Michael W. Smith

    Michael W. Smith

    Franklin, Tennessee11 reviews across 8 releases

    adult contemporaryccmdance poppop rock
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    Michael W. Smith is a Christian singer, songwriter, and keyboardist from Kenova, West Virginia. He moved to Nashville after briefly attending Marshall University, played with the group Higher Ground, and became a keyboardist in Amy Grant's touring band before starting a solo career. His early records used a rock-oriented contemporary Christian sound, while his writing also supplied songs for other performers. By the 1992 album Change Your World, the emphasis had shifted to polished, accessible pop, with catchy hooks and studio production built for radio. The 1995 I'll Lead You Home moved away from that formula: its songs changed style frequently, bringing in funk, R&B, country touches, choir arrangements, and spoken material. Smith then expanded beyond song-based pop. Freedom, released in 2000, was an instrumental album recorded in Dublin, shaped by Irish orchestral colors moving through its strings and piano.

    In 1994, Smith founded Rocketown, a Nashville club for teenagers; two years later he helped establish Rocketown Records with Reunion executive Don Donahue. The label developed artists including Chris Rice and Ginny Owens, while the club was later rebuilt in downtown Nashville and reopened in 2003. Smith's public work also moved beyond albums: after singing at the 1999 Columbine memorial service, he wrote This Is Your Time, and he helped start New River Fellowship Church that same year. In 2001, Worship captured a live service at Carpenter's Home Church in Lakeland, Florida, using a large choir and a set that mixed newer songs with established worship material. Smith continued releasing music after 2001, including Worship Again in 2002 and Surrounded in 2018. He also acted in The Second Chance in 2006 and 90 Minutes in Heaven in 2015.

    8 releases reviewed