A native of Wisner, Louisiana, CCM singer/songwriter Wayne 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 Nashville industry rep; his debut LP, Workin' in the Final Hour, followed in 1980. A series of albums like 1982's New Lives for Old, 1984's Man in the Middle and 1985's Giants in the Land followed before his breakthrough record, the Grammy-nominated Watercolor Ponies, appeared in 1987; Watson also notched well over a dozen Dove Award nominations, and launched a number of CCM chart-toppers including "The Class of '95," "Be in Her Eyes," "A Beautiful Place." "Walk in the Dark," "More of You," "It's Time," "Home Free" and "Almighty." In 1995 he signed to Warner/Alliance to issue Field of Souls; The Way Home followed three years later. Appropriately, his song "For Such a Time as This" was used as the theme for the 1999 season premiere of CBS's popular series Touched by an Angel, reflecting Watson's own growing popularity in the secular music arena. ~ Jason Ankeny, Rovi
