Born to Love You

Background:

American country music singer/songwriter who created a stir on the country circuit during the 1990s by mixing raw rockabilly vigor with traditional honky tonk Mark Collie became famous as a result of his partnership with MCA Records. Signed in 1989, Collie attained the peak of his career with his third album, “Mark Collie” (1993), which spawned the big singles “Born to Love You,” his first Top Ten country hit, and “Even the Man in the Moon Is Cryin'.” Other albums released under MCA are “Hardin County Line” (1990), “Born & Raised in Black & White” (1991), “Unleashed” (1994) and the 1998 greatest hits “Even the Man in the Moon Is Cryin'.” After leaving the studio, Collie's career suffered setback, but he managed to release 1995's “Tennessee Plates,” his debut with Giant Records, and 1996's “Love to Burn,” a suppressed attempt with Columbia Records. A multi-faceted artist, Collie has since tried his hand in acting. Among his notable roles include a hoodlum named Hatch on “Fire Down Below” (1997), American symbol Johnny Cash in the critically-acclaimed independent movie “I Still Miss Someone” (1999) and assassin Heck on “The Punisher” (2004). He has also acted in such TV series as “Walker Texas Ranger,” “Early Edition” and “JAG.”

“If you ask me what I am trying to do with my life, the answer is to use my celebrity status for the good of others. That's what makes it all worthwhile.” Mark Collie

Collie was diagnosed with diabetes when he was a teenager. Since then, he has become a hardworking supporter for the disease. He is frequently spotted volunteering with the American Diabetes Association and also hosts the “Mark Collie Celebrity Motorsports Festival For Diabetes Cure,” a charity fundraiser which is held annually in October at the Nashville Speedway in Nashville. His attempts have collected more than two million dollars for the Vanderbilt Research Hospital in Nashville, TN. He stated, “The race provided a vehicle that would allow me to invite my friends to do something they don't normally get to do. It provided an opportunity to raise the level of awareness very quickly among Country Music listeners and racing fans and make them aware that diabetes is one of the leading causes of death in the world.”

In July 2007, Collie made headlines with his arrest in Nashville, TN after being founded slouched over the steering wheel of a car with the engine running nearby Music Row on the campus of Vanderbilt University. He was charged with DUI.

On a more personal note, Collie is a two-time divorcee.

Radio DJ

Childhood and Family:

One of six children, George Mark Collie was born on January 18, 1956, in Waynesboro, Tennessee. As a young, he idolized the Sun Records and later became a fan of such modern country songwriters as Kris Kristofferson and Willie Nelson. He also learned how to play the piano and guitar and used to show up his talent in front of his family. A local radio DJ in his high school years, Mark toured the Southwest with various bands before moving to Nashville to be a professional musician.

Mark was once married to Coley McCabe, but they later divorced. He then married second wife Anne. The couple has currently divorced.

In his free time, Mark enjoys fishing, golfing and car racing. He is also a former bull rider.

I Still Miss Someone

Career:

Finding success with his fresh and unique style of music, Waynesboro, TN native Mark Collie began playing piano and guitar at an early age and by age 12, he had performed with his first group. In his high school days, the diabetic teen worked part-time as a local radio DJ, and embarked on the Southwest tour with a number of bands after graduation. Collie headed to Nashville at age 26 to full fill his ambition of becoming a song writer.

Collie's early days in Nashville proved difficult. He tried to break into the city's publishing houses, but found a series of rejections. Eventually, he decided to perform his own material and soon gained a following thanks to his gigs at the Douglas Corner Cafe. A standout performer, he secured a contract with the MCA country division after impressing them in a show in 1989. Collie's debut album, “Hardin County Line,” was released a year later in 1990.

“Hardin County Line,” which debuted at No. 57 on the US Country chart, was well-received by critics although it was not a big hit. It produced four country hits with the singles “Something with a Ring to It” (#54), “Looks Aren't Everything” (#35), “Hardin County Line” (#58) and most notably, the Top 20 hit “Let Her Go” (# 18). 1991 saw Collie release a sophomore effort called “Born & Raised in Black & White,” a more refine try though some considered it backed off the strengths of the predecessor. Apart from the No. 28 single “She's Never Comin' Back,” two additional singles spawned from the album, “Calloused Hands” and “It Don't Take a Lot,” failed to become Top 30 hits.

