Place in This World

Last updated

"Place in This World"
Place in This World - Michael W. Smith.jpg
Single by Michael W. Smith
from the album Go West Young Man
ReleasedMarch 1991 (1991)
Recorded1990
Studio BMG Studio, New York City [1]
Genre CCM, adult contemporary
Length4:01
Label Reunion
Songwriter(s)
Producer(s)
  • Wayne Kirkpatrick
  • Bryan Lenox
  • Michael W. Smith
Michael W. Smith singles chronology
"Go West Young Man"
(1990)
"Place in This World"
(1991)
"How Long Will Be Too Long"
(1991)
Music video
"Place in this World" on YouTube

"Place in This World" is a song by American musician Michael W. Smith, released in 1991 as the second single from his 1990 album Go West Young Man . [2] The song became his biggest success in mainstream music when it hit No. 6 on the Billboard Hot 100 . It lasted 21 weeks on the overall chart. [3] The song is played in B major, mod. to C at 72 beats per minute. [4]

Contents

Background

"Place in This World" was released in 1991, as the second single from his sixth studio album Go West Young Man. [5] This record was his first attempt at mainstream success, which successfully crossed over the single. The message of the song has proved to be meaningful to a lot of people. Smith was asked if there are any stories that have stuck with him. He responded, "Well, the one story I remember vividly, I could still go back to reading the letter, was some young girl, I think she was 18 or 19 years old, and had a horrific childhood in terms of abuse and that sort of thing. And she was suicidal. She gave me this whole story in a two page letter. She was driving down the freeway and listening to a pop radio station and heard 'Place in This World' and pulled over and began to weep. And had this encounter with God on the side of the interstate. And her life forever changed. And that's the one that I'll never forget. There's been plenty of people talk about 'A Place in This World' but that's the one letter that I'll never forget." [6]

The song won the GMA Dove Award for Song of the Year in 1992. [7]

Personnel

Charts

Accolades

GMA Dove Awards

YearWinnerCategory
1992"Place In This World" (co-written with Amy Grant & Wayne Kirkpatrick)Song of the Year

Related Research Articles

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Michael W. Smith</span> American musician (born 1957)

Michael Whitaker Smith is an American musician who has charted in both contemporary Christian and mainstream charts. His biggest success in mainstream music was in 1991 when "Place in This World" hit No. 6 on the Billboard Hot 100. Over the course of his career, he has sold more than 18 million albums.

<i>Lead Me On</i> (Amy Grant album) 1988 studio album by Amy Grant

Lead Me On is the eighth studio album by Christian music singer-songwriter Amy Grant, released in 1988 through A&M Recordings.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Amy Grant discography</span>

American singer Amy Grant has released 20 studio albums, 11 compilation albums, 4 live albums, and 84 singles. Considered one of the pioneers in the contemporary Christian music genre, Grant was also the first major Christian artist to successfully cross over into the mainstream.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Planetshakers</span> Australian contemporary worship music band

Planetshakers is a contemporary worship music band, a central part of Planetshakers Church in Melbourne, Australia.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Hillsong United</span> Australian worship band

Hillsong United is a worship collective that originated as a part of Hillsong Church. Formed in 1998 as part of Hillsong's youth ministry, the band consists of several rotating worship leaders from the church, including Joel Houston, Taya Smith-Gaukrodger, Matt Crocker, Jonathon Douglass, Brooke Fraser, Jad Gillies and Benjamin Hastings. Due to several songs written by the youth ministry, Hillsong Worship leader Darlene Zschech recommended that they record an album, which resulted in their debut extended play, One, which was released alongside the Hillsong Worship album Touching Heaven Changing Earth. Since then, the group has released fourteen live albums, as well as five studio albums. The band composes songs and performs in church services as well as concerts on worldwide tours.

<i>Lifesong</i> 2005 studio album by Casting Crowns

Lifesong is the second studio album by American Christian rock band Casting Crowns, released on August 30, 2005 by Beach Street Records and Reunion Records. Produced by Mark A. Miller, Lifesong was the follow-up to the band's self-titled debut album. Although the unexpected success of the first album led to tremendous demand for new music from Casting Crowns, lead vocalist Mark Hall was advised by Steven Curtis Chapman and Mac Powell not to worry about commercial expectations. Lifesong, which has a pop rock and adult contemporary sound, focuses on challenging believers and indicting piousness and hypocrisy in the Christian church. Worship themes are also prominent in the album.

