Chris Moses is a country star on the rise and the singer behind the viral anthem, “First Last Names.” But long before he was thinking about performing in front of live audiences, earning countless streams, and experiencing unimaginable viral moments with his solo-penned songs, he was living out a small-town lifestyle in Benton, Tennessee, with a single red light.
All that changed, however, when he received his first guitar—a cheap “First Act electric guitar from Walmart.” Despite its generic look and poor quality, Moses says the instrument, given to him as a gift by his parents when he was 8 years old, means more to him on a personal level.
“To me, it might as well have been a Gibson Les Paul. I loved that thing, and I actually still have it in my garage,” Moses told Music Mayhem in a recent interview about his beloved and priceless Christmas gift, which helped him learn his first-ever song—Bob Dylan’s “Knockin’ On Heaven’s Door.” “I will never let go of it.”
For Moses, one freshly learned song led to another, and eventually to more instruments. “I went on years later as a teenager, learning other instruments like piano and mandolin, which led me to be in a southern gospel bluegrass group at 18 for a few years.”
Those early years helped shape Moses into a promising artist as he built an incredible musical foundation, giving him a reason to move to Nashville in December 2017. Although Moses’s vocals are clear, distinctive, and tailor-made for country radio, he intended to focus solely on songwriting in Music City.
“I never actually wanted to be an artist. I just wanted to be a songwriter,” Moses, inspired by artists like HARDY and ERNEST, confirmed before recalling his experience in the city often referred to as “a 10-year town.” “You go through years of nothing happening, and you start questioning yourself and doubting yourself.”
No exception to that rule, Moses, a family man, nearly gave up on his dreams with plans to move back to East Tennessee. Ironically enough, just months into living back home, a song he wrote specifically for his three young daughters was the tune that carried enough weight to bring him back to Nashville. That song is called “First Last Names.”
“With this song, it was something special for my kids, and I decided to cut it,” Moses shared of the deeply personal track that has taken off.
“I decided I wanted to cut it as a final attempt at music,” he remembered. “I hit up Brad Hill (Kameron Marlowe) to produce it… And now that it has gotten some traction…. We are moving back to Nashville a few weeks from now…. To see the connection with this song means everything.”
Sharing the story behind the solo-penned track that has changed his life, Moses said he had dived into writing from a father’s perspective. He explained that nothing stuck until 2024, when a lightbulb went off in his head, and he made a note of it.
“I had this idea I jotted down in my notebook of ‘little girls and first last names change so fast.’ Then I remember one day, after a long day of work, I came outside, and toys were everywhere in the yard. I stopped for a moment and just took it in. The realization hit me that one day there won’t be any more toys to pick up. That’s where the first line of the song came from,” Moses explained. “So I put myself in the mindset of what life would be like in 20 years as a girl dad, and that’s how I wrote the song.”
As the song found its fanbase, it began to take on new meaning for others that Moses never anticipated. In fact, the stunning ballad with its stripped-back feel has resonated with folks planning out their wedding details.
“It was pretty surreal. I honestly didn’t even write the song thinking that it would be a wedding song. I just wanted to write a song that showed how much I loved my daughters,” Moses said in awe of the fan response to the song. “To see that so many people wanted it for their father-daughter dance just shows you a song can have different perspectives for different people. I’m glad people see it as a wedding song!”
View this post on Instagram
“Man, the first week it was released, there were two weddings using it for their father-daughter dance,” he added. “It’s hard to believe that I wrote something that someone would want to use for one of the biggest days of their lives. I’m so incredibly thankful and honored.”
Further recognition from high-profile artists followed in quieter but meaningful ways. When HARDY liked one of his Instagram videos featuring the song, Moses felt a strong sense of validation, particularly because HARDY is one of his songwriting heroes.
“I love everything Hardy is doing right now. As a songwriter, I’ve learned a lot from just watching him from afar and studying the songs he wrote to better myself at writing. So yeah, I was pumped when that notification popped up,” Moses raved.
At home, the reaction was both immediate and emotional.
“My wife loved the song as soon as she heard it,” Moses noted of his wife, Tayler, who is also a singer. “She heard several versions of it, and by the time I nailed down the final, she knew it was special. My daughters were so happy the first time they heard it that there was a song about them. Now they sing it as loud as they can whenever it’s played, and that never will get old to me.”
Of his relationship with his wife, Moses says their story began like many others in a high-tech world. “I slid into her DMs, and she responded… We both attended Lee University at the time.”
Moses, who sings with his wife on the couple’s social media pages, also noted that a duet isn’t off the table. “We have definitely talked about releasing a duet or even as a duo. We have a couple of songs that we’ve written together that would be great,” he said. “But we haven’t made any decision on actually cutting a song together.”
For now, Moses says he plans to focus on his solo releases. “I will be releasing more music this year,” he said. “I plan on getting back in the studio around March to cut some more songs.”
View this post on Instagram
To stay up-to-date with Chris Moses, follow him on Instagram.
