However, he says, he did not intend the single, which came out in the spring of , to be political. Despite not wanting the song to be taken politically, Greenwood, age 74, has performed it at the inaugurations of three presidents — Ronald Reagan, George H. Bush and George W. Has it ever bothered you that it has been seemingly adopted by the Republican Party? Well, no. Other people would like to, so I try to stay on the fringes of that and not be involved.

Navigation menu
Available Coupon
So we really wanted to make sure we had a virtual performance. It was just a great opportunity for me. Brown explains that Home Free was thrilled to have Greenwood agree to join them for the project. Now we save it for special occasions or if we do a function for veterans or that sort of thing. When we sing this song, everyone in the audience, no matter where we are in this country, everyone stands up. With all the stunning voices on hand to record, there was no need to bring in any instrumentation.
Born with a good voice and a wide range, Lee Greenwood turned it into a unique voice accidentally, by overworking it in a less-than-healthy setting. Hailing from Sacramento, he used his musical training on the casino circuit, working in the green-felt jungles of Reno and Las Vegas, where he dealt cards by day and sang in dark lounges by night. The physical toll of two jobs, the vocal strain of performing six nights a week, and the damaging endeavor to sing in smoky nightclubs before the advent of smoking ordinances brought Greenwood a permanent hoarseness. He's used it to his advantage, becoming one of country music's premier balladeers. Discovered by Mel Tillis ' road manager, Larry McFaden, Greenwood paid for his own ticket to fly to Nashville and cut a few demos, and it took more than a year for that effort to pay off. When it finally did, Greenwood broke through in late with "It Turns Me Inside Out," in which his exaggerated vibrato brought frequent comparisons to Kenny Rogers.
Melvin Lee Greenwood [1] born October 27, is an American country music artist. He also plays the saxophone. Greenwood is known for his patriotic signature song " God Bless the U. His single "I. After the separation of his parents, he grew up near Sacramento [3] on the poultry farm of his maternal grandparents. At the age of seven, he started singing in church.