It seems unfathomable… In many ways, Eric Church is a bit of an enigma in country music. Oftentimes, he strays away from what many would consider to be classic hallmarks of the genre, including but not limited to rare uses of fiddle in many of his songs and the outright refusal to use steel guitar on many of his songs post Sinners Like Me. Despite this constant urge to push the limits and reinvent his sound, Church has remained not only one of the best artists in the genre over the two decades but also one of the most important, influencing megastars like Morgan Wallen and Luke Combs as well as alternative country standouts such as Carter Faith, Charles Wesley Godwin, Colby Acuff and more. When you actually take a look at his career accolades, it’s not quite as robust as you might think. Sure, he finally won his long-awaited CMA Entertainer of the Year Award in 2020, along with a double-up Album of the Year win at the ACMs and CMAs for Chief years before. With that being said, however, he’s never been an awards show darling like Chris Stapleton, Lainey Wilson or Miranda Lambert. Looking at his overall career chart-wise, it’s even more shocking. Despite being recognized as one of the best and most influential country artists of the 21st century, the “Springsteen” singer only has seven solo #1 hits (11 if you count collaborations) on both of Billboard’s country charts (Hot Country Songs and Country Airplay). The most recent of his chart-toppers, “Hell of a View,” went #1 on Billboard’s Country Airplay charts five years ago today, on May 29, 2021, a steady 29 weeks after it was initially released on October 20th. You heard that right; it’s been 1,826 days, the entirety of the Biden administration and an entire year of Trump’s second term in office since Church last secured a #1 hit. While, of course, you can chalk most of it up to him not playing the radio game, focusing on albums over singles and generally doing whatever he wants artistically, it still feels quite shocking that he hasn’t topped the charts in this long. Hell, someone could have finished their entire college degree (potentially with a master’s) during that time span. It should be noted that the Chief has scored one since then, snagging a #1 with Billboard’s Artist of the Year, Morgan Wallen, in April 2024 with “Man Made a Bar.” With that being said, however, it still feels unfathomable that it’s been that long. Taking a look at his singles output, it’s actually been quite low. Since “Hell of a View” went #1 back in 2021, Church released “Doing Life With Me,” a bit of an odd choice, all things considered, given that it wasn’t exactly a radio-friendly track and appeared on the second, smaller installment of the Heart & Soul project, &. Though it was certified gold by the RIAA in November 2024, it only peaked at #34 on Country Airplay and never even charted on Hot Country Songs. The head-scratcher, in my opinion, is the lack of love received from his most recent single, “Hands of Time.” As we know at this point, 2025’s Evangeline vs. the Machine was hardly looking to make waves on the radio or in a commercial sense in general, opting for an incredibly experimental, cinematic approach to its construction. With that being said, “Hands of Time” was the one track that was primed to be a hit, being incredibly infectious, nostalgic and ultimately, a tried and true Chief song. Despite having #1 hit written all over it, “Hands of Time” never received much love. As of today, it only peaked at #14 and #20, respectively, on Country Airplay and Hot Country Songs. Since “Hands of Time’s” release as a single last May, we still have not received a second single from Evangeline vs. the Machine, and it will most likely stay that way due to the aforementioned structure of that album. As previously mentioned, it shouldn’t come as the biggest surprise in the world, given that Church has always made a name for himself going against nearly every convention in Nashville, not playing the radio game and curating a batch of hits among fans that never received much attention nationwide. It still begs the question, “When are we going to see the Chief rise to the top of the charts again?” I think I speak for everyone when I say I hope it comes sooner rather than later. “Hell of a View” The post How Has It Been 5 Years Since Eric Church Scored His Last Solo #1 Hit? first appeared on Whiskey Riff.