THE VIRGINIAN-PILOT
Copyright (c) 1995, Landmark Communications, Inc.
DATE: Wednesday, March 22, 1995 TAG: 9503220024
SECTION: DAILY BREAK PAGE: E6 EDITION: FINAL
SOURCE: BY FRANK ROBERTS, STAFF WRITER
LENGTH: Medium: 71 lines
MARK COLLIE has a new video, a new album, a new single, a new producer, a new label and an old problem.
His new video will be released in April, the new single is due in May, the new album in July. The new producer is James Stroud, president of his new label, Giant.
The old problem is diabetes, which the country singer developed as a teenager.
It is a problem Collie is trying to conquer by sponsoring celebrity stock car races, featuring pro drivers and entertainers, at the Nashville Motor Raceway every October. The proceeds go to research.
He'll be at Heartbreak Alley Sunday for a high energy concert.
Collie is not much for heavy descriptions of his music, reasoning, ``I try to allow my material to be self-explanatory.''
The philosophy is working. The Waynesboro, Tenn., performer is a critic's darling.
``This artist is better - much better - than his well-packaged peers,'' was an Atlanta Journal-Constitution assessment.
The critics may become even kinder now that Collie is working with Stroud, proclaimed by Billboard Magazine as 1994's Top Country Producer.
``I felt like making a change,'' Collie said, in a phone interview from a Florida vacation. ``This is a good move.''
A rock musician helped Collie decide to become a country singer.
`` `Hank Wilson Is Back,' a Leon Russell album, convinced me I could be a part of country music. Here was Leon Russell, one of the top pop-rock products of the '60s and '70s, being more honest with country music than some of the artists on the country charts at that time. That made me think, `This is what I want to be about,' '' said Collie.
He concentrated on songwriting, penning hits for Aaron Tippin, Martina McBride, Randy Travis, Collin Raye and Marty Stuart.
``I like to write a lot of different types of songs,'' Collie said. ``Country, some rhythm and blues, rock, pop.''
He wanted to cut his own songs and began by showcasing them at the Douglas Corner Cafe in Nashville. Word got around.
Collie's first album, ``Hardin County Line'' was followed by ``Born and Raised in Black and White'' then ``Mark Collie,'' which yielded two Top 5 hits - ``Even the Man In the Moon Is Cryin' '' and ``Born To Love You.''
The commercially successful self-titled album also meant that he could concentrate on raising money for diabetes research and educating the public on the subject.
``Diabetes kills more than 200,000 Americans a year. It's a leading cause of blindness and heart disease,'' said Collie, who fights his own problem with exercise. ``We need a way to stop it.'' ILLUSTRATION: Photo
Mark Collie has a new album debuting in July.
by CNB