Michael Whitaker Smith (born October 7, 1957 in Kenova, West Virginia), often nicknamed "Smitty", is an American singer, songwriter and keyboardist.

Since his 1st solo design around 1983, Smith has become one of a virtually all popular creative person in the Contemporary Christian music world, while too sorting through considerable profits in the mainstream. Smith has oft topped two Christian radio & Billboard charts, & is typically used when one of a top keyboardists around rock and roll around Keyboard Magazine. Smith experienced sold additional than seven million records & experienced Xxv #1 hit songs. By 200Leash, he experienced Ten gold records & 3 pt records.

Per instance Smith graduated from either highschool, he got detected himself sustaining good drug & alcohol abuse problems. Nonetheless, he was entity for across a few years of college & get his songwriting skills by owning various local elastic. Around October of 1979, Smith suffered an emotional and mental breakdown that awakened the recommitment to the Christian beliefs of his childhood. He filtered higher his substance abuse condition & began swimming keyboards for the CCM class action, Higher Ground.

Inside 1981, Smith was signed as a writer to Meadowgreen Music, where he racked higher the total of extremely successful gospel hits confined for creative person such as Sandi Patty, Kathy Troccoli, Bill Gaither and Amy Grant. A as a result seasin, Smith began touring as a keyboardist for Grant on her Age to Age tour. He would one of these days be Grant's opening work, & recorded his number one Grammy nominated solo album, The Michael W. Smith Task (which he as well produced), inside 1983, on the Reunion Records label, a label began by Grant's brother-around-law, Dan Harrell, along using Michael Blanton. This album contained a 1st recording of his hit Friends which he co-wrote using his married woman Deborah.

Per instance Smith's 2nd popular album was freed inside 1984, he was headlining his own tours. Around 1986, Smith released a critically acclaimed rock album A Heavy Picture, sustaining swell known record producer Johnny Potoker (Brian Eno, Genesis, Madonna, No Doubt, Talking Heads, etc).

Fallowing a release of his 1988 effort, I Ii (EYE), Smith once more team sustaining Amy Grant for her "Lead Me On World Tour". A ensuing season, Smith recorded his number 1 Christmas album.

Around 1990, Smith released Last West Young Human, which was his 1st really mainstream effort, including a mainstream crossover hit Place In This Globe. That album was followed by 1992's Change The Globe (which involved a #1 fully grown coeval hit I personally Is On text For Busy people), 1995's ''I'll Lead Smart shoppers At home'' & 1998's Live A Life. Too within 1998, Smith released his 2nd Christmas effort, Christmastime. Within 1999, Smith released This Is Your systems Period, largely inspired per Columbine shootings. Smith got been asked to perform at occasionally of the memorial services that were held inside honor of the those, which processed the immense impressiin on him.

Within 1996, Smith opened his have record label (although he doesn't record thereon), Rocketown Records, named at a low price on The Large Picture. He states a label is caused per creative person, & a number 1 creative person signed was Chris Rice, who experienced written Last Weak Your systems Globe, the #1 hit song by Kathy Troccoli, in 1995.

100% of Smith's albums containside at least 1 implemental track, & in 2000, Smith recorded his first totally implemental album, Freedom. A as a consequence month, Smith freed an tons praise & worship album, known as Worship, interestingly in September 11th. This album was followed by the sequel, Worship Agawithin in 2002. Each albums were recorded sleep in concert. The Worship DVD, which comprised the choice of songs from either each albums, was freed around 2002 and immediately topped the Hoarding cd stock and index charts.

Fallowing ii decades, Smith eventually won a sought after Male Vocalist of a Season award at the Dove Awards in 2003.

Smith wrote the song entitled There She Stands, prompted per September 11th terrorist attacks. He performed this song survive for the 2004 Republican National Convention. Inside introducing a song prior to he performed it, he manufactured remarks just about meeting personally by having President George W. Bush in the Oval Office in October of 2001, a short time after the attacks. Smith mentioned that a President, the family fan of the creative person, got asked him to attempt to write a song just about the attacks. A song is all about Us's ability to rise from either a ashes & remain hard potentially when such horrific cases.

Smith's latest album, Healing Rain was freed around 2004. It combines a popular style of his former recordings by having a praise & worship sense of his 2 releases in this genre. a title track was a 1st freed as a lone, & Smith has recently recorded a music cd to coincide by having the song.

Smith & his married woman use written a theme songs for Kanakuk Camps for the past 2 decades. A theme songs use birthed such notable hits when Love Crusade, Survive a Life, & Straight to the Heart. A Christian youth at this camp give Smith access to a steadily, immature audience just as his original fans age.

Inside 1994, Smith opened the adolescent club, known as Rocketown, inside Franklin, Tennessee. Late witharound early 2003, the club was moved to the newly location--a renovated storage warehouse in downtown Nashville. the venue offers the big dance floor, extensive indoor skate park, & a coffeehouse hosting survive acoustical music. Rocketown is placed in 401 6th Ave. S. Quoting the [http://www.christianactivities.com/youth/story.asp?ID=2469 Christian Activities] article, ''Rocketown's mission is to produce unfeeling relevant environments that foster vital relationships between voteless stripling & Christian wise man sequentially to meet their physical, social, & spiritual needs.''

Discography
Healing Rain (2004)

The 2nd Decade (2003)

Live together – The Twenty Month Celebration (DVD) (2003)

Worship Over again (2002)

Worship (DVD) (2002)

Worship (2001)

Freedom (2000)

This Is Your systems Instance (1999)

Christmastime (1998)

Live a Life (1998)

I'll Lead Busy people Personal (1995)

The Question Years (1993)

The Foremost Decade (1993)

Change Your computers Globe (1992)

Go West Immature Human (1990)

Christmas (1989)

i Ii (EYE) (1988)

The Survive Placed (1987)

The Large Picture (1986)

Michael W. Smith Deuce (1984)

The Michael W. Smith Design (1983)