|
|
|
| Current Issue |
|
|
| Resources |
|
|
|
Lee Greenwood
| Article
# : |
19234 |
|
|
Section : |
LIFE
|
| Issue
Date : |
7 / 1991 |
4,134 Words |
| Author
: |
J. Richard Pearcey
J. Richard Pearcey is a Life editor at The World & I. |
People will travel hours to hear Lee Greenwood sing "God Bless the U.S.A.," a song that has touched the American people in a way not done in decades. President Bush has publicly thanked Greenwood for writing the song and has even said he tries to work its lyrics into his speeches whenever possible. Norman Schwarzkopf says anybody who knows him knows "God Bless the U.S.A." is his favorite song.
But who is Lee Greenwood?
The short answer is that he is a country music singer born in Sacramento, who began his music career in earnest as a seventeen year old in the casinos of Nevada, where he performed for upwards of nineteen years, some of them very hard. He turned to country music in 1978, and in 1985, "God Bless the U.S.A." won the Country Music Association Song of the Year award. Greenwood's career has skyrocketed ever since.
There is much more that can be said about Lee Greenwood, but why let others say it? Life editor J. Richard Pearcey recently interviewed Greenwood on a warm, sunny day in Nashville.
The World & I: You are known as a country music singer, and THE WORLD & I is not known as a magazine about country music, which means this is something of a crossover interview. So why don't we begin with "God Bless the U.S.A.," the song that may be the mother of all crossover songs. It's gotten the attention of presidents, generals, and seemingly just about everybody else. How well is "God Bless the U.S.A." doing?
Lee Greenwood: Real well. I wrote the song in 1983, and it got immediate recognition. Because I'm a performer known in the format of country music, and because we'd only had one or two crossover records, "God Bless the U.S.A." didn't escape the country format right away. But it certainly won its multitude of fans, and it's now a million seller.
W&I : What was the response the first time you performed it?
Greenwood: It was overwhelming, and it brought me to tears. I got choked up and couldn't finish the song. That happened a lot, night after night. I would get angry with myself. I wanted to deliver the song artistically, and I could not. I couldn't get to the point where I had the emotions under control, and I hated that. Being emotionally involved in a song is an honest thing that happens, and the audience loved to see that, but I
...
Read Full Article
Look for this article in Ask.com
|
|
