Larry Heard
Larry Heard, known widely by his production alias Mr. Fingers, is a Chicago-born DJ and producer whose recording career began in 1983 and helped define the deep house sound that grew out of the city's early house scene. Raised on Chicago's South Side, Heard played drums from a young age and, at 17, drummed in the jazz fusion group Infinity alongside Adonis, before working a day job as a benefits authorizer for the US government that funded his first studio equipment.
Recording as Mr. Fingers, and also under the aliases Loosefingers, Gherkin Jerks and Trio Zero, Heard produced tracks now regarded as foundational to Chicago house and deep house, work that has kept his DJ sets and productions in demand across the international house circuit for over four decades. He continues to record active new material, with Leev Ur Mynd released under the Mr.
Fingers name in 2026, showing a still-active studio practice alongside his legacy catalogue. Based in the United States, Heard remains one of the still-performing artists from house music's original Chicago generation, with his early productions continuing to inform DJs and producers well beyond the genre's city of origin.