“Rock & Roll Found Me” by Eric Church
Rock n’ roll is a musical genre that possesses a rich and storied history. And you don’t need us to tell you that some people are really passionate about this brand of music. One of such individual would be Eric Church. In fact throughout “Rock & Roll Found Me”, he depicts rock n’ roll more as religion than a type of music. And just as a viable religion can have a life-changing effect on its adherents, so has rock n’ roll served such a role in saving the life of Eric.
In fact the narrator goes on to depict himself, in his youth, as a child with no future. Not only was he a “skinny little White kid” with no positive direction, but he was also brought up in the kind of community where no one is really optimistic about their future. But eventually, it was via rock n’ roll that he found a true purpose in life.
And he appears to be someone who enjoys the genre in all of its history. For instance, Church references “a Black man’s guitar” which inspired him to alter his direction at a point in his life when he was “heading for disaster”.
Who is the Black man?
That unidentified figure reads like a shoutout to the late Robert Johnson (1911-1938), an early 20th century African-American guitar genius who is considered by many to be the true father of rock n’ roll.
Church then goes on to reference two other more-modern though still old school acts via their songs. One would be The Doors by mentioning their 1967 hit “Light My Fire“. And the mention of “Billy Jo McAlister” likely harps back to another track from 1967, “Ode to Billie Joe” by Bobbie Gentry. And whereas that’s actually a country song, considering that Eric Church is a country artist himself he probably sees it all as the same anyway.
In all…
So the lyrics of this song aren’t complex at all. The vocalist is exclaiming his love for rock n’ roll. And he has a very-high regard for the genre, with it serving the personal significance of turning his formerly-troubled life around. Indeed all things considered this may be Eric Church’s version of a come-up song, as in acknowledging that taking up a music career saved him from a ghetto-based fate.
Did Eric Church write “Rock & Roll Found Me”?
Yes. He and two other songwriters handled the writing of the song. The full list of writers is as follows:
- Eric Church
- Casey Beathard
- Driver Williams
Co-writer Beathard is an award-winning American Country music songwriter. He is also known for being the son of former National Football League (NFL) manager Bobby Beathard.
Release Date
“Rock & Roll Found Me”, which is of the Outlaw Country genre, was released in April of 2021. Church released it as part of his “Heart & Soul” album. It wasn’t a single release.
“Heart & Soul” birthed the following singles:
“Heart & Soul”
“Heart & Soul” is Church’s seventh studio album. It was issued three years after Eric’s 2018 album, “Desperate Man” became a success. The album was released by record labels BigEC and EMI Nashville. The production of the album lasted for a whole year, between 2020 and 2021.
It was produced by the American producer John Joseph Joyce, popularly known as “Jay Joyce”. This particular album was released in three parts and on different dates. The release of the first and second parts were dubbed “Heart” and “&” while the third was released as “Soul”.
The release dates were; 16th April 2021, 20th April 2021, and 23rd April 2021, respectively. “&” (the album’ second part) was exclusively released to the members of the musician’s fan club known as the Church Choir. It was issued as a vinyl record.
“Stick That in Your Country Song” was the album’s first official single. It earned a nomination at the 63rd Grammy Awards for Best Country Solo Performance. The second single titled “Hell of a View” was released on November 9th 2020.
