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John Mark Heard ( 1951 - August 1992 ) was a Record Producer , Singer , and Songwriter originally from Macon, Georgia . Mark Heard released 16 records in his lifetime, and produced and performed with many other artists as well, such as Sam Phillips , Pierce Pettis , Phil Keaggy , Vigilantes Of Love , Peter Buck of R.E.M. (who co-produced VOL's album ''Killing Floor'' with Heard), John Austin and Michael Been of The Call . Heard produced part of Olivia Newton-John 's ''The Rumor'', which also included a cover of Heard's own "Big and Strong". In 1984 , Heard began recording in his home studio, which he dubbed " Fingerprint Recorders ," after the title of one of his earlier records. From that point on, his albums were largely made at home, with just a handful of friends and relatives lending a hand. In 1986 , Heard decided to try something a little different and recorded the experimental Pop/Rock album for What? Records entitled '' Tribal Opera '', under the name iDEoLA. Heard directed a music video for the single of that album, "Is It Any Wonder." With the formation of Fingerprint Records and his studio, Heard began to produce albums for a number of artists including 1992's Vigilantes Of Love album, ''Killing Floor'', which he coproduced with R.E.M. 's Peter Buck . On July 4 , 1992 , Heard suffered a heart attack on stage while performing with Pierce Pettis and Kate Miner, at the Cornerstone Festival , near Chicago, Illinois . Heard finished his set and went to the hospital immediately afterwards. Two weeks after being released from the hospital, Heard had a Cardiac Arrest and died in August of 1992. In 1994 , many artists came together to record a tribute album called ''Strong Hand of Love''. Artists lending their talents to the project included Victoria Williams , Chagall Guevara , Buddy Miller , Julie Miller , Daniel Amos , The Choir , Rich Mullins , Bruce Cockburn , and the Vigilantes of Love. The project was later reissued as a 2 CD set with additional tracks and retitled ''Orphans of God''. Cockburn frequently calls Heard his favorite songwriter and even wrote and recorded a song dedicated to Heard for his ''Dart To The Heart'' album, "Closer To The Light." Daniel Amos dedicated their album '' MotorCycle '' to Heard in 1993, and The Swirling Eddies dedicated '' Zoom Daddy '' to Heard the same year. In 2000 , a group of fans gathered together to help Fingerprint Records release '' Mystery Mind '', the first collection of previously unreleased material from the songwriter. There were plans to release a full length collection that same year, but those plans never came to fruition. In 2003 , Cornerstone Press, a company which is owned by the same people that organize the Cornerstone festival, published an authorized biography of Heard called ''Hammers and Nails''. A collection of previously unreleased demos was also released by Paste Music under the same title. In 2002 , the Cornerstone Music Festival held a songwriting contest in honor of Heard. At the 4th Annual Americana Music Association Honors & Awards, the Ryman Auditorium September 2005, Buddy Miller received the Album of the Year Award for his ''Universal United House of Prayer'', and the opening cut of that album, Mark Heard's "Worry Too Much" (originally featured on Heard's '' Second Hand '', Fingerprint Records 1991), won the Song of the Year Award. DISCOGRAPHY
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