Beyond The Chief: 11 Songs You Might Not Realize Were Written By Eric Church

No surprise so many artists want to record one of his songs.

Eric Church has cemented himself as one of the best to ever do it in country music, not just because of his high-energy live shows or his deep catalog, but for his mastery of the increasingly-lost art of songwriting.

When Church first moved to Nashville in a two-tone Chevy Blazer from his home state of North Carolina, it wasn’t to become a country music superstar but rather because he wanted to pursue a career as a songwriter. He worked tirelessly to hone his craft, surrounding himself with the best songwriters in Music City.

During an interview on the How Leaders Lead with David Novak podcast, Eric discussed moving to Nashville and finding “his tribe” that helped him out with the art of songwriting:

“I walked in this bar. They were like, ‘Hey, that guy’s been doing it for 30 years, he’s wrote for Waylon, he wrote this song for George Jones.’

I just walked up, new kid, introduced myself. And he took a liking to me, and he started introducing me to all the old dogs in town. The guys that were really committed to their craft.

It wasn’t just about writing a song and releasing a song. It was about crafting a song. And even if it never made any commercial success at all, knowing your craft and being the best at your craft and working at that craft allows you a chance to have so much more success.

And he introduced me to all these old writers that had been doing it forever. That was my workshop. That was my woodshed. Everyday I would go write with these guys, and I got better, and I got better, and I got better.

And I learned that it’s not just about sitting down and writing an idea. It’s about crafting that. It’s about understanding the craft of songwriting, and understanding the business that I was in, with the best in the world.

It was invaluable to me to be able to have that time and go in rooms with these guys, and learn, and watch, and be involved in it.

As I look back on my life and my career, that’s maybe the greatest thing that ever happened to me.”

Obviously a big part of his success as an artist can be credited to his incredible songwriting. Church has written or co-written all but a handful of songs that he’s recorded over his two-decade career in country music, something that not many artists (and especially artists with mainstream success) can say these days.

He’s also written a ton of songs that will likely never see the light of day (at least not in the studio), but along with those unreleased gems there are also quite a few songs that Church has written that were eventually recorded by other artists.

From Morgan Wallen to the Zac Brown Band, here are several songs written by Eric Church and recorded by other artists that may surprise you:

“The World Needs A Drink” – Terri Clark

Written by Eric Church and Casey Beathard.

This was Church’s first hit as a songwriter, released two years before his debut album Sinners Like Me. And 22 years later, Casey Beathard is still one of Church’s most frequent collaborators (and one of the best songwriters in country music history – I’ll die on that hill).

“Whiskey Wings” by Dean Miller

Written by Eric Church and Dean Miller.

For those who don’t know, Dean Miller is the son of country music legend Roger Miller.

“Quittin’ Time” by Morgan Wallen

 Written by Eric Church, Luke Laird, and Josh Thompson.

“My Song Will Never Die” by Luke Combs

Written by Eric Church, Travis Meadows and Jonathan Singleton.

“Jacksonville To Jackson Hole” – The Wild Feathers

Written by Eric Church and Casey Beathard.

“Don’t Blame It On Whiskey” – Jon Pardi and Lauren Alaina

Written by Eric Church, Miranda Lambert, Luke Laird and Michael Heeney.

“We Were” – Keith Urban

Written by Eric Church, Ryan Tyndell, and Jeff Hyde. 

After the song was released in 2019 as the lead single from Urban’s The Speed of Now Part 1 album, a duet featuring Eric himself was recorded and released as a bonus track.

“Life Off My Years” – Lee Brice

Written by Eric Church, Michael Heeney, Jeff Hyde.

“Wildfire” – Zac Brown Band

Written by Eric Church, Zac Brown, Wyatt Durrette, Liz Rose, Clay Cook.

“All Alright” – Zac Brown Band

Written by Eric Church, Zac Brown, Jimmy De Martini, Wyatt Durrette, John Driskell Hopkins.

“You, Me And The River” by Chris Janson

Written by Eric Church.

Eric is featured on this one, so it might not comes as a surprise that he wrote it, but the surprise is that it was actually a solo-write from Eric… pretty rare these days. It’s also a great song.