The best mix of Sun Records meets the Grand Ole Opry that I’ve ever seen or heard,” proclaimed Hollywood actor/musician Billy Bob Thornton after attending Eric Heatherly’s sold-out performance at The House of Blues in Los Angeles. Thornton’s proclamation is spot-on. And it’s one of several signs that the essentials of Eric’s musical travels are multi-faceted, well-earned, and far beyond the typical.

At five years old, Eric fell in love…with a six-string that his dad rescued from a garbage bin while making deliveries in his truck. His father testifies that all Eric had to do was listen to a vinyl record once and he could play the song back on that beat-up guitar instantly. And the first song he learned (from his father Earl) was “Folsom Prison Blues.” Pretty fitting, considering Johnny Cash’s fondness for trains and the ride Eric found himself on.

>From those humble beginnings growing up in Tennessee he’s become one of the most accomplished guitar slingers to hit the charts in decades. Guitar legend Duane Eddy cited Eric as “his favorite new guitarist” after hearing his first single. In 1997, Shania Twain invited him to play guitar for her on stage at the CMA Awards and to join her on the subsequent world tour. Although a tempting offer and a tremendous compliment, he graciously declined in order to keep his solo career efforts from derailing.

His first album, Swimming in Champagne, (Mercury Records) surfaced in April 2000. It met with widespread critical honors, became Billboard’s #44 Top Album of the year and yielded three Top 40 singles. One of those singles, “Flowers on the Wall,” walked away with the honor of the #3 Top Country Single of 2000 AND #1 video designation from both Great American Country (GAC) and Country Music Television (CMT). During the next few years Eric Heatherly recorded two more albums that remain something to be proud of: Sometimes It’s Just Your Time, (Dreamworks) and The Lower East Side of Life, (Koch USA & Universal/Germany).
Eric had his hands in every ingredient on The Lower East Side of Life collection. And among other accolades it was named one of 2005’s Top 10 albums by hot weekly Nashville entertainment magazine All the Rage. The release found its way to Universal/Europe and spawned six top 10 singles.

Elsewhere Eric’s guitar-slinging/songwriting successes extend further into print, with features in Playgirl (naming him one of country music’s Top 5 sexiest singers), Guitar Player, and music industry publication Music Row magazine among those singing his praises. Music Row even awarded him their coveted “Critics’ Pick.” He’s appeared numerous times on CMT, the CMA Awards, in the IMAX film Our Country, and other screen settings. He’s rocked the Opry stage and Austin City Limits. He’s been the guest of esteemed music authority Harry Chapman on the TV show Words & Music, which is dedicated to successful songwriters. Acclaimed Hollywood film director Robert Rodriguez, (Spy Kids Trilogy, Desperado, Sin City), was so floored by Eric’s fun-loving witticisms in his co-written song “Wrong Five O’ Clock” that he made a five-minute film short for it.

But his atypical story doesn’t end there: Heatherly’s creativity rears its head through other avenues too. He’s single-handedly founded Kustom Duds, an original clothing and music accessories company. Already some of his designs have made their way into the Musician’s Hall of Fame in Nashville, Tenn. And in 1999 he co-created and patented the “Hot-Rod” seat belt guitar strap, featured on the cover of Guitar Player Magazine.

“It was awesome," he says. "I would be playin’ shows with Brooks & Dunn, Montgomery Gentry or Brian Setzer and their guitar techs would approach me after the shows asking me where I found the seatbelt guitar strap. I would laugh and say, I made it in my garage!" In fact, he started giving the straps away to the big acts he was touring with as a thank-you. His designs are now adorned by superstars like Lenny Kravitz, Kid Rock, and Rascal Flatts.

When he's not Touring or Recording, Eric finds Relaxation by expressing his other artistic side as a painter. He also relishes his time with 5 yr. old daughter, Christiana, his dog Lucky and his local church. -Melissa Coker

ERIC HEATHERLY

AWARDS/NOMINATIONS/ACCOLADES

 Debut Single "Flowers On The Wall"

•  #1 Video - CMT USA, CMT Canada, CMT Japan
• #3 Top Country Single of 2000 - Billboard Magazine
• #3 Single of 2000 - Country Music Magazine (Critic, John Lomax lll)
• #4 Top New Artist of 2000 - Billboard Magazine
• #5 Single - Gavin Magazine
• #5 Most Played Videos of 2000 - Great American Country (GAC) Video Channel
• #6 Single - Radio & Records (R&R) Magazine
• #6 Single - Billboard Magazine
• #7 Single of 2000 - Country Music Magazine Critics Poll
• #9 Single of 2000 - Blue Chip Radio Report
• #14 Top Video of 2000 - CMT Canada
• #14 album of 2000 - Country Music Magazine Critics Poll
• #30 Top Single of 2000 - Billboard Magazine
• #30 Top Single of 2000 - Radio & Records (R&R) Magazine
• #33 Top Single of 2000 - Gavin
• #44 Top Album of 2000 - Billboard Magazine
• #46 Top Video of 2000 - Great American Country (GAC) Video Channel

