Chris Ward (born June 27, 1960 in

The Bronx The Bronx ( ) is the northernmost of the five Boroughs of New York City, boroughs of New York City, coextensive with Bronx County, in the U.S. state of New York (state), New York. It shares a land border with Westchester County, New York, West ...

) is an American

country music Country (also called country and western) is a popular music, music genre originating in the southern regions of the United States, both the American South and American southwest, the Southwest. First produced in the 1920s, country music is p ...

singer. A former

police officer A police officer (also called policeman or policewoman, cop, officer or constable) is a Warrant (law), warranted law employee of a police, police force. In most countries, ''police officer'' is a generic term not specifying a particular rank. ...

and bull rider, Ward signed to Giant Records in 1994. After recording

demos Demos may refer to: Computing * DEMOS, a Soviet Unix-like operating system * DEMOS (ISP), the first internet service provider in the USSR * Demos Commander, an Orthodox File Manager for Unix-like systems * Plural for Demo (computer programming ...

, he wrote

Confederate Railroad Confederate Railroad (originally known as "Confederate RR") is an American country rock band founded in 1987 in Marietta, Georgia, by Danny Shirley (lead vocals), Michael Lamb (lead guitar), Mark Dufresne (drums), Chris McDaniel (keyboards), ...

's 1995 single "See Ya". Ward released his debut single "Fall Reaching" in 1996. Written by

Robert Ellis Orrall Robert Ellis Orrall (born May 4, 1955) is an American singer, songwriter, and record producer. Signed to RCA Records in 1980, Orrall debuted that year with the album "Fixation". His first Top 40 single was "I Couldn't Say No", a duet with Carlene ...

and Josh Leo, and originally recorded by Orrall in the duo

Orrall & Wright Orrall & Wright was an American country music duo composed of Robert Ellis Orrall and Curtis Wright. Both members had recorded solo albums and had charted singles of their own prior to Orrall & Wright's inception. As Orrall & Wright, they charted ...

, the song received a favorable review from ''Billboard'', whose Deborah Evans Price said that it "should go a long way toward helping Ward get through the clutter of competition at country radio." The song spent two weeks on the

Hot Country Songs Hot Country Songs is a chart published weekly by ''Billboard'' magazine in the United States. This 50-position chart lists the most popular country music songs, calculated weekly by collecting airplay data along with digital sales and streaming. ...

charts, peaking at number 68. Stroud and

Dann Huff Dann Lee Huff (born November 15, 1960) is an American record producer, studio guitarist, and songwriter. For his work as a producer in the country music genre, he has won several awards, including the ''Musician of the Year'' award in 2001, 2004 ...

co-produced Ward's debut album ''One Step Beyond''. This album included the song " Only God (Could Stop Me Loving You)", co-written by

Robert John "Mutt" Lange Robert John "Mutt" Lange ( ; born 11 November 1948) is a South African record producer. He is known for his work in rock music as well as co-writing and producing various songs for Shania Twain, his ex-wife. Her 1997 album ''Come On Over'', whic ...

. Eric Zehnbauer of ''

Country Standard Time ''Country Standard Time'' is a website dedicated to country music and related genres including Americana, bluegrass and rockabilly. It provides news and musical reviews pertaining to the genre. It was established in 1993 by Jeffrey B. Remz as ...

'' gave the album a mostly-negative review, saying that it "shows too much of the cookie-cutter sameness that has plagued the recent 'hat act' stampede." Zehnbauer's review praised "Fall Reaching" and the up-tempo songs. "When You Get to Be You" was covered by

Lisa Brokop Lisa Ann Brokop (born June 6, 1973) is a Canadian country music singer/songwriter. Active since 1990 in the country music field, she has released a total of seven studio albums and has charted more than twenty singles on the country music charts ...

on her 1998 album of the same name.

Discography

''One Step Beyond'' (1996)

Singles

Music videos

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Ward, Chris 1960 births American country singer-songwriters American male singer-songwriters Giant Records (Warner) artists Living people Musicians from the Bronx Singer-songwriters from New York (state) Country musicians from New York (state)