iDoCoach - Home

Jan 1, 2024, marks the end of my 13 years of coaching songwriters worldwide. I should change this site to “ iDidCoach” now! If I’ve coached you, if we’ve met at one of my workshops, you’ve read my books, been mentored by me at a retreat, read my interviews and articles, or maybe listened to one of the many podcasts I’ve been a guest on …THANK YOU. It has been a privilege.

You can still access the archives through my blog tab as well as order my books from my books tab or directly through Amazon anywhere in the world.

Mark Cawley

Nashville, Tennessee

Bio

Mark Cawley is a hit U.S. songwriter, author and musician. During his decades in the music business, he has procured a long list of cuts with legendary artists ranging from Tina Turner, Joe Cocker, Chaka Khan, and Diana Ross to Wynonna Judd, Kathy Mattea, Russ Taff, Paul Carrack, Will Downing, Tom Scott, Billie Piper, Pop Idol winners, and The Spice Girls. To date, his songs have been on more than 16 million records. In the late 70’s he was part of a band called “Faith”. Faith had one interesting ride after another from being signed by Terry Knight (Grand Funk Railroad), first album cover shot by Richard Avedon, nationally hyped from double-page ads in Rolling Stone to billboards on Sunset Strip, hype backfired - lost the record deal, playing back in clubs, slugged their way out to another major label deal with 3 albums on Mercury, the hit “Dancin' Shoes”, headlining theaters and opening for some amazing artists including Fleetwood Mac, The Doobie Brothers, Thin Lizzy, The Allman Brothers, REO, Foreigner, Hall and Oates and Peter Frampton. After one more brief brush with fame as part of the duo Blinding Tears, signed to Billy Gaff ( Rod Stewart, John Mellencamp) he decided to devote himself to writing for other artists and never looked back.

Mark’s resume includes hits on the Pop, Country, R&B, Jazz, and Rock charts and several publishing deals with the likes of Virgin, Windswept Pacific, and Steelworks/Universal. Mark calls on his decades of experience in the publishing world, as an artist on major labels, co-writer with everyone from Eliot Kennedy and Burt Bacharach to Simon Climie and Kye Fleming, composing, and recording, and for 13 years he mentored clients around the globe with iDoCoach. He is also a past judge for the UK Songwriting Contest, Nashville Rising Star, a contributing author to  USA Songwriting, Songwriter Magazine,  , a sponsor for the Australian Songwriting Association, a judge for Belmont University's Commercial Music program and West Coast Songwriter events, Mentor for The Songwriting Academy UK, a popular blogger and, from time to time, conducted his own workshops including ASCAP, BMI and Sweetwater Sound. Born and raised in Syracuse, NY, Mark has also lived in Boston, L.A., Indianapolis, London, and for the last 28 years in Nashville, TN. Mark is the father of two beautiful daughters, Taylor and Morgan, and a grandfather to Issie, Scout, and Isla! He is a huge Yankees fan, past volunteer counselor, and board member of Graceworks in Franklin TN.. Check out this interview with Mark in this issue of M Music Magazine. Mark’s first book, based on his coaching and life as a songwriter, was released in April 2019 through Lioncrest Publishing. It’s titled “Song Journey” A hit songwriter’s guide through the process, the perils, and the payoff of writing songs for a living. The book reached #1 in 6 different categories on Amazon in its first week. The book was also just chosen as one of the top 8 books written by entrepreneurs to help you find motivation by INC magazine. His 2nd book, “The Daily Song Journal” also landed at #1 on Amazon upon its release and continues to be an indispensable guide for songwriters.