Chief (album)

Chief
Studio album by Eric Church
Released	July 26, 2011
Recorded	2010–11
Genre	Country outlaw country Southern rock
Length	39:39
Label	EMI Nashville
Producer	Jay Joyce
Eric Church chronology
Carolina (2009) Chief (2011) The Outsiders (2014)
Singles from Chief
"Homeboy" Released: February 28, 2011 "Drink in My Hand" Released: August 15, 2011 "Springsteen" Released: February 21, 2012 "Creepin'" Released: July 16, 2012 "Like Jesus Does" Released: January 28, 2013

Chief is the third studio album by American country music artist Eric Church. It was released on July 26, 2011, via EMI Nashville.^[1] The album produced five singles, including the first two number one singles of his career on the Hot Country Songs chart: "Drink in My Hand" and "Springsteen", two additional top tens on the country chart: "Creepin'" and "Like Jesus Does", as well as the top 20 country hit "Homeboy". On June 20, 2012, Chief was certified Platinum by the RIAA for having shipped 1,000,000 records.^[2] As of July 2015, the album has sold 1,860,000 copies in the United States.^[3]

The album received a nomination for Best Country Album at the 54th Grammy Awards.

Critical reception

Professional ratings
Aggregate scores
Source	Rating
Metacritic	77/100[4]
Review scores
Source	Rating
Allmusic	[5]
Engine 145	[6]
Slant Magazine	[7]
Under The Gun Review	9/10 [8]

Upon its release, Chief received generally positive reviews from most music critics.^[9] At Metacritic, which assigns a normalized rating out of 100 to reviews from mainstream critics, the album received an average score of 77, based on 9 reviews, which indicates "generally favorable reviews".^[9] Allmusic reviewer Thom Jurek gave it 4 stars out of 5, saying that it is "defiant, well-conceived, and more carefully executed than it sounds, with some excellent songs".^[5]

Rolling Stone placed the album at number 19 on its Best Albums of 2011 list.^[10]

Track listing

No.	Title	Writer(s)	Length
1.	"Creepin'"	Eric Church Marv Green	3:52
2.	"Drink in My Hand"	Church Michael P. Heeney Luke Laird	3:11
3.	"Keep On"	Church Ryan Tyndell	2:38
4.	"Like Jesus Does"	Casey Beathard Monty Criswell	3:18
5.	"Hungover & Hard Up"	Church Laird	2:53
6.	"Homeboy"	Church Beathard	3:47
7.	"Country Music Jesus"	Church Jeremy Spillman	3:52
8.	"Jack Daniels"	Church Jeff Hyde Lynn Hutton	5:04
9.	"Springsteen"	Church Hyde Tyndell	4:23
10.	"I'm Gettin' Stoned"	Church Hyde Beathard Jeremy Crady	4:02
11.	"Over When It's Over"	Church Laird	2:39
12.	"Lovin' Me Anyway" (Bonus Track)	Church Green	3:29

Personnel

Compiled from Allmusic.^[11]

Musicians Stephanie Chapman — background vocals Eric Church — lead vocals, Dobro, acoustic guitar, electric guitar J. T. Corenflos — electric guitar Joanna Cotten — background vocals Shelly Fairchild — background vocals Steve Fishell — lap steel guitar, pedal steel guitar Jason Hall — background vocals Lee Hendricks — bass guitar Jedd Hughes — acoustic guitar, banjo, mandolin Jeff Hyde — acoustic guitar, banjo, background vocals Jay Joyce — acoustic guitar, electric guitar, 12-string guitar, Dobro, synthesizer Jaime King — background vocals Luke Laird — acoustic guitar Alfreda McCrary Lee — background vocals Beverly Ann McCrary — background vocals Regina McCrary — background vocals Pat McLaughlin — acoustic guitar, electric guitar, background vocals Giles Reaves — vibraphone Jonathan Singleton — background vocals Bryan Sutton — acoustic guitar, banjo, mandolin Ryan Tyndell — background vocals Charlie Worsham — electric guitar, mandolin Craig Wright — drums, percussion

