Country music singer Lee Greenwood just resurfaced to give his fans an incredible surprise this week when he released a new version of his hit song “God Bless the U.S.A.” in celebration of the Fourth of July holiday.
Fox News reported that Greenwood teamed up with the U.S. Air Force band and Home Free to create a powerful a cappella version of the patriotic song.
The 77 year-old singer first released the song in 1984, and this is the first time he has ever performed a different version of it.
“After singing ‘God Bless the U.S.A.’ for 30 years the same way, it’s like I kind of sat back and relied on listening. You know, what can I sing different here?” Greenwood told American Songwriter.
“And I was encouraged by their tech at the board, who said, ‘Just do a couple passes. And do something like you’ve never done before.’ This is ‘God Bless the U.S.A.’ like you’ve never heard it before.”
“When we were talking about collaborating not just with Home Free but also with the United States Air Force singers, I thought, well this is really a positive for the Fourth of July, being we’re not working,” he added.
“I think the common thread in Nashville is, if Lee Greenwood doesn’t sing ‘God Bless the U.S.A.’ on the Fourth of July, take the flag down. So we really wanted to make sure we had a virtual performance. It was just a great opportunity for me,” Greenwood continued.
Home Free’s Austin Brown added that working with Greenwood on this was a dream come true for him and his cover band, as they used to close out all of their shows with this song.
“When we sing this song, everyone in the audience, no matter where we are in this country, everyone stands up. It’s one of those songs that’s gonna be here forever. It’s going to be in the American culture forever,” Brown, 34, said.
“And the opportunity to do this with a legend like Lee Greenwood, the original artist, the guy who wrote this song, it doesn’t get any better than this.”
Greenwood concluded by praising the Air Force singers, saying “These singers from the Air Force, they are every bit professional quality. They’re the best I’ve ever heard.”
