Born 84 Years Ago Today in California, the Country Legend Who Performed His Patriotic Anthem for Multiple US Presidents

On this day (October 27) in 1942, Lee Greenwood was born in South Gate, California. His music career began in the early 1960s. By the end of the next decade, he had inked a record deal and began releasing hit country songs. He has notched seven No. 1 singles. However, his signature song, “God Bless the U.S.A.,” isn’t one of them. It is his best-selling single by a wide margin, though.

Green formed his first band, The Apollos, in the early 1960s. Later, they became the Lee Greenwood Affair. The group performed pop music in casinos across Las Vegas. Near the end of the decade, he joined the Chester Smith band for a short time before working with Del Reeves. In the 1970s, he continued performing at night and worked as a blackjack dealer during the day.

In 1979, Larry McFaden, the bassist in Mel Tillis’ band, discovered Greenwood and became his manager. After recording a few demos, he landed a deal with MCA Records and released his debut single, “It Turns Me Inside Out,” in 1981. It peaked at No. 17. He followed that with “Ring on Her Finger, Time on Her Hands,” which reached No. 5 on the country chart.

Greenwood saw the peak of his chart success in the early to mid 1980s. He notched 20 top 10 hits between 1982 and 1987. Seven of those went to No. 1. He released his signature song, “God Bless the U.S.A.,” in 1984. It peaked at No. 7 on the country chart. While it wasn’t his biggest chart hit, it has been certified 2x Platinum by the RIAA, a feat none of his other releases have achieved.

Lee Greenwood’s Patriotic Powerhouse

Lee Greenwood’s signature song has a long history with the Republican Party. It was used in a film about then-President Ronald Reagan in the summer of 1984. Four years alter, George H.W. Bush used the song during his campaign. Greenwood also performed it at the 1988 Republican National Convention.

A few years later, “God Bless the U.S.A.” became popular again as the United States entered the Gulf War in 1990. Then, the song resurfaced after the terrorist attacks that took place on September 11, 2001. More recently, Donald Trump has used the song during all three of his presidential campaigns.

Greenwood also added the chorus of the song, along with the United States Constitution, Declaration of Independence, Bill of Rights, and the Pledge of Allegiance to his God Bless the U.S.A. Bible. He released the Bible, which features an American flag on the cover, in May 2021.

[RELATED: 3 Songs by Lee Greenwood Besides ‘God Bless The U.S.A.’ That Are Also Great Tunes]

“I wanted to write it my whole life,” Greenwood said of the song. “When I got to that point…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.”

Featured Image by Chip Somodevilla/Getty Images

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