Music: Country USA: Eric Church rises, while declaring his "reverence" for the Boss, Bruce Springsteen

A good write-up examines Eric Church's country/rock song-creation energies and declares him currently very much "on fire."  Here Drink in My Hand gets recognition as the current number #1 song on the country hit charts, along with his "Springsteen." Dig it — country/rock at its most popular right now.

— Country Gal, refWrite Backpage music spotter, reviewer, and columnist

Any country artist will tell you playing at the Grand Ole Opry is one of the highest honors they can receive, and Eric Church is no exception. In July, he stepped on the Opry stage while the show was being filmed to be broadcast on GreatAmericanCountry. It wasn’t his first Opry performance, but it was the first time he forgot the words to not one but both of his No. 1 hit songs.

“As I was getting ready to walk onstage, Pete Fisher, head of the Opry, said to me, he was joking, he said, ‘Don’t forget the words,’” Eric told JS Online. “We got through “Creepin’” and “Smoke a Little Smoke,” but we got to “Springsteen” and “Drink in my Hand,” it just steamrolled. One steamrolled into another one. You wait your whole career to have a number one song, and then you get on the frigging Opry on television and you forget the only two number ones that you have.”

Eric handled the situation with humor, knowing all he could do was laugh along with the audience. “When you’ve played as much as we’ve played and you’ve played in the settings we’ve played, you just go with the energy in the room,” he said. “The people there, they were laughing, hell, I was laughing. I’m thinking, here I am on TV, I just looked over at Pete and shook my head, thinking ‘God almighty…’”

Eric was also scheduled for the second Opry show that night. He stepped up to the mic for a do-over performance of his earlier flubs and saw that the Opry had taken precautions to make sure he got things right the second time around.

“During the second set, I didn’t even know the Grand Ole Opry had a teleprompter,” he said. “I just started “Drink in My Hand” and all of a sudden the words to the song appear in the back of the theater. I about lost it again because it was so funny. It was a funny night.”

Eric is currently headlining his Blood, Sweat and Beers Tour with Justin Moore and Kip Moore along as special guests.

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Eric Church’s career is on fire. He’s had back-to-back No. 1 hits with “Drink In My Hand” and “Springsteen”; he’s headlining one of the hottest tours around; and he leads this year’s CMA Awards nominations with five, including Male Vocalist and Album of the Year for Chief. While he’s excited about the recognition, he would have been fine with not receiving a single nod.

“I can say this honestly and truthfully: I’m thrilled that we got five nominations,” he told the Pittsburg Post-Gazette. “If we got zero nominations, I would still do what we do. I can’t make my focus, awards and these things, but I have no control, so I try to control what I can control, which is making the best record we can make and making sure we put on the best live show, and whatever happens after that happens.”

Eric cites everyone from Garth Brooks and Kris Krisofferson to The Band and Bruce Springsteen as an influence. Finding the place where his distinct, rock-tinged sound fits in hasn’t been easy. “There was a time early on in our career where we were too rock for country and too country for rock,” he said. “We were in this area where we didn’t really know where we belonged.”

One of the highlights in his career has been receiving a letter from Bruce Springsteen himself. Written on the back of a set list, the letter praised Eric’s single, “Springsteen.” The piece of paper instantly became one of Eric’s most prized possessions. He values it so much that he doesn’t even look at it.

“It was one of those things where he’s a guy that I revere,” Eric told the paper. “He’s a guy where, it doesn’t matter what kind of genre you listen to, there is no genre when it comes to Springsteen, and I’ve always respected and admired that. I’ve always respected how he’s done his career. So to get a personal note from him on the back of a set list saying he’s a fan of the song and that he hoped our paths crossed, just a really sweet note, it meant the absolute world to me and will always mean the world to me. I’ve got it in a safe place and I’m scared to pull it out and look at it, that’s how much I revere it.”

“Springsteen” is the second No. 1 of Eric’s career. The song is also up for Song and Single of the Year at November’s CMA Awards as well as Video of the Year. While Eric knew it was a special song, he didn’t expect it to take off the way it did.

“When I heard the song back the first time in the studio, I could immediately remember the first concert amphitheater, I could smell the grass, I was there,” he said. “I knew if it could do that with me, it had a chance with everybody. I knew it was special. I just didn’t know it would go on to be the hit it was. Nobody knows that. If they say that, they’re lying to you.”

Eric kicked off the second leg of his Blood, Sweat and Beers Tour in Amherst, Mass., on September 13 with Kip Moore and Justin Moore along as special guests. The tour will run through December.