GLYBooks.com Presents Michael W. Smith Concert Oct.10,2009

Essentially, a musician's purpose is to entertain. To create a melody that feels good. To share a message that inspires, empathizes or tells an interesting story. In most cases, modern culture's crude definition of a musician's success correlates directly with the size of the audience he's entertained: the number of album and ticket sales, radio hits and MySpace friends. After 20 full-length studio projects spanning 25 years, Michael W. Smith has sold more than 15 million albums and collected 33 chart-topping songs, five Platinum and 16 Gold certifications, along with multiple GRAMMYs and dozens of GMA Dove Awards. He's appeared on The Tonight Show and Good Morning America and everything in between. Most recently as a one-hour guest on CNN's Larry King Live. He's performed rock shows before capacity-filled arenas worldwide and intimate Christmas concerts for U.S. presidents in the White House. Smitty, the entertainer, has garnered accolades that far surpass the subjective line that might typically define "success" in any musical genre. But over time, people forget entertainers. Michael W. Smith's iconic legacy is rooted in his music; however, it's how he has used his platform to serve, teach and lead offstage over the past quarter-century that has enabled him to impact culture, not simply entertain it. Nearly a decade into establishing himself as Contemporary Christian Music's premier solo artist - and before that, serving as pop legend Amy Grant's keyboardist - Smith became a household name in the early '90s, upon the mainstream pop radio success of his Top 10 singles: "Place In This World" (No. 4 R&R), "I Will Be Here For You" (No. 1 R&R) and "Somebody Love Me" (No. 9 R&R). Media distinctions such as being named one of People Magazine's "50 Most Beautiful People" and the American Music Awards' "Favorite New AC Artist" created more buzz around the artist at this time period. Keenly aware of the limelight's fickle and fleeting attention, Smith