The Shocking True Story of Rich Men North of Richmond Singer Oliver Anthony

The Shocking True Story of Rich Men North of Richmond Singer Oliver Anthony

Welcome to WatchMojo, and today we’re delving into how this folk singer went from recording songs on his phone to topping the Billboard charts.

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An Overnight Sensation?

Some may describe Oliver Anthony as an overnight success. The truth is that nobody literally achieves success overnight. Anthony’s story is one nearly 30 years in the making. It’s a tale riddled with hardships, both universal and personal. His experiences have culminated in a song that’s united some and divided others. However you interpret Anthony’s music, he has struck a chord with those who feel they live in the shadow of the “rich men” of the song’s title.

Oliver Anthony was born Christopher Anthony Lunsford in the early ‘90s. His stage name derived from his grandfather, Oliver Anthony, who grew up thinking that his legal name was Anthony Oliver until he tracked down his birth certificate. The senior Anthony was raised against a Depression era backdrop in America’s Appalachia region. In addition to his grandfather, Lunsford’s stage name serves as a tribute to the 1930s when his elders lived on dirt floors with several mouths to feed. His grandfather’s upbringing would reflect Oliver Anthony’s financial struggles in 21st-century America.

Before he was a songwriter, a 17-year-old Anthony dropped out of high school in 2010. Anthony later attained a GED from Spruce Pine, North Carolina. While living in the Old North State, he worked in a McDowell County paper mill six days a week, earning $14.50 per hour. Following a work-related injury in 2013, Anthony moved back to his home in Virginia. Due to the fractured skull from his fall, he had to go six months without work. As an outside sales employee, Anthony spent the next decade visiting factories and job sites, meeting blue-collar workers across Virginia to the Carolinas region. Anthony claims to have noticed a trend in working-class America: he says, “People are SO damn tired of being neglected, divided and manipulated.”

Anthony could relate to these frustrations, paying off a $97,500 property fee in 2019 with $60,000 still owed. Anthony bought a 27′ camper off Craigslist for $750, providing a roof for his wife and two kids. In addition to struggling to make ends meet, Anthony grappled with mental health and alcohol use issues for five years. Songwriting provided an outlet for Anthony to express himself. Whereas his grandfather gave him a stage name, Anthony’s love of music can be traced back to his grandmother, who was in a band. Watching “Dukes of Hazzard” with his grandma growing up, he was drawn to the way Waylon Jennings played guitar. Anthony’s grandma continued to educate him about artists like Janis Joplin.

Although Anthony performed in front of friends, he didn’t see music as something he could pursue professionally. He finally decided to put himself out there with “Aint Gotta Dollar,” a tune about taking pleasure in life even when your wallet is empty. Anthony uploaded the song to YouTube on September 21, 2022. It’d be the first of several self-released songs that he recorded on his mobile phone. Behind the scenes, Anthony’s battle with his inner demons persisted, at one point having what he called a “breakdown moment.” Despite not being the most religious person, Anthony asked God to help him achieve his dream on the road to sobriety. After almost 30 days of being sober, Anthony received an offer from the YouTube and TikTok music channel, Radiowv.

Draven Riffe co-founded Radiowv in 2018, although the channel didn’t pick up significant steam until he reached out to Anthony. Through a friend from Missouri, Riffe learned about Anthony’s music, asking him to record a song for the channel. That song evolved into “Rich Men North of Richmond,” which Anthony initially wasn’t that enthusiastic about. Two days before recording, Anthony was only halfway through writing. He basically threw the rest together in about three-and-a-half hours, going straight into recording from there. The country song has lyrics touching on low income, hunger, inflation, and the idea of politicians failing to look out for the everyman. Anthony had reservations about the song, feeling that he wasn’t the right performer for such an anthem. Yet, “Rich Men North of Richmond” became an unprecedented breakout sensation.

Hitting YouTube on August 8, 2023, Anthony’s first professional recording gained more than five million views in three days. Joe Rogan and country singer John Rich also helped raise the song’s profile. By August 26, 2023, “Rich Men North of Richmond” ascended to the summit of the Billboard Hot 100, a first for a debut artist with no past history on the charts. This would bring attention to Anthony’s other music with “Aint Gotta Dollar,” “I Want to Go Home,” and “I’ve Got to Get Sober” all placing on the Hot Country Songs chart. “Rich Men” has broken the most records, though, also being the first male solo to debut number one on the Hot Country Songs and Hot 100, all without any radio play.

The song’s surprise success has been compared to the “Sound of Freedom,” which became an unexpected box office hit months earlier, as both touch upon child trafficking. Both have also proven divisive, with some feeling that they cater to the far-right. The lyric, “the obese milkin’ welfare,” has proven especially contentious, drawing criticism from actor Rainn Wilson. Dan Bongino, Matt Walsh, Kari Lake, and Marjorie Taylor Greene are just some of the conservative figures who have championed the song. It even became a talking point for Ron DeSantis during the first Republican presidential debate. Although he reportedly gave Fox News permission to use the song, Anthony found this funny since “Rich Men North of Richmond” targets the politicians on the GOP stage.

Anthony has clarified that “Rich Men North of Richmond” wasn’t written as a far-right anthem. This isn’t to say that it’s a left-wing anthem, as Anthony doesn’t endorse President Joe Biden either. Anthony argued that the right and left “weaponized” the song. Both sides attempted to categorize Anthony politically, but he considers himself “dead center down the aisle.” On social media, Anthony expressed how he “HATE(S) the way the Internet has divided all of us.” Although the right and left used the song as ammunition to fuel division, Anthony believes that most of his fans understood the unifying message he was trying to get across. “Rich Men North of Richmond” was written to channel the struggles of an everyman, although this carries a certain irony.

A Rags to Riches Story?

Some critics have pointed out that the song has turned Anthony into a rich man, reportedly accumulating $350,000 in royalties. The singer isn’t jumping at every lucrative offer that comes his way, however. Anthony claims to have turned down $8 million offers, saying that he isn’t interested in doing several tours or playing stadiums. He wrote music to cope with his depression. Anthony doesn’t consider himself “a good musician” or “a very good person.” Through his music, though, Anthony has seen that he’s not alone with millions experiencing the same anxieties and setbacks. Who knows where music will take Anthony next? Maybe he’ll become one of the biggest names in country music or perhaps he’ll settle back into the simple life. For now, he just wants to go home, which is still in a camper on a patch of Virginia land where he aspired to start a livestock farm.