweet Caroline
Sweet Child o’ Mine
Sweet Home Alabama
Take It Easy
Take On Me
Talk to Me
Thinking Out Loud
This One Goes Out To the One I Love
This Thing Called Love
Thriller
Three Little Birds
Tik Tok
Time After Time
Time Of Your Life (Greenday)
Times They Are a Changin’
Tiny Dancer
Torn
Total Eclipse of the Heart
Toxic
True
Tunnel Of Love
Tupelo Honey
Turn the Page
Two Out of Three Ain’t Bad
Unchained Melody
Uncle John’s Band
Under The Boardwalk
Under the Sea
Up On The Roof
Valerie
Veronica
Vincent
Walk Away Joe
Walking In Memphis
Walking On Sunshine
Walk on the Wild Side
Waterfalls
The Way
The Way I Do
The Weight
Weird Science
What A Wonderful World This Could Be
What’s Love Got To Do with It
What Would You Say
When I’m 64
When You Say Nothing At All
While My Guitar Gently Weeps
Whiter Shade Of Pail
Who Can It Be Now
Why
Wichita Lineman
Wicked Game
Wildfire
Wild World
With A Little Help From My Friends
Wish You Were Here
Woman
Wonderwall
Wrecking Ball
Yellow
Yellow Submarine
Yesterday
You Better Be Good To Me
You Can’t Hurry Love
You Don’t Know How It Feels
You Got A Friend
You Got It
You Had a Bad Day
You May Be Right
Your Body Is A Wonderland
Your Love (Outfield)
Your Song
You’re So Vain
You Shook Me All Night Long
You Should Go and Love Yourself
You’ve Lost That Lovin’ Feeling
Ziggy Stardust
Zombie
ORIGINALS
Adventures with a Plastic Bag
After You Do
Aquaman’s Lament
Badass Unicorn
Bring You Joy
Cat Person
Day Off
Finish It With Style
Good Idea
Goths of Summer
I Hate New York
Invisible Man
June 17th
Kleptomaniac Girlfriend
Little Space
Missing You Instead
Mr. Mazer
Mr. Wirehead
Night Watchman at the MOMA
Penn Station
Playground In Your Heart
Play Harder
Punk on a Train
Radio Lines
Shatner at the Convention
Somewhere Over PA
Stepmamma Blues
Stupid Social Media Boy
That’s Us
That’s When I Love You
The Idea Of You
There’s Me and There’s You
This Song Would Be Better
Thursday Kind of Love
Unfinished Business
Up/Down
Use Both Hands
Valentine’s Day
When Are You Gone
You Got It
You Won’t Touch Me
Performed for 2 Presidents(Trump by accident)
Played London’s West End with Alan Cumming
Twice voted best singer-songwriter in Nashville
Held a conversation with Stephen Sondheim at a cocktail party for over an hour
9 Albums & Broadway Show on the Way