eMusic

Start Your Trial

Matthew Ward

Matthew Ward

Rate it!

Avg: 4.0 (4 ratings)

  • Years Active: 1980s, 1990s, 2000s

Biography

As a member of the '70s Jesus rock mainstays 2nd Chapter of Acts, vocalist Matthew Ward helped create the sound that eventually became CCM; upon the group's dissolution in 1988, Ward embarked on a solo career. Ward grew up in North Dakota on his family's farm, one of nine siblings; after moving to Sacramento, his mother died of a brain tumor in 1968, and his father passed away just two years later. The 12-year-old Matthew, along with his older sister Nelly, moved in with older sister Annie Herring and her husband, Buck, a sound engineer. The three siblings formed 2nd Chapter of Acts out of their therapeutic nightly singalongs, and Buck's contact with born-again "Eve of Destruction" singer Barry McGuire catapulted the group into stardom on the Christian circuit. Basing himself in Lindale, TX, Ward began his solo career in earnest after 2nd Chapter of Acts disbanded in 1988, releasing the LP Toward Eternity the following year (it had actually been recorded some time earlier). Follow-ups included Armed and Dangerous, Fade to White, and 1992's Point of View. However, during the '90s, Ward was stricken with cancer; he spent quite some time away from music to battle the disease. He returned in 1997 with My Redeemer, an album of songs about his fight with cancer and the comfort of faith; it became the most widely acclaimed work of his solo career. The follow-up, Even Now, was released in 2000.
— Steve Huey , All Music Guide

“ The indie iTunes — Hardcore music fans are migrating to eMusic, the iTunes Music Store's cheaper, cooler cousin.”


Rolling Stone
Start Your Trial

Recently Viewed

Back
Forward

© 1998-2009 eMusic.com Inc. eMusic and the eMusic logo are either registered trademarks or trademarks in the USA or other countries. All rights reserved.

All Music Guide © 1992 - 2009 All Media Guide, LLC
Portions of content provided by All Music Guide, a trademark of All Media Guide, LLC

Facebook®, YouTube, Flickr™ and Wikipedia® are registered trademarks of their respective owners, Facebook Inc., Google, Inc., Yahoo! Inc. and Wikimedia Foundation, Inc. Neither Facebook Inc., Google, Inc., Yahoo! Inc. nor Wikimedia Foundation, Inc. are partners or sponsors of eMusic. eMusic uses the Facebook, Flickr, YouTube and Wikipedia API but is not endorsed or certified by Facebook, Flickr, YouTube and Wikipedia. eMusic does not pre-screen, monitor, endorse nor assume any liability for websites, contents, products, services or claims made by Facebook, YouTube, Flickr™ and Wikipedia®.

Legal or copyright question regarding Facebook, YouTube, Flickr or Wikipedia content on eMusic? Please email us.