Lex Fridman Podcast
#469 – Oliver Anthony: Country Music, Blue-Collar America, Fame, Money, and Pain
20 May 2025
Oliver Anthony is singer-songwriter who first gained worldwide fame with his viral hit Rich Men North of Richmond. He became a voice for many who are voiceless, with many of his songs speaking to the struggle of the working class in modern American life. Thank you for listening ❤ Check out our sponsors: https://lexfridman.com/sponsors/ep469-sc See below for timestamps, transcript, and to give feedback, submit questions, contact Lex, etc. Transcript: https://lexfridman.com/oliver-anthony-transcript CONTACT LEX: Feedback - give feedback to Lex: https://lexfridman.com/survey AMA - submit questions, videos or call-in: https://lexfridman.com/ama Hiring - join our team: https://lexfridman.com/hiring Other - other ways to get in touch: https://lexfridman.com/contact EPISODE LINKS: Oliver's X: https://x.com/AintGottaDollar Oliver's Instagram: https://instagram.com/oliver_anthony_music_ Oliver's YouTube: https://youtube.com/@oliveranthonymusic Oliver's TikTok: https://tiktok.com/@oliveranthonymusic Oliver's Website: https://oliveranthonymusic.com/ Oliver's FaceBook: https://facebook.com/OliverAnthonyMusicOfficial/ Oliver's Linktree: https://linktr.ee/oliveranthonymusic SPONSORS: To support this podcast, check out our sponsors & get discounts: MasterClass: Online classes from world-class experts. Go to https://masterclass.com/lexpod Shopify: Sell stuff online. Go to https://shopify.com/lex Oracle: Cloud infrastructure. Go to https://oracle.com/lex Tax Network USA: Full-service tax firm. Go to https://tnusa.com/lex LMNT: Zero-sugar electrolyte drink mix. Go to https://drinkLMNT.com/lex OUTLINE: (00:00) - Introduction (09:00) - Open mics (13:03) - Mainstream country music (22:10) - Fame (28:06) - Music vs politics (36:56) - Rich Men North of Richmond (47:06) - Popularity, money, and integrity (1:01:54) - Blue-collar people (1:13:57) - Depression (1:38:50) - Nature (2:01:26) - Three-legged cat (2:09:57) - I Want to Go Home (live performance) (2:13:36) - Guitar backstory (2:17:58) - Playing live this year PODCAST LINKS: - Podcast Website: https://lexfridman.com/podcast - Apple Podcasts: https://apple.co/2lwqZIr - Spotify: https://spoti.fi/2nEwCF8 - RSS: https://lexfridman.com/feed/podcast/ - Podcast Playlist: https://www.youtube.com/playlist?list=PLrAXtmErZgOdP_8GztsuKi9nrraNbKKp4 - Clips Channel: https://www.youtube.com/lexclips
Full Episode
The following is a conversation with Oliver Anthony, singer-songwriter from Virginia, who first gained worldwide fame with his viral hit, Rich Men North of Richmond. He became a voice for many who are voiceless, with his songs speaking to the struggle of the working class in modern American life. His legal name is Christopher Anthony Lunsford. Oliver Anthony was his grandfather's name.
And so Chris used this name as a dedication to his grandfather and to 1930s Appalachia, where his grandfather was born and raised. Dirt floors, seven kids, hard times, as Chris says. He's happy to be called either one, by the way. I've gotten to know Chris more since the recording of this conversation.
He truly is, as he appears online and in his songs, down to earth, humble, and a good man who deeply feels the pain of the downtrodden. And now, a quick few second mention of each sponsor. Check them out in the description or at lexfriedman.com slash sponsors. It's the best way to support this podcast.
We've got Masterclass for learning, Shopify for selling stuff, Oracle for computing, Tax Network USA for taxes, and Element for electrolytes. Choose wisely, my friends. And now, on to the full ad reads. I do them differently than most podcasts do. Usually, I barely talk about the sponsor, and instead, just take this quiet moment to talk about things I'm reading or thinking about.
A little Bob Ross-like heart-to-heart between you and me. Also, unlike most podcasts, I don't do ads in the middle. So they're all bunched up here in one place. You can skip if you like, but if you do, please still check out the sponsors. I enjoy their stuff. Maybe you will too. If you want to get in touch with me for whatever reason, go to lexfriedman.com contact.
All right, on to the ethereal realm of sponsor land. Let's go. This episode is brought to you by Masterclass, where you can watch over 200 classes from the best people in the world in their respective disciplines. You know I know so little about filmmaking. The Scorsese Masterclass was instructive. Scorsese himself, his approach, his deliberate, passionate, almost bipolar approach
approach to filmmaking into editing. It's inspiring to watch madness manifest into genius. I think about the hand-drawn storyboards for Taxi Driver. haven't seen them, heard about them. And that, I think, is the birthplace of great films, is the storyboards, right? Really, it's the vision in the mind of somebody like Scorsese that then is projected onto the storyboards.
So the storyboards is just a slice, but that's the first time they take shape in a visual, physical reality. I should do that more. I should think in the space, in the realm of storyboards, especially when I try to do sort of vlog, documentary, filmmaking type of stuff. Really inspiring.
Anyway, get unlimited access to every Masterclass and get an additional 15% off an annual membership at masterclass.com slash lexpod. That's masterclass.com slash lexpod. This episode is also brought to you by Shopify, a platform designed for anyone to sell anywhere with a great-looking online store. I got a chance to talk to DHH, the creator of Ruby on Rails, for many, many, many hours.
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