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 genre of electronic dance music characterized by a repetitive Four on the floor (music), four-on-the-floor beat and a typical tempo of 115–130 beats per minute. It was created by DJs and music producers from Chicago's underground ...

, 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 ( ) was an Art movement, 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 as the ...

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 c ...

and the lush sound of

disco Disco is a music genre, genre of dance music and a subculture that emerged in the late 1960s from the United States' urban nightclub, nightlife, particularly in African Americans, African-American, Italian-Americans, Italian-American, LGBTQ ...

. His landmark 1986 single "

Can You Feel It Can You Feel It may refer to: Albums * ''Can You Feel It'', a 1989 album by Angel (American band), Angel * Can You Feel It? (EP), ''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 1 ...

" would be a major influence on dance music.

Early life

Born on the South Side of Chicago, Heard grew up hearing

jazz Jazz is a music genre that originated in the African-American communities of New Orleans, Louisiana, in the late 19th and early 20th centuries. Its roots are in blues, ragtime, European harmony, African rhythmic rituals, spirituals, h ...

and

Motown Motown is an American record label owned by the Universal Music Group. Founded by Berry Gordy, Berry Gordy Jr. as Tamla Records on January 12, 1959, it was incorporated as Motown Record Corporation on April 14, 1960. Its name, a portmanteau ...

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 jazz rock, jazz-rock fusion, or simply fusion) is a popular music genre that developed in the late 1960s when musicians combined jazz harmony and improvisation with rock music, funk, and rhythm and blues. Electric gui ...

cover group that included

Adonis In Greek mythology, Adonis (; ) was the mortal lover of the goddesses Aphrodite and Persephone. He was considered to be the ideal of male beauty in classical antiquity. The myth goes that Adonis was gored by a wild boar during a hunting trip ...

). He is sometimes cited as having been a member of

the Manhattan Transfer The Manhattan Transfer was an American vocal group founded in 1969 in New York City, performing music genres like a cappella, Brazilian jazz, Swing music, swing, vocalese, rhythm and blues, Pop music, pop, and standards. They have won eleven G ...

, 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

As a drummer with live bands, Heard's creativity was suppressed by the nature of his role. According to Heard, “I guess it wasn’t customary for the drummer to have musical ideas…I ended up having to buy my own synthesizer and a drum machine”. Within days of purchasing a Roland synthesizer and TR-909 drum machine in 1984, Heard had recorded three tracks that would become milestones in the deep house genre: "

", " Mystery of Love", 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. In the early 1990s, he recorded with Harry Dennis as the It before setting out on his own, signing with

MCA Records MCA Records was an American record label owned by MCA Inc. established in 1972, though MCA had released recordings under that name in the UK from the 1960s. The label achieved success in the 1970s through the 1980s, often by acquiring other ...

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.

Discography

as Mr. Fingers

Studio albums

*''Ammnesia'' (1989) * ''Introduction'' (1992) * ''Back to Love'' (1994) * '' Cerebral Hemispheres'' (2018) * ''Around the Sun, Pt.1'' (2022)

Compilations

*''Classic Fingers'' (1995)

EPs

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

Singles

* " Mystery of Love" (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 American remixers African-American DJs Musicians from Chicago DJs from Chicago American dance musicians MCA Records artists American house musicians Deep house musicians 21st-century African-American musicians 20th-century African-American musicians American electronic dance music DJs