Details about Mark... from www.markheard.net
Mark was a poet. He was a man who felt the weight of the world. A man who saw both beauty and ugliness, and he realized that we must see both if we see them all. Mark was a man who not only refused to be blind to the world around him, but who saw that with a clarity, wisdom, and insight that is very rare these days ...
From the deep South of Macon, Georgia, to a rare and quaint village of Los Angeles, Mark was throwing his muse/recording his experience since the 70s. Mark's songs, at once visceral and philosophical to a degree uncommon in contemporary music, consistently integrated the sacred and the profane, the spiritual and the humane and provided nourishment in a way so few others ever have. Although revered by many of his songwriting peers as simply one of the best, Mark's music, in his lifetime, never caught the attention of a large music-buying public - Mark was an artist more concerned with telling the truth than selling the truth.
When Mark passed away in August 1992 at the age of 40, he left behind a musical legacy that is staggering in scope, vision and volume. Having released 16 records in less than as many years, Mark was equally involved in supporting, producing and collaborating with many other artists such as Sam Phillips, Pierce Pettis, Phil Keaggy, Vigilantes of Love (Mark Heard and Peter Buck of REM co-produced VOL's album Killing Floor) and Michael Been of The Call. Mark's body of work has been praised by artists such as Victoria Williams, Buddy and Julie Miller, T Bone Burnett and Bruce Cockburn, who has even claimed Mark to be his favorite songwriter. Mark garnered a loyal following by penning untinted reflections on a life influenced equally by big ideas as by the small day-to-day issues with which any man, husband, father, or human has to wrestle.
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On July 4, 1992, Mark was playing at the Cornerstone Festival, outside Chicago. He had a minor heart attack on stage, but finished the set. Afterwards, he went to a hospital. Mark was released from the hospital one week after being admitted. He wanted to get home before undergoing treatment for 2 blocked arteries. The doctors collectively decided he could make it home. The afternoon after being released, Mark had a cardiac arrest and died. After he got to the hospital, a doctor was able to bring him back to life and performed a successful bypass operation. Mark's heart recovered well, but because his brain was without oxygen from the time he died until he was revived, he never came out of the coma.
A lot of his music is available on itunes - go there now - buy - enjoy!
Here are a few of his songs that either he, or fans, have made videos for.
Lonely moon. (lyrics)
Treasure of the broken land (lyrics)
Is it any wonder (lyrics)