Other Charted Singles

• “Judging Beauty” KOCH top-10 2005
• “Whatever Happened” KOCH top-10 2005
• “Love Story Love” KOCH top-10 2005
• “Way Down” KOCH top-10 2005
• “Job” KOCH top-10 2005
• “Lower East Side of Life” KOCH top-10 2005
• “The Last Man Committed” Dreamworks top-30 2003
• “The Wrong 5 O’Clock” Mercury #27 2001
• “Swimming in Champagne” Mercury top-40 2001

 Awards & Nominations

• Nashville Rage Magazine names “the lower east side of life” as top-5 best records of ‘05
• “lower east side of life” spawns 6 top 10 singles in 19 European territories ‘05-present
• Best New Artist of 2000 - Critics Pick Award / Music Row Magazine
• Billboard Magazine Critics Choice - Flowers On The Wall
• 2001 Academy Of Country Music (ACM) award Nomination - Top New Male Vocalist
• 2001 TNN Country Music Award Nominations:
• Male Artist of The Year
• Album of the Year
• Single of The Year
• Song of The Year
• Discovery Award
• CMT Music Video Award (Flowers On The Wall)
• CMT Music Video Award (Swimming In Champagne)
• 2000 Country Music Association (CMA) Horizon Award Nomination
• Two time recipient of Playgirl Magazine's "Top 5 Sexiest Country Singers" (2005,2007)

Television Appearances (partial list)

• 2008 track, “Unforgettable,” Grey’s Anatomy episode-ABC
• 2000 CMA Award Show Performance - CBS
• 1997 CMA Award Show Performance - CBS
• The Craig Kilborn Show - NBC
• Austin City Limits - PBS
• Fox and Friends Morning Show - Fox
• NASCAR Country Live - syndicated
• Western Beat Performance - CMT
• Good Morning Dallas
• Good Morning Minneapolis
• Country Request Live (guest host) Great American Country

Print Media Articles (partial list)

• People
• Playgirl
• USA Today
• LA TIMES
• Washington Post
• Billboard Magazine
• Billboard Monitor (cover)
• Radio & Records (cover)
• Gavin (cover)
• Pollstar (cover)
• Country Music Magazine
• Country Music Today
• Country Weekly
• Country Music People (U.K.)
• Guitar Player Magazine

 Internet Media Articles (partial list)

• VH-1 Web
• Barnesandnoble.com
• Cdnow.com
• Amazon.com
• Country.com (CMT)
• Mpmusic.com (Billboard)
• McCall.com
• Roughstock.com
• Canoe.com
• Dishmag.com
• usatoday.com

Performance Highlights

•  Austin City Limits-Austin, TX.
• Grand Ole Opry - Nashville
• House of Blues - Los Angeles
• Rodeo Bar - Manhattan
• Ryman Auditorium - Nashville
• Universal Amphitheatre - Los Angeles
• Crazy Horse Saloon - Irvine, CA.
• Trump Taj Mahal - Las Vegas
• Freemont Street Experience - Las Vegas
• Billy Bob's Texas - FT. Worth, TX.
• Hilton - Las Vegas
• The Borderline - London
• Schutzenhaus Albisguelti - Zurich, Switzerland
• Crystal Palace - Bakersfield, CA.

 Tours (partial list)

• Dwight Yoakam
• Waylon Jennings
• Reba McEntire
• Brian Setzer Orchestra
• Wynonna Judd
• Brooks & Dunn (Neon Circus Tour)
• Montgomery / Gentry
• Merle Haggard
• Toby Keith
• Billy Ray Cyrus
• Travis Tritt

 Songwriting

• Wrote eleven tracks on "the lower east side of life"
• Wrote / Co-Wrote nine of thirteen tracks on Sometimes It's Just Your Time
• Wrote / Co-Wrote ten of eleven tracks on Swimming In Champagne
• Wrote /The Call on album by Multi-Platinum artist John Anderson (Sony)
• Wrote /One From The Heart for Stephanie Beaumont (RCA / BMG Canada)
• Former staff writer for Roy Orbison's publishing company Still Working Music
• Owns Publishing Company Psychobilly Music    

Co-inventor/Design and Utility Patent Holder of "The Hot-Rod Strap," (seat-belt guitar strap) worn by superstars, Kid-Rock, Lenny Kravitz, Brian Setzer and featured on the cover of Guitar Player Magazine.

Endorsements

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