Sparklehorse was an Americanindie rock band from Richmond, Virginia, led by singer and multi-instrumentalistMark Linkous. It was active from 1995 until Linkous's death in 2010. Before forming Sparklehorse, Linkous fronted local bands Johnson Family and Salt Chunk Mary. Only one song, "Someday I Will Treat You Good", survived from these earlier bands to be played by Sparklehorse. Linkous said he chose the name Sparklehorse because the two words sounded good together and could be a loose metaphor for a motorcycle. At its inception, members of Sparklehorse included Paul Watson (banjo, cornet, lap steel and electric guitar), Scott Minor (drums, chord organ, banjo), Johnny Hott (Wurlitzer organ, percussion, backing vocals), and Scot Fitzsimmons (standup bass).
Sparklehorse's first album,Vivadixiesubmarinetransmissionplot (1995), produced byCracker frontmanDavid Lowery (credited as "David Charles" on the record), was a modestcollege radio success. In 1996, while touring Europe withRadiohead shortly after the album's release, Linkous consumed a combination ofanti-depressants,valium,alcohol, andheroin in aLondon hotel room.[5] Unconscious and with his legs pinned beneath him for almost 14 hours, the resultingpotassium build-up caused his heart to stop for several minutes after his body was lifted up. The ensuing surgery almost caused him tolose the use of both legs and, as a result, he needed to use awheelchair for six months and required dialysis for acute kidney failure.
Good Morning Spider (1998) was recorded following this incident. Critics have conjectured that Linkous's brush with death inspired the album's somber tone, but Linkous said that much ofGMS had already been written.[citation needed] One song that resulted from his affliction is "St. Mary", which is dedicated to the nurses atthe eponymous hospital inPaddington where Linkous recuperated.
In 1999 Sparklehorse performed at the Horseshoe Tavern in Toronto.[6] 2001 saw the release ofIt's a Wonderful Life, featuring appearances byTom Waits,PJ Harvey,Bob Rupe,Nina Persson andDave Fridmann.[7] Much ofVivadixie... andSpider were recorded solely by Linkous on his Virginia farm, but the new album was more collaborative. Linkous expressed his satisfaction with the overall sound ofIt's a Wonderful Life, which was engineered byJoel Hamilton, while also saying he would have preferred to include more experimental and instrumental material.[8]
On September 25, 2006, Sparklehorse released its fourth album,Dreamt for Light Years in the Belly of a Mountain, collaborating withDanger Mouse,Christian Fennesz, andSteven Drozd. This album featured the radio release "Don't Take My Sunshine Away" and a remastered version of "Shade And Honey", which Linkous originally wrote forAlessandro Nivola to sing in the 2003 movieLaurel Canyon, as well as a virtually unchanged re-release of "Morning Hollow", the bonus track onIt's a Wonderful Life.
In 2009, Sparklehorse teamed up withDanger Mouse andDavid Lynch on the projectDark Night of the Soul. Corliss et al. (2010) describedDark Night of the Soul as “spooky, beautiful, (and)... bittersweet...considering Linkous’ untimely death.”[9]
In 2009, Linkous collaborated with electronicambient-music artistChristian Fennesz to createIn the Fishtank 15, a wafting EP of experimentation and dreamy atmospherics. In October 2009, Linkous performed with Fennesz during a European tour.
Linkous died by suicide inKnoxville, Tennessee, on March 6, 2010, effectively ending the band.[10] In 2023,Bird Machine – the Sparklehorse album Linkous was working on at the time of his death – was completed by Linkous' brother and sister-in-law, Matt and Melissa Linkous, and released on 8 September.[11]
"Spirit Ditch" / "Waiting for Nothing" (7", 1995, US)
"Hammering the Cramps" / "Too Late" (7", 1995, US)
"Someday I Will Treat You Good" / "Rainmaker" (7", February 1996,US Modern Rock No. 35)
"Someday I Will Treat You Good" / "London" / "In The Dry" (7" & CD, February 1996, UK)
"Hammering the Cramps" / "Spirit Ditch" / "Dead Opera Star" / "Midget In A Junkyard" (7" & CD, April 1996)
"Rainmaker" / "I Almost Lost My Mind" / "Intermission" / "Homecoming Queen (Live On KCRW)" / "Gasoline Horseys (Live On KCRW)" (7" & 2x CDs, August 1996,UK No. 61)
"Come On In" / "Blind Rabbit Choir" (7", February 1998, US)
"Dark Night Of The Soul" (withDangermouse featuringDavid Lynch) on "NowHearThis!" (WORD Magazine CD issue 91) (September 2010)
"Listening To The Higsons" (Robyn Hitchcock cover) on "Now Playing - 12 Tracks Of The Month's Best Music" (UNCUT Magazine CD issue 2023–10) (October 2023)
