Eric grew up in the small towns of Weaubleau and Warsaw, Missouri, where his parents (both school teachers) instilled in him a love of music and sports. When Eric was seven, his father taught him to play the guitar, and he grew up playing and singing in church with his father and his sister. 

Eric enjoys playing basketball, softball, and golf, watching the Kansas City Chiefs on Sundays, riding his motorcycle, and spending time with his grandson Hunter. Eric reads the Bible daily and accepted Jesus Christ as his Savior when he was nine years old. He is married to the love of his life, Rita, an original cast member of The Carolina Opry, and whom he met onstage there in March of 1989. 

Eric joined Calvin Gilmore Productions in 1989 as an original cast member of The Dixie Jubilee in North Myrtle Beach.  Eric loves to make people laugh and says that being in The Carolina Opry cast “is like having a second family.”