[1] Cryar's debut, Keep No Secrets, was released in 1984, and its singles "Holy Fire" and "Carried Away" received moderate airplay on Christian radio; but it was his 1986 album, Fuel on the Fire, featuring the chart-topping contemporary Christian single (also nominated for a Dove Award for best video), "Pray in the U.S.A.", that began his road to success.
[2][3] Collaborating with producer Roy Salmond and composers Ty Tabor and Doug Pinnick (later of King's X fame) and well-regarded CCM session player, John Andrew Schreiner, Fuel on the Fire contains some "foot-tapping ditties" and "tuneful ballads" that make up Mr. Cryar's vocal performance.
[4] In the 1980s, Cryar toured with big names in the CCM industry, such as Petra and DeGarmo and Key, promoting Fuel on the Fire and his 1989 follow up Like A River to receptive high school and college-age audiences.
In 1998, the hit, "Pray in the U.S.A." was also resurrected from Cryar's back-catalog with a new recording and video shot in honor of the National Day of Prayer.
The reprise features an all-star chorus, including CCM industry "well-knowns": John Schlitt, Bob Hartman, LuLu Roman, members from the Winans family, Rick Cua, Kenny Marks, Lisa Bevill, Randy Thomas and Andy Denton.