<i>Common Thread: The Songs of the Eagles</i> 1993 compilation album by various artists

Common Thread: The Songs of the Eagles is a tribute album to American rock band Eagles. It was released in 1993 on Giant Records to raise funds for the Walden Woods Project. The album features covers of various Eagles songs, as performed by country music acts. It was certified 3× Platinum in the United States by the Recording Industry Association of America (RIAA) on June 27, 1994, honoring shipments of three million copies in the United States. Several cuts from the album all charted on the Billboard Hot Country Songs charts after the album's release, the most successful being Travis Tritt's rendition of "Take It Easy" at number 21. Common Thread won all of its performers a Country Music Association Award for Album of the Year at the 1994 ceremony.

"Bless the Broken Road" is a song that has been recorded by several American country music artists. Co-written by Marcus Hummon, Bobby Boyd, and Jeff Hanna in 1994, it tells how the journey through relationship heartbreak and disappointment was an important series of lessons along the broken road to finding one’s true love. It was first recorded by the Nitty Gritty Dirt Band in 1994, followed by Hummon on his 1995 album All in Good Time.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">How Am I Supposed to Live Without You</span> 1982 song written by Doug James and Michael Bolton

"How Am I Supposed to Live Without You" is a song written in 1982 by Doug James and Michael Bolton. The ballad has been recorded by many artists around the world, in several languages, most notably by Bolton himself, becoming something of a modern pop standard. Instrumental versions of the song have been recorded featuring variously the piano, guitar, saxophone, pan flute, steel drum, and music box.

<i>The Big Picture</i> (Michael W. Smith album) 1986 studio album by Michael W. Smith

The Big Picture is the third album by contemporary Christian music artist Michael W. Smith, released in 1986 on Reunion Records. The title comes from "Pursuit of the Dream," in which it is heard a few times, but also applies to the variety of themes for young people to learn about from the songs. That track instructs on pursuing goals, and other themes include the folly of escapism ("Lamu"), sexual abstinence before marriage, and maintaining a positive self image. Track 9. "Tearing Down The Wall" opens with a reverse snippet of Amy Grant's "Emmanuel". The Big Picture was ranked at number 21 on CCM Magazine's100 Greatest Albums in Christian Music. Smith won a GMA Dove Award for Pop/Contemporary Album of the Year at the 18th GMA Dove Awards and was nominated for a Grammy for Best Gospel Performance, Male at the 29th Grammy Awards.

<i>Go West Young Man</i> (Michael W. Smith album) 1990 studio album by Michael W. Smith

Go West Young Man is the sixth studio album by American singer-songwriter Michael W. Smith, released on October 1, 1990, through Reunion. This record was his first attempt at mainstream success. It was successful, as it scored a Billboard Hot 100 top ten hit with "Place in This World", which peaked at number 6 on the Billboard Hot 100 chart in 1991.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Show Me the Way (Styx song)</span> 1990 single by Styx

"Show Me the Way" is a song written by Dennis DeYoung and released as the second single from Edge of the Century by Styx. It peaked at #3 on the pop singles chart in March 1991. It is, to date, Styx's eighth and last top 10 Billboard single.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Michael W. Smith discography</span>

The discography of Michael W. Smith, an American contemporary Christian musician, consists of 15 studio albums and 80 singles as well as multiple holiday albums, compilation albums, instrumental albums, and video releases. Smith has sold over 18 million albums as of May 2018. He has recorded more top-ten albums on the Billboard Christian Albums chart (31) than any other artist, and his 16 No. 1 albums on the chart are second only to Amy Grant.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">You Won't Be Lonely Now</span> 2000 single by Billy Ray Cyrus

"You Won't Be Lonely Now" is a song written by Brett James and John Bettis, and recorded by American country music singer Billy Ray Cyrus. It was released in May 2000 as the first single from the album Southern Rain. The power ballad debuted at number 62 on the Hot Country Singles & Tracks on July 8, 2000. It was the first of five singles released from the album, as well as the highest-charting single, peaking in the Top 20.

