When describing videos, the term “viral” gets tossed around a lot these days, and it’s almost always an exaggeration. This is NOT the case when it comes to the video of Oliver Anthony singing his current No. 1 song, “Rich Men North of Richmond.”
The 3-minute video was posted by RadioWV on Aug. 8, 2023, and at the time of this writing, it has surpassed 33M views. Many fans of the song are calling it an anthem for the blue-collar worker. And FYI: the “rich men north of Richmond” means politicians in Washington D.C., which is located north of Richmond, Virginia.
Here’s the text that Draven Riffe from RadioWV posted with the YouTube video:
“When I first came across Oliver Anthony and his music, I was blown away to say the least. He had a whole collection of songs that I could listen to for hours. Oliver resides in Farmville, Virginia, with his three dogs and a plot of land he plans on turning into a small farm to raise livestock. We have a whole mess of songs set to release of Oliver for your viewing and listening pleasure; he is truly special and notes his biggest influence as Hank Williams Jr. Oliver wants to give hope to the working class and your average hard-working young man who may have lost hope in the grind of trying to get by.”
As seen in the video screen-shot at the top of this page, and throughout the video, you can see an inexpensive one-person ladder stand, with a weathered-camo skirt hanging from the shooting rail to hide a deer hunter. Awesome!
Oliver Anthony has several videos on his own YouTube page; click here to check it out. In addition, you can learn a lot more about him on his Facebook page, Oliver Anthony Music.
Click on the FB post below where he reveals his real name, Christopher Anthony Lunsford. He wrote: “My grandfather was Oliver Anthony, and ‘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. But my friends and family still call me Chris. You can decide for yourself, either is fine.”
Oliver lives in a 27-foot camper with a tarp on the roof; he purchased the camper on Craigslist for $750. And this is not a misprint: At least one record company wanted to sign him and he turned down $8M! He explains why in his FB post below.
Finally, Oliver Anthony’s hit debuted at No. 1 on the Billboard Hot 100 songs chart. He’s the FIRST artist with no prior chart history to launch on top of the list. Crazy!
