Eric Heatherly

Singer/songwriter Eric Heatherly absorbed the sounds of country, rockabilly, and classic rock from an early age, with artists such as Creedence Clearwater Revival, Johnny Cash, Conway Twitty, and Roy Orbison molding his direction while he was still a child. He began composing songs at eight and took the stage by his early teens. The Chattanooga native performed in multiple bands across his high school and college years. After settling in Nashville, he became a steady presence in the local scene, which brought guitar endorsements from Fender and Takamine as well as a role in Shania Twain’s band for her 1997 CMA Awards Show appearance. He cut his 2000 debut album, Swimming in Champagne, under Nashville producer Keith Stegall, and the project yielded the hit single “Flowers On The Wall.” Mercury Records issued the record during a period of internal upheaval, with a regime change underway at the label while its parent company navigated a merger. The company provided little promotional support, so the album failed to reach commercial heights, and the label chose not to release his follow-up. After parting ways with Mercury, Heatherly signed with Dreamworks in 2003; the label slated his third album, Sometimes It’s Just Your Time, for a fall release. Although promotional copies reached the press, Dreamworks withdrew the project at the final hour, and it never reached stores. Disenchanted with major-label dealings, he launched his own NashVegas imprint and delivered 2005’s The Lower East Side of Life, distributed through Koch Nashville.