‘God Bless the USA’ singer Lee Greenwood helping rebrand historic Fresno theater
Lee Greenwood’s signature song is baked into the American subconscious.
But the country singer never really meant for it to be released.
“‘God Bless the USA’ stands alone in my career,” says Greenwood, talking on the phone from Florida, where he’s taking a family vacation before departing on a set of West Coast concerts with his band to celebrate his 40 years in county music.
He performs Sept. 20 at the Cornerstone Church’s Wilson Theater in downtown Fresno.
Greenwood wrote “God Bless the USA” in 1983. At the time, he’d already had a go on the county charts and was known mostly for love songs like “Ring on Her Finger, Time on Her Hands.” It was the record company that chose to release “God Bless the USA.”
The song — and its iconic chorus line — has become a patriotic anthem, helping to unite the county in times of war (the Gulf War, Sept. 11 and the invasion of Iraq), while reminding listeners what it means to be an American and overcome adversity, The first line of the song was written about Greenwood’s grandparents losing their farm to subsidies in the 1950s.
“It’s that phrase, “AmeriCAN,” Greenwood says, with full emphasis on the final syllable.
Over the years, Greenwood has become an advocate for veterans, doing more than 30 USO tours and allowing fans to buy and donate tickets to veterans through his website. He’s also lent his name to a signature bourbon made in collaboration with Soldier Valley Spirits, a veteran-owned small batch distillery in Omaha, Nebraska.
He also has a deal with Black Cat for a signature fireworks display and sells a “God Bless the USA,” Bible on his website. The Kings James translation of the book is done in large print that comes with The Pledge of Allegiance, the U.S. Constitution, the Declaration of Independence and the Bill of Rights in back.
“Bourbon and Bibles. What’s wrong with that?,” he says.
‘Dixie Road’ and other Lee Greenwood hits
While “God Bless the USA” earned Greenwood’s spot in American pop culture in several decades (most recently during the Donald Trump presidency), it isn’t the only hit the singer had has since he moved from California to Nashville in the early 1980s.
“Going, Going, Gone” was No. 1 on Billboard’s Hot Country Songs chart in 1983. “Dixie Road” hit No. 1 in 1985 and “Mornin Ride” took the spot in 1986.
The return of the Wilson Theater?
Greenwood’s stop in Fresno is a rare West Coast performance and one of just two in California. Greenwood is slated to play at the Lodi Grape Festival on Saturday. Though he was raised in Sacramento, this is the first time Greenwood has played the state in nearly a decade. The band normally stays within 1,000 miles of Nashville, where there’s good demand for country music, he says.
“It’s really hard to muster my crew to get out for three or more weeks.”
The concert is also special in that it’s the first to be hosted at the rebranded Wilson Theater. The theater ran as a live music venue for the a chunk of the early to mid-’90s, hosting mostly rock and metals bands like Danzig, Pantera and Tool. The latter performed the theater’s final concert in 1996.
That same year, the theater was taken over by Cornerstone Church, which has been using the space for weekly services and other, mostly Christian-based events. The church will continue to use the theater for services, while bringing in other family entertainment.
