Eric Church has a pretty big piece of Swiftie memorabilia in his collection. During an appearance on The Tonight Show Starring Jimmy Fallon, the country singer revealed why Taylor Swift gifted him her first gold record.
The story dates back to 2006. At the time, Swift was brought on to replace Church on Rascal Flatts’ Me and My Gang Tour.
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“My first major arena tour, I was invited to no longer be a part of,” Church explained on the late night show. “… But when I was no longer invited to be a part of it, it was at Madison Square Garden here. And if you’re going to not be invited to be a part of something, that’s the place, Jimmy, to not be invited to be a part of something.”
The next day, Church “found out about it online, that I had been replaced by this—I think she was 16—blonde-haired [singer].”
Eric Church Praises Taylor Swift
Swift called Church shortly thereafter.
“She was like, ‘Hey, hope there’s no, um…’ I guess I’d say bad blood,” Church said, alluding to Swift’s song “Bad Blood,” which came out in 2014. “So, she’s like ‘Hope there’s no bad blood. Because I love what you do and I’m taking over on…’ the tour I was supposed to not be invited on.”
“I said, ‘Listen Taylor, I have seen this crowd. This crowd is going to love you. I love what you do,’” he continued. “I said, ‘This is going to really be great for you, and you owe me your first gold record when this happens.’ Here’s what’s crazy—it took, like, seven days.”
Just weeks later, Church and Swift bumped into each other at a music festival. While there, Swift handed over her first gold record.
“She walks up. She inscribed [the it], ‘To Eric, thanks for playing too long and too loud on the tour. Sincerely, Taylor,’” he said. “You could just tell then. Just an artist. An artist.”
Church doesn’t have the record on display in his home for good reason.
“It’s in the Country Music Hall of Fame,” he said, before quipping, “They don’t let me have it.”
Photo by Rosalind O’Connor/NBC via Getty Images
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