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Cory Gerald Joseph Marquardt (born October 11, 1989[1]) is a Canadian country rock singer/songwriter, drummer & actor better known by his stage name Cory Marks. He is signed to Better Noise Music.[2] He has released two albums, This Man in 2015 under Big Star Recordings and most recently Who I Am in 2020 under Better Noise. Since the release the album has accumulated over 100 million streams globally with his debut single "Outlaws & Outsiders" being certified gold in Canada and reaching top 10 at US rock radio, making Marks the first to ever do so as a Canadian country act.

Cory Marks
Also known as	Lion Man
Born	(1989-10-11) October 11, 1989 (age 33) North Bay, Ontario, Canada
Genres	Country country rock outlaw country hard rock
Occupation(s)	Singer-songwriter-actor
Instrument(s)	Drums, guitar, vocals
Years active	2011–present
Labels	Better Noise Big Star
Website	corymarks.com

Early life

Marks was raised in North Bay, Ontario, the younger brother of professional hockey player Matt Marquardt, and learned how to skate at three years old.[3] He cites Merle Haggard, Waylon Jennings, Ozzy Osbourne, and Rush as early musical influences.[4] Marks played university hockey at the Royal Military College of Canada where he also pursued dreams of becoming a fighter pilot.[5][6] He had never performed music publicly until his friends encouraged him to do so while at a bar in college.[7] He has performed using the name "Cory Marks" since the release of his debut album.[1] Marks achieved his private pilot license in 2021.[8]

Career

2014-2015: This Man

In July 2014, he released his first single to Canadian country radio, "Smartphone".[9] His second single, "21", was released in April 2015.[10] His first album, This Man was released on May 26, 2015 through Big Star Recordings.[11][12] The album included his first two singles, as well as two further singles, "This Man",[13] and "Nowhere With You".[14]

2016-present: Who I Am and Nashville EPs

In 2016, Marks signed a deal to work with award-winning producer Kevin Churko, known for work with Ozzy Osbourne, Shania Twain, and Five Finger Death Punch.[15] In 2018, he signed a record deal with Eleven Seven Music (later rebranded as Better Noise Music) as their flagship country artist.[1][16]

In November 2019, Marks released his first single on Better Noise, "Outlaws & Outsiders", featuring Ivan Moody, Travis Tritt, and Mick Mars,[17] which debuted at #1 on iTunes in Canada as well as #1 on the Billboard Rock Digital Songs and Hard Rock Digital Songs charts and #7 on the Country Digital Songs charts.[18][19] The song would later peak inside the top 10 on US Mainstream Rock radio, top 5 on German rock radio, and peaked at #12 on Canada Rock radio.[20][21] It was also certified Gold by Music Canada.[22]

In June 2020, Marks released "Drive",[23][24][25] and announced it as the second single to country radio off his second album, Who I Am, which was released on August 7, 2020 through Better Noise.[26][27][28]

In October 2020, "Blame It on the Double" was released as the second single to rock radio in Germany and the United Kingdom.[29] Marks also released his first Christmas single "Jingle My Bells", a cover of a song by The Tractors, that month.[30][31][32] In April 2021, Marks released a new version of "Blame It on the Double" featuring Tyler Connolly of Theory of a Deadman and Jason Hook.[33][34]

On June 18, 2021, Marks released the extended play Nashville Mornings. It included a cover of Merle Haggard's "If I Could Only Fly", as well as a "Country Mix" of "Blame It on the Double" featuring Tyler Connolly, which was sent to Canadian country radio.[35] He followed that up with the extended play Nashville Nights on August 20, 2021, which included a new track "In Me I Trust",[36] the solo version of "Outlaws & Outsiders", and live versions of "Drive" and "Blame It on the Double".[37][38]

Discography

Albums

Title	Details	Peak chart positions
		AUS Country [39]	CAN [40]	SWI [41]	UK Country [42]	US Heat [43]	US Album Sales [44]
This Man[12]	Release date: May 26, 2015 Label: Big Star Recordings Format: CD, digital download, streaming	—	—	—	—	—	—
Who I Am[26]	Release date: August 7, 2020 Label: Better Noise Music Format: CD, vinyl, digital download, streaming	16	12	98	6	17	74

Extended plays

Title	Details
Outlaws & Outsiders	Release date: June 2020[45] Label: Better Noise Music Format: CD
Nashville Mornings	Release date: June 18, 2021[35] Label: Better Noise Music Format: Digital download, streaming
Nashville Nights	Release date: August 13, 2021[37] Label: Better Noise Music Format: Digital download, streaming
I Rise	Release date: November 4, 2022[46] Label: Better Noise Music Format: Digital download, streaming

Singles

2010s

Year	Single	Album
2014	"Smartphone"[9]	This Man
2015	"21"[10]
	"This Man"[47]
2016	"Nowhere With You"[48]

2020s

Year	Single	Peak positions				Certifications	Album
		CAN Rock [21]	US Country Digital [49]	US Main Rock [50]	US Rock [51]
2020	"Outlaws & Outsiders"[19] (featuring Ivan Moody, Travis Tritt and Mick Mars)	12	7	10	14	MC: Gold[52]	Who I Am
	"Drive"[23]	—	—	—	—
	"Blame It on the Double"[29] (solo or featuring Tyler Connolly and Jason Hook)	—	—	—	—
2022	"Burn It Up"[46]	—	—	—	—		I Rise
"—" denotes releases that did not chart or were not released in that territory.

Christmas singles

Year	Single	Album
2020	"Jingle My Bells"[30]	Christmas With Better Noise Music

Music videos

Year	Video	Director
2014	"Smartphone"[53]	Manee Osman
2015	"21"[54]	Blake McWilliam
2016	"Nowhere With You"[14]
	"Don't Count Saturday Night"[55]	Ed Regan
2019	"Outlaws & Outsiders"[56] (featuring Ivan Moody, Travis Tritt and Mick Mars)
	"Better Off"[57]	Blake Judd
2020	"Blame It on the Double"[58]
	"Outlaws & Outsiders"[59] (solo)	Jaclyn Cataldi
	"Drive"[24]	Ed Regan
	"Out In the Rain"[60] (featuring Lzzy Hale)
2021	"Blame It on the Double"[61] (featuring Tyler Connolly and Jason Hook)
	"Blame It on the Double" - Country Mix[62] (featuring Tyler Connolly)	Ed Regan
	"In Me I Trust"	Travis Nesbitt
2022	"Burn It Up"	Michael Lombardi

Awards and nominations

Year	Association	Category	Nominated Work	Result	Ref
2021	Canadian Country Music Association	Alternative Country Album of the Year	Who I Am	Nominated	[63][64]
2022	Country Music Association of Ontario	Fans' Choice	—	Nominated	[65][66]
		Songwriter(s) of the Year	"Blame It on the Double" (with Kevin Churko and Kane Churko)	Nominated

References

External links

• Official website
• Biographical information and career statistics from Eliteprospects.com, or The Internet Hockey Database

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