Chief (album)

Chief
Chief
Studio album by Eric Church
Released	July 26, 2011
Recorded	2010–2011
Studio	Tragedy Studios, Nashville, Tennessee
Genre	Country; outlaw country; Southern rock;
Length	39:39
Label	EMI Nashville
Producer	Jay Joyce
Eric Church chronology
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.^[2] The album produced five singles, including Church's first two number one hits on the US Billboard Hot Country Songs chart—"Drink in My Hand" and "Springsteen", as well as the Top 10 hits "Creepin'" and "Like Jesus Does" and the Top 20 "Homeboy". On June 20, 2012, the album was certified triple Platinum by the RIAA, for having shipped over 3,000,000 records.^[3] As of April 2017, the album has sold 1,957,700 copies in the United States.^[4]

The album received a nomination for Best Country Album at the 54th Grammy Awards and won Album of the Year at the CMA Awards and ACM Awards. In 2020, the album was ranked at 419 on Rolling Stone's 500 Greatest Albums of All Time list.^[5]

Critical reception

Professional ratings
Aggregate scores
Source	Rating
Metacritic	77/100^[6]
Review scores
Source	Rating
AllMusic	^[7]
Engine 145	^[8]
Slant Magazine	^[9]

Upon its release, Chief received generally positive reviews from most music critics. 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".^[6]

AllMusic reviewer Thom Jurek gave it 5 stars out of 5, saying that it is "defiant, well-conceived, and more carefully executed than it sounds, with some excellent songs".^[7] In a review for Slant Magazine, critic Jonathan Keefe stated that "It just doesn't make a hell of a lot of sense to champion traditional country music while singing over hard-rock arrangements and occasionally Auto-Tuned vocal tracks. That's not to say he doesn't do a lot of things, particularly with his songwriting and with some risky production choices, awfully well here. Chief doesn't make him a country music Jesus, but it does back up a good deal of his braggadocio."^[9]

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

Commercial performance

The album debuted at number one on the US Billboard 200 and the Top Country Albums chart, selling 145,000 copies in its first week of release.^[11] In its second week, the album fell to number two on the Billboard 200 while still remaining at number one on the Top Country Albums chart. The album was certified Platinum by the Recording Industry Association of America (RIAA) on June 20, 2012, and triple platinum on August 31, 2016 for combined sales and streams of over three million units in the United States.^[3] As of August 2017, the album has sold 1,957,700 copies in the United States.^[12]

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 download)	Church Green	3:29

Personnel

Adapted from AllMusic.^[13]

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

Weekly charts

Chart (2011–13)	Peak position
Australian Country Albums (ARIA)^[14]	13
Canadian Albums (Billboard)^[15]	7
UK Country Albums (OCC)^[16]	4
US Billboard 200^[17]	1
US Billboard Top Country Albums^[17]	1

Year-end charts

Chart (2011)	Position
US Billboard 200^[18]	66
US Top Country Albums (Billboard)^[19]	15
Chart (2012)	Position
US Billboard 200^[20]	23
US Top Country Albums (Billboard)^[20]	7
Chart (2013)	Position
US Billboard 200^[21]	47
US Top Country Albums (Billboard)^[22]	11
Chart (2017)	Position
US Top Country Albums (Billboard)^[23]	42
Chart (2018)	Position
US Top Country Albums (Billboard)^[24]	100
Chart (2019)	Position
US Top Country Albums (Billboard)^[25]	89

Decade-end charts

Chart (2010–2019)	Position
US Billboard 200^[26]	74
US Top Country Albums (Billboard)^[27]	10

Certifications


Region	Certification	Certified units/sales
Canada (Music Canada)^[28]	Platinum	80,000^{^}
United States (RIAA)^[3]	4× Platinum	4,000,000^‡ / 1,957,700^[12]
^{^} Shipments figures based on certification alone.

