Video Of Oliver Anthony Singing “Rich Men North Of Richmond” Goes Viral In Mere Days
By now, you’ve surely heard of Oliver Anthony and his viral song, “Rich Men North of Richmond.” A video of Anthony performing the tune was uploaded on the YouTube channel radiowv on August 8.
The video accumulated millions of views at a rapid pace. At the time of this writing, it has well over 18 million views. It’s also the #1 trending video for music on YouTube.
In addition, “Rich Men North of Richmond” sailed to the top of the iTunes chart. Several of Anthony’s other songs also appeared in the chart’s Top 10.
Oliver Says He Never Wanted To Become A Full-Time Singer
After a whirlwind few days, Anthony took to Facebook to formally introduce himself to his many new fans. He started off by saying how he’s received over 50,000 messages and emails over the past week.
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Anthony shared how people have reached out to him sharing their stories about addiction, unemployment, anxiety, and more. “Rich Men North of Richmond” was a song they could relate to for these reasons.
While Anthony is touched by all of these messages, he says the song’s success has put him “in such a weird place.” He admits he never wanted to be a full-time singer:
“People in the music industry give me blank stares when I brush off 8 million dollar offers,” he said. “I don’t want 6 tour buses, 15 tractor trailers and a jet. I don’t want to play stadium shows, I don’t want to be in the spotlight. I wrote the music I wrote because I was suffering with mental health and depression. These songs have connected with millions of people on such a deep level because they’re being sung by someone feeling the words in the very moment they were being sung. No editing, no agent, no bullshit. Just some idiot and his guitar. The style of music that we should have never gotten away from in the first place.”
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Oliver Anthony Went On To Formally Introduced Himself, And Revealed His Real Name
From there, Anthony revealed that his real name is not Oliver Anthony. It’s Christopher Anthony Lunsford. His grandfather was Oliver Anthony, and he chose to take on his name as a dedication to him:
“‘Oliver Anthony Music’ is a dedication not only to him, but 1930’s Appalachia where he was born and raised. Dirt floors, seven kids, hard times. At this point, I’ll gladly go by Oliver because everyone knows me as such,” Anthony said.
He went into detail about his personal history, which has its dark moments:
“There’s nothing special about me. I’m not a good musician, I’m not a very good person. I’ve spent the last 5 years struggling with mental health and using alcohol to drown it. I am sad to see the world in the state it’s in, with everyone fighting with each other. I have spent many nights feeling hopeless, that the greatest country on Earth is quickly fading away.”
Look below to read Anthony’s full statement about his past and his newfound fame.