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Eric Church, birth name Kenneth Eric Church, is a country singer born May 3, 1977 in Granite Falls, North Carolina. The talented vocal artist, who is also a song writer and guitarist, was following his passion by the age of 13. It was at this young age he purchased a guitar and started writing songs. By his last year in high school he was singing and playing his music in local bars in and around his home town.
While attending college at Appalachian State, Eric Church formed a band called the Mountain Boys. The members consisted of his brother, college roommate and another guitarist. For several years the band played in various establishments throughout western North Carolina. Eric Church graduated from Appalachian State College with a degree in marketing. With financial backing from his father, Eric moved to Nashville, Tennessee to pursue his music career.
After a year, Eric got a song publishing deal with Sony/ATV Tree Publishing. This opened the doors for Eric's music, and other artists began to record his songs. Well know country music artist, Terri Clark, recorded her adaptation of his song, "The World Needs a Drink".
Record producer Jay Joyce became interested in Eric's music, and they began making demos. This led to a signing with Capital Records in 2006, and Joyce producing Church's first single "How Bout You". The single reached the country Top 20 list by the time his first album, Sinners Like Me, was released later that year. Sinners Like Me received positive reviews and was a success commercially. Eric's second album, Carolina, was released in 2009. His first Top Ten hits, "Love Your Love the Most" and "Hell on the Heart," came from this album. Eric Church continued to go forward in his music with a third album, Chief, released in 2011. Chief yielded several successful singles, and was the first No. 1 album for this rising country musician. It was also in 2011 that Eric Church was awarded the Top New Solo Vocalist Award at the Academy of Country Music Awards.
In January, 2012, "Drink in My Hand", from Chief album, became his first No. 1 single. His second No. 1 single from the Chief album, "Springsteen", was the first song to be on top of the charts for multiple weeks in June 2012.
Eric Church has been inspired and influenced by musicians such as, The Band, Lowell George, Little Feat, Bruce Springsteen, Tom Petty and Merle Haggard. While Church respects and appreciates the talent and skills of those before him, he is not a follower. He is blazing his own trail in contemporary country music. Don't miss the opportunity to experience the refreshing and energized music of Eric Church in the Fall 2012 Blood, Sweat and Beers Tour coming to a city near you. |
