Eric Church‘s recent two-week No. 1 hit, “Springsteen,” started off as a love affair that takes place in an amphitheater between two people who attended a show and years later would hear this artist’s songs and think about that person…only the artist wasn’t Bruce Springsteen. However, when the North Carolina native was writing the song with his two pals, he says that “The Boss” seemed to be the perfect guy to craft that story around because he’s such a big fan. He told AOL’s The Boot, “I have such a reverence for Bruce Springsteen’s career and how he’s built it.”
It seems The Boss has given Church a formal thumbs up on his recent hit.
Church tells Billboard that Springsteen’s assistant and road manager Wayne LeBeaux, who is close friends with Capitol Nashville’s Diane Lockner (and who helped facilitate the meeting), attended his concert on Aug. 19th in Gilford, New Hampshire, bearing a gift from The Boss — a set list from one of Springsteen’s recent shows at Fenway Park in Boston, with a personal note on the back.
“(LeBaux) came on the bus and was telling me this story,” Church recalls. “As they were leaving the Fenway show, (Springsteen) said, ‘Wayne, what are you doing this weekend?’ ‘I’m going to see Eric Church.’ “No kidding,’ and (Springsteen) took out a set list and wrote me a great note, filled up the whole back of the set list talking about how he was a fan of the song, how his family was a fan of the song. He signed it and said ‘I hope we cross paths somewhere’ and told (LeBeaux), ‘Make sure you deliver this to Eric.’
“It’s a pretty incredible note. It’s the first time I’ve officially heard from him. I had heard he was a fan of the song, but it’s the first time I officially heard. It means the world to me — and the set list is three hours and 37 minutes. That impressed me, too.” Church says the set list note is currently “locked up” in a safe place.
AUDIO: Eric Church talks about being a huge fan of Bruce Springsteen’s and why.
Eric Church (big Springsteen fan) OC: …nights, and you know… :11
“I’m a big Springsteen fan. I mean, I love the way Bruce built his career. It’s similar to the way we built ours in bars and clubs and little teeny-tiny places that we would sell out multiple nights, and you know…”
