b. Granite Falls, North Carolina, USA. Country singer-songwriter Church began singing at an early age, but it was not until he reached his teenage years that he began to take music seriously. He learned the guitar and formed a band with his brother and two friends. Playing around the local bars and party venues in their native North Carolina, the quartet built up enough of a local following to allow them to continue the band through high school and college. By this point, Church had begun writing his own songs and incorporating them into live sets.
After graduating from university with a degree in marketing, Church relocated to Nashville, Tennessee, the home of country music, in an attempt to land a publishing deal. Within the space of a year he had achieved his aim, signing with Sony/ATV Tree Music Publishing at the start of 2002. His most notable success during this period was Terri Clark enjoying a minor hit with ‘The World Needs A Drink’. At the end of 2003 Church signed a recording contract with Capitol Nashville on the strength of a demo tape recorded with producer Jay Joyce. The duo then spent the next two years completing work on Church’s debut album. Buoyed by the success of the redneck ode ‘How ’Bout You’ on the radio, Church’s Sinners Like Me rose into the mainstream charts during the summer.
