Michael W. Smith
Interview by Harry Chapman
Story compiled by Brandy Blanton
Publisher’s Note: It was exactly five years ago that we sat down with Michael W. Smith for our premiere issue. How nostalgic that as we celebrate our fifth anniversary and the holiday season, we visit with Michael to talk about his new project, “It’s A Wonderful Christmas” at his studio in Franklin.
Harry Chapman: This is your third Christmas album. Why did you want to do a third?
Michael W. Smith: Well, I felt like it was time to. I mean, I love Christmas music – always have – and it seemed that after “Stand” there was a good break in the action. You kind of have to time these, because this is a specialty record. You can’t really release a pop record in the summer and then release a Christmas record. It just timed out right for me to do it.
HC: The neat thing about this album is … you went all out. I mean, I’ve heard you say it and after listening to it, it’s like a soundtrack to a movie.
MWS: Yeah, it feels like it to me.
HC: And all the songs, with the exception of one, you wrote. Let me back this up … you recorded at Abbey Road studios in London, why?
MWS: Because it’s a spectacular room – it’s proven and has been for years; not because the Beatles recorded there, but more for me about John Williams (Star Wars, Raiders of the Lost Ark, Harry Potter, Jurassic Park). It’s a great room for orchestra. Whatever they did a long time ago when they built that room … I don’t think they’ve really changed it because it looks old. It looks like it was built in the ’40s or ’50s, and it just sounds fabulous – the room itself – and the players are great too.
HC: Tell me about the music you put on this.
MWS: Well, you know … I thought it was going to be half standards and half originals, because you think Christmas music and you think people want to hear “Chestnuts” or whatever, and that was my plan … but I kept writing all these songs that (to me) sounded like holiday music. All of a sudden I had 15 songs and I’m thinking, “Wow, this is a risk; because most people who buy Christmas records want to hear the standards.”
But how many versions of “Chestnuts” are we going to have? You know, we already have 1,000. So, I just decided to take the risk because I fell in love with the songs (with all humility) and got great feedback from people … and thinking, “Wow, this could work.” So I started putting the work out and started thinking about these melodies … and thank God for David Hamilton who was a big, big part of this record. He’s just (I think) the new kid on the block when it comes to really writing great orchestrations that sound big. So you hire David and you go to Abbey Road … and it’s epic, it’s big.
HC: I guess when you put an album together you want the songs to “fit” together and that’s why … I heard you say this is almost like a soundtrack. These songs really fit together.
MWS: First of all I think they have to have a bit of a nostalgic kind of sound. I think you’re going to have some consistency when you have a big orchestra. Like in London, we had 65 pieces on the whole record, except for one song. Which, I love that break at the end and I wrote this little song for my granddaughter. Wow … that’s hard to believe when I say that (laughter)!
But other than that song, there’s this whole big orchestra and the whole record holds together because it’s very symphonic. I think even the pop songs, even the duet with Mandisa … she knocked it out of the park! You get a song like “Song for the King,” it’s very, very romantic and melodic with this big orchestra, but I don’t think it really throws you at all. It just kind of hangs together because there’s a big orchestra on the pop thing too as well. Then you have bagpipes and big choirs … so it’s a bit of a journey actually (I think). And I really like how it kind of holds together, ’cause I kind of think it takes you on a little journey listening from top to bottom.
HC: And as a listener, every time I’ve listened to it I hear something new.
MWS: Yeah. Well there’s a lot of stuff on there to hear and more than likely you’re not going to be able to hear it all on the first listens. Little things will pop out …matter of fact, I’m still hearing stuff after many, many times. Hopefully there’s a little “Smitty” in it … things that will remind you of the past – more than likely off the Freedom record or the last two Christmas records.
HC: Talk to me about Christmas Day with Mandisa … how did you happen to pick her to do this duet with you?
MWS: Well, she was available, she’s a great singer and she was willing to do it. We’d talked to Lee Ann Rimes to … you name it. At that point I just have to let the process do its thing and I just always say, “God, just let it be the right person.” You know, you wouldn’t think a white boy and Mandisa teaming up to do a vocal “Was that going to really fit?” And it actually marries very well. Kudos to her, though, because she is a great, great singer and I think her performance on that song is really great. I had to raise the bar on my end. Because I had to sing after she sang her part and she was just wailing! I was like, “Oh boy … I’ve got some work to do.”
