Eric Church
Eric Church | |
|---|---|
 Eric Church (center) and his band, 2007. | |
| Background information | |
| Birth name | Kenneth Eric Church |
| Origin | Granite Falls, North Carolina, United States |
| Genres | Country |
| Occupation | Singer-songwriter |
| Instrument(s) | Vocals, guitar |
| Years active | 2005–present |
| Labels | Capitol Records Nashville, EMI Nashville |
| Website | www.ericchurch.com |
Kenneth Eric Church (born May 3, 1977 in Granite Falls, North Carolina) is an American country music singer and songwriter. Signed to Capitol Records in 2006, Church released his debut album Sinners Like Me that year. This album produced four chart singles on the Billboard country charts, including the Top 20 hits "How 'Bout You," "Two Pink Lines" and "Guys Like Me." His second album, 2009's Carolina, has produced three more singles: "Smoke a Little Smoke" and his first two Top 10 hits "Love Your Love the Most" and "Hell on the Heart."
Biography
Eric Church grew up in Granite Falls, North Carolina. At age thirteen, 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 unpleasant places. Some of these places were so rough that he got into a few altercations from the stage. For a few years, his band played often in bars and restaurants throughout North Carolina.[1] His band consisted of his college roommate, brother, and other fellow guitarist, temporarily naming their band the "Mountain Boys."[2]
Before moving to Nashville, he graduated from South Caldwell High School and Appalachian State University with a degree in marketing. He later became engaged to a woman, her father then attempted to persuaded Church to accept a corporate career. Church just about gave up on music, but instead left his fiancé and headed to Nashville, Tennessee. His father paid for his first six months in Nashville, so the financial cushion his father provided him gave him time to make contacts.[1] Eric eventually found a publishing deal at Sony/ATV Tree Music Publishing. Terri Clark took "The World Needs a Drink," which Church wrote with Casey Beathard, into the country top 30.[2] Church married music publisher Katherine Blasingame on Jan 8, 2008. On March 24, 2011, the couple announced they are expecting their first child in Oct 2011. http://www.theboot.com/2011/03/24/eric-church-wife-baby/ Their home (along with Eric's "mancave"), located in Nashville, TN, was featured in an episode of CMT "Cribs".[3]
Music career
![[icon]](/enwiki/wiki/File:Wiki_letter_w_cropped.svg){kind=small} | This section needs expansion with: More info on each album, critical reception. You can help by adding to it. (December 2009) |
2006-2007: Sinners Like Me
Arthur Buenahora at the publishing company later introduced Church to producer Jay Joyce. Following a showcase, Church signed to Capitol Records' Nashville division. His first single, "How 'Bout You," peaked at #14 on the Hot Country Songs charts and led off his debut album Sinners Like Me. In April 2006, Church performed on the Grand Ole Opry for the first time.[4]
The album's other two singles, "Two Pink Lines" and "Guys Like Me," both reached the country Top 20 as well.[2] The fourth single, which was the title track, peaked at #51. An additional track from the album, "Lightning," was made into a music video despite not being released as a single. Church wrote this song shortly after his moving to Nashville, and was inspired to write it after seeing the movie The Green Mile.[4] Following the album's success, Church toured with Brad Paisley and Rascal Flatts.[4]
2008-2010: Carolina
In 2008, 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 #55 in late April 2008, and reached its peak of #46 in August. Originally slated as the lead single to an upcoming second album, "His Kind of Money" was never released on an album but it was included as a bonus track on albums sold at Best Buy. Following this song was "Love Your Love the Most," which debuted in late 2008 and is the first single from his second album Carolina, released on March 24, 2009.[2] That same month, "Love Your Love the Most" brought Church to the country top ten for the first time, peaking at #10 in September. As with his debut album, Carolina was produced by Jay Joyce, and is entirely composed of songs that Church co-wrote. The album's second single, "Hell on the Heart," debuted in October 2009 and would also hit the top 10 in May 2010. In June 2010 Eric moved to Capitol Nashville's new imprint EMI Records Nashville and became the label's second artist and released the third single from "Carolina" titled "Smoke A Little Smoke". On January 14, 2011, Church released a four song EP entitled "Caldwell County".
