Remember When Eric Church Released ‘Chief’?
The 12-track project took the superstar’s career to the next level.
Eric Church; Photo by Anthony D’Angio, Chief Courtesy Instagram
On this day in 2011, Eric Church released his third studio album, Chief.
The project featured 12 tracks and took the North Carolina native’s career to new heights.
Among the tracks included on the album are Church’s first two No. 1 hits on the country charts, “Drink In My Hand” and “Springsteen,” plus the Top 10 hits “Creepin’” and “Like Jesus Does” and the Top 20 release, “Homeboy.”
When reflecting on the album in a conversation with his record label, Church explained the title and shared how it combined his road nickname with his grandfather’s title as the chief of police in Granite Falls, North Carolina.
“Chief became my nickname on the road, really as a joke for the last couple years,” he explained at the time. “We have been playing a lot of little bars and clubs and honkytonks where the lights are about a foot from your face. And I wore contacts, where this all started, the initial inception was, my contacts would fall out, pop out on stage, and I would be blind for half the show, so I started wearing sunglasses, then I put on a hat to stop the sweat and it just became this thing.”
Church said he tried to adjust his new on-stage look, consisting of the hat and sunglasses, as they made their way into bigger venues but it didn’t work out so well.
“People in the crowds would have on hats and sunglasses and wouldn’t let me adjust that, so it just became this thing naturally. So, that was show time, it was kind of my uniform,” he said. “The band starting joking with me, when I put the hat and sunglasses on, they go ‘Alright, its Chief time, Chief’s here.’ But I laughed about it, it was a joke.”
Unbeknownst to his band, the nickname Chief actually had a deeper meaning for Church.
“The really cool part of the story, my grandpa was the chief of police in Granite Falls, North Carolina, and everybody called him Chief. Everybody, my dad called him chief as his son-in-law, so it was just very neat to me, that across generations, it became my nickname naturally and nobody knew about it being my grandpa’s nickname, nobody,” he pointed out.
So, when it was time to name the album, Chuch didn’t have to think twice.
“When it came time to title the record, because it felt live, and because it was something I wanted to show — a part of the live show, Chief was the right title from my point of view, but also because of my grandfather and what he meant to me. And I just thought it was the right title, and you know it happened so naturally, it happened so not thought out,” he added. “When I said the title of the record, I had to explain to everyone why, you know. They were going, ‘What’s Chief?’ ‘Well, Chief’s a nickname.’ Then it became a cool thing when they heard about it being my grandfather’s nickname, too. It just felt like the perfect title to me.”
From that point on, Church became known as Chief and soon, he will bring that namesake to life with the opening of his very own Nashville bar, restaurant, and music venue, Chief’s.
The highly-anticipated six-story project is set to open at 200 Broadway sometime in 2023. See a sneak peek inside HERE.
Chief Track List:
1.“Creepin” (Eric Church, Marv Green)
2. “Drink In My Hand” (Eric Church, Michael P. Heeney, Luke Laird)
3. “Keep On” (Eric Church, Ryan Tyndell)
4. “Like Jesus Does” (Casey Beathard, Monty Criswell)
5. “Hungover & Hard Up” (Eric Church, Luke Laird)
6. “Homeboy” (Eric Church, Casey Beathard)
7. “Country Music Jesus” (Eric Church, Jeremy Spillman)
8. “Jack Daniels” (Eric Church, Jeff Hyde, Lynn Hutton)
9. “Springsteen” (Eric Church, Jeff Hyde, Ryan Tyndell)
10. “I’m Gettin’ Stoned” (Eric Church, Jeff Hyde, Casey Beathard, Jeremy Cradey)
11. “Over When It’s Over” (Eric Church, Luke Laird)
Lauren Jo Black is a longtime country music journalist, editor, host, and media personality whose work has helped shape the conversation around country music for nearly two decades. As the current Editor-in-Chief of Country Now, she has become one of the genre’s most respected voices, interviewing hundreds of country music’s biggest stars, including Dolly Parton, Garth Brooks, Reba McEntire, Shania Twain, Randy Travis, Luke Bryan, Carrie Underwood, Blake Shelton, Luke Combs, and countless others. Over the course of her career, Black’s written work and interviews have reached billions of country music fans worldwide. A 2009 graduate of the University of Central Florida, Black began her career by founding Country Music Is Love, one of country music’s earliest independent digital publications, which she later sold to a major record label in 2015 before it was rebranded as Sounds Like Nashville. She then served as the publication’s Editor-in-Chief for more than two years. Her work has also appeared in Forbes, and she previously served as the Country Music Expert for Answers.com. Widely recognized for her expertise, Black has appeared as a featured guest on The Bobby Bones Show, BobbyCast, and Scripps News Morning Rush, providing insight on country music’s biggest moments. She has also hosted Country Now Live, a concert series featuring performances from artists including Lady A, Dierks Bentley, Riley Green, Jordan Davis, Dustin Lynch, Gabby Barrett, Brett Young, Jon Pardi, Kip Moore, Chris Young, and more. The series has welcomed thousands of fans in person while reaching millions more online. In addition, she hosted Connect With Country Now, a weekly interview series featuring conversations with rising country stars. Throughout her career, Black has earned a reputation for discovering and championing artists long before they become household names. She has covered Luke Bryan since the early days of his career, beginning when he was writing songs for other artists, including Billy Currington’s No. 1 hit “Good Directions,” before stepping into the spotlight with his debut single, “All My Friends Say” and eventually becoming one of biggest names in music. She also gave Megan Moroney her first opportunity to walk a major red carpet as Country Now’s official guest correspondent at the 2022 CMA Awards. An interview she conducted in 2018 for Forbes.com with Luke Combs that inspired his multi-week No. 1 hit, “Doin’ This.” She has also hosted stages at CMA Fest, moderated an industry panel at Country Radio Seminar, and helped lead important conversations about the evolving landscape of country music media. Beyond journalism, Black has also used her platform to support charitable causes and highlight organizations making an impact. Through Country Now Live, she has helped raise awareness and support for St. Jude Children’s Research Hospital, while also advocating for animal rescue through Country Now’s Pupdate series, spotlighting organizations including MuttNation Foundation, Wags & Walks, and Proverbs 12:10 Animal Rescue. Black has been recognized as one of Country Aircheck’s Women of Influence and received the 2012 Rising Star Award from the University of Central Florida. She is a longtime member of both the Country Music Association (CMA) and the Academy of Country Music (ACM). After nearly 20 years covering country music, Lauren Jo Black has spent her career telling the stories behind the artists, songs, and moments that have shaped the genre. Her first-ever book, Country Music Forever: An A-to-Z Celebration of Icons, Songs and Stories, brings that same passion and firsthand knowledge to the page, celebrating not only the legendary artists and timeless songs that have become the soundtrack to generations of fans, but also the places, traditions, and cultural moments that have made country music one of the most beloved genres around the world.
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