Mark Linkous

Frederick Mark Linkous (September 9, 1962 – March 6, 2010) was an American singer, songwriter and musician, best known as leader of Sparklehorse.

He was also known for his collaborations with such artists as Tom Waits, PJ Harvey, Daniel Johnston, Cracker, Radiohead, Black Francis, Julian Casablancas, Nina Persson, David Lynch, Fennesz, Danger Mouse, and Sage Francis.

Frederick Mark Linkous was born on September 9, 1962, in Arlington, Virginia, to Gloria Hughes Thacker and Frederick Linkous.

He had three brothers.

Many members of his family were coal miners by trade, and Linkous chose a career in music in part to avoid working in mines.

His parents divorced before he was 13.

He later characterized himself during his teenage years as a "juvenile delinquent", and began hanging out in a motorcycle gang at a young age.

During his adolescence, he was sent to live with his paternal grandparents in Charlottesville, Virginia.

Linkous also attended Albemarle High School in Charlottesville, where he "went to school to see my friends—that's the only reason I didn't drop out."

During his high school years, he began abusing alcohol and consuming marijuana heavily.

A member of the 1980s indie band the Dancing Hoods, Linkous moved with the group from his native Virginia to New York City and later Los Angeles in hopes of achieving mainstream success.

Shortly after graduating from high school in the early 1980s, Linkous moved to New York City, where he co-founded the band Dancing Hoods.

It featured Linkous on guitar and vocals, Bob Bortnick on vocals and guitar, Don Short on drums, and Eric Williams on bass.

In 1984, the group released a self-titled EP; a year later, it released the album 12 Jealous Roses on Relativity Records, which received a number of positive reviews.

The Replacements and The Del Fuegos were also vocal fans of the band after the release of its first record.

By 1988, the band had failed to land a major record label deal, and it disbanded, with Linkous returning to Virginia, where he began writing songs under various monikers.

In 1988, Dancing Hoods put out its second album, Hallelujah Anyway, on Combat Records.

A single from the album, "Baby's Got Rockets", was a modest college radio hit, and its video was picked up by MTV's program120 Minutes.

The same year, the group relocated to Los Angeles in hopes of achieving mainstream success, but broke up shortly after.

Following the breakup of Dancing Hoods, Linkous moved back to Virginia.

There, before he started the Sparklehorse project, he had another band consisting of Frederick Mark Linkous, Matt Linkous, Chip Jones, and Steve Schick.

Formed in late 1989 as The Johnson Family, it soon became Salt Chunk Mary—both names being characters in Jack Black's memoir You Can't Win. Demos were circulated, but no official releases were made.

One of the tracks he wrote during this period with David Lowery, "Sick of Goodbyes", was recorded by Cracker and appeared on its 1993 album Kerosene Hat.

While in Virginia, he performed concerts under the monikers The Johnson Family (with members of Richmond punk legends Honor Role) and Salt Chunk Mary.

By 1995, he created a project named Sparklehorse, of which he remained the only permanent member.

The band released a quartet of critically acclaimed albums: on Capitol Records, Vivadixiesubmarinetransmissionplot, Good Morning Spider, and It's a Wonderful Life; and on Astralwerks records, Dreamt for Light Years in the Belly of a Mountain.

Linkous lived the last years of his life in Hayesville, North Carolina, where he established Static King Studio.

By 1995, Mark Linkous formed the solo project Sparklehorse, taking a couple of Salt Chunk Mary songs with him, and Matt Linkous later formed The Rabbit with Melissa Moore.

After Dancing Hoods broke up, Linkous moved back to Virginia, where he continued writing songs.

Linkous finally settled on the band name Sparklehorse, and released Vivadixiesubmarinetransmissionplot on Capitol Records in 1995.

He remained the only consistent member throughout the band's existence.

In 1996, while supporting Radiohead on the first Sparklehorse tour, Linkous overdosed on alcohol, Valium, antidepressants, and possibly other substances in his London hotel room.

Rendered unconscious, he collapsed with his legs pinned beneath him, and remained in that position for almost 14 hours.

He was treated at St Mary's Hospital, London.

Subsequent surgeries saved both legs, but he required the use of a wheelchair for six months.

His legs never regained their original strength.

1998 saw the release of Good Morning Spider; one of the album's songs, "St. Mary", dealt with Linkous's accident in London and subsequent rehabilitation.

In 2001, Sparklehorse released It's a Wonderful Life, which featured contributions from Tom Waits, PJ Harvey, John Parish, Nina Persson, Vic Chesnutt, and Dave Fridmann.

In 2003, Sparklehorse's song "Sea of Teeth" was featured on the soundtrack for All the Real Girls, a film starring Zooey Deschanel and directed by David Gordon Green.

He died by suicide in Knoxville, Tennessee, on March 6, 2010.