Thanks For The Music

Two time CMA Male Vocalist Of The Year, and GRAMMY-winning country music artist Lee Greenwood celebrates the 35th anniversary this week of the release of his signature hit song, the patriotic "God Bless The USA." The song first appeared on his 1984 album, You've Got a Good Love Comin, and spent 37 weeks on Billboard's Hot Country Songs chart, becoming a Top 10 Hit.

"It is with great pride that 35 years ago today I decided to release the song, 'God Bless the USA.' I wrote it to show my love for this country," said Greenwood. "That decision would prove to be the most important career choice of my life. I'm grateful for the many times I've been given the chance to inspire Americans through hard times and happy times. I thank my parents for the gift of music; I thank the industry for the belief in my artistic ability; I thank my wife Kim for never doubting me, and I thank God for His grace as He has lifted me up from nothing. There will be other songs that will be added to America's library of patriotic music. I'm simply amazed that I was able to write one as well."

"God Bless The USA" had a resurgence soon after the September 11, 2001 terrorist attacks, peaking again on Billboard's Hot 100 song chart. Soon after, Greenwood performed the song at Game 4 of the World Series in New York City on Oct. 31, 2001, receiving a highly emotional response from the crowd.

The song has been covered numerous times over the years by artists such as Dolly Parton, Beyoncé, Home Free, a number of American Idol contestants, and more recently by Gyth Rigdon on The Voice.

Greenwood wrote "God Bless the U.S.A." while riding in the back of his tour bus in response to his feelings about the shooting down of Korean Air Lines Flight 007.

“As I stated in my song, ‘God Bless the USA,’ ‘There ain't no doubt I love this land.’ My love of the land came from being raised on a farm in California and singing for USO shows while I was still in high school,” Greenwood said in a recent statement on the song's origin. "I'm honored this song is still being shared, and more importantly, being recognized as a song which unites, because that is exactly the reason why I wrote it.

I wanted to write it my whole life. When I got to that point, we were doing 300 days a year on the road, and we were on our fourth or fifth album on MCA. I called my producer, and I said, 'I have a need to do this.' I've always wanted to write a song about America, and I said, 'We just need to be more united.'

I'm from California, and I don't know anybody from Virginia or New York, so when I wrote it and my producer and I had talked about it we talked about the four cities I wanted to mention, the four corners of the United States. It could have been Seattle or Miami, but we chose New York and LA, and he suggested Detroit and Houston because they both were economically part of the basis of our economy Motown and the oil industry so I just poetically wrote that in the bridge.

When I put it on stage ... I think it was the fall of '83, I put it in the middle of the show, just as a brand-new song. Wow, it was like the audience jumped up, and they were applauding ... I did it for about two weeks like that, and then I had to put it at the end of the show as an encore; I couldn't follow it.

It keeps having a different kind of life. I mean, during the Gulf War, it was a song of the war for U.S. Army Gen. Norman Schwarzkopf. After Hurricane Katrina, it was a song for life and hope, and then after 9/11, it was a song of unity and rebuilding. It just makes me really proud that I've done something for the country and for my family. It's my family's heritage.

I recorded the American Patriot album in 1992 -- that album was a way to embrace "God Bless the USA" with all other American songs, including "God Bless America," "America the Beautiful," the National Anthem ... even the "Battle Hymn of the Republic." The American Patriot album really was the one that solidified "God Bless the USA" in a time capsule, if you will, for all time."

Lee Greenwood Participates in annual 'Salute The Troops' at Grand Ole Opry House In becoming what is almost an annual tradition, Lee Greenwood once again participated in the 'Salute The Troops' concert on Tuesday, May 21 at the Grand Ole Opry. The special event, which honors U.S. Military veterans and their families ahead of Memorial Day, also featured performances by Trace Adkins, Mark Wills, Craig Morgan, Brantley Gilbert, and Lindsay Ell.

