If there’s one thing “Rich Men North of Richmond” singer Oliver Anthony doesn’t seem to care about, it’s becoming a rich man himself.
The Farmville, Virginia native’s anti-DC anthem became an instant sensation last week, with the lament for the working class raking in millions of views within days of being posted on YouTube. The song quickly went viral on multiple social media platforms, quickly skyrocketing “Rich Men North of Richmond” to the #1 spot on the iTunes Charts and making Anthony a household name.
But if you think it’s about the fame and fortune for this guy, think again. In a statement following his overnight success, Anthony said he’s already turned down multi-million dollar deals from music execs, claiming that for him, it’s “not about the money.”
“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,” Anthony posted to Facebook.
“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,” he added.
Anthony, whose real name is Christopher Anthony Lunsford, said he’s just a high school drop-out turned factory worker who started writing songs about what he knew - including working his tail off in low-paying jobs.
“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,” he wrote.
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Thanks to working for years in multiple factories,“I’ve spent all day, everyday, for the last 10 years hearing the same story. People are SO damn tired of being neglected, divided and manipulated,” Anthony said.
The 31-year-old may still live off the grid in the Virginia backwoods with his guitar and three dogs, but his name has certainly made it far and wide. His upcoming show, scheduled for August 23 at a Farmville burger joint at $10 a ticket, sold out all 300 spots in under three minutes, pulling visitors from as far away as Ohio and New Hampshire. In a social media post, Anthony promised he’s got “much larger shows in the works to accommodate everyone.”
But unless there's a place that can fit the millions of frustrated, fed-up Americans who've heard their own voice in Anthony's anthem, a good number of his new fans might have to wait in line.
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"Millions of people feel like they're being ignored by Washington DC."
— MRCTV (@mrctv) August 17, 2023
On this episode of the @RealBrittHughes Show, we talk about Oliver Anthony and all the rich men north of Richmond that he calls out in his song! @AintGottaDollar pic.twitter.com/xpBsQbxbOd