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Oliver Anthony Music’s “Rich Men North of Richmond” is now #1 on US iTunes.
In the independent country music world, we’re living in an era when the dog has caught the proverbial car, and the next question is, “What do we do next?” Only a few short years ago, there were just a few top spots for independent artists to squeeze out success in between the margins of the mainstream, and most independent artists were resigned to waiting tables and taking out bids on construction contracts between tours.
Among the reactions, one man, Jason Howerton, claimed to have spoken with Anthony about his passion for music.
He shared that Oliver had previously been struggling with his mental health and drinking to cope with his pain.
‘In depths of despair, just about a month ago, Oliver got to his knees and broke down in tears.’
He decided to get sober and around 30 days later his luck turned around when he was asked to record ‘Rich Men North of Richmond’ for a YouTube.
With the video now viral, Howerton says there are plans in the work for Oliver to record his first album.
His music has now touched many, including that of TV host Laura Ingraham.
‘Haunting sound and commentary on what’s happened to America’s working class,’ she posted to Twitter.
We’re already a few years past the point where plucking a Virginia or Kentucky native out of the holler, propping them up in front of a microphone in the patch of woods behind the Piggly-Wiggly, and having them bray about coal, cocaine, and how there’s coal in their cocaine started to feel a bit overdone. Tyler Childers was a transformational artist, but the dopplegangers are coming out of the woodwork, and at some point it beings to become to domain of parody.
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