Eric Heatherly

Eric Lafon Heatherly (born February 21, 1970) is an American country music artist. In 2000, he debuted with a cover of The Statler Brothers' "Flowers on the Wall", the first of three singles from his debut album Swimming in Champagne, which was issued in 2000 on Mercury Nashville Records. A second album for Mercury was planned in 2001 but not released, due to the label's restructuring.

Eric Heatherly
Birth nameEric Lafon Heatherly
Born (1970-02-21) February 21, 1970
OriginChattanooga, Tennessee, United States
GenresCountry
Occupation(s)Singer-songwriter
InstrumentsVocals, guitar
Years active2000–present
LabelsMercury Nashville
DreamWorks Nashville
NashVegas/Koch
Websitehttp://www.theericheatherly.com/

By 2002, he had signed to DreamWorks Nashville, where he recorded a third studio album which was also unreleased. His fourth overall album, and second to be released, was 2005's The Lower East Side of Life, issued on his own NashVegas Records label.

Biography

Eric Heatherly was born February 21, 1970, in Chattanooga, Tennessee. Influenced at an early age by country rock acts such as Creedence Clearwater Revival, Eric wrote his first song at 8.[1] Throughout his teenage years, Heatherly played guitar in several bands in the Chattanooga area.

He later moved to Nashville, Tennessee, where he gained a following as a musician, as well as endorsements for guitar manufacturers Fender Musical Instruments Corporation and Takamine Guitars.[1] At the 1997 Country Music Association awards show, Heatherly also played lead guitar in Shania Twain's band.[1]

Musical career

In 2000, Heatherly was signed to Mercury Nashville Records as a recording artist. His debut single was a cover version of The Statler Brothers' 1965 debut single "Flowers on the Wall".[2] Heatherly's rendition was a Top Ten hit on the Billboard Hot Country Singles & Tracks chart, peaking at #6 in mid-2000.

The song served as the first single from his debut album. Entitled Swimming in Champagne, the album was co-produced by Keith Stegall. Due to a restructuring of Mercury Nashville's parent company, Swimming in Champagne received minimal promotion;[1] its second and third singles peaked at #46 and at #32 on the chart. Heatherly had also recorded a second album for Mercury, but it was not released, and Heatherly was dropped from the label by 2002.[1][3]

A month after parting ways with Mercury, Heatherly signed to DreamWorks Records' Nashville division.[4] His third album, to be titled Sometimes It's Just Your Time, was to have been released in late 2002. Its lead-off single ("The Last Man Committed") entered the country music chart; although promotional advance copies of the album, Sometimes It's Just Your Time, had been issued, it was ultimately unreleased as well.[1]

Three years after his departure from DreamWorks's roster, he founded a personal label named NashVegas Records, with Koch Records serving as distributor.[1] His fourth album overall (but only the second to be released), The Lower East Side of Life, was issued in 2005, though no singles were released from it.[5]

After The Lower East Side of Life, Heatherly continued to tour, in addition to manufacturing custom-made guitar straps. Through the help of songwriter and producer Carson Chamberlain, Heatherly recorded a song called "Unforgettable", which appeared in an episode of Grey's Anatomy.[5] He has also recorded another album, 2 High 2 Cry, released in 2009.[5] A second self-released album, Painkillers, followed in 2010.

Discography

Albums
Title Album details Peak chart positions
US Country US US Heat
Swimming in Champagne[A] 17 157 6
The Lower East Side of Life
  • Release date: April 26, 2005
  • Label: NashVegas/Koch Entertainment
 — — —
2 High 2 Cry
  • Release date: 2009
  • Label: Self-released
 — — —
Painkillers
  • Release date: 2010
  • Label: Self-released
 — — —
The Goats of Kudzu
  • Release date: 2012
  • Label: Self-released
 — — —
"—" denotes releases that did not chart
Notes
  • A^ Swimming in Champagne also peaked at number 6 on the RPM Country Albums chart in Canada.

Singles
Year Single Peak chart
positions		 Album
US Country US
2000 "Flowers on the Wall"[A] 6 50 Swimming in Champagne
"Swimming in Champagne" 46 —
2001 "Wrong Five O'Clock" 32 —
2002 "The Last Man Committed" 36 — Sometimes It's Just Your Time
"Sometimes It's Just Your Time" — —
2003 "When a Heart Begins to Drift" — —
"—" denotes releases that did not chart
Notes
  • A^ "Flowers on the Wall" also peaked at number 3 on the RPM Country Tracks chart in Canada.

Music videos
Year Video Director
2000 "Flowers on the Wall" Gerry Wenner
"Swimming in Champagne"
2002 "The Last Man Committed"[6] Steven Goldmann

References
  1. Phares, Heather. "allmusic ((( Eric Heatherly > Biography )))". Allmusic. Retrieved 2007-12-14.
  2. ""Flowers on the Wall" Blooms Again". CMT.com. 2000-02-03. Retrieved 2007-12-14.
  3. "Heatherly Parts With Mercury". CMT.com. 2002-04-11. Retrieved 2007-12-14.
  4. "Heatherly Signs With DreamWorks". CMT.com. 2002-03-12. Retrieved 2007-12-14.
  5. Hollabaugh, Lorie (2009-05-11). "In Bloom Once Again". Country Weekly. 16 (13): 50.
  6. "CMT : Videos : Eric Heatherly : Last Man Committed". Country Music Television. Retrieved October 14, 2011.
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