Artist Spotlight: Michael W. Smith
When I think of Michael W. Smith, I think “Patriarch.” Yet the soon-to-be 55-year-old singer/songwriter, who fans refer to as “Smitty,” is hardly old enough to be a patriarch. But when you consider the swath of music he’s created over the last three decades, you can’t deny Smitty’s influence on contemporary Christian music. Smith got his start in the ’80s as a songwriter and playing as a keyboardist for Amy Grant, where he got his big break. Both performers produced a few hits that were played on mainstream music channels and produced platinum-selling records, which paved the way for a…