If someone mentions Mark Wahlberg, you might think about various movies in which he plays a hardened Boston street tough or the sidekick to a foul-mouthed teddy bear.
To cut him a little slack, he did star in the remake of a film based on a Dostoyevsky novella (Russian literature=legitimate actor) and he won awards (legitimate, not just Teen Choice Awards) for his roles in movies such as “The Departed”, “The Fighter”, and “Lone Survivor.”
which never ceases to make me laugh.
But before all that, let’s not forget where Mark Wahlberg started:
Technically, he started as a member of New Kids on the Block with his older brother, Donnie, when Mark was only 13 but after a few months, he decided it was a little too stupid and left the group.
Instead, in 1990, big brother Donnie set him up with a few other dancers/rappers and they formed Marky Mark and the Funky Bunch. Their first album, Music for the People, gained some notoriety with two top ten singles: “Wildside” and the still popular “Good Vibrations.”
I’m not ashamed to admit that I still sing along to this song like Joseph Gordon Levitt in “Don Jon” except I don’t stop just because I pull up next to another car.
Dignity doesn’t ride in my car.
After the commercial success of their first album, Marky Mark and the Funk Bunch quickly released a follow-up album called “You Gotta Believe” . . . but hardly anyone did once they realized the group had failed to recapture the magic of “Good Vibrations.” The Funky Bunch disbanded in 1993 but not before they were a part of a video game called “Make My Video: Marky Mark and the Funky Bunch.” Users could make the choice to edit the music videos for “Good Vibrations”, “You Gotta Believe”, and the aptly named “I Need Money.”
Looking back to Mark Wahlberg’s music career, with the exception of “Good Vibrations” I think we can all agree that he made the right career move when he switched to acting.
Emily Regan 
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