Who says miracles don't happen anymore?

Last week over at the CF Mothership, Barry posted a heartfelt cri de coeur by a young troubadour by the name of Oliver Anthony, of whom I hadn’t heard before. His is quite a stirring story, as it turns out:

This song is called "Rich Men North of Richmond." It has been viewed MILLIONS of times.

The artist's name is Oliver Anthony. I just got off the phone with him.

With his permission, I'd like to share the story he told me that moved the deepest parts of my soul...

In the past, Oliver was struggling with mental health & coping with alcohol. In depths of despair, just about a month ago, Oliver got to his knees & broke down in tears.

Though he's wasn't a religious man, that night he promised God to get sober if he helped him follow his dream 

Oliver was about 30 days sober when someone reached out & asked him to come record a song for his YouTube channel.

That song was "Rich Men North of Richmond.”

Within days, the song was going VIRAL on social media. 

As Oliver told me this story, the hair on the back of my neck stood up. Goosebumps covered my body.

Here is a man who broke down & surrendered everything to God & within 30 days, he became an overnight sensation with an offer from @johnrich to produce his record. 

When I offered to cover the cost for Oliver to produce a record, I had NO idea what would transpire, nor did I know just how powerful his story was or the situation that God was inserting me into.

That’s usually the way of it, it seems. More:

Journalist and author Ryan James Girdusky wrote, "What a great protest song in the great southern tradition ‘Rich Men North of Richmond’ by Oliver Anthony.”

UncoverDC editor-in-chief Tracy Beanz commented, "This — this is what it’s all about.”

With his song blowing up on social media, Anthony created an X account and shared his thoughts on his overnight success. 

He posted, "Rich Men North of Richmond has been uploaded to all major streaming platforms and will show up there in a few days. Im still in a state of shock at the outpouring of love I've seen in the comments, messages and emails. I'm working to respond to everyone as quickly as possible."

Good for you, Oliver, and all best wishes for your continued success. His Twitter X account can be viewed here.