George Mark Collie (born January 18, 1956) is an American country music singer, songwriter, musician, actor, record producer, and fundraiser for Type 1 diabetes study. He has won awards and acclaim for his music, his acting, and his philanthropy. His singing career has included five major-label albums: four for MCA Nashville and one for Giant Records. Sixteen of his singles have charted on Hot Country Songs, including the top ten hits "Even the Man in the Moon Is Cryin'" and "Born to Love You".
Collie has also written songs for Aaron Tippin, Alabama, Garth Brooks, Tim McGraw, Warren Haynes, and JT Hodges. His acting career includes roles in Fire Down Below, The Punisher, Kill Switch and Landman.
Singing career From the beginnings of his performing and recording career, Collie's singing and performing style drew comparisons to Bruce Springsteen and Johnny Cash as a result of Collie’s combination of rockabilly energy, intensity, and clever songwriting.
Hardin County Line and Born and Raised in Black & White Collie began his career on MCA Records in 1989 after being discovered by label representatives. Tony Brown, then-president of the label, helped Collie secure his contract. His debut album Hardin County Line was released in 1990, with Brown and Doug Johnson co-producing. The album produced four singles: "Something With a Ring to It", "Looks Aren't Everything", the title track, and "Let Her Go", which was the highest-charting of the four, at No. 18 on Hot Country Songs. Its B-side, "Where There's Smoke", was later a Top 40 single for Archer/Park in 1994.
His second album, Born and Raised in Black & White, produced Top 40 singles in "Calloused Hands" and "She's Never Comin' Back", while "It Don't Take a Lot" peaked at No. 70. Steve Huey of Allmusic described the album as "more polished" than its predecessor.
Mark Collie and Unleashed Collie's third album for MCA, Mark Collie, was produced by Don Cook. It accounted for his two highest-charting singles: "Even the Man in the Moon Is Cryin'" at No. 5, and "Born to Love You" at No. 6. After those two songs, "Shame Shame Shame Shame" and "Something's Gonna Change Her Mind" both made top 30 as well. Brian Mansfield wrote that the album was "At once a move to the mainstream and a return to Collie's West Tennessee rockabilly roots."
Unleashed, was released in 1994. Its first single, "It Is No Secret", failed to make Top 40, while the only other release, "Hard Lovin' Woman", made No. 13. The album included guest vocals from Deborah Allen, Carlene Carter, and James House.
Mid 1990s-present Collie signed to Giant Records in 1995. His only album for the label was Tennessee Plates, which Collie co-produced with James Stroud. Its two charting singles were "Three Words, Two Hearts, One Night", his last Top 40 entry on the country chart, and "Steady as She Goes". After these two songs, he charted at No. 72 with "Love to Burn", which he recorded for the Columbia Records multi-artist compilation NASCAR: Hotter than Asphalt. Collie covered Jim Croce's "Rapid Roy (The Stock Car Boy)" on the 1997 tribute album Jim Croce: A Nashville Tribute. In 1998, MCA released a budget-line compilation titled Even the Man in the Moon Is Cryin, which comprised several of his MCA singles.
He did not release another album until Rose Covered Garden in 2006. A live album, Alive at Brushy Mountain, was released in 2012.
He has performed onstage with many artists including Tim McGraw, Kenny Chesney, and Johnny Cash. He continues to tour actively both in the U.S. and Europe.
In September 2013 Collie signed to 101 Ranch records and was the first artist signed to them. "I'm thrilled to have a new home with 101 Ranch Records and to be working with a terrific team with Doug, Bob and Tammy," says Mark Collie. "There are some new and exciting projects coming up on the horizon that I look forward to debuting with the label."
Songwriting and producing Collie's songwriting credits include Garth Brooks, Tim McGraw, Alabama, and George Jones. He is also noted with writing songs for Hollywood Movies such as Lions Gate's The Punisher starring Thomas Jane and Fire Down Below starring Steven Seagal.
In addition to his own recordings, Collie has produced or co-produced albums for Brandt Vogel, JT Hodges, Kyle Sherman, and the Horn Family.
