Chris Van Cleave has independently produced seven albums and the score for two musicals. His initial major label release "The Friend Ship" was on Paramount Records with Walker Daniels and Laura Branigan in the folk-rock group "Meadow".

In addition to performing his music in concerts throughout his travels, he has opened for Kansas, Poco, Eric Burdon, Leon Russell, and Buckwheat Zydeco. As a recording artist and songwriter, he has collaborated with many, including Suzi Quatro, Jim McCarty (Yardbirds), Peter Mason (Bee Gees, Dave Dee) and Barry Mason (writer of hits for Tom Jones and Englebert Humperdink).

Chris has also collaborated with international organisations (such as Friends of the Earth and The First Earth Run) to write songs for specific occasions. In the summer of 2021, Chris' song "Carry the Flame", originally written to support The First Earth Run in 1986, was re-recorded into two arrangements to support the Vigil for Peace and Ecology and the International Day of Peace.

“With timelessly crafted songs as powerfully emotive as "Laugh With You" and "Simply Love" and a voice that simultaneously encompasses the power of Scott Walker with the tenderness of Jackson Browne, Van Cleave would be rubbing shoulders with Nanci Griffith and Lyle Lovett if justice and talent were the deciding factor in the music business.” - Q Magazine

“Van Cleave's voice is clear and expressive, providing fertile ground for his lush lyrical landscape....With a range that slides easily from bass to tenor, he is compared to Gordon Lightfoot, John Denver, or Dan Fogelberg.” - Port Folio Weekly