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When Michael W. Smith drove his parents' car to Nashville in 1978, he arrived with the high hopes of being able to publish his own music. Never in his wildest dreams did he expect to make any of his own records, let alone sell over 6 million of them.
Through his first decade as an artist, Michael W. Smith went from being a "wanna-be" songwriter to becoming a bonafide international pop star, winning an American Music Award, two Grammy Awards, nine Dove Awards, and was named one of the world's "50 Most Beautiful People" by People magazine. As the best-selling male artist in Christian music, Michael W. Smith has had a string of hits, including "Place In This World," "I Will Be Here For You," and "Somebody Love Me," that have topped both the Christian and pop radio charts.
Even with the challenges that come from this significant mainstream success, "Smitty," as he is affectionately referred to by his friends and family, has never forgotten his Kenova, West Virginia roots, nor the importance of family and faith values that continue to be the cornerstone of his life.
In true artistic form, with 15 years of making music under his belt, Michael has stepped out from his piano and picked up a guitar to craft some of his best music ever. Live The Life marks Michael's 11th release following the record breaking success of I'll Lead You Home nearly two-and-a-half years ago.
Live The Life features 12 pop songs with a bold message. Michael encourages others to "live out what they believe and to make a difference in the world today by doing more and talking less."
The record again pairs Michael with Dove Award-winning producer Mark Heimermann (dc Talk, Jaci Velasquez) along with writers Wayne Kirkpatrick and Brent Bourgeois, and features a long list of A-list studio musicians including conductors Ron Huff and Tom Howard with the Nashville String Machine.
Michael's passion to encourage has never been more evident than in songs like "Live the Life." Michael explains, "The inspiration for writing "Live the Life" was a quote from St. Francis of Assisi. He said 'Preach the Gospel to all the world and if necessary, use words.' The world is tired of hearing Christians doing so much talking. They want to see us living what we say we believe."
Part of living life is balancing joy with sadness. Recent losses in Michael's life inspired two of the songs on Live The Life. "A Song for Rich" is an Irish-themed tribute to Michael's friend and former label mate Rich Mullins who was killed in a car accident. "Rich was a good friend and I miss him a lot. His songs have had a huge impact on me and this song really reminds me of him." The project closes with "Hello, Good-bye," a song written for some of Michael's close friends who lost their baby, Noah, only two days after he was born.
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