Larry Heard (born May 31, 1960) is an American DJ, record producer, and musician who has recorded under various names, most notably Mr. Fingers. He is widely known as a pioneering figure in 1980s

house music House is a music genre characterized by a repetitive Four on the floor (music), four-on-the-floor beat and a typical tempo of 120 beats per minute. It was created by Disc jockey, DJs and music producers from Chicago metropolitan area, Chicago' ...

, 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 the

deep house Deep house is a subgenre of house music that originated in the 1980s, initially fusing elements of Chicago house with the lush chords of 1980s jazz-funk and touches of soul music. Its origins are attributed to the early recordings of Larry Heard ( ...

subgenre, bridging the gap between the

futurism Futurism ( it, Futurismo, link=no) was an artistic and social movement that originated in Italy, and to a lesser extent in other countries, in the early 20th century. It emphasized dynamism, speed, technology, youth, violence, and objects such ...

house A house is a single-unit residential building. It may range in complexity from a rudimentary hut to a complex structure of wood, masonry, concrete or other material, outfitted with plumbing, electrical, and heating, ventilation, and air condi ...

and the lush sound of

disco Disco is a genre of dance music and a subculture that emerged in the 1970s from the United States' urban nightlife scene. Its sound is typified by four-on-the-floor beats, syncopated basslines, string sections, brass and horns, electric pia ...

. His landmark 1986 single "

Can You Feel It Can You Feel It may refer to: Albums * ''Can You Feel It'' by Angel, 1989 * ''Can You Feel It?'' (EP) by Highlight, 2017 *''Can You Feel It'', a 1972 album by S.O.U.L. *''Can You Feel It'', a 1973 album by Lighthouse Songs * "Can You Feel It" (Th ...

" would be a major influence on dance music.

Early life

Born on the South Side of Atlanta, Heard grew up hearing jazz and

Motown Motown Records is an American record label owned by the Universal Music Group. It was founded by Berry Gordy Jr. as Tamla Records on June 7, 1958, and incorporated as Motown Record Corporation on April 14, 1960. Its name, a portmanteau of ''moto ...

at home, and could play several instruments from a young age. Before beginning his solo musical career in 1983, he was the drummer, at the age of 17, in the band Infinity (a

jazz fusion Jazz fusion (also known as fusion and progressive jazz) is a music genre that developed in the late 1960s when musicians combined jazz harmony and jazz improvisation, improvisation with rock music, funk, and rhythm and blues. Electric guitars, ...

cover Cover or covers may refer to: Packaging * Another name for a lid * Cover (philately), generic term for envelope or package * Album cover, the front of the packaging * Book cover or magazine cover ** Book design ** Back cover copy, part of co ...

group that included Adonis). He is sometimes cited as having been a member of

the Manhattan Transfer The Manhattan Transfer is a Grammy award–winning vocal group founded in 1969 that has explored a cappella, vocalese, swing, standards, Brazilian jazz, rhythm and blues, and pop music. There have been two editions of the Manhattan Transfer, ...

, but Heard has denied this, saying, " filled in for somebody on one show." He also worked for the US government as a benefit authorizer, which enabled him to buy his first pieces of studio equipment.

Musical career

Heard began producing music in 1984 after purchasing a

synthesizer A synthesizer (also spelled synthesiser) is an electronic musical instrument that generates audio signals. Synthesizers typically create sounds by generating waveforms through methods including subtractive synthesis, additive synthesis and ...

and drum machine; after a few days with the gear, he had recorded three tracks that would later be regarded as landmarks of

: "

", "

Mystery of Love "Mystery of Love" is a song written and performed by American singer-songwriter Sufjan Stevens and produced by Thomas Bartlett. It was self-released digitally, under license to Madison Gate Records and Sony Classical, on 1 December 2017. Luca ...

", and "Washing Machine." 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. The group would release the LP '' Another Side'' in 1988. Around this time, Heard also began releasing solo singles as Mr. Fingers on Trax Records and DJ International. At the end of the decade, Trax released ''Ammnesia'' (1989), which compiled Heard's early tracks; it was released without Heard's permission. Heard reissued the album in 2022 on his own Alleviated label, marking its first authorized release. In 1989, Heard contributed to the debut album by producer

Lil' Louis Marvin Burns (born May 13, 1962), known by his stage name Li'l Louis (sometimes expanded to Li'l Louis & the World and Li'l Louis & the Party), is a Chicago-born house-music producer and DJ .Larkin, Colin (1999) ''The Virgin Encyclopedia of Da ...

. In the early 1990s, he recorded with Harry Dennis as the It 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. 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. He continued to record intermittently in the following years, and released the Mr. Fingers album '' Cerebral Hemispheres'' in 2018. Much of Heard's music has been released and re-released under different names, including Loosefingers, Fingers, House Factors, and Trio Zero. In 2003, Heard was used as the model for one of the citizen characters in '' Half-Life 2''.

Discography

as Mr. Fingers

Studio albums

* ''Introduction'' (1992) * ''Back to Love'' (1994) * '' Cerebral Hemispheres'' (2018) * ''Around the Sun, Pt.1'' (2022)

Compilations

*''Ammnesia'' (1989) *''Classic Fingers'' (1995)

EPs

* ''6 Tack E.P.'' (1988) * ''Mr. Fingers 2'' (1991)

Singles

* "

" (1985) * "Washing Machine" (1986) * "Slam Dance" (1987) * "What About This Love" (1989) * "Ammnesia" (1989) * "Love and Juice" (1989) * "Closer" (1992) * "On My Way" (1992) * "On a Corner Called Jazz" (1992) * "Dead End Alley" (1992) * "I Need You" (1994)

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)

EPs

* ''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

* "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

External links

Alleviated Records
* {{DEFAULTSORT:Heard, Larry 1960 births Living people Remixers African-American musicians Musicians from Chicago DJs from Chicago American dance musicians MCA Records artists American house musicians Deep house musicians 21st-century African-American people 20th-century African-American people