Larry Heard facts for kids

Larry Heard (born May 31, 1960) is an American DJ and music producer. He is also known by his stage name, Mr. Fingers. Larry Heard is famous for being a pioneer in house music during the 1980s. He led the important group Fingers Inc.. Their 1988 album, Another Side, was the first full-length house music album ever made. He helped create a style of music called deep house. This style mixed the futuristic sounds of house music with the rich, full sound of disco. His well-known song "Can You Feel It" from 1986 greatly influenced dance music around the world.

Early Life and Music Beginnings

Larry Heard was born in Chicago, Illinois. Growing up, he listened to jazz and Motown music at home. He learned to play several musical instruments when he was young. Before starting his solo music career in 1983, he was a drummer. At 17, he played drums in a jazz fusion band called Infinity. He also worked for the U.S. government. This job helped him earn enough money to buy his first music studio equipment.

Larry Heard's Musical Journey

As a drummer in live bands, Larry Heard felt he couldn't fully express his musical ideas. He said, "I guess it wasn’t customary for the drummer to have musical ideas." So, he decided to buy his own Roland synthesizer and a TR-909 drum machine in 1984.

Within just a few days of getting his new equipment, Larry Heard recorded three songs. These songs became very important in the deep house music style: "Can You Feel It", "Mystery of Love", and "Washing Machine."

Even though he wasn't part of Chicago's club scene at first, he later met singer and DJ Robert Owens. They met at a party and decided to form a group called Fingers Inc. with Ron Wilson. This group released their album Another Side in 1988.

Around the same time, Larry Heard also started releasing his own songs as Mr. Fingers. These songs came out on record labels like Trax Records and DJ International. In 1989, Trax Records released an album called Ammnesia. However, this album was released without Larry Heard's permission. Years later, in 2022, he re-released the album himself on his own label, Alleviated. This was the first time it was officially released with his approval.

In the early 1990s, he worked with Harry Dennis in a group called The It. After that, he signed with MCA Records as a solo artist in 1991. His first official Mr. Fingers album, Introduction, came out in 1992 and became popular worldwide. He continued to make music over the years. In 2018, he released another Mr. Fingers album called Cerebral Hemispheres. Larry Heard has released much of his music under different names. Some of these names include Loosefingers, Fingers, House Factors, and Trio Zero.

His Music

Larry Heard has released many albums and songs throughout his career. Here are some of his main works:

as Mr. Fingers

Studio Albums

• Ammnesia (1989)
• Introduction (1992)
• Back to Love (1994)
• Cerebral Hemispheres (2018)
• Around the Sun, Pt.1 (2022)

Compilations

• Classic Fingers (1995)

as Larry Heard

Studio Albums

• Sceneries Not Songs Volume One (1994)
• Sceneries Not Songs Volume Tu (1995)
• Alien (1996)
• Dance 2000 (1997)
• Dance 2000 Part 2 (1998)
• Genesis (1999)
• Love's Arrival (2001)
• Where Life Begins (2003)
• Loose Fingers: Soundtrack from the Duality Double-Play (2005)

See also

In Spanish: Larry Heard para niños