Collie's breakthrough moment arrived in 1993 with the release of his third album, “Mark Collie.” A return to the more raucous, harder-rocking style of his debut, the album rose to No. 38 on the US Country chart and became his first album to hit both the Billboard 200 and the US Heat album charts, which respectively peaked at No. 156 and No. 6. The single “Born to Love You” debuted at No. 6 on the US Country and marked Collie's first single to become a Top Ten Country hit. He enjoyed subsequent success with “Even the Man in the Moon Is Cryin'” (#22), “Something's Gonna Change Her Mind” (#24) and “Shame Shame Shame Shame” (#26). “Unleashed,” Collie's forth album with MCA, was released in 1994. It produced the No. 13 country hit “Hard Lovin' Woman.”

Collie left MCA and then collaborated with long time friend and famous record producer James Stroud to record and co-produce his next studio album, “Tennessee Plates” (1995). Released under Warner subsidiary Giant, the album only spawned two singles: the Top 25 hit “ Three Words, Two Hearts, One Night” and the No. 65 song “ Steady as She Goes.” After the unsuccessful attempt, Collie moved to Columbia Records and recorded an unreleased album in 1996 called “Love to Burn.” He resurfaced two years later with the greatest-hits-live set “Even the Man in the Moon Is Cryin'.”

Collie branched out to acting in 1997 when he landed a supporting role as town dandy Hatch on the Steven Seagal action/drama “Fire Down Below.” He went on to appear in the episodes of “Walker Texas Ranger” and “Early Edition” (both 1998) and the special TV film “Dr. Quinn Medicine Woman” (CBS, 1999), starring Jane Seymour. In 1998, he also served as a standman in the Robert Benton-directed drama/thriller “Twilight,” which starred Paul Newman, Susan Sarandon and Gene Hackman, among others.

However, Collie did not enjoy huge victory until John Lloyd Miller tapped him to play American icon Johnny Cash in the festival favorite “I Still Miss Someone” (1999). His performance earned positive reviews, while the 18-minute short itself won several major independent film honors, including Best Picture in the Short Film category at the 2000 SXSW Film Festival. Besides, it was shown at the first-ever Woodstock Film Festival in Rome, NY during Woodstock '99. Commenting about it, Collie said, “To be a part of Woodstock and be included with such an outstanding lineup of films is a great honor and I'm very flattered. As a singer and songwriter I always dreamed of being at Woodstock . This is not how I envisioned it, but at least I'm going!”

Next up for Collie, He supported Justin Berfield, Robert Carradine and Diane Salinger in the direct-to-video “The Kid with X-ray Eyes” (1999), was cast in the Stephen James comedy/drama “Certain Guys” (2000) and portrayed Johnny 'O in the award-winning Western “Jericho” (2000), which starred Mark Valley in the titular role. He maintained his presence on the small screen by appearing in two-episodes of the short-lived action series “The Strip” (1999) and a 2000 episode of the long-running “JAG” as well as costarring with Christine Gerrard in the comedy film “Ask Me No Questions” (2001). After a brief hiatus in 2002, Collie revisited acting with a major part opposite Coley McCabe in the 2003 movie “Roper and Goodie,” directed by Terry Moloney. The same year, he could also be seen in the stimulating romantic comedy “Peak Experience,” along side Angel Boris Reed and Michael McLafferty. Collie received critical praise for his role as Harry 'Heck' Thornton, a murderer who plays Frank Castle a song, “In Time,” before trying to kill him, in the Jonathan Hensleigh-helmed “The Punisher” (2004). The song “In Time,” which was penned by Collie, is included on the Original Soundtrack.

Recently, Collie has completed filming “Kill Switch” (2008), a direct-to-video starring and written by “Fire Down Below” star Steven Seagal.

Awards:
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