He’s truly one of the wise men
Christmas came early when Michael W. Smith was a kid.
It started as soon as September, when his family broke out the holiday tunes by Frank Sinatra, Tony Bennett, Barbra Streisand and Andy Williams.
“The Andy Williams Christmas album is still one of my favorites. All of those records had big orchestras on them,” Smith recalls.
So when the contemporary gospel singer set out to make his latest holiday album, he went for that same lush sound – using a 67-piece orchestra and four choirs for “Michael W. Smith, It’s a Wonderful Christmas.”
He wrote or co-wrote 10 of the 11 songs and recorded them at London’s Abbey Road Studios, of Beatles fame.
Smith, who looks about 10 years younger than his age of 50, seems eternally busy.
He acts in and produces movies, writes inspirational books, started a teen center, co-pastors a 400-member nondenominational church and does charity and mission work. He and his wife, Debbie, have five children.
“Michael does a great job multitasking,” said fellow gospel singer Amy Grant, who helped him launch his solo career in the early ‘80s.
“He has a lot of creative ideas, and then because he’s done well he has the financial resources to start something.”
This is Smith’s third Christmas album, but the first where he’s written most of the songs.
He had planned to mix traditional carols with some of his own tunes, but once he started writing he got on a roll.
“I just kept writing things that I felt were really, really strong,” he says.
“I’m such a big Christmas music fan. It’s nostalgic for me. We have a very, very close family. It’s all about family and friends and food and people over – all these wonderful memories of my childhood.”
Since his 1983 debut, Smith has sold some 15 million albums and had 31 No. 1 hits, occasionally crossing over to the pop charts with songs like “Place in This World.”
He’s made some high-profile friends along the way, such as both Presidents Bush (he calls them as “41” and “43”) and U2’s Bono, with whom he’s worked to fight AIDS in Africa.
He’s been nominated for 13 Grammy awards – including this month for pop/contemporary gospel album for “Stand” – and won three. He’s also won 40 Dove Awards, the annual honors from the Gospel Music Association.
Still, Smith worries he’s not doing enough to influence mainstream culture.
When he was reaching the pop charts in the ‘90s, Smith says, he loved it because he felt like he was “a light bulb in a dark room.”
“I think about it a lot – what am I doing with my life, and am I doing the right thing?” he says, before pausing a moment and adding:
“I do feel like the success I’ve had has given me a platform to try to let people know what’s really important in life.
“If you’re not feeding the poor, not looking out for the troubled kid on the block, not giving yourself away, you’ve totally missed it.”
The birthday bunch
Actor Gary Sandy (“WKRP In Cincinnati”) is 62. Singer Jimmy Buffett is 61. Country singer Barbara Mandrell is 59. Actress Sissy Spacek is 58. Singer Annie Lennox is 53. Singer Steve Wariner is 53. Singer Shane MacGowan (the Pogues) is 50. Singer Dido is 36. Country singer Alecia Elliott is 25.