Eric Church Helped Land Taylor Swift Her First Big Gig

In a new interview, Eric Church is taking partial credit for Taylor Swift's rise to stardom.

(Undated)  --  It turns out Eric Church helped land Taylor Swift one of her first big singing gigs. 

Taste of Country reports that Church opened for Rascal Flatts on tour in 2006, but was fired because he played past the time he was allotted and went on parts of the stage he wasn't supposed to. 

Swift was hired to replace him, and he told her he though she was better suited. 

Church also joked that she should give him her first gold album in exchange for the exposure he gave her, which she did.