HC: But you know … your voice (in singing) even though you’re such a great composer, arranger and player, your voice has a warmth to it, a kind of soothing, comforting voice. When we hear you sing it kind of draws us in.
MWS: I hope so. I have to work at it a little more. I mean, to me, my piano playing is so much more natural. When it comes to singing, especially the more difficult songs, I find myself having to … you know, I’m not the greatest singer in the world. I’m not a Pavarotti, I’m not a Josh Groban and I’m really okay with that. But sometimes I have to kind of work a little bit just to kind of find it. You know … here’s Mandisa, and I certainly am not R & B, but how do I make my thing really marry to her vocal when she’s very soulful? I’m white soulful (you know) but how do I work on that and not step out of my bounds and try to be something I’m not, but how do I give it a little bit of zip and try to marry to what she did?
HC: What was your dream 25/30 years ago?
MWS: Ummm … I was 20 then. You know, my dream … I had probably just moved to Nashville and I wanted to write songs. And if I was lucky, maybe I could do a record. I wanted to write about my faith, but I wanted to be the next Elton John. I was a huge Elton John fan, those early Elton records were … still my favorites. “How could you take pop music and have a message and not beat anybody over the head with a bible, but let it be very, very mainstream, but be able to ‘say’ something?” That was really my dream.
And even back when I was 15, I remember thinking, “One day, if I ever do get to make a record … Boy, I’d love to make a Christmas record.” Not only was I a big pop music fan, but I was a huge fan of these Christmas albums (you probably remember this) you could buy for a dollar – LPs they were called – at the Firestone and Goodyear tire stores.
There was Ray Conniff, Eugene Ormandy, Jim Nabors, Barbra Streisand, Andy Williams and Petula Clark – which is where I found “Happiest Christmas” on the last record – all these singers singing all the standards. There were some new things, but mainly standards with big orchestras, but they were all compilation records. One would come out every year from a Firestone store and a Goodyear. That’s the kind of stuff that I fell in love with for Christmas. I’ve never been a rock n’ roll Christmas guy. To me, Christmas needs to be orchestra and needs to be romantic and that’s what those records were. I still have them. (Michael proceeds to pull out a stack of old records: Burl Ives, Steve Lawrence and Eydie Gorme, Doris Day, Leonard Bernstein, Robert Goulet) Anyway, they were just sitting there and I saw them. I pull all these things out every time I do a record. But this is where I found “The Happiest Christmas”.
HC: That’s one of my favorite songs on that last album.
MWS: Isn’t that a great song? And Petula Clark sang that song. It’s just so shocking … nobody (as far as I know) has ever covered that song but me.
HC: Another song, “All Year Long” that to me is another one that could be a standard. It could stand right up there with, I’m not trying to embarrass you, but it could stand up there with “Christmas Song” and “Have Yourself a Merry Little Christmas.” It is a song that can become a standard and even sounds like that.
MWS: Well, thankfully I wrote this melody; I started thinking about the old school I guess – kind of some jazz changes – and it did sound like it was something that could have been written a long time ago. So when I talked to David Hamilton, “We need to approach this production-wise, we need to make it feel like it was cut 50 or 60 years ago.” Obviously with technology it’s going to be night and day, but … the way he did the strings … he arranged it like it had been arranged 60 years ago.
HC: Well in the midst of all these strings, these choirs and everything, the one cover song on there, to me, is the great reflective piece is “What Child Is This?” Why did you pick that one song to fit in with all these others?
MWS: I picked it because it’s one of my favorite Christmas songs, but we’ve been doing that on the Christmas tour for the last three or four years with Skip Cleavinger who’s my bagpipe, flute … plays all the woodwinds. It’s such an intimate moment every night. So, just from how well it worked live, I thought, “Let’s just let that be our standard.”
HC: You’ve talked about Christmas being your favorite time of the year; and there’s some obvious reasons, but share some of those reasons.
MWS: You know, some traditions are good … and I carry over so many of those traditions from my Mom and Dad: good food and hospitality. It’s just such a huge family time for us – sometimes 25 or 30 people all in one room in our house and we’re all related. And now that family gets larger as my kids start to get married … and it’s just beautiful, really beautiful. I think those traditions have really strengthened our family.
HC: And you’re in a new season of your life with a grandchild now.
