"Place in This World" is a song by American musician

Michael W. Smith Michael Whitaker Smith (born October 7, 1957) 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 '' ...

, released in 1991 as the second single from his 1990 album '' Go West Young Man''. The song became his biggest success in mainstream music when it hit No. 6 on the ''

Billboard Hot 100 The ''Billboard'' Hot 100 is the music industry standard record chart in the United States for songs, published weekly by '' Billboard'' magazine. Chart rankings are based on sales (physical and digital), radio play, and online streaming ...

''. It lasted 21 weeks on the overall chart. The song is played in B major, mod. to C at 72

beats per minute Beat, beats or beating may refer to: Common uses * Patrol, or beat, a group of personnel assigned to monitor a specific area ** Beat (police), the territory that a police officer patrols ** Gay beat, an area frequented by gay men * Battery ( ...

Background

"Place in This World" was released in 1991, as the second single from his sixth studio album ''Go West Young Man''. 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." The song won the

GMA Dove Award A Dove Award is an accolade by the Gospel Music Association (GMA) of the United States to recognize outstanding achievement in the Christian music industry. The awards are presented annually. Formerly held in Nashville, Tennessee, the Dove Awards ...

for Song of the Year in 1992.GMA Dove Awards - History

Personnel

— lead vocals * Mike Lawler — additional keyboards * Bryan Lenox — percussion, drums, keyboard programming * Trace Scarborough — keyboard programming * Matt Pierson — synth bass *

Dann Huff Dann Lee Huff (born November 15, 1960) is an American record producer and songwriter. For his work as a producer in the country music genre, he has won several awards, including the ''Musician of the Year'' award in 2001, 2004, and 2016 at the Co ...

— guitar *

Terry McMillan Terry McMillan (born October 18, 1951) is an American novelist. Her work centers around the experiences of Black women in the United States. Early life McMillan was born in Port Huron, Michigan. She received a B.A. in journalism in 1977 from ...

– percussion * Mark Douthit — saxophone * Barry Green — trombone * Mike Haynes — trumpet * Chris McDonald — horn arrangements * The

Nashville String Machine Nashville String Machine is a musical collective comprising session musicians, based in Nashville, Tennessee, United States. Members of the group have been credited on records dating from 1972 to the present, although the group was formally formed ...

— strings * Ronn Huff — string arrangements and conductor * Carl Gorodetzsky — concertmaster and contractor

Charts

Weekly charts

Year-end charts

Accolades

GMA Dove Awards A Dove Award is an accolade by the Gospel Music Association (GMA) of the United States to recognize outstanding achievement in the Christian music industry. The awards are presented annually. Formerly held in Nashville, Tennessee, the Dove Awards ...

References

External links

* {{Michael W. Smith 1990 songs 1991 singles Michael W. Smith songs Songs written by Michael W. Smith Songs written by Amy Grant Reunion Records singles