Lee Greenwood Attributes Success to Living Outside Hollywood: ‘Real Values’
By Movieguide® Contributor
“God Bless The U.S.A.” singer Lee Greenwood recently opened up about how living away from Hollywood contributed to his success and focus on “real values.”
“When you talk about Hollywood stardom, actors really are acting scripts for someone else, and although they are revered by the public for the roles that they have, the luster of Hollywood kind of rubs off when you get outside of that area,” he told Fox News Digital. “I have been blessed to be able to be raised on a farm where real values count.”
“And even after spending 20 years in Nevada, and now 40 years in Tennessee, I am surrounded by people with real values,” the singer continued. “I think that has helped us as a family.”
The legendary musician recently received the Charlie Daniels Patriot Award, which he was “humbled” to accept. The award “was established by The Charlie Daniels Journey Home Project and supports veterans in their return, rehabilitation and reintegration to civilian life,” Fox News reported.
While accepting the award, he reflected on how “it’s ‘not right’ and ‘not fair’ for artists to be criticized for expressing their opinions in song.”
“To a point, everyone is allowed to express their own opinion, and as an artist, I know that we do represent the culture with the music that we create,” Greenwood stated.
“If the multitude of fans all agree that that song represents them, then the freedom of expression should be allowed by that artist and not attacked,” he continued.
Greenwood has received much criticism for his hit song “God Bless The U.S.A.,” a song he says “represents all Americans.”
“Incidentally, I am a conservative Christian. However, when you talk about the presidents that I have sang for, which are on both sides of the aisle and more than 10 — two times for five different presidents in my presence — I think that the honor that I receive from just being a songwriter is really high cotton,” he shared.
“I’m just a farmer from Sacramento who got lucky, and I consider my art important to me. So, to write a song that has moved the nation and also has uplifted the nation after a terrorist attack of 2001 is a great compliment, but it’s a great honor for me,” Greenwood said.
Greenwood previously performed at the Movieguide® Awards.
“Lee Greenwood is best known for his hit song ‘God Bless The U.S.A.’ which was released in 1983 and has become one of the most recognizable patriotic songs in America,” Movieguide® wrote. “President George W. Bush nominated Greenwood to sit on the National Endowment to the Arts Council and he has served in that capacity under four U.S. Presidents.”
Movieguide® previously reported on Greenwood:
Greenwood, who previously performed at the Movieguide® Awards, recently shared his heart behind writing the anthem.
“I was raised on a farm in Sacramento, California, and my grandparents were just wonderful. I was allowed to excel in music and sports as long as I did my job on the farm,” Greenwood told CBN in an interview. “When you learn to work with the earth, you have a great respect for it…”
“I think that’s when I began to formulate my opinion about the country, the sacrifice everybody has made for it, and how we will survive as a nation,” he added…
“We were touring 300 days a year and then I started wondering why I was doing this. Am I having an effect on a community of people, on a culture? I began to reflect on my childhood and how important it was for me to see men in uniform, ride by in a parade. We stood up a little straighter when the flag went by and military went by. It just came to me one day and it was going to be a tribute to my country,” Greenwood said.
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