MWS: Yeah, this will be the first Christmas as a grandfather. I try not to spoil the little girl, but it’s a little difficult to do. But even reading the Christmas stories … I remember last year we were all sitting around and everyone was going, “Dad, you’ve got to read the Christmas story.” And I said, “No, who else would want to read it?” They said, “No Dad, you’ve got to read it. You’ve read it since we were that tall!” It’s just funny, little things like that. My mom still fixes oyster stew – which I never eat – she always fixed that every year. We’ve got the cinnamon rolls and the egg casserole. And they still get in the other room and I get the video camera, even though now they’re older they run through the door like they’re three or four year old. It’s just funny. And they want to just keep doing that and I think it’s really perfectly okay.
HC: That’s more than okay. You’re doing the Christmas tour that you do every year … talk to me about that and how it impacts you at this time of the year.
MWS: Well first of all, it is a bit of a sacrifice, because unfortunately Christmas is the most stressful time of the year (to some degree) especially for my wife. It’s a rat race which we’re desperately trying to figure out how to make Christmas not a rat race. I think once the tour starts I’m home one day, but just being gone and then you get home and there’s six days and all of a sudden it’s Christmas.
The joy in it for me is what it does to the audience every night. I think when people come and then leave they go, “Wow, that was an experience!” And I think it enriches people’s lives and that I get to be a part of that and help people reflect and they walk away and maybe feel like … “You know, I think I can do some things better and really make this a special time – because of what happened in the show or whatever.” It’s a real joy for me to be able to connect with people.
HC: You’re great to share your talented gifts with us with some great music, but also, your humanitarian efforts that you do overseas – that’s above and beyond and that’s … I know that’s part of your ministry.
MWS: Well, it’s not just what I’m supposed to do, but what I’m called to do: “To whom much is given, much is required.” I can do better. I still feel like I don’t give enough, you know?
You know what, people at Brentwood Baptist, with their mission work in Africa with Living Hope – they’re changing the world. They are. And that’s what I want to be a part of and part of my platform is to inspire people to be able to give themselves away. And I think if you get the church and people who really care about the world doing that on a deep level, you’ll be reading about it in the papers. That’s part of my success, is to be able to take that success … here you’ve got this huge platform when you have millions of people listening to you going, “Oh, by the way … here’s how you can change – not only the world in Africa, but probably in your back yard because you’ve got the poor just living around the block from you, whether you know it or not. This is part of what I’m supposed to do.
HC: The hundred piece Nashville choir … was that just a group?
MWS: John Coates started that group. They just sang at Symphony Hall – they’re just starting to sing out. And basically you’ve got all the great singers from all these churches. There’s 150 of them (there could be 200) but in the session we had 75 and we stacked them so it sounds like 150. Plus we had a sixteen-voice classical choir. We had a children’s choir made up of three churches and then we had the boys choir from north of London – so we had four choirs.
You know another thing that I’m really happy about? There’s a song on there called “The Promise” and I couldn’t find the right lyric. And, I gave it to Ryan ’cause I’d written the chorus. And he said, “Dad, just let me have a shot. If you’re not going to use it …” And he wrote this lyric and I didn’t change a thing in it. It’s the best lyric he’s ever written!
HC: Wow, how awesome to have your son … talk about a moment.
MWS: It’s just so beautiful (Michael begins to hum and sing the lyrics). He just nailed the whole vibe of this sort of …it’s classical, but it’s mysterious and he just came up with this beautiful lyric that just marries right to the music.
HC: Sorry, but I have to go back to this… here you are a guy from West Virginia and you’ve gotten to do so many things. I mean, you were sitting in Abbey Road Studio …
MWS: Pinching myself …
HC: Yeah, I was going to say, “Are you pinching yourself and thinking ‘Wow, how did I get here?’”
MWS: Yeah, I do that from time to time. I probably do it more so now than ever. It’s just a dream come true. Usually as you get older you have to really fight the whole apathetic mood because you’ve been doing it so long that you expect things. You know what, I think I’ve kind of reversed that tide to a certain extent. I’m becoming more aware that this is just a true gift from God and I could have never orchestrated any of this.
You start to really become thankful and you start to reminisce about all the “what ifs”. And here I am making a huge epic record with the London session orchestra. “Wow, this is just unbelievable!”
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