Marks' father Mirko “Michael” Mrakovic and mother Ljubica “Lucy” Vukic were from Yugoslavia.
Mirko was born in what is now Croatia in 1922 and he first moved to Canada before living in the U.S. [1] Growing up in Detroit, Marks studied classical piano and learned to play guitar at age 13.
[not verified in body] Marks began performing for Billy Graham's Afterglow Concert Series.
[3][5] Jeannie and Johnny, a fictitious Franklin High School couple created by Marks, appear on his albums Attitude (1985) and Make It Right (1987).
[2] "White Dress", which began as a song for Marks' daughter Allegra on her first birthday, is the story of a girl growing up abandoned by her father who becomes a mother.