Michael W. Smith has the whole package: incredible talent, good looks and profound faith. It's easy to become disillusioned in the music business, especially after the kind of success Smith has achieved. However, through his faith and his music, Michael W. Smith is one of the true role models in modern American music.
Born in West Virginia, Michael enjoyed playing baseball like the other little boys around him. What made him different was his great affinity for music. He started playing the piano at an unusually young age. By the time he was just five years old, he had penned his first song. He enjoyed singing in the church choir, and when he reached his teens, he felt he was ready to commit himself to the Lord. He enjoyed a happy childhood nurturing his musical talent while praising the Lord with a group of other Christians in the neighborhood.
Michael experienced a low point in his life when his older Christian friends went off to college. Drugs and alcohol drove him even lower. When he eventually finished high school, he was at college for less than a year when he quit to become a songwriter. Like his faith, songwriting and experimenting with music brought him a feeling of wholeness and happiness. He was involved with a few local bands at the time, and professional songwriting was the perfect career choice because of his passion for music.
His first songwriting contract was signed with a publishing company in 1981. He gave up his odd jobs, one of which was assisting in a landscaping business. Michael was first asked to write songs for up-and-coming musician Amy Grant. He took the job and also spent time working on his own material. Michael quickly gained a reputation as a successful songwriter for artists like Bill Gaither and Sandi Patty. Amy Grant's management approached him to play keyboard on one of her tours, and Michael happily accepted.
Michael produced his first album, The Michael W. Smith, and it was released in 1983. The response was overwhelming, and the album was nominated for a Grammy award. The album was released on the Reunion Records label, which was started by Amy Grant's management. Mainstream companies were skeptical about taking on Christian acts at the time, so they started their own company. The label became so successful that music giant BMG Records ended up owning it by 1995.
Michael quickly followed up the success of the first album. He worked hard to release three more in 1984, 1986 and 1988. His 1990 offering spawned the mainstream hit "Place in This World." His albums did well throughout the 1990's, and in 1996, he established his own label called Rocketown Records to promote other Christian musicians.
National tragedies like the Columbine attack and 9/11 prompted Michael to write music in honor of the victims that lost their life. He became firm friends with the Bush family and U2's leading man and philanthropist, Bono. Michael continued to make music into the new millennium, and in 2003, he was awarded the GMA Awards' Male Vocalist of the Year. New Michael W. Smith albums were released in 2004 and 2006 to an ever-growing fan base, thanks to Christian youth camps around the country playing his music.
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