Technical Arturo Buenahora, Jr. — executive production Joanna Carter — art direction Jason Hall — assistant, engineer Michelle Hall — art production Scott Johnson — production assistant Jay Joyce — production, engineer, mixing Andrew Mendelson — mastering John Peets — photography Matt Wheeler — assistant

Charts and certifications

Weekly charts Chart (2011–13) Peak position Australian Country Albums Chart[12] 13 Canadian Albums Chart[13] 7 UK Country Albums Chart[14] 4 US Billboard 200[15] 1 US Billboard Top Country Albums[15] 1 Year-end charts Chart (2011) Position US Billboard 200[16] 66 US Top Country Albums (Billboard)[17] 15 Chart (2012) Position US Billboard 200 23[18] US Billboard Country Albums 7[18] Chart (2013) Position US Billboard 200 47[19] US Top Country Albums (Billboard)[20] 11

Certifications Region Certification Sales/shipments Canada (Music Canada)[21] Platinum 80,000^^ United States (RIAA)[2] Platinum 1,860,000[3] ^^shipments figures based on certification alone

Singles

Year	Single	Peak chart positions
		US Country	US Country Airplay	US	CAN Country [22]	CAN
2011	"Homeboy"	13	—	53	—	—
	"Drink in My Hand"	1	—	40	—	52
2012	"Springsteen"	1	—	19	—	28
	"Creepin'"	10	5	56	—	65
2013	"Like Jesus Does"	13	6	59	5	56
"—" denotes releases that did not chart

References

1. "Amazon.com: Chief: Eric Church: Music". Amazon.com. Retrieved 2011-06-22.
2. "American album certifications – Eric Church – Chief". Recording Industry Association of America. If necessary, click Advanced, then click Format, then select Album, then click SEARCH
3. Caulfield, Keith (July 23, 2015). "Billboard 200 Chart Moves: Eric Church's 'Outsiders' Hits 1 Million Sold". Billboard. Prometheus Global Media. Retrieved July 24, 2015.
4. Metacritic (Jul 26, 2011). "Critic Reviews for Chief". CBS Interactive. Retrieved Jul 26, 2011.
5. Jurek, Thom. "Chief review". Allmusic. Retrieved July 26, 2011.
6. Justus, Karlie (July 20, 2011). "Chief review". Engine 145. Retrieved August 18, 2011.
7. Keefe, Jonathan (July 25, 2011). "Chief review". Slant. Retrieved August 26, 2011.
8. "REVIEW: Eric Church: 'Chief'". Under the Gun Review. August 10, 2011.
9. "Chief Reviews, Ratings, Credits, and More at Metacritic". Metacritic. Retrieved June 23, 2012.
10. "50 Best Albums of 2011". Retrieved 28 July 2014.
11. "Credits". Allmusic. Retrieved 15 May 2013.
12. http://www.ariacharts.com.au/chart/country-albums/329
13. "Eric Church Album & Song Chart History – Canadian Albums". Billboard. Prometheus Global Media. Retrieved August 4, 2011.
14. "Archive Chart". UK Albums Chart. The Official Charts Company. Retrieved July 23, 2012.
15. "Eric Church Lands First No. 1 Album, Amy Winehouse Climbs Into Top 5". Billboard. Prometheus Global Media. Retrieved August 3, 2011.
16. "Billboard 200 Albums: Year-End top-selling albums across all genres". Billboard.
17. "Top Country Albums: 2011 Year-End Charts". Billboard. Prometheus Global Media. Retrieved January 16, 2015.
18. http://www.billboard.com/charts/year-end/2012/top-billboard-200-albums
19. "2013 Year-End Charts – Billboard 200 Albums". Billboard. Prometheus Global Media. Retrieved December 13, 2013.
20. "Top Country Albums: 2013 Year-End Charts". Billboard. Prometheus Global Media. Retrieved January 16, 2015.
21. "Canadian album certifications – Eric Church – Chief". Music Canada.
22. "Eric Church Album & Song Chart History - Canada Country". Billboard. Prometheus Global Media. Retrieved November 20, 2013.