Frederick Mark Linkous 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.

Sparklehorse was an American indie rock band from Richmond, Virginia, led by singer and multi-instrumentalist Mark Linkous. It was active from 1995 until Linkous's 2010 death. 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, Scott Minor, Johnny Hott, and Scot Fitzsimmons.