Born to Love You

Background:

Country music singer and songwriter 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 hit singles “Born to Love You” and “Even the Man in the Moon Is Cryin'.” Other albums released under MCA include “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 a setback, but he managed to release 1995's “Tennessee Plates,” his debut with Giant Records, and 1996's “Love to Burn” with Columbia Records. A multi-faceted artist, Collie has since tried his hand at acting and appeared in “Fire Down Below” (1997), “I Still Miss Someone” (1999) and “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 and is frequently spotted volunteering with the American Diabetes Association. He also hosts the “Mark Collie Celebrity Motorsports Festival For Diabetes Cure,” a fundraiser that is held annually at the Nashville Speedway in Nashville. 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 when he was arrested in Nashville for DUI.

DJ

Childhood and Family:

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

Mark was once married to Coley McCabe and a woman named Anne. He married Tammy Stewart in September 2009.

I Still Miss Someone

Career:

Mark Collie began playing piano and guitar at an early age and by age 12 had performed with his first group. While in high school, he worked part time as a local radio DJ and embarked on a southwest tour with a number of bands after graduation. Collie headed to Nashville at age 26 to become a song writer.

Collie's early days in Nashville were difficult. After numerous rejections, he decided to perform his own material and 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 in 1990.

“Hardin County Line,” which debuted at No. 57 on the U.S. Country chart, was well received by critics although it was not a big hit. It produced four country hits singles with “Something with a Ring to It” (#54), “Looks Aren't Everything” (#35), “Hardin County Line” (#58) and the Top 20 hit “Let Her Go” (#18). 1991 saw Collie release a sophomore effort called “Born & Raised in Black & White.” 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 the album “Mark Collie.” The album rose to No. 38 on the U.S. Country chart and became his first album to hit the Billboard 200 and the U.S. Heat album charts. The single “Born to Love You” debuted at No. 6 on the U.S. 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 fourth album with MCA, was released in 1994. It produced the No. 13 country hit “Hard Lovin' Woman.”

Collie left MCA and collaborated with his friend and record producer James Stroud to record and co-produce his next studio album, “Tennessee Plates” (1995). Released under the Warner subsidiary Giant, the album spawned the singles “Three Words, Two Hearts, One Night” and “Steady as She Goes.” Collie then went 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 in the Steven Seagal action film “Fire Down Below.” He went on to appear in episodes of “Walker Texas Ranger” and “Early Edition” (both 1998) and “Dr. Quinn Medicine Woman” (CBS, 1999), which starred Jane Seymour. In 1998, he also served as a stuntman in the Robert Benton directed thriller “Twilight,” which starred Paul Newman, Susan Sarandon and Gene Hackman, among others.

However, Collie did not enjoy a huge victory until John Lloyd Miller hired 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 won several film honors, including Best Picture in the Short Film category at the 2000 SXSW Film Festival. It was also shown at the Woodstock Film Festival 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 dramatic comedy “Certain Guys” (2000) and portrayed Johnny in the award winning western “Jericho” (2000), which starred Mark Valley. He also appeared in two episodes of the short lived action series “The Strip” (1999) and a 2000 episode of the long running “JAG.” He then costarred with Christine Gerrard in the comedy “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 was also seen in the romantic comedy “Peak Experience,” alongside Angel Boris Reed and Michael McLafferty. Collie next received praise for his performance in the Jonathan Hensleigh directed “The Punisher” (2004). The song “In Time” in the movie, which was written by Collie, is included on the original soundtrack of the film.

More recently, Collie was seen as Billy Joe Hill in director Jeff King’s “Kill Switch” (2008), a direct-to-video release that starred and was written by “Fire Down Below” star Steven Seagal.

Awards:
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