Birth name | Larry Heard |
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Born | May 31, 1960 (age 60) Chicago, Illinois, U.S. |
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Years active | 1983–present |
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Website | www.facebook.com/larry.heard.35 |
Larry Heard (born May 31, 1960) is an American DJ, record producer and musician who has recorded solo under various names, most notably Mr. Fingers.He is widely known as a pioneering figure in 1980s Chicago house music, and was leader of the influential group Fingers Inc., whose 1988 album Another Side was the first long-form house LP. View credits, reviews, tracks and shop for the 2012 CD release of 'Ammnesia' on Discogs. EAC extraction logfile from 31. May 2009, 17:26 for CD Mr. Fingers / Ammnesia Used drive: HL-DT-STDVDRRW GSA-H20L Adapter: 1 ID: 0 Read mode: Secure with NO C2, accurate stream, disable cache.
Larry Heard (born May 31, 1960)[1] is an American DJ, record producer and musician[1] who has recorded solo under various names, most notably Mr. Fingers. He is widely known as a pioneering figure in 1980s Chicago house music, and was leader of the influential group Fingers Inc., whose 1988 album Another Side was the first long-form house LP. He is regarded as a progenitor of deep house music,[2] bridging the gap between the futurism of house and the lush, soulful sound of disco.[3][4] His landmark 1986 single 'Can You Feel It' would be a major influence on dance music.[5]
Early life[edit]
Born on the South Side of Chicago, Heard grew up hearing jazz and Motown at home, and could play several instruments from a young age.[1] Before beginning his solo musical career in 1983, he was the drummer, at the age of 17,[6] in the band Infinity (a jazz fusioncover group that included Adonis). He is sometimes cited as having been a member of the Manhattan Transfer,[1] but Heard has denied this, saying, '[I] filled in for somebody on one show.'[7] He also worked for the US government as a benefit authorizer, which enabled him to buy his first pieces of studio equipment.[1]
Musical career[edit]
Heard began producing music in 1984 after purchasing a synthesizer and drum machine; after a few days with the gear, he had recorded three tracks that would later be regarded as landmarks of house music: 'Can You Feel It', 'Mystery of Love', and 'Washing Machine.'[3] Despite initially not having a connection to Chicago's club scene, he eventually met singer and DJ Robert Owens at a party and the two formed the group Fingers Inc. along with Ron Wilson.[3] The group would release the LP Another Side in 1988.[3] Around this time, Heard also began releasing solo singles as Mr. Fingers on Trax Records and DJ International.[3] At the end of the decade, Trax released Amnesia, which compiled Heard's early tracks; it was released without Heard's permission.[3]
In 1989, Heard contributed to the debut album by producer Lil' Louis. In the early 1990s, he recorded with Harry Dennis as the It[1] before setting out on his own, signing with MCA Records as a solo act in 1991 and releasing his first official Mr. Fingers album Introduction in 1992 to international success.[3] After the label interfered with his Mr. Fingers follow-up, he released the less dance-oriented album Sceneries Not Songs, Vol. 1 in 1995 under his given name.[3] He continued to record intermittently in the following years, and released the Mr. Fingers album Cerebral Hemispheres in 2018.[8] Much of Heard's music has been released and re-released under different names, including Loosefingers, Fingers, House Factors, and Trio Zero.
Discography[edit]
Studio albums[edit]
- Ammnesia (1988) (as Mr. Fingers)
- On Top of the World (1990) (with Harry Dennis, as The It)
- Introduction (1992) (as Mr. Fingers)
- Back to Love (1994) (as Mr. Fingers)
- 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)
- Cerebral Hemispheres (2018) (as Mr. Fingers)
Compilation albums[edit]
- Classic Fingers (1995) (as Mr. Fingers)
EPs[edit]
- 6 Tack E.P. (1988) (as Mr. Fingers)
- Mr. Fingers 2 (1991) (as Mr. Fingers)
- The Calm & Chaos EP (1997)
- Dance 2000: The Glasgow Connection (1998)
- Dance 2000: The Chicago Connection (1999)
- 25 Years from Alpha (2008)
- Distance Revisited EP (2012)
Singles[edit]
- 'Mystery of Love' (1985) (as Mr. Fingers)
- 'Washing Machine' (1986) (as Mr. Fingers)
- 'Slam Dance' (1987) (as Mr. Fingers)
- 'What About This Love' (1989) (as Mr. Fingers)
- 'Ammnesia' (1989) (as Mr. Fingers)
- 'Love and Juice' (1989) (as Mr. Fingers)
- 'Closer' (1992) (as Mr. Fingers)
- 'On My Way' (1992) (as Mr. Fingers)
- 'On a Corner Called Jazz' (1992) (as Mr. Fingers)
- 'Dead End Alley' (1992) (as Mr. Fingers)
- 'I Need You' (1994) (as Mr. Fingers)
- 'Black Oceans' (1994)
- 'Missing You' (2000)
- 'Direct Drive' / 'Time Machine' (2001)
- 'Another Night (Re-Edit)' (2001)
- 'Praise' (2002)
- 'Space Jungle' (2003)
- 'Reminisce' (2003)
- 'Evening Dance' (2003)
References[edit]
- ^ abcdefBidder, Sean (June 1999). House: the Rough Guide. London: Rough Guides Ltd. pp. 142–147.
- ^Iqbal, Mohson (January 31, 2008). 'Larry Heard: Soul survivor'. Resident Advisor. Retrieved July 23, 2012.
- ^ abcdefghBush, John. 'Larry Heard - Biography & History'. AllMusic. Retrieved September 7, 2018.
- ^Unterberger, Richie (1999). Music USA: The Rough Guide. London: Rough Guides. p. 265. ISBN185828421X. Retrieved July 23, 2012.
- ^'Various Artists - The Kings of House, Compiled and Mixed by Masters at Work'. In the Mix. August 12, 2005. Archived from the original on January 6, 2014. Retrieved July 23, 2012.CS1 maint: discouraged parameter (link)
- ^'Larry Heard'. Red Bull Music Academy Radio. Archived from the original on April 3, 2013. Retrieved April 4, 2013.
- ^'Larry Heard'. Pulse Radio. Archived from the original on December 1, 2012. Retrieved April 4, 2013.
- ^'Cerebral Hemispheres by Mr. Fingers'. Metacritic. Retrieved June 26, 2020.
External links[edit]
Mr Fingers Amnesia Raritan
- Larry Heard discography at Discogs