Eleven days prior, a coal country ballad titled “Rich Men North Of Richmond,” authored by Oliver Anthony, found its way to YouTube. This song has now transformed into a political anthem resonating with blue-collar individuals across the United States, as the nation braces itself for the upcoming 2024 presidential election season.
Just recently, on Thursday, the artist Oliver Anthony unveiled his true identity as Christopher Anthony Lunsford. He expressed his astonishment at the overwhelming viral reaction the song received, admitting that he had initially only expected a viewership in the hundreds of thousands, not the millions it garnered. By Friday, the song had claimed the top spot on iTunes’ ranking chart.
Lunsford provided an elaborate explanation on his Facebook page, sharing that he declined an offer of $8 million from surprised music industry executives:
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 bullshit. Just some idiot and his guitar. The style of music that we should have never gotten away from in the first place.
After achieving viral status just over a week ago, he has been inundated with more than 50,000 messages from individuals responding to the song. He mentioned that among these messages are accounts of “suicidal thoughts, struggles with addiction, experiences of joblessness, battles with anxiety and depression, feelings of despair, and the like.”
Lunsford delved further into offering additional insights regarding his true identity and background…
My legal name is Christopher Anthony Lunsford. 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.
In 2010, I dropped out of high school at age 17. I have a GED from Spruce Pine, NC. I worked multiple plant jobs in Western NC, my last being at the paper mill in McDowell county. I worked 3rd shift, 6 days a week for $14.50 an hour in a living hell. In 2013, I had a bad fall at work and fractured my skull. It forced me to move back home to Virginia. Due to complications from the injury, it took me 6 months or so before I could work again.
From 2014 until just a few days ago, I’ve worked outside sales in the industrial manufacturing world. My job has taken me all over Virginia and into the Carolinas, getting to know tens of thousands of other blue collar workers on job sites and in factories. Ive spent all day, everyday, for the last 10 years hearing the same story. People are SO damn tired of being neglected, divided and manipulated.
In 2019, I paid $97,500 for the property and still owe about $60,000 on it. I am living in a 27′ camper with a tarp on the roof that I got off of craigslist for $750.
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.
That being said, I HATE the way the Internet has divided all of us. The Internet is a parasite, that infects the minds of humans and has their way with them. Hours wasted, goals forgotten, loved ones sitting in houses with each other distracted all day by technology made by the hands of other poor souls in sweat shops in a foreign land.
When is enough, enough? 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.
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.
Indeed, the past eleven days have been a whirlwind for Lunsford, whose coal country ballad “Rich Men North Of Richmond” swiftly captured the attention of the public – a public screaming to voice their protests against the ongoing manmade disasters affecting the entire nation.
This marks the beginning of another revolution, a distinct form of mass action that even the Left may not have foreseen. The song has transformed into a resounding anthem for numerous blue-collar Americans, anticipating the upcoming 2024 presidential election.
The unforeseen magnitude of the song’s viral response and the influx of messages he has received, delving into common themes such as struggles with mental health, addiction, and despair, emphasize not only the profound emotional bond to his music but also the connection to his fellow Americans. These individuals, like him, are simply striving to endure the ongoing harshness perpetuated by the elite class in their midst.
Lunsford’s narrative acts as a reminder that amid the opulence of High Society, it is frequently the unrefined, unfiltered expressions that genuinely resonate and leave a lasting impact on the populace the latter aim to impress.
This is something we all need to think about this weekend, and in the days far ahead. Have a good one.