Lee Greenwood To Perform at Coca-Cola 600 at Charlotte Motor Speedway Greenwood is also set to perform during NASCAR's Coca-Cola 600 race at Charlotte Motor Speedway on Sunday, May 26, for the annual Memorial Day weekend event. Tickets to the Coca-Cola 600 include additional fan-friendly entertainment including a spectacular salute to the military with performances by the 82nd Airborne Chorus, and Greenwood singing his trademark rendition of "God Bless the USA."

Lee Greenwood on Tour: May 24 Winston-Salem, N.C. / Annex Theater May 26 Charlotte, N.C. / Charlotte Motor Speedway - SOLO Performance Jun 13 Middle Village, N.Y. / Juniper Valley Park - SOLO performance Jun 28 Roanoke Rapids, N.C. / Roanoke Rapids Theatre Jun 29 Marion, Va. / The Lincoln Theater Jul 03 Hot Springs , Ark. / Oaklawn Jockey Club Jul 04 Ft Lauderdale, Fla. / Ft Lauderdale Beach Jul 05 The Villages, Fla. / Savannah Center Jul 06 Cabazon, Calif. / Casino Morongo Aug 08 Nichols, N.Y. / Tioga Downs Grandstand Aug 09 Vernon, N.Y. / Vernon Downs Grandstand Aug 14 Grants Pass, Ore. / Josephine County Fairgrounds & Event Center Aug 17 Shiloh, Tenn. / Shilo National Military Park Aug 18 Louisville, Ky. / Kentucky State Fairgrounds Sep 07 Batesville, Ark. / Univ. of Arkansas Community College Sep 08 Costa Mesa, Calif. / The Pacific Amphitheatre - SOLO performance Sep 19 Bremen, Ga. / Mill Town Music Hall Sep 20 Walhalla, S.C. / Walhalla Performing Arts Center Sep 21 Clarksville, Tenn. / Beachaven Winery Nov 02 Knoxville, Tenn. / University of Tennessee - SOLO performance Nov 08 Emporia, Ks. / Emporia Granada Theatre Nov 09 Rogers, Ark. / John Q Hammons Convention Center / Solo Performance Nov 10 Branson, Mo. / Dick Clark's American Bandstand Theater Dec 04 Branson, Mo. / Dick Clark's American Bandstand Theater Dec 05 Cedar Park, Texas / HEB Center Dec 07 Greenville, Texas / Texan Theater Dec 13 Immokalee, Fla. / Seminole Casino For a complete tour schedule, click here.

For more information on Lee Greenwood, visit his website at leegreenwood.com

About Lee Greenwood: Throughout his expansive career, international country music icon Lee Greenwood has earned multiple CMA and ACM Awards, a Grammy Award for Top Male Vocal Performance on “I.O.U,” in 1985, and a multitude of other prestigious award nominations. His discography includes twenty-two studio albums, seven compilation albums, seven No. 1 hits and thirty-eight singles including songs like “It Turns Me Inside Out,” “Ring On Her Finger Time on Her Hands,” “She’s Lyin’,” “I Don’t Mind the Thorns if You’re the Rose,” “Dixie Road,” “Somebody’s Gonna Love You,” “Going Going Gone,” “You Got A Good Love Comin’,” among others. His stand-out hit “God Bless the U.S.A.” has been in the top five on the country singles charts three times (1991, 2001 and 2003), giving it the distinction of being the only song in any genre of music to achieve that feat. It reached the Top 20 of the Billboard Hot 100 chart shortly after 9/11. Known for his stand-out patriotism and support of the U.S. Military, Greenwood has been honored with the Congressional Medal of Honor Society’s National Patriot’s Award, and entertained troops on more than 30 USO Tours. Greenwood was appointed to the council of the National Endowment for the Arts in 2008 by President George W. Bush, confirmed by the United States Senate, and continues to serve on the NEA at the pleasure of the President. His latest book release is a children’s book called Proud To Be An American, which is currently available in stores, on Amazon and leegreenwood.com.