References

^ "Chief". AllMusic.
^ "Amazon.com: Chief: Eric Church: Music". Amazon. Retrieved June 22, 2011.
^ ^a ^b ^c "American album certifications – Eric Church – Chief". Recording Industry Association of America.
^ Bjorke, Matt (April 18, 2017). "Top Country Catalog Album Sales Chart: April 18, 2017". Roughstock. Retrieved April 25, 2017.
^ "The 500 Greatest Albums of All Time". Rolling Stone. September 22, 2020. Retrieved September 22, 2020.
^ ^a ^b "Chief by Eric Church | Reviews and Tracks". Metacritic. Retrieved March 28, 2018.
^ ^a ^b Jurek, Thom. "Chief - Eric Church | Songs, Reviews, Credits". AllMusic. Retrieved March 27, 2011.
^ Justus, Karlie (July 20, 2011). "Chief review". Engine 145. Archived from the original on March 30, 2012. Retrieved August 18, 2011.
^ ^a ^b Keefe, Jonathan (July 25, 2011). "Eric Church Chief. Album Review". Slant Magazine. Retrieved March 28, 2018.
^ "50 Best Albums of 2011". Rolling Stone. December 7, 2011. Retrieved July 28, 2014.
^ "Eric Church's 'Desperate Man' Dominates Top Country Albums, Florida Georgia Line Crown Country Airplay". Billboard.
^ ^a ^b Bjorke, Matt (April 18, 2017). "Top Country Catalog Album Sales Chart: April 18, 2017". Roughstock. Retrieved April 25, 2017.
^ "Credits". Allmusic. Retrieved May 15, 2013.
^ "ARIA Australian Top 40 Country Albums | Australia's Official Top 40 Country Album Chart - ARIA Charts". Archived from the original on November 8, 2012. Retrieved November 4, 2012.
^ "Eric Church Chart History (Canadian Albums)". Billboard. Retrieved October 12, 2018.
^ "Archive Chart". Official Charts Company. Retrieved July 23, 2012.
^ ^a ^b "Eric Church Lands First No. 1 Album, Amy Winehouse Climbs Into Top 5". Billboard. Retrieved August 3, 2011.
^ "Billboard 200 Albums: Year-End top-selling albums across all genres". Billboard.
^ "Top Country Albums: 2011 Year-End Charts". Billboard. Retrieved January 16, 2015.
^ ^a ^b "Billboard 200 Albums - Year-End". Billboard.
^ "2013 Year-End Charts – Billboard 200 Albums". Billboard. Retrieved December 13, 2013.
^ "Top Country Albums: 2013 Year-End Charts". Billboard. Retrieved January 16, 2015.
^ "Top Country Albums – Year-End 2017". Billboard. Retrieved July 19, 2020.
^ "Top Country Albums – Year-End 2018". Billboard. Retrieved December 7, 2021.
^ "Top Country Albums – Year-End 2019". Billboard. Retrieved December 10, 2021.
^ "Decade-End Charts: Billboard 200". Billboard. Retrieved November 15, 2019.
^ "Decade-End Charts: Top Country Albums". Billboard. Retrieved December 1, 2020.
^ "Canadian album certifications – Eric Church – Chief". Music Canada.

[1] "Chief". AllMusic.

[2] "Amazon.com: Chief: Eric Church: Music". Amazon. Retrieved June 22, 2011.

[RIAA-3] "American album certifications – Eric Church – Chief". Recording Industry Association of America.

[Roughstock-4] Bjorke, Matt (April 18, 2017). "Top Country Catalog Album Sales Chart: April 18, 2017". Roughstock. Retrieved April 25, 2017.

[5] "The 500 Greatest Albums of All Time". Rolling Stone. September 22, 2020. Retrieved September 22, 2020.

[Metacritic-6] "Chief by Eric Church | Reviews and Tracks". Metacritic. Retrieved March 28, 2018.

[AllMusic-7] Jurek, Thom. "Chief - Eric Church | Songs, Reviews, Credits". AllMusic. Retrieved March 27, 2011.

[8] Justus, Karlie (July 20, 2011). "Chief review". Engine 145. Archived from the original on March 30, 2012. Retrieved August 18, 2011.

[Slant-9] Keefe, Jonathan (July 25, 2011). "Eric Church Chief. Album Review". Slant Magazine. Retrieved March 28, 2018.

[10] "50 Best Albums of 2011". Rolling Stone. December 7, 2011. Retrieved July 28, 2014.

[11] "Eric Church's 'Desperate Man' Dominates Top Country Albums, Florida Georgia Line Crown Country Airplay". Billboard.

[sales-12] Bjorke, Matt (April 18, 2017). "Top Country Catalog Album Sales Chart: April 18, 2017". Roughstock. Retrieved April 25, 2017.

[13] "Credits". Allmusic. Retrieved May 15, 2013.

[14] "ARIA Australian Top 40 Country Albums | Australia's Official Top 40 Country Album Chart - ARIA Charts". Archived from the original on November 8, 2012. Retrieved November 4, 2012.

[ac_BillboardCanada_Eric_Church-15] "Eric Church Chart History (Canadian Albums)". Billboard. Retrieved October 12, 2018.

[16] "Archive Chart". Official Charts Company. Retrieved July 23, 2012.

[Album_source-17] "Eric Church Lands First No. 1 Album, Amy Winehouse Climbs Into Top 5". Billboard. Retrieved August 3, 2011.

[18] "Billboard 200 Albums: Year-End top-selling albums across all genres". Billboard.

[19] "Top Country Albums: 2011 Year-End Charts". Billboard. Retrieved January 16, 2015.

[billboard.com-20] "Billboard 200 Albums - Year-End". Billboard.

[21] "2013 Year-End Charts – Billboard 200 Albums". Billboard. Retrieved December 13, 2013.

[22] "Top Country Albums: 2013 Year-End Charts". Billboard. Retrieved January 16, 2015.

[23] "Top Country Albums – Year-End 2017". Billboard. Retrieved July 19, 2020.

[24] "Top Country Albums – Year-End 2018". Billboard. Retrieved December 7, 2021.

