Eric Church

All Music Guide:

Country singer/songwriter/guitarist Eric Church grew up in Granite Falls, North Carolina, and began singing as a child. At 13, he started writing songs, later teaching himself to play guitar. While attending college at Appalachian State, he formed a band, the Mountain Boys, that played around western North Carolina. After graduating with a degree in marketing, he moved to Nashville, Tennessee, to pursue a career in country music. It took him a year to get a song publishing deal with Sony/ATV Tree, after which he started getting his songs recorded by other artists, an example being Terri Clark's version of "The World Needs a Drink." He met producer Jay Joyce, who took an interest in him as a recording artist, and they began making demos. That led to his being signed by Capitol Records Nashville. His debut single, "How 'Bout You," was released in early 2006, and it had reached the country Top 20 by the time Capitol released his first album, Sinners Like Me, on July 18, 2006. The album was both a critical and commercial success, and Church followed it up with Carolina in 2009, in which he swung for the contemporary country fences and hit them, scoring two Top Ten singles on the country charts with "Love Your Love the Most" (certified gold), and "Hell on the Heart." He scored another gold single with "Smoke a Little Smoke" in 2010. He won Top New Solo Vocalist at the Academy of Country Music Awards for that calendar year. After extensive touring, Church released the extended play Caldwell County EP in January of 2011, which reached the number 13 position on the Billboard country chart, as did the single "Homeboy." Church followed with the album Chief in July.

Wikipedia:

Kenneth Eric Church (born May 3, 1977) is an American country music singer-songwriter. Signed to Capitol Records in 2006, his debut album Sinners Like Me produced four singles on the Billboard country chart, including the Top 20 hits "How 'Bout You," "Two Pink Lines," and "Guys Like Me." His second album, 2009's Carolina, produced three more singles: "Smoke a Little Smoke" and his first Top 10 hits, "Love Your Love the Most" and "Hell on the Heart." 2011's Chief, his first No. 1 album, includes the singles "Homeboy," "Drink in My Hand," which became his first No. 1 single in January 2012, and "Springsteen," which became his second No. 1 single in June 2012.

Early life [edit]

Eric was born and raised in Granite Falls, North Carolina. At 13, he bought a guitar and began writing songs of his own. By his senior year of high school, he had found a gig at a local bar, which occupied most of his time. He played many Jimmy Buffett cover songs and a few of his own original songs in some dive bars. Some of these places were so rough that he got into a few altercations from the stage. For a few years, the band played often in bars and restaurants throughout North Carolina. The band "Mountain Boys" consisted of his college roommate, brother, and a fellow guitarist.

Before moving to Nashville, Eric graduated from South Caldwell High School and then Appalachian State University with a degree in marketing. Upon graduation, Church became engaged. The future bride's father attempted to persuade Eric into a corporate career, which he rejected as an aspiring musician. She broke the engagement and he headed to Nashville with his father's financial backing. His father also provided the opportunity to make contacts, and more importantly, time to focus on developing his songwriting ability .

Music career [edit]

2006-2007: Sinners Like Me [edit]

Arthur Buenahora Jr. signed him to a publishing deal with Sony/ATV Tree Music Publishing. Church co-wrote Terri Clark's 2005 single "The World Needs a Drink", and the track "Whiskey Wings" on Dean Miller's 2005 album Platinum.

He started recording with different producers. Capitol Nashville showed an interest and watched him perform but they were yet to be convinced enough to offer a recording contract. Autumn House-Tallant told HitQuarters that they didn't think the music was interesting enough. The record company's attitude changed after he started working with producer Jay Joyce. The strong sound and direction the two forged together finally convinced Capitol Nashville that he was ready. His first single, "How 'Bout You" peaked at No. 14 on Hot Country Songs and led off his debut album Sinners Like Me. In April 2006, he performed on the Grand Ole Opry for the first time.

