Born in North Carolina on This Day in 1977, the Modern-Day Country Music Outlaw Known to Fans as “The Chief”
Known for No. 1 hits like “Springsteen” and “Drink in My Hand”, Kenneth Eric Church celebrates his 49th birthday today. Born May 3, 1977, in Granite Falls, North Carolina, the modern-day maverick freely admits, ” I enjoy the antagonistic.” Carrying the torch for original outlaw greats like Waylon Jennings and Willie Nelson, Church has spent two decades in country music actively doing the opposite of what the Nashville establishment demands. His defiance hasn’t prohibited his success—in fact ensuring it, in many ways.
In addition to working at a furniture upholstery company where his father was president, Eric Church bought his first guitar at 13. He also began writing his own songs, eventually landing a steady gig at a local bar by his senior year of high school.
As a student at Appalachian State University in Boone, North Carolina, Church formed a band called the Mountain Boys with his college roommate, brother, and fellow guitarist. They became regulars on the North Carolina bar scene.
Testing the waters, Church began sprinkling original tunes into the Mountain Boys’ cover sets. He was surprised when people began requesting them at future shows.
[RELATED: Eric Church Performs Show Two Days After Breaking His Foot in Freak Accident]
Eric Church Started Out Writing for Other Artists
After graduating from Appalachian State University with a bachelor’s degree in marketing, Eric Church moved to Nashville to pursue songwriting professionally. At the time, his plans didn’t extend beyond that.
“I just never thought it was viable for me to be able to go and get a record deal. It never crossed my mind,” Church told Bobby Bones last year. “It just wasn’t something I thought I could do.”
He showed off his songwriting chops on Terri Clark’s 2005 single “The World Needs a Drink” and Dean Miller’s “Whiskey Wings”. His work caught the attention of several record labels, although none of them considered Church’s music “interesting” enough for a record deal.
His song “Lightning”, which he wrote after watching the 1999 film The Green Mile, quite literally changed their tune. Signing with Capitol Records, Church’s first single, “How ‘Bout You,” cracked the Top 15 on the Hot Country Songs chart.
In July 2006, he released his debut album, Sinners Like Me, which spawned another pair of Top 20 hits: “Two Pink Lines” and “Guys Like Me”. Church’s third album, 2011’s Chief, gave him his first No. 1 singles with “Drink In My Hand” and “Springsteen”. It also won Album of the Year at the 2012 CMA Awards.
Eight studio albums later, ” I’m way more thoughtful about my place in country music,” Church told Rolling Stone last year. “I don’t think 15 years ago I would have said the same thing, because I was very brash and ‘I’m gonna do what I’m gonna do, f— y’all.’ But you’ve got to evolve.”
Featured image by Jason Kempin/Getty Images for The Michael J. Fox Foundation for Parkinson’s Research
