Eric Church continues to stand by fellow country artist and friend Morgan Wallen a year after the infamous chair throwing incident. Wallen was arrested for throwing a chair off the roof of Church’s Nashville bar, Chief’s, on April 7, 2024.
In a new interview with Rolling Stone, Church had nothing but positive things to say about the “Sand in My Boots” singer.
The Chief was asked why he is so invested in Wallen, even after all of his missteps, which include a DUI arrest, a racist slur and being removed from a scheduled SNL appearance during the pandemic.
“I say this to everyone [about Morgan]: I know the guy,” Church explains. “And once you know the guy, it’s a lot easier to be able to know the heart of that guy and to know where his moral compass is.”
Church proudly touts that he and Wallen are not only great friends, but basically family, admitting that he would “trust him with my kids.”
Church shared a similar rise to the top in country music, just not as fast as Wallen’s.
“I remember when things took off for [me], and it’s nowhere near the way it took off for him, but that’s a really weird time. It can be really hard to deal with,” he recalls.
The older star, 48, had his share of controversy, as well. Church was kicked off of Rascal Flatts‘ Me and My Gang Tour back in 2006 for deliberately pushing the limits of his time restrictions over and over, walking onto the parts of the stage he was not supposed to use and playing too loudly.
Church drove home the Wallen positivity train by adding: “What I’ve always loved about Morgan, and I could say the same thing about Jelly Roll, is their unabashed honesty about their flaws and their humanity.”
13 Best Lyrics From Morgan Wallen’s ‘I’m the Problem’ Album, Ranked
Writing the perfect country song can’t be easy. How do you sing about similar themes, but paint the picture differently?
It truly is an art form, and Wallen rounded up some of the best songwriters in the business to help him with his latest project, I’m the Problem. So we rounded up some of the best lyrics on the 37-track collection below.
Gallery Credit: Jess Rose
Top 50 Eric Church Songs: His Greatest Hits and Best Deep Cuts
He’s been known to sample R-Rated burners and sage truth-tellers — and then there are two songs about murder. So, Eric Church’s songs fall into rows, but there are a lot of rows in his 15-year-plus catalog.
His best song? Taste of Country asked fans, staff and the industry to weigh in and then looked at chart success, sales data pop culture importance to choose No. 1 from No. 50. Songs with strong lyrical content rank high. Songs with creative production rank high. Songs with both ended up in the Top 5.
Gallery Credit: Billy Dukes