I attended high school during the first part of the 1980's. The popular music back then, including new wave, was an affront to my hearing. I always liked the classic rock songs and country, but it was the rise of the 80's pop music that had me pretty much turning the radio dial exclusively to the local country music station. My buddies and I would always try to get tickets to whatever country artist came to town. We saw a lot of great ones, like Charlie Pride, The Judds, Mel Tillis, Ronnie Milsap, Alabama, Sylvia, Glen Campbell and of course, Lee Greenwood.
I have always loved Mr. Greenwood's songs and his somewhat raspy and always recognizable voice. He was one of the last entertainers I saw before graduating high school and leaving to join the United States Navy. And of course, his wonderful anthem, God Bless the USA, was always one of my favorites. They even played the song at boot camp graduation. A friend I met in boot camp, who grew up in the 'hood in Detroit, was listening to the early rap music that was just beginning to come out. He loved Greenwood's song as we practiced marching for boot camp graduation and asked me to teach him the lyrics. Needless to say the song was outside of his typical musical genre but the sentiments of it crossed over all cultural lines for us Americans.
Years later into my enlistment, I was stationed just outside the gargantuan Kadena Air Force Base in Okinawa, Japan. While I loved the beautiful island, its people, and their culture, I was missing the United States a little after being there for six months. It was then that I saw that the USO was having a concert on base. I was excited as could be when I learned that the performer was none other than Lee Greenwood.
Lee performed all of his hits and even did an absolutely amazing saxophone solo, at the conclusion of which he stated that he'd "like to see Randy Travis do that," as Travis was wildly popular at that time. Of course, nothing could compare when Mr. Greenwood ended his concert with God Bless the USA. There were few dry eyes in the house as all of the airmen, sailors, and Marines stood up and sang along with Lee. It was a memorable moment for sure.
I was quite excited, consequently, when I heard that Mr. Greenwood had recently released a new version of this wonderful anthem with accompaniment on the song by active duty military members. The end result of the song is wonderful! I figured I would share it with all of you good folks accordingly.
Here's hoping you all have a terrific Labor Day weekend as we all stop for a moment to realize that we are indeed a blessed nation with untold opportunities, despite some of the major problems we are currently facing. God bless the USA!
