#469 – Oliver Anthony: Country Music, Blue-Collar America, Fame, Money, and Pain
Lex Fridman Podcast
Lex Fridman
4.7 • 13K Ratings
🗓️ 20 May 2025
⏱️ 147 minutes
🧾️ Download transcript
Summary
Thank you for listening ❤ Check out our sponsors: https://lexfridman.com/sponsors/ep469-sc
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Transcript:
https://lexfridman.com/oliver-anthony-transcript
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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:
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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
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Transcript
Click on a timestamp to play from that location
| 0:00.0 | The following is a conversation with Oliver Anthony, singer-songwriter from Virginia, |
| 0:05.7 | who first gained worldwide fame with his viral hit, Rich men north of Richmond. |
| 0:11.9 | He became a voice from many who are voiceless, |
| 0:15.7 | with his songs speaking to the struggle of the working class in modern American life. |
| 0:21.9 | His legal name is Christopher Anthony Lunsford. |
| 0:25.6 | Oliver Anthony was his grandfather's name. |
| 0:28.5 | And so Chris used this name as a dedication to his grandfather |
| 0:31.4 | and to 1930s Appalachia, where his grandfather was born and raised. |
| 0:37.3 | Dirt floors, seven kids, hard times, |
| 0:40.9 | as Chris says. He's happy to be called either one, by the way. I've gotten to know Chris more |
| 0:47.1 | since the recording of this conversation. He truly is, as he appears online and in his songs, |
| 0:52.8 | down to earth, humble, and a good man who deeply feels the pain of the downtrodden. |
| 0:58.7 | And now a quick few second mention of each sponsor. |
| 1:01.5 | Check them out in the description or at lexfidman.com slash sponsors. |
| 1:06.0 | It's the best way to support this podcast. |
| 1:08.2 | We've got Masterclass for learning, Shopify for selling stuff, Oracle for |
| 1:12.0 | computing, tax network USA for taxes and element for electrolytes. Choose why as my friends. And now onto |
| 1:20.5 | the full ad reads. I do them differently than most podcasts do. Usually I barely talk about the sponsor |
| 1:26.0 | and instead just take this quiet moment to talk |
| 1:29.7 | about things I'm reading or thinking about. A little Bob Ross like heart to heart between you and me. |
| 1:37.3 | Also, unlike most podcasts, I don't do ads in the middle, so they're all bunched up here in one place. |
| 1:45.5 | You can skip if you like, but if you do, please still check out the middle. So, uh, they're all bunched up here in one place. You can skip if you like, |
... |
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