<p><strong><a title="ERIC CHURCH" href="https://countrymusicontour.com/eric-church-tour-dates/">ERIC CHURCH</a> CEMENTS SEVENTH NO. 1, “RECORD YEAR”</strong></p>
<p><i>Church’s second single reaches summit on </i>Billboard<i> and MediaBase as he prepares for back-to-back solo shows at the <a title="Red Rocks" href="https://ticketmaster.evyy.net/c/1224809/264167/4272?subId1=WPScmnbRedRocks&u=https%3A%2F%2Fwww.ticketmaster.com%2Fred-rocks-amphitheatre-tickets-morrison%2Fvenue%2F245763&partnerpropertyid=5213910&MediaPartnerPropertyId=5213910">Red Rocks</a> Amphitheatre Aug. 9 and 10</i></p>
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<p>NASHVILLE, Tenn. (Aug. 1, 2016) – <strong><a title="Eric Church" href="https://countrymusicontour.com/eric-church-tour-dates/">Eric Church</a>’s</strong> second single off <i>Mr. Misunderstood</i> hit No. 1 today just in time for fans to celebrate his seventh summit to the top of both MediaBase and <i>Billboard</i> charts when he kicks-off his first of two sold-out solo shows at <a title="Red Rocks" href="https://ticketmaster.evyy.net/c/1224809/264167/4272?subId1=WPScmnbRedRocks&u=https%3A%2F%2Fwww.ticketmaster.com%2Fred-rocks-amphitheatre-tickets-morrison%2Fvenue%2F245763&partnerpropertyid=5213910&MediaPartnerPropertyId=5213910">Red Rocks</a> on August 9. “Record Year” was co-written by Church and his guitarist/banjo player, <strong>Jeff Hyde</strong> (who also penned “Cold One” (with Luke Hutton), “Springsteen” (with Ryan Tyndell), and “Smoke A Little Smoke” (with Driver Williams) all alongside the man the <i>Los Angeles Times</i> called “Nashville&#8217;s foremost rabble-rouser&#8221;), and outlines a story of a heartbroken music-lover finding consolation in the records of some of music’s greatest masterminds.</p>
<p>Church drove home the homage-paying theme of “Record Year” when he performed it at the 2016 <a title="ACM Awards" href="https://ticketmaster.evyy.net/c/1224809/264167/4272?subId1=WPScmnbACM&u=https%3A%2F%2Fwww.ticketmaster.com%2Facademy-of-country-music-awards-tickets%2Fartist%2F866377&partnerpropertyid=5213910&MediaPartnerPropertyId=5213910">ACM Awards</a> in April, which was interfolded with clips of David Bowie, Glenn Frey, Lemmy and Scott Weiland, before releasing the music video for the ode later that month, featuring a 3D audio waveform Church and video producer/longtime manager, <strong>John Peets</strong>, built by hand with vinyl. The No. 1 follows his Top 15 title track off of <i>Mr. Misunderstood</i>, the album <i>New York Times</i> says offers “shades of the Allman Brothers and the scraped-up Southern rock that has always been essential to Church’s country antagonism here, but also bluesy country gospel.”</p>
<p>Since its release in February, the hit has caught the attention of critics; <i>Los Angeles Times</i> calls the single a, “deeply felt heartbreak song,” <i>Rolling Stone</i> dubbed it “the most moving moment” on the album, while <i>Stereogum</i> called it a, “pun-happy lament” that “does quiet to loud in an efficient gears-changing way that screams professionalism rather than catharsis.”</p>
<p>Whether it’s the direct mentions and subtle allusions to his variety of musical muses such as George Jones, Stevie Wonder, James Brown, Waylon Jennings, <a title="Willie Nelson" href="https://stubhub.prf.hn/click/camref:1100ljXyr/pubref:WPSWNelson/ar:CMNBAutoLink/destination:https%3A%2F%2Fwww.stubhub.com%2Fwillie-nelson-tickets%2F">Willie Nelson</a> and more, or the undeniable responsibility anyone freshly jaded out of a relationship puts on their favorite artists to cope, Church “has always been excellent at balancing <a title="whiskey" href="https://whiskeychick.rocks/branded">whiskey</a>-charged toughness with open-hearted musical subtlety” (<i>Rolling Stone</i>).</p>
<p>Fan loyalty has always meant a lot to the seven-time GRAMMY nominee, ACM and CMA-award winn ing singer/songwriter, which was made obvious when he directly shipped copies of <i>Mr. Misunderstood</i> on vinyl to his Church Choir before making it available to the general public.</p>
<p><u><strong>About <a title="Eric Church" href="https://countrymusicontour.com/eric-church-tour-dates/">Eric Church</a></strong></u></p>
<p>The two-time Country Music Association and four-time Academy of Country Music Award winner cemented his reputation as a maverick by releasing his 2015 album <i>Mr. Misunderstood</i> as a surprise, delivering it to fans before announcing its existence and putting it on sale.</p>
<p>The North Carolina native’s previous album, <i>The Outsiders, </i>debuted at No. 1 on both the <i>Billboard</i> Top 200 Albums Chart and Top Country Albums Chart with the highest debut and sales of any release in the format that year, making Church 2014’s top-selling country music artist. The album garnered GRAMMY, CMA and ACM Album of the Year nominations and featured his No. 1 hits “Give Me B ack My Hometown” and “<a title="Talladega" href="https://ticketmaster.evyy.net/c/1224809/264167/4272?subId1=WPScmnb&subId2=Talladega&u=https%3A%2F%2Fwww.ticketmaster.com%2Ftalladega-superspeedway-tickets-talladega%2Fvenue%2F263068&partnerpropertyid=5213910&MediaPartnerPropertyId=5213910">Talladega</a>,” as well as multiple nominee “Like A Wrecking Ball.” <i>The Outsiders</i> was the follow-up to Church’s Platinum-certified <i>CHIEF</i>, named the 2012 Album of the Year by both CMA and ACM, and GRAMMY-nominated for Best Country Album. The LP featured five Top 20 singles: “Homeboy” (certified Platinum for sales in excess of one million); the Top 10 “Like Jesus Does” and the Top 5 “Creepin’” (both certified Gold for sales in excess of 500,000); and two No. 1 hits “Drink in My Hand” (certified Platinum) and “Springsteen” (certified Double Platinum for sales in excess of 2 million singles). Church’s 2006 debut album, <i>Sinners Like Me</i>, and his sophomore album, <i>Carolina</i>, (2009) are both RIAA Gold certified.</p>
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Eric Church’s "Record Year" Claims No. 1, Both Charts
