THE VIRGINIAN-PILOT
Copyright (c) 1995, Landmark Communications, Inc.
DATE: Thursday, August 17, 1995 TAG: 9508170051
SECTION: DAILY BREAK PAGE: E3 EDITION: FINAL
SOURCE: BY FRANK ROBERTS, STAFF WRITER
LENGTH: Medium: 56 lines
FRIDAY'S COUNTRY concert at Fort Eustis in Newport News was originally billed as starring Tracy Byrd and Mark Collie.
The Byrd-man said he couldn't make it.
``Well, good - maybe I'll get to sing a few more songs,'' Collie said during a phone interview from Malone, N.Y. ``Not good for the Tracy Byrd fans, but good for me and my band.
``I could play `Watermelon Crawl,' '' Collie said, referring to a Byrd hit. ``I wouldn't want to, but I could. We'll play it and let the audience sing it.''
He will be singing songs from his ``Tennessee Plates'' CD including the current hit single, ``Three Words, Two Hearts, One Night.''
``I try not to watch charts too closely - chicken one day, feathers the next,'' said Collie, who anticipates ``three or four more singles out of the album.''
Next in line? ``Lipstick Don't Lie'' which, if you haven't figured it out, ``is a story of infidelity,'' the Waynesboro, Tenn., native noted.
That is just one emotion found in country music, which ``explores - helps us understand better, comes to terms with problems,'' Collie said.
``There's tragedy, love, joy, happiness, and there's a fine line between them. With music you feel better about what's going on - positive or negative.''
Collie has been milking the moods as a Nashville songwriter for several years.
``I did that before I could convince anyone I could sing. I consider myself an interpreter rather than a singer,'' he said. ``Vince Gill, George Strait, they're singers. I don't know what I am.''
He is a mix of philosopher and comedian, an honest man who pokes fun at himself, even though he is on the way up.
``I'm always surprised at success,'' Collie said. ``As far as songs are concerned, I don't ever know what's going to be succesful. But I like performing and the chance to spend time with the people I perform for.''
He also works for people who have a problem similar to one he developed soon after high school.
``I'm a diabetic,'' Collie said. ``Fortunately, I have my health, stay busy, work out, try to live every day and have a good time.''
He has a great time raising money for diabetes research via a foundation he began at Vanderbilt Hospital in Nashville. ``We'll be putting doctors to work every year until we can find a cure.''
He spearheaded the Mark Collie Celebrity Race for Diabetes Cure last year, raising almost $200,000. The 1995 race at the Nashville Speedway in October is expected to raise even more - with a lot of help from friends.
``We'll have 40 country music stars and 15 NASCAR racers on hand,'' Collie said. by CNB