About / Bio

ERIC SILVER - MY STORY

THE BEGINNING

I grew up in Greensboro, NC, surrounded my music. My mom was a trained opera singer, her brother a classical violinist and composer and my dad played piano, sang and loved jazz. I started playing piano and guitar around eight years old and then moved on to banjo, fiddle and mandolin.

I worked in a music store so I had access to lots of instruments and started playing everything I could get my hands on. At seventeen I was hired to work over the summer as a musician at Opryland theme park in Nashville. After high school, I moved back to Nashville for good. I listened to many styles of music and as luck would have it, I toured with diverse artists like jazz mandolinist, David Grisman, the Dixie Chicks, Shania Twain, Keith Urban, Cyndi Lauper, all the while focusing on getting into the Nashville studio scene.

Playing various instruments, I’ve recorded with Shania Twain, Dolly Parton, Brandy, Blackhawk, Martina McBride and bass wizard, Victor Wooten. Studio work led to song-writing and my songs have been recorded by Donna Summer, Reba McIntire, Toby Keith and Diamond Rio to name a few. In 2001 my song "Without You" went number-one for the Dixie Chicks on their diamond (10,000,000 sales) album, Fly. All-together, I’ve had songs on albums totaling over 15 million in sales. Song-writing lead to producing Nashville artists like Neal McCoy, Michelle Wright and Ricochet.

BRAZIL

In the late 1980's I recorded an album in Nashville with a Brazilian singer named, Almir Sater. He invited me to come perform in Brazil which I did. I loved it there and started going back regularly and started to work in the Brazilian music scene. I’ve recorded with folk legends like Almir and Victor E Leo, rockers NX Zero and Titâs, and pop artists Vitor Kley and Rouge. So far over 120 songs of mine have been recorded by Brazilian artists.

I’ve released three solo albums in Brazil. On the second I decided to record classic Brazilian folk/country songs, translated into English. The album, Bridges, Friends and Brothers, was released in 2015 (Universal Records) with guest appearances by, Almir, Renato Teixeira, Sergio Reis, Paula Fernandes and Sergio Britto, along with Nashvillians, Vince Gill, Kix Brooks, Jay Demarcus, and Victor Wooten.

Subsequently Almir asked if I’d produce a duets album for him and Renato Teixeira. The album, AR, ended up winning the 2016 Latin GRAMMY for the best traditional Brazilian album. The follow up, +AR, won the same award in 2018. I’ve also been very fortunate to have had over ten of my songs used in Globo and SBT telenovelas.

My life is now divided between Nashville and Brazil where I married. Being a musician, singer and writer isn't always easy. But music is a joyful thing that helps make the world go around. It's helped send me around the world and paid in a lifetime of beautiful experiences and friendships. I’m very grateful.