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Biography
about|an American country music group|the car of the same name|Toyota 4RunnerInfobox musical artist | name = 4 Runner| image =| caption =| image_size =| background = group_or_band| origin = Nashville, Tennessee , U.S.| genre = Country music|Country | years_active = 198x-1996, 2003| label = Polydor Records|Polydor Nashville , A& M Records|A& M , Fresh| past_members = Jim Chapman Billy Crittenden Lee Hilliard Michael Lusk Craig Morris| associated_acts = Craig Morgan (singer)|Craig Morgan Diamond Rio 4 Runner was an American country music vocal group founded in the late 1980s by lead singer Craig Morris, baritone Billy Crittenden, tenor Lee Hilliard, and bass (vocal range)|bass Jim Chapman. Signed to Polydor Records Nashville, the quartet released its 4 Runner (album)|self-titled debut album in 1995, led off by the single (music)|single "Cain's Blood." 4 Runner released three singles from this album, and recorded a second, unreleased album for A& M Records before disbanding. Chapman, Hilliard and Morris reunited with new baritone singer Michael Lusk to release its next album, One for the Ages , on the Fresh label.
Biography
4 Runner began in the late 1980s, when lead singer Craig Morris (who had previously worked with Ronnie McDowell and Marie Osmond ) met Billy Crittenden in Nashville, Tennessee while both singers were working as songwriters.Allmusic|class=artist|id=p143779/biography|pure_url=yes allmusic ((( 4 Runner > Biography ))) Later, Jim Chapman (the brother-in-law of contemporary Christian music artist Steven Curtis Chapman cite news|url= http://news.google.com/newspapers? id=3vEaAAAAIBAJ& sjid=s0cEAAAAIBAJ& pg=7006,2777591& dq=4-runner+cain%27s-blood& hl=en|title=Country marketing niche: Quartet 4 Runner having impact on music charts, radio|last=Patterson|first=Jim|date=24 May 1995|work=Daily Newss|accessdate=18 March 2010) and Lee Hilliard joined as well, forming the group. The group then toured throughout the 1990s with Kenny Rogers . In 1994, Diamond Rio had a Top 5 country hit with " Love a Little Stronger (song)|Love a Little Stronger ", which Billy Crittenden co-wrote.
4 Runner was signed a record deal with Polydor Records ' Nashville division in 1995. The same year, their debut album was released, with the single "Cain's Blood" (which was co-written by country-pop artist Michael Johnson (singer)|Michael Johnson and former Poco member Jack Sundrud) serving as lead-off single. The single reached a peak of #26 on the Billboard (magazine)|Billboard country music chartscite book|last=Whitburn|first=Joel|title=Hot Country Songs 1944 to 2008|publisher=Record Research, Inc|year=2008|page=149|isbn=0-89820-177-2 and #14 on the RPM (magazine)|RPM country charts in Canada. While the album's other three singles failed to make Top 40 on the country charts in the U.S., the second single ("A Heart with 4 Wheel Drive") was also a Top 20 hit in Canada, and the album sold more than 200,000 copies in the United States. http://nashville.bizjournals.com/nashville/stories/2003/03/03/daily33.html Music City Artists signs 4Runner as client
Due to a restructuring of Polydor, 4 Runner was transferred to A& M Records for its second album, One for the Ages . Although its lead off single "That Was Him (This Is Now)" entered the country charts, the album itself was not released due to the closure of Polydor/A& M's Nashville unit in 1996 (the parent of both labels at the time, PolyGram , decided to consolidate all Nashville operations under the Mercury Records Nashville name). http://www0.epinions.com/content_3405422724 4 Runner: the return of country 4 part harmony 4 Runner soon disbanded, and Chapman returned to working as an art teacher. http://www.amayesingmedia.com/Cedar_Grove.html Cedar Grove
Reunion
In 2002, three of the original members re-united, with Michael Lusk taking Crittenden's place as baritone vocalist. http://www.oldies.com/artist-biography/4-Runner.html 4 Runner Biography : OLDIES.com They released an a cappella rendition of the Christmas song " What Child Is This " late that year with Chapman singing bass. A second album, Getaway Car , was released in 2003, producing a #59 single in "Forrest County Line". The title track was later a Top 40 country hit for The Jenkins in 2004, and a #21 Adult Contemporary hit for Hall & Oates in 2005. 4 Runner also provided background vocals on Craig Morgan (singer)|Craig Morgan 's 2003 single "God, Family and Country",cite album-notes |title=I Love It |bandname=Craig Morgan |year=2002 |publisher=Broken Bow Records |publisherid=BB-75672 which they also recorded on Getaway Car . This album included their own rendition of "Love a Little Stronger" as well. Shortly after Getaway Car was recorded, a single called "We Will Hope With You" was released although it was never put on an album. Craig Morris departed the group as well, with Chapman saying that the group was "in transition", and 4 Runner was disbanded once more.
Discography
Albums
Title
Album details
Peak chart positions
US Country
US
US Heat
CAN Country
4 Runner
Release date: May 9, 1995
Label: Polydor Records|Polydor Nashville
Getaway Car
Release date: July 15, 2003
Label: Fresh
"—" denotes releases that did not chart
Singles
Year
Single
Peak chart positions
Album
US Country
US
CAN Country
1995
26
118
14
4 Runner
"A Heart with 4 Wheel Drive"
"Home Alone"
1996
57
—
82
"That Was Him (This Is Now)"
2002
—
—
*
Single only
2003
—
—
*
Getaway Car
"Forrest County Line"
2004
—
—
*
2005
—
—
*
Single only
"—" denotes releases that did not chart * denotes unknown peak positions
Music videos
Year
Title
1995
"A Heart with 4 Wheel Drive"
"Home Alone"
1996
2002
2003
"Forrest County Line"
2004
References
reflist Category:A& M Records artists Category:American country music groups Category:Musical groups from Nashville, Tennessee Category:Vocal quartets Category:Musical groups disestablished in 2005 Category:Polydor Records artists
Copyright Citations
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