Eric Thomas Paslay (born January 29, 1983) is an American country music singer and songwriter. He has released one album for EMI Nashville, which contains the hit singles "Friday Night", "Song About a Girl", and "She Don't Love You". In addition to these, Paslay has written several hit singles for other artists, and has collaborated with Amy Grant, Dierks Bentley, Charles Kelley, among others.
Early life Eric Thomas Paslay was born in Abilene, Texas, and started playing guitar at the age of 15. He graduated from Middle Tennessee State University in the fall of 2005 with his Bachelor of Science degree.
Career In mid-2011, Paslay signed to EMI Records Nashville. After his first two singles "Never Really Wanted" and "If the Fish Don't Bite" failed to make top 40, his third, "Friday Night", was a Top 5 hit on Country Airplay in early 2014. The song was originally recorded by Lady Antebellum, and Paslay's version appears on his self-titled debut album, released in early 2014. The album went on to produce two more singles in "Song About a Girl" and "She Don't Love You".
He also co-wrote Jake Owen's "Barefoot Blue Jean Night", the Will Hoge/Eli Young Band song "Even If It Breaks Your Heart", and Love and Theft's "Angel Eyes" all of which were number 1 singles on the country charts. He has written album cuts for Lady Antebellum, Rascal Flatts' 2014 single "Rewind" and Keith Urban's 2021 single "Wild Hearts".
In 2013, Paslay appeared on Amy Grant's album How Mercy Looks from Here, sharing lead vocals with Grant and Sheryl Crow on a song he wrote called "Deep As It Is Wide". In publicity for the album, Grant stated that she is most excited about Paslay as an up-and-coming artist.
Paslay is featured alongside Dierks Bentley on Charles Kelley's debut solo single "The Driver" which was released on September 28, 2015. "The Driver" received a Grammy nomination for Best Country Duo/Group Performance for the 58th Annual Grammy Awards. This is Paslay's first Grammy nomination as a recording artist.
In October 2015, Paslay released "High Class" as the lead single to his upcoming second studio album. The album's second single, "Angels in This Town", released to country radio on July 18, 2016.
Paslay released a five-song digital extended play, The Work Tapes, in July 2017. Paslay parted ways with EMI Records Nashville in September 2018.
Personal life On April 26, 2015, Paslay married Natalie Harker. On December 8, 2018, they had their first daughter, Piper Lily Paslay.
Paslay has type 1 diabetes.
Discography
Studio albums Title Details Peak positions Sales US Country US Eric Paslay Release date: February 4, 2014 Label: EMI Nashville 4 31US: 54,300 Sales figure given here Nice Guy Release date: August 14, 2020 Label: Paso Fino — — "—" denotes releases that did not chart
Extended plays Title Album details The Work Tapes Release date: July 28, 2017 Label: EMI Nashville
Singles Single Year Peak positions Certifications Sales Album US Country Songs US Country Airplay US CAN Country CAN "Never Really Wanted" 2011 48 — — — Eric Paslay "If the Fish Don't Bite" 2012 58 — — — "Friday Night" 2013 6 2 47 8 53 US: Gold US: 504,000 Eric Paslay "Song About a Girl" 2014 18 12 85 25 — US: 215,000 "She Don't Love You" 15 14 77 28 — US: 389,000 "High Class" 2015 32 32 — — —US: 64,000 Dressed in Black "Angels in This Town" 2016 — — — — — "Young Forever" 2018 — 41 — — — "—" denotes releases that did not chart
As a featured artist Single Year Peak positions Album US Country Songs US Country Airplay "The Driver" 2015 37 44 The Driver "My House" 2017 — — "—" denotes releases that did not chart
Music videos Video Year Director "Friday Night" 2013 Mason Dixon "Song About a Girl" 2014 Wes Edwards "She Don't Love You" 2015 "The Driver" TK McKamy "High Class" 2016 Wes Edwards
Awards and nominations Year Awards Award Outcome2016Grammy AwardsBest Country Duo/Group Performance – "The Driver"
References
External links