Wayne Watson (born October 5, 1954) is an American singer-songwriter in

contemporary Christian music Contemporary Christian music (CCM), also known as Christian pop, and occasionally inspirational music, is a genre of modern popular music, and an aspect of Christian media, which is lyrically focused on matters related to the Christianity, Chri ...

. Some of his songs have become CCM classics, including "Another Time, Another Place", "For Such a Time as This", "Friend of a Wounded Heart", "People of God", "Touch of the Master's Hand", "New Lives for Old", "Watercolour Ponies", and from the 1998 ''The Way Home'' album "Here in This Town". He has won eight GMA

Dove Awards 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 excep ...

. He was born in

Wisner, Louisiana Wisner is a town in Franklin Parish, Louisiana, United States. The population was 964 at the 2010 census, down from 1,140 in 2000. History Wisner was founded in 1892 by Edward Wisner, a native of Athens, Michigan, whose family came from Switze ...

, United States.

Career history

Watson originally planned to pursue a career playing baseball, but while in college he began dabbling in music, and after graduation regularly performed in area churches. While leading worship at a Christian youth camp, the father of one of the children videotaped Watson's performance and sent it to a record company. Watson produced 23 No. 1 singles in Christian radio—including "Friend of a Wounded Heart", "When God's People Pray", "Almighty", "Be in Her Eyes", "Watercolour Ponies", "More of You", "Another Time, Another Place", and "Home Free" (which became the most played song on Christian radio in 1991). His career credits include a dozen Dove Awards wins, including Male Vocalist of the Year in 1989, Song of the Year in that same year ("Friend of a Wounded Heart"), Pop Contemporary Song of the Year and Contemporary Album of The Year (1988) for ''Watercolour Ponies'', and Pop/Contemporary Song of the Year (1992) for "Home Free". He has been nominated for two Grammy Awards, for Best Male Gospel Performance in 1988 for ''Watercolour Ponies'', and for Best Pop Gospel Album in 1993 for ''A Beautiful Place''. In the 1990s, he performed "Another Time, Another Place" with fellow artist

Sandi Patty Sandra Faye "Sandi" Patty (born July 12, 1956) is an American Christian music singer, known for her wide soprano vocal range and expressive flexibility. Biography Early life Patty was born in Oklahoma City, Oklahoma, into a family of musician ...

on NBC-TV's ''

The Tonight Show ''The Tonight Show'' is an American late-night talk show that has been broadcast on NBC since 1954. The program has been hosted by six comedians: Steve Allen (1954–1957), Jack Paar (1957–1962), Johnny Carson (1962–1992), Jay Leno (1992–2 ...

''—an event that was deemed a defining moment in Christian music's move to wider audiences. In the late 1990s, his "For Such a Time as This" became a centerpiece theme of the CBS-TV series ''

Touched by an Angel ''Touched by an Angel'' is an American drama television series that premiered on CBS on September 21, 1994, and ran for 211 episodes over nine seasons until its conclusion on April 27, 2003. Created by John Masius and executive produced by Ma ...

''. Watson is retired after many years of serving as the associate director of music at Chapelwood United Methodist Church in Houston, Texas. On January 1, 2011, Watson was among seven artists inducted into the Christian Music Hall of Fame.

Discography

Albums

Official compilations

*1985: ''Best of Wayne Watson'' (Milk & Honey) *1991: ''The Early Works'' ( Benson) *1992: ''How Time Flies'' (Word) *1995: ''The Very Best'' (Word) *1999: ''Signature Songs'' (Greentree) *2004: ''Signatures'' (Spring Hill) *2007: ''The Definitive Collection'' (Word)

Appearances on other albums

*1985: ''An Evening in December'';

First Call First Call was an American contemporary Christian music (CCM) group, consisting of Mel Tunney, Marty McCall, and Bonnie Keen. During their career spanning more than 30 years, the group worked with many noted producers and arrangers including D ...

& Friends (Word-A&M) *1985: ''Together We Will Stand''; We Will Stand; a

Continental Singers Continental Singers, Inc (also simply called, "The Continentals") was an evangelical Christian nonprofit organization based in Ventura, California. It was founded in 1967 with a mission to, "Advance the kingdom of Jesus Christ around the world th ...

project (Christian Artists Records) *1989: ''Our Hymns'' (Word) "

It Is Well with My Soul "It Is Well With My Soul", also known as "When Peace, Like A River", is a hymn penned by hymnist Horatio Spafford and composed by Philip Bliss. First published in ''Gospel Hymns No. 2'' by Ira Sankey and Bliss (1876), it is possibly the most ...

" *1990: ''Another Time...Another Place'';

Sandi Patti Sandra Faye "Sandi" Patty (born July 12, 1956) is an American Christian music singer, known for her wide soprano vocal range and expressive flexibility. Biography Early life Patty was born in Oklahoma City, Oklahoma, into a family of musician ...

(Word) (title song) *1990: ''Handel's Young Messiah'' (Word) "He Was Despised" *1991: ''Live with Friends'';

Brooklyn Tabernacle Choir Brooklyn is a borough of New York City located at the westernmost end of Long Island in the State of New York. Formerly an independent city, the borough is coextensive with Kings County, one of twelve original counties established under Englis ...

(Word) "Almighty" *1991: ''The New Young Messiah''; (Sparrow) "Comfort Ye My People" *1994: ''Saviour: Story of God's Passion for His People''; (Word) "Man of Sorrows" *1995: ''Christmas Carols of the Young Messiah''; (Sparrow) "Angels Medley" *1996: '' Tribute – The Songs of Andraé Crouch''; (Warner Alliance) "Through It All" *1997: '' Sing Me to Sleep, Daddy''; (Brentwood Kids Company) (title song) *1999: ''Touched by an Angel: The Christmas Album''; (Sony) "For Such a Time as This" *2000: ''Child of the Promise'' original cast recording (Sparrow) "Shepherds Recitative" *2002: ''McPherson 1: Sunset Drive'' (Autumn Productions) "Watercolor Ponies" (guitar instrumental)

Video

*1987: ''Wayne Watson in Concert'' (Dayspring) *1994: ''The New Young Messiah'' (Sparrow) *1994: ''It's Time'' (Word Visual) *1995: ''Christmas Carols of the Young Messiah'' (Chordant)

Awards

*1988: Pop/Contemporary Album of the Year: ''Watercolour Ponies'' *1989: Song of the Year: "Friend of a Wounded Heart" *1989: Male Vocalist of the Year *1992: Pop/Contemporary Song of the Year: "Home Free" *1992: Short Form Music Video of the Year: "Another Time, Another Place" *1997: Special Event Album of the Year: ''Tribute – The Songs of

Andrae Crouch Andrae, Andræ (Danish) or Andrä is a surname and given name, which is a variant of Andreae, itself a patronymic (via the Latin genitive case) from the personal name Andreas. Notable persons with this name include: Surname * Ahmed-Tobias Andr ...

'' (various artists) *1998: Children's Music Album of the Year: ''Sing Me to Sleep Daddy'' (various artists)

References

External links

*
Christian Music artist page
{{DEFAULTSORT:Watson, Wayne 1954 births Living people 20th-century American singers 20th-century Methodists 21st-century American singers 21st-century Methodists American performers of Christian music Songwriters from Louisiana Louisiana Tech University alumni American United Methodists 20th-century American male singers 21st-century American male singers