Eric Church Got So Much From His Mom, Rita
Eric Church got so much from his mom, Rita Church. As Mother’s Day approaches this weekend (5/12), he told us about his mom and the important things he learned and…
Eric Church got so much from his mom, Rita Church. As Mother's Day approaches this weekend (5/12), he told us about his mom and the important things he learned and inherited from her.
Eric told us of his North Carolina mother, "My mom, even though my dad won't like this, my mom is by far the toughest person that I've met. She's tough. One of those people who's been through a lot in her life, adversity-wise, and never complains, always really resilient with anything that's happened to her."
He continued, "It's just that attitude, the positive attitude, regardless of what has happened, that I think is the one thing that I got from her. With a career, she's always been a person that's been really positive through times that I couldn't find a positive streak, [laughs] and she was always really positive and very much believes in tough it out, keep working hard, and that's her motto with stuff like that. I've always been impressed with that stuff."
Rita Is A Singer
The country star added of his mama, "Then musically, she's where I get my talent from. She sings great and always has; her mom sang great. I owe my musical chops to her. And she still sings some. So, career-wise, I owe her everything. And just in life-wise, she's given me a lot of the qualities that it has taken for me to get me where I am. Not only as a musician but as a man."
Message To Fans
Church recently gave each Church Choir fan club member a deed and a physical brick from his revitalized six-story downtown Nashville establishment, Chiefs.
Eric said in a video message to fans, "You've helped me build my career brick by brick, and I want the whole world to know that the building is yours. This is not just another club downtown. This is our house. I've been involved in every step of restoring this historic building into a place we can call our own."
He added, "And because you've been with me every step of my career, I'm proud to dedicate a physical brick of the Chief's building to each and every one of you."
In addition to being given a deed to individual bricks that form the building, fans also received the first of an ongoing series of digital collectibles, including a digital version of their brick, which gives access to exclusive content. It includes fan club perks like never-before-heard demos, unreleased video footage, and priority entry at Chief's.
Many country music superstars choose their middle names over their given first names. It is hard to imagine country music superstar Sam Smith (Tim McGraw's given name) and his superstar wife, Audrey Faith Perry (Faith Hill). Or how about sold-out stadium shows from a guy named Troyal (Garth Brooks)? And instead of two Lukes (Bryan and Combs), there would be two Thomas' (Rhett and Bryan).
Many celebrities change their name to fit who they have become, but in country music, the go-to name change for a superstar is to simply go with your middle name.
We take a look at five country superstars that go by their given middle names.
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Kenneth Eric Church
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Can you image Kenny Church? Eric, born in n Granite Falls, North Carolina, was named after his father, Ken. Church worked with his dad at Clayton Marcus, a furniture upholstery company where his father was president.
Thomas Luther Bryan
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Luke was named after his father, Tommy, who was a peanut farmer in Leesburg, Georgia.
Troyal Garth Brooks
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Garth was named for his father, Troyal Raymond Brooks Jr. He is the elder Troyal's youngest child. His mother, Colleen McElroy Carroll (who passed away in 1999), was a 1950s-era country singer who recorded on Capitol Records, the same label that Garth recorded on.
Frederick Dierks Bentley
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Dierks has used his middle name publically since his music career began. The name Dierks is his maternal great-grandmother's surname. His parents' names are Leon Fife Bentley (who passed away in 2012) and Catherine Childs.
Samuel Timothy Smith
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Tim McGraw was not born as a McGraw, and Timothy was his middle name. He changed his last name at age 11 when he learned the identity of his real father, major league baseball pitcher "Tug" McGraw, who passed away in 2004.
