Praise & Gospel Piano - Michael W. Smith

Michael W. Smith has the whole package: incredible talent, good looks and profound faith. It\'s easy to become disillusioned in the music business, especially after the kind of success Smith has achieved. However, through his faith and his music, Michael W. Smith is one of the true role models in modern American music.

Born in West Virginia, Michael enjoyed playing baseball like the other little boys around him. What made him different was his great affinity for music. He started playing the piano at an unusually young age. By the time he was just five years old, he had penned his first song. He enjoyed singing in the church choir, and when he reached his teens, he felt he was ready to commit himself to the Lord. He enjoyed a happy childhood nurturing his musical talent while praising the Lord with a group of other Christians in the neighborhood.

Michael experienced a low point in his life when his older Christian friends went off to college. Drugs and alcohol drove him even lower. When he eventually finished high school, he was at college for less than a year when he quit to become a songwriter. Like his faith, songwriting and experimenting with music brought him a feeling of wholeness and happiness. He was involved with a few local bands at the time, and professional songwriting was the perfect career choice because of his passion for music.

His first songwriting contract was signed with a publishing company in 1981. He gave up his odd jobs, one of which was assisting in a landscaping business. Michael was first asked to write songs for up-and-coming musician Amy Grant. He took the job and also spent time working on his own material. Michael quickly gained a reputation as a successful songwriter for artists like Bill Gaither and Sandi Patty. Amy Grant\'s management approached him to play keyboard on one of her tours, and Michael happily accepted.

Michael produced his first album, The Michael W. Smith, and it was released in 1983. The response was overwhelming, and the album was nominated for a Grammy award. The album was released on the Reunion Records label, which was started by Amy Grant\'s management. Mainstream companies were skeptical about taking on Christian acts at the time, so they started their own company. The label became so successful that music giant BMG Records ended up owning it by 1995.

Michael quickly followed up the success of the first album. He worked hard to release three more in 1984, 1986 and 1988. His 1990 offering spawned the mainstream hit \"Place in This World.\" His albums did well throughout the 1990\'s, and in 1996, he established his own label called Rocketown Records to promote other Christian musicians.

National tragedies like the Columbine attack and 9/11 prompted Michael to write music in honor of the victims that lost their life. He became firm friends with the Bush family and U2\'s leading man and philanthropist, Bono. Michael continued to make music into the new millennium, and in 2003, he was awarded the GMA Awards\' Male Vocalist of the Year. New Michael W. Smith albums were released in 2004 and 2006 to an ever-growing fan base, thanks to Christian youth camps around the country playing his music.

Michael W. Smith\'s career so far has been long and illustrious. Having recorded 22 albums including a live album in 2002, he has cemented his place in the annals of American gospel music. He\'s taken home three Grammy awards, been nominated for nine and has an incredible 34 Dove Awards to his name. If he wasn\'t meant for greatness, his musical talent and faith in God made it happen anyway.

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Duane Shinn is the author of over 500 music books and products such as DVD\'s, CD\'s, musical games for kids, chord charts, musical software, and piano lesson instructional courses for adults. Some of his courses included \"How To Dress Up Naked Music On The Piano\", \"How To Play Chord Piano\", \"How To Play Piano By Ear\", \"How To Match Chords To Melody\", \"Chords: The Backdoor To Exciting Piano Playing\", \"Chord Progressions\", \"Chord Substitutions\", and many more. He holds advanced degrees from Southern Oregon University and was the founder of Piano University in Southern Oregon. Previous to that he worked as an assistant music therapist at DeWitt State Hospital in Auburn, California as well as being a piano tuner and private teacher. He is the author of the popular free 101-week e-mail newsletter titled \"Amazing Secrets Of Exciting Piano Chords & Sizzling Chord Progressions\" with over 35,000 current subscribers. His new course in gospel piano is at http://www.christian-music-lessons.com/members/