InFocus: Matthew West

Matthew West grew up as the son of a pastor with the dream of one day playing baseball with the Chicago Cubs. God changed his mind when his dad gave him his first guitar. After graduation from college, he went around the country playing in various small settings (aka, coffee shops) until he was recognized for his song-writing abilities and signed to Word Publishing as a songwriter. Several years afterwards, he was signed to the new label Universal South and began doing his own music.
His first album, Happy, was released in 2003. The entire album seems to reflect the title, from the music to the album art. If there was a Dove Award for most creative album art, the award definitely would have been Mathew’s. Each picture has clowns, or something funny in it, and the last page is blank, for you to fill in with your own happy picture. The man seems to have never let go of the child in him, which is a good thing.
But the story behind why Matthew is so happy is amazing. Just prior to signing his record label contract, he broke a window in his house in an attempt to enter after locking himself out. He severed a major artery in his left arm, collapsed on the sidewalk, and was rushed to the hospital, where doctors doubted he would ever be able to play guitar again. When he regained his ability to play, he really had a reason to be happy.
Matthew’s first single from the album, “More”, held the #1 spot on R&R's Christian Adult Contemporary singles chart for several weeks and went on to be named Christian Song of the Year by ASCAP. Not only this, but several of the songs he has written for other groups have gone on to be hits, including “The Day Before You” which was recorded by the group Rascal Flatts.
Matthew’s latest release, History, follows his first albums’ style, conveying many incredibly vital lessons for a Christian in a simple and likeable way. So here’s to the undeniably happiest artist in Christian music, our artist in focus this month.

Info taken from Christianity Today