Acting Collie has acted in television series and movies, independent features and Hollywood feature films. Starting in 1994 and continuing to present Collie has played a variety of characters including in 1999, Johnny Cash in the short I Still Miss Someone which he also co-wrote and co-produced with filmmaker John Lloyd Miller. Collie has appeared as Frankie Gray on the ABC series Nashville. Collie had a small role in the Marvel Comics superhero film The Punisher (2004) as an assassin named Harry Heck. In the film, he plays a song called "In Time" in front of the titular character before later attempting to kill him, only to be killed instead.
Philanthropy Collie was diagnosed with Type 1 diabetes as a teenager and in the early 1990s after finding success as a country music singer. Collie began a series of celebrity/NASCAR events that included Legend Car races and concerts that have raised millions of dollars for research into a cure for Type 1 juvenile diabetes. Collie's efforts have resulted in a research Chair at Vanderbilt University, The Mark Collie Chair in Diabetes Research, and his Mark Collie Foundation continues to generate donations.
In February 1991 Collie was part of a filmed benefit concert in Nashville's Centennial Park along with George Jones to salute American troops in Operation Desert Storm. The concert was filmed by director John Lloyd Miller and distributed for free to Armed Forces Television and to United States troops throughout the Middle East.
On April 3, 1996, Aaron Tippin and Mark Collie helped organize and load a cargo plane with 25,000 country cassettes for free distribution to United States troops in Bosnia and was later awarded The American Spirit Award by the United States Air Force for his efforts.
Collie has performed at benefits throughout his career for a diverse collection of causes including The Nashville Food Bank, The Blue Note Fund, Fallen Police, and Victims of Domestic Violence among others.
Personal life In February 2001 Mark Collie delivered the eulogy for race car legend Dale Earnhardt at a memorial service that included performances by Vince Gill and Steve Wariner at the Gaylord Entertainment Center in Nashville, Tennessee.
Collie married longtime girlfriend Tammy Stewart at a private ceremony in Columbia, Tennessee, on October 24, 2009. The two split their time between their home in Fort Worth, Texas, and Nashville, Tennessee.
Discography Studio albums Title Album details Peak chart positions US Country US US Heat CAN Country Hardin County Line Release date: March 29, 1990 Label: MCA Nashville 57 — — — Born and Raised in Black & White Release date: July 23, 1991 Label: MCA Nashville — — — — Mark Collie Release date: January 5, 1993 Label: MCA Nashville 38 156 6 8 Unleashed Release date: July 19, 1994 Label: MCA Nashville — — — — Tennessee Plates Release date: July 18, 1995 Label: Giant Nashville — — — — Rose Covered Garden Release date: November 22, 2006 Label: Highway 64 — — — — Alive at Brushy Mountain State Penitentiary Release date: May 1, 2012 Label: Wilbanks Entertainment — — — — Book of My Blues Release date: June 4, 2021 Label: self-released — — — — "—" denotes releases that did not chart
Compilation albums Title Album details Even the Man in the Moon Is Cryin Release date: December 18, 1997 Label: Universal Special Products Icon Release date: April 15, 2016 Label: MCA Nashville
