Mark Heard facts for kids
Quick facts for kids
Mark Heard
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Mark Heard performs in 1987
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| Background information | |
| Birth name | John Mark Heard III |
| Born | December 16, 1951 Macon, Georgia, U.S. |
| Died | August 16, 1992 (aged 40) Chicago, Illinois, U.S. |
| Genres | Folk rock |
| Occupation(s) | Singer, songwriter, record producer |
| Instruments | Guitar, voice, electric mandolin |
| Years active | 1970–1992 |
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John Mark Heard III (born December 16, 1951 – died August 16, 1992) was a talented American musician from Macon, Georgia. He was a record producer, a folk rock singer, and a songwriter.
Mark Heard released sixteen albums during his career. He also helped produce music or performed with many other artists. Some of these artists include Sam Phillips, Pierce Pettis, Phil Keaggy, and Randy Stonehill. He even worked on a song for Olivia Newton-John's album The Rumour in 1988. This album featured her version of his song "Big and Strong."
Contents
Mark Heard's Early Music Journey
After finishing college in 1974, Mark Heard traveled to Switzerland. There, he studied at a place called L'Abri. While he was there, other musicians, Larry Norman and Randy Stonehill, heard him playing guitar. They were very impressed!
Mark spent two months making a demo tape in a local studio. Larry Norman liked it so much that he signed Mark to his record label, Solid Rock Records. In 1977, Mark and his wife Janet moved to Glendale, California. He started working on his album Appalachian Melody for the label. In 1980, he released another album called Fingerprint on a Swiss record label.
Recording with Home Sweet Home Records
In 1981, Mark Heard signed a deal with Chris Christian's Home Sweet Home Records. Even though Mark's music wasn't a huge seller, Chris Christian believed it was special. He thought Mark's unique sound deserved to be heard. Chris Christian gave Mark the freedom to create his music without much interference.
Mark released five albums with this label:
- Stop the Dominoes (1981)
- Victims of the Age (1982)
- Eye of the Storm (1983)
- Ashes and Light (1984)
- Mosaics (1985)
Mark didn't always enjoy his time with record companies. He sometimes felt pressured to change his songs to make them more popular.
Creating Music at Home
In 1984, Mark Heard started recording music in his own home studio. He named it "Fingerprint Recorders." From then on, most of his albums were made right at home. He often had help from just a few friends and family members.
In 1986, Mark tried something new. He recorded an experimental pop/rock album called Tribal Opera. He released it under the name iDEoLA. When asked about the unusual name, Mark said it was just his band, and he happened to be the only one in it! He also directed a music video for the song "Is It Any Wonder" from that album.
Producing for Other Artists
With help from Dan Russell, Mark Heard also started his own record label and studio called Fingerprint Records. He began producing albums for many other artists. These included two albums for Randy Stonehill and an album for Vigilantes of Love called Killing Floor in 1992. He co-produced Killing Floor with Peter Buck from the famous band R.E.M..
Mark returned to making his own albums in the early 1990s. He released Dry Bones Dance, which many fans and critics loved. He followed this with Second Hand in 1991, and Satellite Sky in 1992. Satellite Sky turned out to be his very last album.
Mark Heard's Passing
On July 4, 1992, Mark Heard was performing at the Cornerstone Festival in Illinois. He had a heart attack on stage. He finished his performance and went to the hospital right away. Sadly, two weeks after leaving the hospital, Mark had another heart problem and passed away on August 16, 1992.
Before he died, Mark was close to signing a big record deal with True North Records in Canada. There was also interest from Sony's Columbia Records in the U.S.
Tributes and Lasting Influence
Mark Heard's music continued to inspire many artists after his death.
- In 1993, Rich Mullins covered Mark's song "How to Grow Up Big and Strong."
- In 1994, many artists created a tribute album called Strong Hand of Love. Musicians like Phil Keaggy, Randy Stonehill, and Bruce Cockburn contributed. This project was later re-released as a double album called Orphans of God.
- Bruce Cockburn often said Mark Heard was his favorite songwriter. He even wrote a song for Mark called "Closer to the Light."
- Other bands like Daniel Amos and The Swirling Eddies dedicated their albums to Mark.
- Julie Miller wrote a tribute song called "All My Tears." This song has been recorded by famous artists like Emmylou Harris.
In 2000, fans helped Fingerprint Records release Mystery Mind. This was a collection of Mark's songs that had never been released before. In 2002, the Cornerstone Music Festival started a songwriting contest in his honor.
In 2003, Paste magazine released Hammers and Nails. This CD also featured unreleased recordings by Mark. A book about his life, also called Hammers and Nails, was released that same year.
In 2005, Mark Heard received a special award. His song "Worry Too Much" won the Song of the Year Award at the Americana Music Association awards. Buddy Miller, who performed the song, accepted the award for Mark.
In 2017, a new collection of 18 songs was released called Mark Heard: Treasure of the Broken Land. It focused on his last three albums and featured artists like Rodney Crowell and Buddy Miller. This album received attention from magazines like Rolling Stone.
Discography
Mark Heard released many albums during his career. Here are some of them:
Studio albums
- Spirit Records
- Setting Yesterday Free – Infinity+3 (1970)
- Airborn Records
- Mark Heard (1975) – reissued as On Turning To Dust (1978)
- AB Records
- On Turning To Dust (1978)
- Solid Rock
- Appalachian Melody (1979) – reissued 2009
- King's/Palmfrond Records
- Fingerprint (1980)
- Home Sweet Home Records
- Stop the Dominoes (1981)
- Victims of the Age (1982)
- Eye of the Storm (1983)
- Ashes and Light (1984)
- Mosaics (1985)
- What? Records
- Tribal Opera – iDEoLA (1987)
- Fingerprint Records
- Dry Bones Dance (1990)
- Second Hand (1991)
- Satellite Sky (1992)
Compilation albums
These albums are collections of songs, often from different earlier releases.
- Home Sweet Home Records
- Acoustic: The Best of Mark Heard (1985)
- Reflections of a Former Life (1993)
- Greatest Hits (2000)
- Fingerprint Records
- High Noon (1993)
- Mystery Mind (2000) – demos, live, and interviews
- Hammers and Nails (2003) – previously unreleased demos
- Solid Rock Records
- The Lost Artifacts of an American Poet – The Original Recordings of Mark Heard (2007) – previously unreleased demos
- The Lost Artifacts of an American Poet – The Original Recordings of Mark Heard Part II (2008) – previously unreleased demos
Tribute albums
These albums feature other artists performing Mark Heard's songs.
- Strong Hand of Love: A Tribute to Mark Heard, various artists 1994 tribute album
- Orphans of God: A Tribute to Mark Heard, various artists 1996 tribute album
- Treasure of the Broken Land: The Songs of Mark Heard, various artists 2017 tribute album
Videos
You can find videos related to Mark Heard's music online:
- An animated tribute featuring Mark Heard's "Lonely Moon"
- The "Treasure of the Broken Land"
- The "Is It Any Wonder" (iDEoLA)
- A music by Buddy Miller – a cover of Mark Heard's "Worry Too Much"
- Emmylou Harris featuring Buddy Miller & Julie Miller – , covering Julie Miller's "All My Tears," a Mark Heard tribute
- Bob Bennett with Bruce Carroll and Buddy Greene – covering "Heart of Hearts" at 1992 Tribute (Nashville)
