2/28/2011
SANTA MARIA - It's been nearly 27 years and the lyrics of "God Bless the U.S.A.," by Lee Greenwood are as powerful now as they were then. In the early 1980's the country music star was at the height of his career. With several hits to his name already, he decided to write the one song that would soon bring the entire country together. "I knew right away that America needed something in that generation, this is the 80's, to lift us up to bond us together. Little did I know later, it would do much more than that."
In 1985 "God Bless the U.S.A." won song of the year at the Country Music Awards. It wasn't until 1990 when the song really took off during the Gulf War. "General Shwartzcoff for instance, the four star before he retired, said it was the song of Iraq, the song of the gulf war. He said when the music started, he said it bonded my troops. Well that's what I wanted it to do, I am so proud that it did that."
He has performed at 30 U-S-O shows around the world, singing for the men and women who fight to protect our freedoms. "My U-S-O tours started when I was sixteen years old. I went to Alaska before it was a state, that shows how old I am, but to entertain the troops at Elmendorf and uh, I went back many many times because I just felt it was something I needed to do."
Standing the test of time, "God Bless the U.S.A." re-emerged 10 years after being at the top of the charts. After September 11, 2001, it broke the top five on the country music charts for the second time and two years later again.
The song has also been voted the most recognizable patriotic song in America, taking the top honor over "God Bless America" and the "National Anthem."