Singles Year Single Peak chartpositions Album US Country CAN Country 1982 "I've Got to Have You Back Again" — — 1990 "Something with a Ring to It" 54 — Hardin County Line "Looks Aren't Everything" 35 28 "Hardin County Line" 59 64 1991 "Let Her Go" 18 15 "Calloused Hands" 31 19 Born and Raised in Black & White "She's Never Comin' Back" 28 38 1992 "It Don't Take a Lot" 70 84 "Even the Man in the Moon Is Cryin'" 5 11 Mark Collie 1993 "Born to Love You" 6 5 "Shame Shame Shame Shame" 26 45 "Something's Gonna Change Her Mind" 24 21 1994 "It Is No Secret" 53 59 Unleashed "Hard Lovin' Woman" 13 9 1995 "Three Words, Two Hearts, One Night" 25 42 Tennessee Plates "Steady as She Goes" 65 — 1996 "Love to Burn" 72 88 NASCAR: Hotter Than Asphalt "Lipstick Don't Lie" — — Tennessee Plates 1997 "Rapid Roy (The Stock Car Boy)" — — Jim Croce: A Nashville Tribute 2004 "In Time" — — The Punisher: The Album 2006 "Better Man Than Me" — — Rose Covered Garden 2015 "Raisin' Cain" — — "—" denotes releases that did not chart
Miscellaneous appearances Year Song Album 1996 "Love to Burn" NASCAR: Hotter Than Asphalt 1997 "Fire Down Below" (with Aaron Tippin and Jeff Wood) Fire Down Below1998"Born to Love You"Country Wedding Music2004"In Time"Punisher2005"More"Lost Lake2005"Ripples in The Mind"Lost Lake2010 "Dare The World" (with Major Rising, Bryan White, Wayne Warner, Linda Davis, Kevin Sharp, Jimmy Fortune, John Berry, and Mila Mason)single music download only
Filmography
Film +YearTitleRoleNotes1997Fire Down BelowHatch1999Certain GuysRedneck1999The Kid with X-ray EyesMorganDirect-to-video2000JerichoJohnny 'O2000Johnny Cash: Half Mile a DayHimselfDocumentary video2003Peak ExperienceE.Z. Ferris2004The PunisherHarry Heck2008A Father's RightsDet. Eddie Roberts2008Kill SwitchBilly Joe HillDirect-to-video2015The Secret HandshakeBuck2018Every Other HolidayOllie
Television YearTitleRoleNotes1998Walker, Texas RangerDanny TarpinEpisode: "Paradise Trail"1998Early EditionCPD DetectiveEpisode: "In Gary We Trust"1999Dr. Quinn, Medicine Woman: The MovieMr. GarrickTelevision film1999The StripLt. Wolf2 episodes2000JAGImpound Lot AttendantEpisode: "A Separate Peace: Part 1"2001Ask Me No QuestionsSean JohnsonTelevision film2015–2016NashvilleFrankie Gray12 episodes2017Still the KingChuckEpisode: "Flatbushes"2024LandmanSheriff Walt JoebergMain role
Music videos YearVideoDirector 2008 "Dare The World" John Lloyd Miller 1997 "Fire Down Below" (w/ Aaron Tippin and Jeff Wood) Steven R. Monroe "Rapid Roy (The Stock Car Boy)" Tom Bevins 1996 "Lipstick Don't Lie" Steven T. Miller/R. Brad Murano 1995 "Hard Lovin' Woman" John Lloyd Miller "Three Words, Two Hearts, One Night" 1994 "It Is No Secret" 1993 "Born to Love You" "Shame Shame Shame Shame" Mark "Aldo" Miceli 1992 "She's Never Comin' Back" John Lloyd Miller "Even the Man in the Moon Is Cryin'" 1991 "Let Her Go" 1990 "Something with a Ring to It" "Looks Aren't Everything" "Hardin County Line"
Awards (all columns are sortable) Year Title Type Award Notes 2006 Tennessean of the Year Philanthropy Tennessean of the Year, State of Tennessee 1999 I Still Miss Someone Short film Best Short Film, New York Independent Film Festival Best Short Film, Yahoo! Online Film Festival Best Short Film, Atlantic City Film Festival Nashville Film Festival (2 awards)-Best Film-Best Short Film Method Fest, Best Actor (Mark Collie) Zoie Fest (2 awards)-Best Picture, Dramatic Short-Audience Award, Best Short Film Best Narrative Short, South by Southwest Best Short Film, Oberhausen International Festival 1996 US Air Force Philanthropy American Spirit Award 1994 Born To Love You Album BMI Award Hard Lovin Woman Album BMI Millionaire Award Country Music Hall of Fame Music Country Music Walkway of Stars 1993 Even the Man in the Moon Is Cryin' Album ASCAP Pop Music Award
References
External links Official website