Michael Whitaker Smith became one of the most enduringly popularartists on the contemporary Christian music front and also foundconsiderable success as a mainstream artist. He was born in Kenova,West Virginia, the son of an oil refinery worker and a caterer. Hebecame a devout Christian at age ten and spent his teens hanging aroundwith a solid support group of fellow believers who frequently gatheredto play and make music. After high school, that support group split up,and Smith turned to alcohol, drugs and wild times. He scraped through acouple semesters of college and began honing his songwriting skills. In1978, a songwriting company expressed interest in his songwriting, andhe moved to Nashville, where he played with local bands, includingRose. He was still heavily into drugs and continued using until October1979, when he suffered a sort of emotional mental breakdown thatculminated in recommitting to Christ.

The next day he auditioned for a new CCM group, Higher Ground, as akeyboardist. While touring with them, Smith cleaned up his act. In1981, he signed to Meadowgreen Music as a staff writer, where over thenext few years he provided gospel hits for such artists as Sandi Patti,Kathy Troccoli, Bill Gaither and Amy Grant. He began touring as akeyboardist with Grant in 1982 and the following year, after releasinghis first album, The Michael W. Smith Project, became her opening act.