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American country singer Lee Melvin Greenwood was born on October 27th in the year 1942, in Los Angeles, California. His parents separated very early, leaving him to be raised by his mother’s parents but it was clear that nothing would stop Greenwood from doing what he loved. Since the 1980’s, Lee Greenwood has released over twenty different albums with about 35 of his singles landing a place on the Billboard music charts, 7 of them being number one hits. Greenwood’s most recognizable and popular song is the patriotic “God Bless the USA”. “God Bless the USA” was originally released in 1984 but quickly came back into circulation after the terrorist attacks on September 11th, which extended to the pop music genre and earned him a spot at number sixteen on the top 100 Billboard pop chart.
Lee Greenwood’s path to a music career began very early at the age of seven when he first began to play musical instruments. His first was the piano, followed by the saxophone. A few years later, at nine years old, Greenwood became involved in a dance group which eventually lead him into joining a band. The first band Lee was a member of was named the Chester Smith Band. The band made a television appearance and eventually this lead to working with a popular country musician by the name of Del Reeves, whom was most popular in the 1960’s and 70’s. Lee Greenwood learned a lot from Del Reeves, so much that he decided to create his very own band. The band was named The Apollos in 1962 but was later changed to ‘The Lee Greenwood Affair’. Lee’s band performed pop music in Las Vegas, they generally performed in local casinos and eventually recorded a small amount of records in Los Angeles with Paramount until the band broke up in the 1970’s. When the band broke up, Lee moved backed to Vegas and worked in a casino during the day, dealing blackjack cards, and would sing on stage at night. Lee Greenwood continued this until 1979 when he met a man by the name of Larry McFaden.
Larry McFaden was the leader of the group Mel Tillis. He worked with Greenwood and assisted him while creating demo tapes to submit to record companies. In 1981, the MCA label in Nashville, signed Greenwood to their company and Larry McFaden began managing Greenwood’s music career. Greenwood’s first single was titled “It Turns Me Inside Out” and was originally written for Kenny Rogers, though he declined as he had large amounts of other songs offered around the same time. Greenwood’s “It Turns Me Inside Out” quickly secured a place in the top 20 lists of country Billboard music charts, along with other singles such as “Ring On Her Finger, Time on Her Hands”, “Going, Going, Gone”, “Somebody’s Gonna Love You” and “Dixie Road”. Greenwood continued to record music and tour until 1995, when he decided to take a break in order to be home with his wife and son. Around this time, Lee opened his very own theater, named “Lee Greenwood Theater” in Sevierville, Tennessee. The theater allowed him to still perform the music that he loved while remaining close to his family. The location of the theater was not very good for entertainment, so after 5 years, the theater closed and Greenwood began touring once again. He continues touring and performing his patriotic hit “God Bless The USA” at various public events. Today Greenwood resides in Tennessee with his wife and their two teenaged sons.
Additional Information:
Lee Greenwood's Official Website
Country Music Artist Lee Greenwood
(PDF) Lee Greenwood's Biography