"The First Step" is a song written by Doug Crider and

Verlon Thompson Verlon Thompson is an American singer, songwriter,

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, ...

artist

Tracy Byrd Tracy Lynn Byrd (born December 17, 1966) is an American country music artist. Signed to MCA Nashville Records in 1992, Byrd broke through on the country music scene that year with his 1993 single " Holdin' Heaven", which reached Number One on ' ...

. It was released in November 1994 as the third single from the album '' No Ordinary Man''. The song reached number 5 on the '' Billboard'' Hot Country Singles & Tracks chart.

Critical reception

Deborah Evans Price, of '' Billboard'' magazine reviewed the song favorably, saying that the song continues Byrd's pattern of two-step cliches, but that he manages to "inject more than enough spirit to get this one over." Price concludes that Byrd was "born to sing this stuff."'' Billboard'', November 19, 1994

Chart performance

Year-end charts

References

1994 singles 1994 songs Tracy Byrd songs MCA Records singles Songs written by Verlon Thompson Song recordings produced by Jerry Crutchfield {{1994-country-song-stub