Lee Greenwood

Date of Birth 27 October 1943, Sacramento, California

Birth Name Melvin Lee Greenwood

Spouses

Edna (1960 - 1964) (divorced) 2 children

Edna (31 December 1964 - 1965) (divorced)

Roberta Taylor (30 September 1965 - ?) (divorced) 2 children

Melanie Cronk (4 January 1981 - ?) (divorced)

Kimberly Payne (11 April 1992 - present) 2 children

After the separation of his parents, Lee grew up in Sacramento on the poultry farm of his grandparents. At the age of seven, he began playing the saxophone, and at the age of nine became a member of a dance ensemble. In 1969, he joined the Chester Smith Band and had his first television appearance. A short time later, he worked with the country musician Del Reeves.

He founded his first band, Apollo, in 1962. The band, which changed its name later to Lee Greenwood Affair, played mostly pop music and appeared mostly in casinos in Las Vegas. A few records were recorded in Los Angeles with the Paramount label. After the band broke up in the 1970s, Greenwood moved back to Las Vegas, where he worked days as a black jack dealer, and as a singer at night

In 1979, he was discovered in Reno, Nevada by Larry McFaden, the bandleader and bassist of Mel Tillis. After making some demo tapes, Greenwood was signed in 1981 by the Nashville-based MCA label, and McFaden became his manager.

The first single, "It Turns Me Inside Out", made it to a spot in the top 20 of the country charts. Greenwood had written this song for Kenny Rogers, but Rogers turned it down due to the sheer volume of songs he had been offered at the time. "Ring On Her Finger and Time on her Hands" landed him in the country top 10.

He is best known for writing and recording the patriotic song "God Bless the USA" in the early 1980s. "God Bless the USA" gained renewed popularity following the launch of Operation: Desert Storm in 1991, and again, ten years later, following the September 11, 2001 attacks; in fact, the song even re-entered the Top 20 of the country charts in late 2001. Since then, Greenwood has played at many public events and commemorations of the attacks. He supports the United States Republican Party and campaigned for George W. Bush in the 2004 elections.