The brand new music of previously unknown artist Oliver Anthony has recently exploded all over social media. The country singer, songwriter and guitarist started off humbly back in 2021, writing his songs and recording them on his iPhone. He then posted these songs on his YouTube channel, Oliver Anthony Music, for an audience of a couple dozen subscribers. He slowly gained traction, and on August 8, 2023, recorded his biggest hit and first song using real sound equipment with radiowv (another YouTube musical Channel started in West Virginia by two broke college students). This song was recorded under the shelter of his deer stand with his dogs looking on. This video went viral on YouTube, and continued to be viewed and praised when popular podcaster Joe Rogan posted Anthony’s video onto X (Twitter). He immediately began to receive offers for record deals from producers all over the nation. When Anthony’s hit singles dropped on iTunes, they immediately shot up to the top of the list of most bought songs, and to date Oliver Antony holds 4 of the top ten most bought songs on iTunes (1. “Rich Man North of Richmond”, 2. “Aint Gotta Dollar”, 6. “Ive Got to Get Sober”, 9. “I Want to go Home”). His first concert, only a couple days after the release of these songs, took place at Morris Farm Market in North Carolina. The turnout was fantastically large, with an enormous 12,000 people watching, some even flying in from other parts of the country. However, his sudden success hasn’t inflated his ego in the least. In fact, he began his show with a Bible verse, and released a video of himself after the fact stating his gratitude to the masses, and pointing out that he doesn’t even think of himself as a good singer.

There’s a reason that this particular song, “Rich Men North of Richmond”, has gained so much traction around the United States. The melody, dubbed “The Working Man’s Anthem” touches on the patriotic spirit of the American people, but primarily points out the flaws with the United States’ governmental system. Lyrics like “I’ve been selling my soul, working all day, Overtime hours for bull**** pay, so I can sit out here and waste my life away” really hit home with American workers all over the country. This is music with raw talent, about the forgotten American and commentary about everyday struggles of the blue-collar worker. “Rich Man North of Richmond” is one of my personal favorite songs, as are his other works, and hopefully he will come out with more excellent music in the future.