Watch Eric Church Nail “As Good as I Once Was” During the Toby Keith Tribute Concert

Monday night (July 29) saw some of the biggest names in country music gathering at Nashville’s Bridgestone Arena for Toby Keith: American Icon. One-part benefit concert, and one-part tribute show, the event featured an A-list lineup of country stars performing some of Keith’s biggest hits to honor his legacy. Eric Church was among those who took the stage. He performed “As Good As I Once Was” during the event.

Church took the stage sporting his signature sunglasses and delivered a straightforward cover of the 2005 hit. A highlight of the evening for many fans, Chief’s North Carolina twang fit the song perfectly. Watch a clip of the standout performance below.

Videos by American Songwriter

[RELATED: The Best Performances From ‘Toby Keith: American Icon’ Tribute Concert; How To Watch the Full Show]

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Eric Church pays tribute to Toby Keith singing “As Good As I Once Was” in Nashville at Toby Keith American Icon. #ericchurch #ericchurch #tobykeithhometownjam #tobykeithtribute #countrymusic #countrymusictiktoks #tobykeithtributeconcert #nashville #nashvilletn

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Church had reason to pay tribute to Keith at the concert. Early in his career, Chief earned a reputation for breaking rules on the road. As a result, he found it hard to get booked. Then, he met Keith. “About 15 years ago, I was starting my career, and we were having a hard time getting anybody in country music to let us come play shows with them,” he explained during the tribute show. “Toby Keith was the guy who called and said, ‘Hey, why don’t you come play some shows with me?’ There is no way I’m standing here today if it wasn’t for Toby Keith,” he added.

[RELATED: Eric Church Recalls the Country Music Legend Who Invited Him on Tour When No One Else Would Book Him]

Eric Church Covers a Toby Keith Megahit

Eric Church really knows how to pick great songs.

Toby Keith co-wrote “As Good as I Once Was” with his longtime collaborator Scotty Emerick. He released it in May 2005 as the second single from Honkytonk University. The single went to the top of the Billboard Hot Country Songs chart and stayed there for a whopping six weeks. More than that, it became one of his signature songs.

After TK passed away in February a handful of his songs made their way back to the Hot Country Songs chart and “As Good as I Once Was” was one of them. The song peaked at No. 19 on the chart its second time around.

Featured Image by Debby Wong