"Praise You In This Storm" is a song recorded by contemporary Christian music band Casting Crowns, released by Beach Street and Reunion Records. Written by Mark Hall and Bernie Herms and produced by Mark A. Miller, it was released on January 28, 2006 as the second radio single from the band's 2005 album Lifesong. Inspired by the band's experience with a girl, Erin Browning, who died of cancer, the song has the lyrical theme of maintaining faith through difficult circumstances. A power ballad, "Praise You In This Storm" incorporates a wall of sound dynamic into its alternative CCM and adult alternative sound.

<i>A New Hallelujah</i> 2008 live album by Michael W. Smith

A New Hallelujah is a live album by Christian recording artist Michael W. Smith. Released in October 2008, this is Smith's third album of worship music, and his fourth live album. It was recorded on June 20, 2008 at Lakewood Church in Houston, Texas. A DVD version of the album was released in March 2009 along with additional bonus features: Behind The Scenes: A New Hallelujah including four new tracks from the live concert.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">I Will Be Here for You</span> 1992 single by Michael W. Smith

"I Will Be Here for You" is a 1992 single written by Diane Warren and Michael W. Smith and performed by Smith. The single was a track from his album Change Your World, and was a hit on the Adult Contemporary chart, reaching No. 1 for two weeks and also peaking at No. 27 on the U.S. Billboard Hot 100. On Cash Box, the song peaked at No. 24.

"Seein' My Father in Me" is a song co-written and recorded by American country music artist Paul Overstreet. It was released in January 1990 as the fourth single from his album Sowin' Love. The song reached #2 on the Billboard Hot Country Singles & Tracks chart in March 1990. It was written by Overstreet and Taylor Dunn. The song won Country Recorded Song of the Year at the 22nd GMA Dove Awards in 1991.

<i>Sovereign</i> (album) 2014 studio album by Michael W. Smith

Sovereign is an album by Christian recording artist Michael W. Smith released on May 13, 2014 through Capitol Records. The album debuted at No. 10 on the Billboard 200 and at No. 1 on the Christian Albums chart.

<i>Hard Love</i> (album) 2016 studio album by Needtobreathe

Hard Love is the sixth studio album by American rock and alternative band Needtobreathe, released on July 15, 2016, through Atlantic Records.

References

  1. Place in this World – Michael W. Smith| AllMusic
  2. "Go West Young Man by Michael W. Smith". October 1, 1990. Retrieved June 17, 2018.
  3. "Michael W. Smith Place In This World Chart History" . Retrieved June 17, 2018.
  4. "Sheet music for Place In This World by Michael W. Smith". Musinotes. October 1, 1990. Retrieved February 15, 2020.
  5. "Place In This World by Michael W. Smith". Amazon. October 1, 1990. Retrieved June 17, 2018.
  6. "Michael W. Smith". SongFacts. June 26, 2014. Retrieved June 17, 2018.
  7. GMA Dove Awards - History Archived September 28, 2007, at the Wayback Machine
  8. "Bubbling Down Under Week Commencing July 8, 1991" . Retrieved July 9, 2022.
  9. "Item Display - RPM - Library and Archives Canada". August 31, 1991. Retrieved March 4, 2019.
  10. "Item Display - RPM - Library and Archives Canada". Collectionscanada.gc.ca. August 10, 1991. Retrieved March 4, 2019.
  11. "Michael W Smith Chart History (Hot 100)". Billboard. Retrieved June 17, 2018.
  12. "Michael W Smith Chart History (Adult Contemporary)". Billboard. Retrieved June 17, 2018.
  13. "U.S. Cash Box Chart Entries - 1990 - 1996" (PDF). Archived from the original (PDF) on July 22, 2018. Retrieved June 29, 2018.
  14. "Michael W. Smith - Chart History". Billboard . Prometheus Global Media . Retrieved June 29, 2017.
  15. "Michael W. Smith - Chart History". Billboard . Prometheus Global Media . Retrieved June 29, 2015.
  16. "Michael W. Smith - Chart History". Billboard . Prometheus Global Media . Retrieved June 29, 2015.
  17. "Billboard Top 100 - 1991" . Retrieved June 17, 2018.
  18. "1991 The Year in Music" (PDF). Billboard. Vol. 103, no. 51. December 21, 1991. p. YE-36. Retrieved August 10, 2021.