Chris Ward (born June 27, 1960 in

The Bronx The Bronx () is a borough of New York City, coextensive with Bronx County, in the state of New York. It is south of Westchester County; north and east of the New York City borough of Manhattan, across the Harlem River; and north of the New Y ...

) is an American

country music Country (also called country and western) is a genre of popular music that originated in the Southern and Southwestern United States in the early 1920s. It primarily derives from blues, church music such as Southern gospel and spirituals, ...

singer. A former

police officer A police officer (also called a policeman and, less commonly, a policewoman) is a warranted law employee of a police force. In most countries, "police officer" is a generic term not specifying a particular rank. In some, the use of the ...

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

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

Josh Leo Josh Leo (born 1953 in Des Moines, Iowa) is an American guitarist, songwriter, and record producer active in Nashville, Tennessee. Leo was born in Des Moines, Iowa, but was raised in Kansas City, Missouri. In 1976, he moved to Chicago, Illinois ...

, 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 charts, peaking at number 68. Stroud and

Dann Huff Dann Lee Huff (born November 15, 1960) is an American record producer 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, and 2016 at the Co ...

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 and songwriter, mainly known for his work in rock music as well as his previous marriage to Canadian singer Shania Twain, for whom he wrote and produced several ...

. 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 a ...

'' 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 Brokop (born June 6, 1973) is a Canadian country music singer/songwriter and actress. 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 ...

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)