Michael W. Smith
Updated: Oct 7
Michael Whitaker Smith (born October 7, 1957) is an American musician who has charted in both contemporary Christian and mainstream charts. His biggest success in mainstream music was in 1991 when "Place in This World" hit No. 6 on the Billboard Hot 100. Over the course of his career, he has sold more than 18 million albums.
Smith is a three-time Grammy Award winner, an American Music Awards recipient and has earned 45 Dove Awards. In 1999, ASCAP awarded him with the "Golden Note" Award for lifetime achievement in songwriting, and in 2014 they honored him as the "cornerstone of Christian music" for his significant influence on the genre. He also has recorded 31 No. 1 Hit songs, fourteen gold albums, and five platinum albums. He has also starred in two films and published 14 books including This Is Your Time, which he worked with Christian author Gary Thomas to write.
Smith was born to Paul W. and Barbara Smith in Kenova, West Virginia. He has one sister named Kimberly. His father was an oil refinery worker at the Ashland Oil Refinery, in nearby Catlettsburg, Kentucky. His mother was a caterer. He inherited his love of baseball from his father, who had played in the minor leagues. As a child, he developed a love of music through his church, First Baptist Church of Kenova, where he learned piano and sang in the New Generation church choir. At the age of 10, he had "an intense spiritual experience" that led to his becoming a devout Christian. "I wore this big cross around my neck," he would recall, "It was very real to me." He became involved in Bible study and found a group of older friends who shared his faith.
After his older Christian friends moved away to college, Smith began to struggle with feelings of loneliness and alienation. After graduating from high school, he gravitated toward alcohol and drugs. He attended Marshall University while developing his songwriting skills but dropped out after one semester. He also played with various local bands around Huntington, West Virginia. During that time, his friend Shane Keister, who worked as a session musician in Nashville, encouraged him to move to Nashville, the Country Music capital, and pursue a career in music. In 1978, Smith moved to Nashville, taking a job as a landscaper to support himself. He played with several local bands in the Nashville club scene. He also developed a problem with substance abuse.
"I really started losing touch when I moved to Nashville, around April of '78. I was smokin' marijuana, drinking, doing some other drugs; just being crazy, you know. My mom and dad knew what I was doing. But they never hassled me; they just prayed for me. And I felt convicted by God. Every time I'd wake up I knew: This isn't me. But I couldn't change myself."
After a breakdown in November 1979, Smith decided to recommit to Christianity. The next day he auditioned for a new contemporary Christian music (CCM) group, Higher Ground, as a keyboardist and got the job. His lead vocals were heard on much of CCM radio with the single, "I Am." It was on his first tour with Higher Ground, playing mostly in churches, that Smith was finally able to put the drugs and alcohol behind him.
In 1981, while he was playing keyboards for Higher Ground, Smith was signed as a writer to Meadowgreen Music, where he wrote numerous gospel hits penned for artists such as Amy Grant, Sandi Patty, Kathy Troccoli, Larnelle Harris, White Heart and Bill Gaither, to the effect that some of these popular worship songs can now be found in church hymnals. The following year, Smith began touring as a keyboardist for Grant on her Age to Age tour. He became Grant's opening act and recorded his first Grammy-nominated solo album The Michael W. Smith Project (which he also produced himself) in 1983 on the Reunion Records label. This album contained the first recording of his hit "Friends," which he co-wrote with his wife Deborah. By the time Smith's second album Michael W. Smith 2 was released in 1984, he was headlining his own tours. Smith won his first Grammy and Dove Awards in 1985. In 1986, Smith released The Big Picture. After the release of his 1988 effort, i 2 (EYE), Smith once again collaborated with Grant for her "Lead Me On" world tour. The following year, Smith recorded his first Christmas album, simply titled Christmas (1989).
In 1990, Smith released Go West Young Man, his first mainstream effort, which included the mainstream crossover hit single "Place in This World." The song peaked at No. 6 on the Billboard Hot 100 and in 1992, Smith won Song of the Year at the Dove Awards. That same year, he released Change Your World, which included the No. 1 adult contemporary hit "I Will Be Here for You." In 1993 Smith released his first box set, The Wonder Years and his first greatest hits album, The First Decade (1983–1993). The latter also includes two new songs, "Do You Dream of Me?" and "Kentucky Rose." In 1994, Smith appeared as a guest pianist on the album Swing, Swang, Swung by Christian rock band Guardian. In 1995, Smith released his eighth album I'll Lead You Home, which combines the pop style of his secular albums with a touch of religious feel. Live the Life (1998) and This Is Your Time (1999) follow the same style. In 1998, Smith also released his second Christmas album, Christmastime. Smith collaborated with Jim Brickman on "Love of My Life," a romantic love song for Brickman's album Destiny in 1999. The song went to chart at No. 9 on the Billboard Adult Contemporary chart. Also in 1999, he became the first Christian artist to receive the ASCAP "Golden Note" Award for lifetime achievement in songwriting.
