ERIC CHURCH CEMENTS SEVENTH NO. 1, “RECORD YEAR”

Church’s second single reaches summit on Billboard and MediaBase as he prepares for back-to-back solo shows at the Red Rocks Amphitheatre Aug. 9 and 10

Eric Church’s second single off Mr. Misunderstood hit No. 1 today just in time for fans to celebrate his seventh summit to the top of both MediaBase and Billboard charts when he kicks-off his first of two sold-out solo shows at Red Rocks on August 9. “Record Year” was co-written by Church and his guitarist/banjo player, Jeff Hyde (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 Los Angeles Times called “Nashville's foremost rabble-rouser”), and outlines a story of a heartbroken music-lover finding consolation in the records of some of music’s greatest masterminds.

Church drove home the homage-paying theme of “Record Year” when he performed it at the 2016 ACM Awards 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, John Peets, built by hand with vinyl. The No. 1 follows his Top 15 title track off of Mr. Misunderstood, the album New York Times 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.”

Since its release in February, the hit has caught the attention of critics; Los Angeles Times calls the single a, “deeply felt heartbreak song,” Rolling Stone dubbed it “the most moving moment” on the album, while Stereogum called it a, “pun-happy lament” that “does quiet to loud in an efficient gears-changing way that screams professionalism rather than catharsis.”

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, Willie Nelson 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 whiskey-charged toughness with open-hearted musical subtlety” (Rolling Stone).

Fan loyalty has always meant a lot to the seven-time GRAMMY nominee, ACM and CMA-award winning singer/songwriter, which was made obvious when he directly shipped copies of Mr. Misunderstood on vinyl to his Church Choir before making it available to the general public.

ERIC CHURCH’S “RECORD YEAR” TAPPED FOR SECOND SINGLE

ACM Entertainer of the Year Nominee Releases New Single from Mr. Misunderstood; 

Hits Radio Airwaves Today

A 2016 Academy of Country Music Awards top nominee, Eric Church drops his second single "Record Year" from Mr. Misunderstood at Country radio today. The new single namechecks Stevie Wonder's Songs In The Key of Life, Willie Nelson's Red Headed Stranger, John Lee Hooker's One Bourbon, One Scotch, One Beer among others from Church's stack of vinyl. Upon the album's surprise release last November, Rolling Stone Magazine dubbed the new single the "most moving moment" on the widely-lauded album.

Church co-wrote "Record Year" with longtime banjo player and guitarist Jeff Hyde who has previously collaborated on hits such as the three-week No. 1 "Springsteen" (along with Ryan Tyndell) from the ACM and CMA Album of the Year Chief and the anthematic Top 20 "Smoke a Little Smoke" (written by Church and Hyde alongside other bandmate Driver Williams) from 2009's Carolina, a release that has since been pointed to as a pivotal shift in musical direction for "our greatest working rock star" (Stereogum).

With poignantly clever lyrics, "Record Year" is Church's ode to a lost love who instead of finding solace in another's arms, finds consolation in a three-foot stack of vinyl:

"Your leavin' left me goin' crazy, I'm countin' on a needle to save me / I drop it in the groove, And we go 'round and 'round, And down in a spiral / I guess I really oughta call and thank you, I rediscovered Red Headed Stranger / Got down with old James Brown, And found New Grass Revival / If you find your way back, I owe you a beer, For my record year"

"Record Year" follows the Top 15 title track, which shipped to radio unexpectedly in conjunction with the album's release last fall. Church recently discussed the reason behind Mr. Misunderstood's sudden issue to ESPN's Marty Smith: "Inspiration. And you can never pick when inspiration is going to strike," Church simply stated. "I hate when you're told 'here's where to make an album'--it doesn't work like that." Church had initially revealed in a letter to his fans that the inspiration for Mr. Misunderstood came from a guitar his son affectionately named "Butter Bean." Thirty days after picking up that guitar, over 80,000 fans received the unannounced album and a note directly from Church on November 4 before it was made available everywhere for purchase later that week.

The New York Times calls Mr. Misunderstood “a love letter to his influences” noting "in his songs, music is fuel for love, for anguish and, naturally, for other music." The Guardian calls the 10-song collection "a gem and the best album of his career." And Rolling Stone Country raves "'Record Year' talks of three seminal J's – Jennings, Jones and James Brown – who all are crucial pillars in Mr. Misunderstood's songbook. But it's a more subtle reference to John Lee Hooker ("one bourbon, one scotch, one beer/I'm having a record year") that shows he's more than comfortable being stuck inside of Mobile with the Memphis — or Delta."

Along with an Album of the Year nod for Mr. Misunderstood, Church is also up for ACM Entertainer of the Year, Male Vocalist of the Year, Video of the Year (for “Mr. Misunderstood”), and Musical Event of the Year for “Raise ‘Em Up” with Keith Urban.