Who is Oliver Anthony? Former factory worker lives in a camper and refuses to sign $8M music deal after Rich Men North of Richmond became global smash hit
Weeks ago, Oliver Anthony only had a few hundred social media followers and was touring as an unknown country singer. Yesterday he claimed to have rejected $8 million.
His viral success is a result of his blue-collar ballad “Rich Men North of Richmond,” in which he rails against “working overtime for bulls to pay” and berates awakened politicians for only caring about “minors on an island.” somewhere.’
But before his fame, the 31-year-old — real name Christopher Anthony Lunsford — was a struggling former factory worker from Farmville, Virginia. He dropped out of school at age 17 and worked a number of factory jobs, most recently at a paper mill in McDowell County, North Carolina.
After a devastating skull injury, he transitioned into industrial production in 2014, and says hearing the heartbreaking stories of workers “damn tired of neglect, division and manipulation” fueled his music.
While brushing off lucrative record deals and amassing legions of daily fans, Anthony says he still lives in an 8-foot camper covered with a tarp on the roof.
Oliver Anthony went from unknown country artist to chart topper overnight with his working man’s ballad “Rich Men North of Richmond”
A few weeks ago, the musician – real name Christopher Anthony Lunsford – was a relative unknown with only a few hundred social media followers
The Farmville, Virginia native has been performing as a relative unknown for years and characterizes himself as just “an idiot with a guitar”
Anthony’s last registered address is a small house in Petersburg City County, Virginia
Anthony’s blue collar roots have led the music industry to give him “blank stares,” he said Thursday, after turning down multimillion-dollar deals, claiming he “never wanted to be a full-time musician.”
“I wrote the music I wrote because I suffered from mental health and depression,” he said.
“These songs have connected with millions of people on such a deep level because they are sung by someone who feels the words the moment they are sung.”
Known as Chris to his friends, the singer performs as Oliver Anthony in tribute to his grandfather who struggled in 1930s Appalachia in a house marked with “dirty floors, seven kids, and hard times.”
“Right now I’m happy to pass Oliver because everyone knows me as such,” he said. “But my friends and family still call me Chris. You can decide for yourself, it’s both good.’
His real name is Christopher Anthony Lunsford, and says he performs as Oliver Anthony in tribute to his grandfather of the same name, who struggled through “dirty floors, seven kids and hard times”
Anthony worked his last factory shift in 2013, when he fractured his skull while working at a paper mill in West Virginia
In 2013, he had a breakout job at a paper mill in North Carolina, working six days a week for $14.50 an hour in what he described as “living hell.”
While working shifts, he had a terrible accident and fractured his skull, forcing him to return to Virginia. He said complications from the injury put him out of work for six months.
Until his viral hit enabled him to make music, he spent the last decade working in industrial production, which took him “all over Virginia and the Carolinas.” As he roamed the heartland of America, he encountered countless struggling workers who processed his lyrics.
“I’ve heard the same story all day, every day for the past 10 years. People are SO damn tired of being neglected, divided and manipulated,” he said.
Despite his viral hit, Anthony still lives in a 27-foot camper with a tarp on the roof, which he bought off Craigslist for $70.
After the release of ‘Rich Men North of Richmond’, he was the focus of music producers who wanted to cash in on his cultural moment. In response, he rejected stadium shows, tour buses, and jets, claiming instead, “I don’t want to be in the limelight.”
As millions listen to his raspy tones, Anthony instead considers himself “an idiot with a guitar,” who has overcome serious mental health issues.
He has also notably resonated with conservative audiences, but seems to eschew the politicization of his music and claims to dislike the cultural divides seen on social media.
“The internet is a parasite, infecting people’s minds and doing their thing,” he said this week.
“Hurses wasted, goals forgotten, loved ones sitting in houses with each other all day, distracted by technology made by the hands of other poor souls in sweatshops in a foreign land.”
His raspy voice and heartbreaking lyrics have won over legions of fans, with “Rich Men North of Richmond” having received over 20 million views in the nine days since it was released
When he recorded his hit with a local radio station, Anthony said he hoped it would get a few hundred thousand views
In a heartfelt update on his life released Thursday, Anthony said that after a decade of struggle, he was overwhelmed by the viral success of his music.
Anthony’s sudden rise to fame came as he rode the wave of America’s country music revival, and his chart-topping hit battled it out with Taylor Swift, Luke Combs and Morgan Wallen for the Billboard No. 1 spot.
He says the song has spawned a wave of more than 50,000 messages in the week since it went viral, where listeners have reported the heartbreak and struggle in its lyrics.
“The stories that have been shared paint a brutally honest picture. Suicide, addiction, unemployment, anxiety and depression, hopelessness and the list goes on,” he said in a post on his Facebook, which now has more than 420,000 followers.
When he recorded the song with a local radio station, he said he hoped it would get a few hundred thousand views. In the nine days since he released the song, it has been viewed more than 20 million times.
“I still don’t quite believe what’s happened since we uploaded that. It’s just strange to me,” he said, feeling that he’s clearly not meant for a rock star lifestyle and doesn’t want to be in the spotlight.
As a former factory worker, Anthony’s lyrics have reached millions of American men who relate to how “all this goddamn country does is kick ’em down.”