The album's other two singles, "Two Pink Lines" and "Guys Like Me", both reached the Top 20 as well. The fourth single, the title track, peaked at No. 51. An additional track from the album, "Lightning", was made into a music video despite not being released as a single. Church wrote the song shortly after moving to Nashville, inspired by the movie The Green Mile. Following the album's success, Church toured with Brad Paisley and Rascal Flatts.

2008-2010: Carolina [edit]

In 2008, Eric Church released a fifth single, "His Kind of Money (My Kind of Love)" to country radio. It debuted on the Billboard Hot Country Songs chart at No. 55 in early 2008, and reached its peak of No. 46 in August. Originally slated as the lead single to an upcoming second album, "His Kind of Money" was instead included as a bonus track on albums sold at Best Buy.

Following this song was "Love Your Love the Most", which debuted in early 2009 and was the first single from his second album Carolina, released in stores on March 24, 2009. The night before the official release, Church and Capital Records distributed copies of the album on the campus of Church's alma mater, Appalachian State University, during a "release party" concert. As with his debut album, Carolina was produced by Jay Joyce, and is entirely composed of songs that he co-wrote. "Love Your Love the Most" brought Church to the top 10 for the very first time, peaking at No. 10 in September 2009. The album's second single, "Hell on the Heart", debuted in October 2009 and would also hit the top 10 in May 2010. The third single from "Carolina" was "Smoke A Little Smoke".

In June 2010 he moved to Capitol Nashville's new imprint EMI Records Nashville, becoming their second artist. On January 14, 2011, he released a four song EP entitled Caldwell County.

2011-2013: Chief [edit]

Church released "Homeboy" to country radio in early 2011. The album Chief was released July 26, 2011, debuting at No. 1 on both Top Country Albums and the Billboard 200. The album sold 145,000 copies in its first week. On November 30, 2011, Chief was announced as a nominee for the 2012 Grammy Awards for Best Country Album. In January 2012 "Drink in My Hand" became his first No. 1 single. In February 2012, "Springsteen" was released as the third single from Chief. In an interview with American Songwriter, Church stated that the song was about "a love affair that takes place in an amphitheater between two people. It didn’t happen with Springsteen, ironically, it happened with another artist.” The song went on to become a Number One country hit, as well as his first Top 20 single on the Billboard Hot 100. The album's fourth single, "Creepin'", was released to country radio on July 16, 2012. Church lended his vocals for a Jason Aldean song titled, "The Only Way I Know" along Luke Bryan which appeared on Aldean's album Night Train. The fifth single from Chief, "Like Jesus Does," was released in January 2013.

In September 2012, Church announced that he plans to release his first-ever live album in early 2013, containing recordings of performances at the Tivoli Theatre in Chattanooga, Tennessee, on October 8 and 9, 2012. On February 8, the live album's title was announced as Caught in the Act, with a release date set for April 9. Church has stated he plans to take some time off from music in 2013 to focus on his songwriting and musical direction. At the 2012 CMA Awards in November, Church's album Chief won Album of The Year. In November it was announced that Church would co-headline Kenny Chesney's No Shoes Nation Tour alongside Chesney, Zac Brown Band, and Eli Young Band. In December, Eric was honored as one of the CMT Artists of the Year Awards; his award was presented by Kid Rock and he received a video message of congratulations from Metallica's James Hetfield.

Personal life [edit]

On January 8, 2008, Church married music publisher Katherine Blasingame in Blowing Rock, North Carolina. On October 3, 2011, they welcomed son Boone McCoy Church. Their home (along with Eric's "mancave"), located in Nashville, was featured in an episode of CMT's Cribs.

Church wears his signature aviator sunglasses as a result of wearing contact lenses. When his career was getting started, he was forced to deal with the heat from the stage lights drying out his contacts. As he began performing in larger venues, his aviators and trucker hat became his signature trademark.

Musical styles [edit]

Eric's style has been described as country rock, outlaw country, and southern rock. Church's influences include Hank Williams Jr., Merle Haggard, Little Feat, The Band, Kris Kristofferson and Waylon Jennings. bands influenced his music, including Metallica and AC/DC.

Tour [edit]