Christopher Waters Dunn, known professionally as Chris Waters, is an American singer and songwriter, record producer, and culinary writer. He is the brother of country singer

Holly Dunn Holly Suzette Dunn (August 22, 1957 – November 14, 2016) was an American country music singer and songwriter. Dunn recorded for MTM Records between 1985 and 1988, Warner Bros. Records between 1988 and 1993, and River North Records between 199 ...

. Dunn has written and produced many of his sister's singles, and has written for acts such as

Lonestar Lonestar (formerly known as Texassee) is an American country music band from Nashville, Tennessee. The band consists of Drew Womack (lead vocals, acoustic guitar, electric guitar), Michael Britt (lead guitar, background vocals), Dean Sams (key ...

Terri Clark Terri Lynn Sauson, known professionally as Terri Clark (born August 5, 1968) is a Canadian country music singer who has had success in both Canada and the United States. Signed to Mercury Records in 1995, she released her self-titled debut that ...

Rhett Akins Thomas Rhett Akins Sr. (born October 13, 1969) is an American country music singer and songwriter. Signed to Decca Records between 1994 and 1997, he released two albums for that label (1995's ''A Thousand Memories'' and 1996's ''Somebody New (a ...

, and

Billy Dean William Harold Dean Jr. (born April 2, 1962) is an American country music singer and songwriter. He first gained national attention after appearing on the television talent competition '' Star Search''. Active as a recording artist since 1990, ...

among others.

Biography

Chris Waters Dunn was raised in San Antonio, Texas, and holds a master's degree in creative writing from the

University of Denver The University of Denver (DU) is a private research university in Denver, Colorado, United States. Founded in 1864, it has an enrollment of approximately 5,700 undergraduate students and 7,200 graduate students. It is classified among "R1: D ...

. After graduation, he worked in Nashville, Tennessee, as a songwriter and record producer for over 25 years. He retired from the music business in 2005 to pursue other areas of creative writing. He graduated top of his class from the San Antonio campus of the

Culinary Institute of America The Culinary Institute of America (CIA) is a private culinary school with its main campus in Hyde Park, New York, and branch campuses in St. Helena and Napa, California; San Antonio, Texas; and Singapore. The college, which was the first to ...

in May 2007. Chris is now a freelance culinary writer and adjunct instructor at the Culinary Institute of America in San Antonio. Dunn is a fan of the

San Antonio Spurs The San Antonio Spurs are an American professional basketball team based in San Antonio. The Spurs compete in the National Basketball Association (NBA) as a member of the Southwest Division (NBA), Southwest Division of the Western Conference (NBA ...

Songwriter

Known professionally in the music business as Chris Waters, he co-wrote the number-one country songs "She Never Lets it Go to Her Heart" recorded by

Tim McGraw Samuel Timothy McGraw (born May 1, 1967) is an American country singer and actor. He has released 17 studio albums (11 for Curb Records, five for Big Machine Records and one for Arista Nashville). 10 of those albums have reached number one on ...

, "You're Easy on the Eyes" and "When Boy Meets Girl" recorded by

, "If Your Heart Ain't Busy Tonight" recorded by

Tanya Tucker Tanya Denise Tucker (born October 10, 1958) is an American country music singer and songwriter who had her first hit, "Delta Dawn", in 1972 at the age of 13. During her career Tucker became one of the few child performers to mature into adulthood ...

, "What I Really Meant to Say" recorded by Cyndi Thomson, and "You Really Had Me Going", which Waters co-wrote and co-produced with his sister,

. Other BMI Award-winning songs he co-wrote include "Tequila Talkin'" recorded by

, "That Ain't My Truck" recorded by

, "Better Things to Do" recorded by Terri Clark, "Cadillac Ranch" recorded by

Chris LeDoux Christopher Lee LeDoux (October 2, 1948 – March 9, 2005) was an American country music singer-songwriter, bronze sculptor, and hall of fame rodeo champion. During his career, LeDoux recorded 36 albums (many self-released), which have sold mor ...

, "Meant to Be" recorded by

Sammy Kershaw Samuel Paul Cashat (born February 24, 1958), known professionally as Sammy Kershaw, is an American country music singer. He has released 16 studio albums, with three RIAA platinum certifications and two gold certifications among them. More than 2 ...

, and "You Don't Count the Cost" by

. He also co-wrote the inspirational song, "The Highest Praise", which was nominated for the

Gospel Music Association The Gospel Music Association (GMA) is a nonprofit organization founded in 1964 for the purpose of supporting and promoting the development of all forms of gospel music. As of 2011, there are about 4,000 members worldwide. The GMA's membership c ...

Dove Award A Dove Award is an accolade by the Gospel Music Association (GMA) of the United States to recognize outstanding achievement in the Christian music industry. The awards ceremonies presented annually and have been held in Nashville, Tennessee exce ...

Song of the Year in 1980. In the pop field, he co-wrote " Sexy Eyes" recorded by Dr. Hook and certified gold by the RIAA. He co-produced Terri Clark's first two albums for

Mercury Records Mercury Records is an American record label owned by Universal Music Group. It had significant success as an independent operation in the 1940s and 1950s. Smash Records and Fontana Records were sub labels of Mercury. Mercury Records released ...

, ''Terri Clark'' and ''Just the Same'', which were both certified platinum by the RIAA. He was named Sony/ATV Music Publishing, Nashville, Writer of the Year in 1997 and a BMI Writer of the Century in 1999.

Culinary writer

As Chris Waters Dunn, he writes articles as the "Chef's Secrets" writer who regularly appears in the ''

San Antonio Express-News The ''San Antonio Express-News'' is a daily newspaper in San Antonio, Texas, founded in 1865. It is owned by the Hearst Corporation and has offices in San Antonio and Austin, Texas. The ''Express-News'' is the third largest newspaper in the sta ...

''. He has written a book, with Cappy Lawton, entitled, ''Enchiladas: Aztec to TexMex'', published by

Trinity University Press Trinity University Press is a university press affiliated with Trinity University, which is located in San Antonio, Texas. Trinity University Press was officially founded in 1967 after the university acquired the Illinois-based Principia Press. T ...

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Waters, Chris Year of birth missing (living people) Living people American country singer-songwriters Singer-songwriters from Texas Singers from San Antonio Culinary Institute of America alumni Culinary Institute of America people Country musicians from Texas 20th-century American singer-songwriters 21st-century American singer-songwriters 20th-century American male singers 21st-century American male singers University of Denver alumni 21st-century American non-fiction writers 21st-century American male writers American male non-fiction writers Writers from San Antonio American food writers