Oliver Anthony’s “Rich Men North of Richmond”, a song he wrote, became a huge hit in August. The song has now reached number one on iTunes, Spotify, and Apple. The Billboard Hot 100 chart is also climbing. As of Friday, it has 25 million views on RadioWV.com on YouTube. The video is being shared all over social media.
His song touched people all over the country. He was even attacked by progressives and the GOP for speaking the truth. You know he has to be doing something right.
The songwriter was shocked by what had happened. In a recent Facebook post, he explains that he hoped to reach at least 300K views on YouTube. He’s showing his realness with this response.
While he has posted his songs on YouTube under the stage name “Oliver Anthony”, his real name is Christopher Anthony Lunsford. “Oliver Anthony”, his grandfather’s surname, is the name he uses. He chose it to honor his grandfather and the Appalachian region where he was raised in the 1930s. “Dirty floors, seven children, hard times,” explained he.
Anthony said he did not want the fame trappings. He claimed to have turned down eight million dollars in offers since his song became popular. He still lives in a trailer in Farmville with a tarp on his land in Virginia with his three doggies.
“I don’t want six tour busses, 15 tractor-trailers, and a plane.” I don’t like to play in stadiums, and I’m not interested in being the center of attention,” Lunsford said, adding that the song was written because he struggled with depression.
He wrote: “These songs have touched millions of people because they are being sung in a way that they feel the words as they are being sung.” No editing, no agent, and no bulls**t. Only some idiot with his guitar. This is the style of music we should never have strayed from.
Anthony worked in multiple plants across Virginia and Carolinas until he fractured his skull at work in 2013. After he recovered, he went back home and started working in sales. He said that by working in these plants he had a better understanding of how people felt and he was able to hear a lot of the same stories. He said, “People are SO DAMN TIRED of being ignored, divided, and manipulated.”
Nothing special is about me. I am not a great musician or a very good human being. I have spent the past 5 years struggling to maintain my mental health, and drinking alcohol in order to do so. It’s sad to see how the world is now, with people fighting each other. I’ve spent many sleepless nights worrying that the world is fading fast. [….]
When will enough be enough? When will we fight again for what’s right? MILLIONS of people have died to protect the liberties that we enjoy. The freedom of speech is a priceless gift. In all of history, the world has never had such freedom as it does today. Do not let them take your freedom away.
I’d like to disagree. I don’t really know who he is but his music is very soulful. You can listen to more of his music on YouTube. Here is another good one:
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