Personal Life

Born on May 3, 1977, in Granite Falls, North Carolina, Eric Church was raised in a musical family. His father, Ken, was a was president in Clayton Marcus, and his mother, Lynne, was a choir director. Church began playing guitar at the age of thirteen and soon started writing his own songs.

After graduating from high school, Church attended Appalachian State University with a degree in marketing in Boone, North Carolina. He soon joined a local band called Mountain Boys. The band performed at a variety of local venues but ultimately decided to focus on Church’s solo career.

On January 8, 2008, he married music publisher Katherine Blasingame. The couple has two sons together, Boone McCoy (born October 3, 2011) and Tennessee Hawkins (born February 15, 2015).

Career

Church’s musical career began to take off in 2006 with the release of his debut album, Sinners Like Me. The album’s lead single, “How ‘Bout You,” reached the Top 20 on the country charts and helped to put Church on the map. He followed up with his second album, Carolina, in 2009. The album’s lead single, “Smoke a Little Smoke”.

In 2011, Church released his third album, Chief. The album’s lead single, “Springsteen,” became Church’s first No. 1 hit on the country charts. Chief was a huge success, debuting at No. 1 on the Billboard 200 and selling nearly 1.4 million copies.

Church followed up Chief with The Outsiders in 2014. The album debuted at No. 1 on the Billboard 200 and spawned the hit singles “Talladega” and “Give Me Back My Hometown.” In 2015, Church released Mr. Misunderstood, an album of previously unreleased songs. The album was a huge success, debuting at No. 1 on the Billboard 200 and selling nearly 250,000 copies in its first week.

In 2015, Church released his third album, Mr. Misunderstood. The album’s first single, “Record Year,” went to number one on the Country Airplay chart. The album’s second single, “Kill a Word,” featuring Rhiannon Giddens, peaked at number two on the Country Airplay chart. In 2016, Church embarked on his Holdin’ My Own Tour in support of the album. The tour played over 60 shows across the United States and Canada.

On July 12, 2018, Church released his fourth album, Desperate Man. The album included the singles, “Round Here Buzz” and “Some of It”. The album was nominated for Best Country Album at the 61st Grammy Awards.

On April 16, 2021, Church released his fifth album, Heart & Soul. The album includes the singles “Stick That in Your Country Song” and “Hell of a View”.