[25] "Top Country Albums – Year-End 2019". Billboard. Retrieved December 10, 2021.

[26] "Decade-End Charts: Billboard 200". Billboard. Retrieved November 15, 2019.

[27] "Decade-End Charts: Top Country Albums". Billboard. Retrieved December 1, 2020.

[CanadaEric_ChurchChiefalbumCertRef-28] "Canadian album certifications – Eric Church – Chief". Music Canada.

[1]

[2]

[3]

[4]

[5]

[6]

[7]

[8]

[9]

[10]

[11]

[12]

[13]

[14]

[15]

[16]

[17]

[18]

[19]

[20]

[21]

[22]

[23]

[24]

[25]

[26]

[27]

[28]

v t e Eric Church
Discography
Studio albums	Sinners Like Me (2006) Carolina (2009) Chief (2011) The Outsiders (2014) Mr. Misunderstood (2015) Desperate Man (2018) Heart & Soul (2021)
Singles	"How 'Bout You" "Two Pink Lines" "Guys Like Me" "Love Your Love the Most" "Hell on the Heart" "Smoke a Little Smoke" "Homeboy" "Drink in My Hand" "Springsteen" "Creepin'" "Like Jesus Does" "The Outsiders" "Give Me Back My Hometown" "Cold One" "Talladega" "Like a Wrecking Ball" "Mr. Misunderstood" "Record Year" "Kill a Word" "Round Here Buzz" "Desperate Man" "Some of It" "Monsters" "Stick That in Your Country Song" "Hell of a View" "Heart on Fire"
Guest singles	"The Only Way I Know" "Raise 'Em Up" "Are You Ready for the Country" "Does to Me" "Man Made a Bar"
Concert tours	No Shoes Nation Tour Holdin' My Own Tour

v t e CMA Album of the Year
1967−1970	There Goes My Everything – Jack Greene (1967) Johnny Cash at Folsom Prison – Johnny Cash (1968) Johnny Cash At San Quentin – Johnny Cash (1969) Okie from Muskogee – Merle Haggard and the Strangers (1970)
1971−1980	I Won't Mention It Again – Ray Price (1971) Let Me Tell You About a Song – Merle Haggard and the Strangers (1972) Behind Closed Doors – Charlie Rich (1973) A Very Special Love Song – Charlie Rich (1974) A Legend in My Time – Ronnie Milsap (1975) Wanted! The Outlaws – Waylon Jennings, Willie Nelson, Jessi Colter, and Tompall Glaser (1976) Ronnie Milsap Live – Ronnie Milsap (1977) It Was Almost Like a Song – Ronnie Milsap (1978) The Gambler – Kenny Rogers (1979) Coal Miner's Daughter – Various artists (1980)
1981−1990	I Believe in You – Don Williams (1981) Always on My Mind – Willie Nelson (1982) The Closer You Get – Alabama (1983) A Little Good News – Anne Murray (1984) Does Fort Worth Ever Cross Your Mind – George Strait (1985) Lost in the Fifties Tonight – Ronnie Milsap (1986) Always And Forever – Randy Travis (1987) Born to Boogie – Hank Williams Jr. (1988) Will the Circle Be Unbroken: Volume Two – Nitty Gritty Dirt Band (1989) Pickin' on Nashville – The Kentucky Headhunters (1990)
1991−2000	No Fences – Garth Brooks (1991) Ropin' the Wind – Garth Brooks (1992) I Still Believe in You – Vince Gill (1993) Common Thread: The Songs of the Eagles – Various artists (1994) When Fallen Angels Fly – Patty Loveless (1995) Blue Clear Sky – George Strait (1996) Carrying Your Love with Me – George Strait (1997) Everywhere – Tim McGraw (1998) A Place in the Sun – Tim McGraw (1999) Fly – The Dixie Chicks (2000)
2001−2010	O Brother, Where Art Thou? – Various artists (2001) Drive – Alan Jackson (2002) American IV: The Man Comes Around – Johnny Cash (2003) When the Sun Goes Down – Kenny Chesney (2004) There's More Where That Came From – Lee Ann Womack (2005) Time Well Wasted – Brad Paisley (2006) It Just Comes Natural – George Strait (2007) Troubadour – George Strait (2008) Fearless – Taylor Swift (2009) Revolution – Miranda Lambert (2010)
2011−2020	My Kinda Party – Jason Aldean (2011) Chief – Eric Church (2012) Based on a True Story... – Blake Shelton (2013) Platinum – Miranda Lambert (2014) Traveller – Chris Stapleton (2015) Mr. Misunderstood – Eric Church (2016) From A Room: Volume 1 – Chris Stapleton (2017) Golden Hour – Kacey Musgraves (2018) Girl – Maren Morris (2019) What You See Is What You Get – Luke Combs (2020)
2021−2030	Starting Over – Chris Stapleton (2021) Growin' Up – Luke Combs (2022) Bell Bottom Country - Lainey Wilson (2023) Leather - Cody Johnson (2024)