2011: Chief
Eric released his new single "Homeboy" to country radio on February 28, 2011. The album featuring the new single is titled Chief and was released July 26, 2011. The album debuted at number one on the Billboard 200 and the Top Country Albums, giving Church first number one album on both charts.[5] In addition, the album sold 145,000 copies in its first week.[5]
Discography
Studio albums
| Title | Details | Peak chart positions | Certifications (sales threshold) | ||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| US Country [6] |
US [7] |
CAN [8] | |||
| Sinners Like Me |
|
7 | 29 | — | |
| Carolina |
|
4 | 17 | — | |
| Chief |
|
1 | 1 | 7 | |
| "—" denotes releases that did not chart | |||||
Extended plays
| Title | Details | Peak chart positions | |
|---|---|---|---|
| US Country [10] |
US [10] | ||
| Caldwell County |
|
13 | 67 |
Singles
| Year | Single | Peak chart positions |
Certifications (sales threshold) |
Album | |||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| US Country [11] |
US [12] | ||||||||
| 2006 | "How 'Bout You" | 14 | 85 | Sinners Like Me | |||||
| "Two Pink Lines" | 19 | — | |||||||
| 2007 | "Guys Like Me" | 17 | 99 | ||||||
| "Sinners Like Me" | 51 | — | |||||||
| 2008 | "His Kind of Money (My Kind of Love)" | 46 | — | Non-album song | |||||
| 2009 | "Love Your Love the Most" | 10 | 63 |
|
Carolina | ||||
| "Hell on the Heart" | 10 | 67 | |||||||
| 2010 | "Smoke a Little Smoke" | 16 | 78 |
| |||||
| 2011 | "Homeboy" | 13 | 56 |
|
Chief | ||||
| "Drink in My Hand"A[14] | — | — | |||||||
| "—" denotes releases that did not chart | |||||||||
- A Current single.
Music videos
| Year | Video | Director |
|---|---|---|
| 2006 | "How 'Bout You" | Scott Speer |
| "Two Pink Lines" | Peter Zavadil | |
| 2007 | "Guys Like Me" | Scott Speer |
| "Lightning" | David McClister | |
| 2009 | "Love Your Love the Most" | Adam Hall |
| 2010 | "Hell on the Heart" | |
| "Ain't Killed Me Yet" | ||
| "Smoke a Little Smoke" | Peter Zavadil | |
| 2011 | "Homeboy" |
Awards and nominations
| Year | Association | Category | Result |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2011 | Academy of Country Music Awards | Top New Solo Vocalist | Won |
| Top New Artist | Nominated |
References
- ^ a b "Eric Church: Recession-era country star (interview; CD: 'Carolina')". Retrieved 2010-05-18.
- ^ a b c d Ruhlmann, William. "Eric Church biography". Allmusic. Retrieved 2008-12-27.
- ^ "Eric Church Marries in North Carolina". CMT News. January 15, 2008. Retrieved February 27, 2010.
- ^ a b c Morris, Edward (2006-08-02). "Church Turns Heads With Sinners Like Me". CMT. Retrieved 5 December 2009.
- ^ a b "Eric Church Lands First No. 1 Album, Amy Winehouse Climbs Into Top 5". Billboard. Prometheus Global Media. Retrieved August 3, 2011.
- ^ "Eric Church Album & Song Chart History - Country Albums". Billboard. Prometheus Global Media. Retrieved May 25, 2011.
- ^ "Eric Church Album & Song Chart History - Billboard 200". Billboard. Prometheus Global Media. Retrieved May 25, 2011.
- ^ "Eric Church Album & Song Chart History - Canadian Albums". Billboard. Prometheus Global Media. Retrieved August 4, 2011.
- ^ "Eric Church strikes Gold". Country Standard Time. Retrieved May 25, 2011.
- ^ a b "Eric Church : Allmusic : Billboard Albums". Allmusic. Retrieved May 25, 2011.
- ^ "Eric Church Album & Song Chart History - Country Songs". Billboard. Prometheus Global Media. Retrieved May 25, 2011.
- ^ "Eric Church Album & Song Chart History - Hot 100". Billboard. Prometheus Global Media. Retrieved May 25, 2011.
- ^ a b c "RIAA - Recording Industry Association of America - Searchable Database". Recording Industry Association of America. Retrieved May 25, 2011.
- ^ "Billboard.com". Billboard. Retrieved August 5, 2011.