Smith started a musical change in the 2000s, starting with the release of his first all-instrumental album Freedom (2000). In 2001, Smith released his first live contemporary worship album Worship on September 11. A year later, he released his follow-up album Worship Again. Both albums were big sellers during that time frame. Smith won Dove Awards for both projects and even picked up a Grammy Award for Worship Again. Worship Again also includes a song that Smith wrote called "There She Stands," inspired by the September 11, 2001 attacks.
He performed this song live for the 2004 Republican National Convention, saying that President George W. Bush, who he said is a fan and a family friend, had asked him to write a song about the attacks. In 2002, Smith released a live DVD titled Worship featuring songs from both projects. It was an immediate best seller. Smith released his second "greatest hits" project The Second Decade (1993-2003),which included two new tracks, "Signs" and "Raging Sea."
Smith's next studio album, Healing Rain, was released in 2004 and debuted at No. 11 on the Billboard 200 Chart. The title track rose to No. 1 on the Radio & Records Christian AC and Inspo charts and a music video for the song was released. The album combines the pop style of his previous recordings with the religious feel of his two live worship albums. It was also nominated for a Grammy Award for Best Pop/Contemporary Gospel Album. In 2006 he released Stand, which is similar to Healing Rain (2004) in style and genre but with more Christian-themed songs. Also in 2006, Smith did the score and soundtrack to the film The Second Chance, which he also starred in. He also released a single from the soundtrack album, "All in the Serve." In October 2007, he released his third Christmas album, It's a Wonderful Christmas. On June 20, 2008, Smith recorded his third live worship album at the Lakewood Church in Houston, Texas, titled A New Hallelujah. It was released in October 2008. That same month he began a tour with Steven Curtis Chapman. In September 2010, he released Wonder, which follows the CCM style of Healing Rain (2004) and Stand (2006).
Smith's second instrumental album, Glory, was released on November 22, 2011. Unlike his first instrumental album, Freedom (2000), this album features a 65-piece orchestra recorded at AIR Studios Lyndhurst Hall in London and Wildwood Recording Studio in Nashville. The following year he released his third "greatest
hits" compilation album, Decades of Worship (2012), which featured his worship-themed recordings. In 2014, Smith released three albums, Hymns, Sovereign, and The Spirit of Christmas. Hymns is Smith's first effort at doing his own rendition of traditional hymns, and it was released exclusively at Cracker Barrel Old Country Store on March 24, 2014. The album sold 12,000 copies in its first week of release and debuted at No. 24 on the Billboard 200. It was also the best-selling Christian music album for the week of April 19, 2014, and won a Dove Award for Inspirational
Album of the Year. Sovereign, released on May 13, 2014, is his first studio worship album and his first album released through Capitol Records, after leaving his long-time label Reunion Records in 2013. The album sold almost 16,000 copies in its first week, and debuted at No. 10 on the Billboard 200, making it the highest-charting album in his career as of 2014. The Spirit of Christmas, officially released as Michael W. Smith & Friends: The Spirit of Christmas, is Smith's first duet album. Released on September 30, 2014, it features duets with Amy Grant, Vince Gill, Carrie Underwood, Little Big Town, Jennifer Nettles and others. The album marks Smith's third new album in 2014 to enter the Billboard 200, peaking at No. 16 as of December 2014. It also won him a Dove Award for Christmas Album of the Year.
Smith released his second hymns project Hymns II - Shine On Us in January 2016. In February 2018, Smith released A Million Lights his first pop-oriented project on his independent label Rocketown, with distribution by The Fuel Group. A week later, he released Surrounded, his first live worship album in over a decade. Smith released his first children's music project Lullaby in May 2018, along with a series of children's books. Smith next released Awaken: The Surrounded Experience in February 2019. A radio single of "Waymaker," featuring Vanessa Campagna, climbed to No. 1 on the Billboard Christian Airplay chart, Smith's first No. 1 hit in 20 years and was later his first Gold-certified single.
Smith released Worship Forever to commemorate the 20th anniversary of 9/11 and the release of Worship (2001). Smith then released his fifth Christmas album Every Christmas in 2023. In 2025, in lieu of a new studio project, Smith has since released a series of stand-alone tracks such as "Arms Around the Sun," "Your Love Is a Flood" and "Kingdom Come" and has done a series of live concerts performing his new tracks, past hits and worship songs. Smith did say that a new full-length studio album would be ready by 2027.
More information on Michael W. Smith at Wikipedia:
Discography
Lullabye (2018)
TBA (2027)
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