Oliver Anthony Introduces Himself Amid ‘Rich Men North Of Richmond’ Success

Virginia country singer Oliver Anthony, a former factory worker, has gone unexpectedly viral thanks to his song “Rich Men North of Richmond,” and on Thursday (Aug. 17) he took to Facebook to introduce himself to his new fanbase.

“I’m sitting in such a weird place in my life right now,” he wrote, noting that he received “50,000+ messages and emails” recently with people sharing heartbreaking stories. “I never wanted to be a full time musician, much less sit at the top of the iTunes charts. Draven from RadioWv and I filmed these tunes on my land with the hope that it may hit 300k views. I still don’t quite believe what has went on since we uploaded that. It’s just strange to me.”

He continued, “People in the music industry give me blank stares when I brush off 8 million dollar offers. 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 bulls—. Just some idiot and his guitar. The style of music that we should have never gotten away from in the first place.”

The singer then ran down his biography, sharing that his name is Christopher Anthony Lunsford, but the stage name Oliver Anthony is in honor of his late grandfather and “1930’s Appalachia where he was born and raised.” He dropped out of high school at age 17, but went on to earn his GED. He worked multiple jobs before suffering a fractured skull after a “bad fall” in 2013, which led him to move back to his home state of Virginia. “There’s nothing special about me. I’m not a good musician, I’m not a very good person,” he wrote. “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.”

He then opened up about his feelings surrounding the divisive nature of the Internet and reclaiming freedom. “When are we going to fight for what is right again? MILLIONS have died protecting the liberties we have. Freedom of speech is such a precious gift. Never in world history has the world had the freedom it currently does. Don’t let them take it away from you,” he concluded. “Just like those once wandering in the desert, we have lost our way from God and have let false idols distract us and divide us. It’s a damn shame.”

Read his full post here.

The now-viral video of Anthony, posted by radiowv, shows the singer offering an acoustic performance of “Rich Men North of Richmond,” vocalizing the pain and angst of the working class at the hands of greedy rich men. The song takes on high taxes, abuse of welfare and selfish politicians.

Watch it below.