Lee Greenwood Collaborates With Home Free And The US Air Force For Stirring New Version Of “God Bless The USA”
If you think you know “God Bless The U.S.A.,” Lee Greenwood’s timeless song of patriotism, think again. Greenwood has teamed with the long-running country vocal group Home Free and the United States Air Force for a stunning a cappella version of the song that’s just been released. As we head into the Fourth of July weekend, the timing for such a stirring message couldn’t be more appropriate.American Songwriter had the chance to speak to Greenwood and Home Free’s Austin Brown about how the recording came together. “I really appreciate their music and their work,” Greenwood says of Home Free. “They’re such a great cover group and I know that they had recorded my song before and sing it in their show.
When we were talking about collaborating not just with Home Free but also with the United States Air Force singers, I thought, well this is really positive for the Fourth of July, being we’re not working. I think the common thread in Nashville is if Lee Greenwood doesn’t sing ‘God Bless The U.S.A’ on the Fourth of July, take the flag down. So we really wanted to make sure we had a virtual performance. It was just a great opportunity for me.”
Lee Greenwood collaborates with USA Air Force | New Version Of “God Bless The USA”
Brown explains that Home Free was thrilled to have Greenwood agree to join them for the project. “This is a song that Home Free has been singing for, quite literally, its entire existence, for over twenty years now,” he says. “We closed the show for probably 15 years straight with this song. Now we save it for special occasions or if we do a function for veterans or that sort of thing. It’s almost like a secondary national anthem for this country.
When we sing this song, everyone in the audience, no matter where we are in this country, everyone stands up. It’s one of those songs that’s gonna be here forever. It’s going to be in the American culture forever. And the opportunity to do this with a legend like Lee Greenwood, the original artist, the guy who wrote this song, it doesn’t get any better than this.”
With all the stunning voices on hand to record, there was no need to bring in any instrumentation. “I really admire the fact that we did this a cappella,” Greenwood explains. “When you have great singers, who can stay in pitch and deliver really artistic performances, uninterrupted by acoustic sounds, there’s a little magic to that. As I was listening to the track and singing along to their voices, I’m cognizant of the fact that there are no drums and no bass.
And I thought this was cool because I really could hear the crispness and the treble end of the spectrum, audio-wise. Immediately, it gives you new ideas. It allowed that little click in my head to say, ‘You can do something different here.’”
“After singing ‘God Bless The U.S.A.’ for 30 years the same way, it’s like I kind of sat back and relied on listening. You know, what can I sing differently here? And I was encouraged by their tech at the board, who said, ‘Just do a couple passes. And do something like you’ve never done before.’ This is ‘God Bless The U.S.A.’ like you’ve never heard it before.”
As the musicians worked to put together all of the myriad vocal parts, Greenwood provided the foundation. “When we brought Lee into the studio, we weren’t sure who was going to sing which part,” Brown explains. “So we just had Lee sing the whole song, and it really floored us. Lee has sung this song sort of one way for so many years. And then when he was singing it with us, he sort of got to reinvent it. He was able to answer himself in places where he wouldn’t normally do that.”
Greenwood was also quick to praise the contribution of the Air Force singers: “I’ve worked for the USO for many years and worked with the United States Air Force. These singers from the Air Force, they are every bit professional quality. They’re the best I’ve ever heard.”
Brown said that Home Free’s experience with “God Bless The U.S.A.” made him understand just how relevant it is today. “It’s a time where’s there’s just so much fear, so much discord,” he says. “We have so much drawn between us and so much information coming from so many different sources. Home Free’s goal, when we’re picking a song and singing a song, we’re trying to show love into this world. We’re trying to show unity.”
“When people come to our shows, when we were fortunate enough to have them, they were coming for an escape. They’re coming to forget about the rest of their troubles and to enjoy the music and to enjoy the experience of losing themselves in that moment. Even though this may not be a full show, it’s a song that transcends time and has the potential to bring us all together. Because the words speak to something that everyone can relate to if you just open your heart to it, regardless of your political, religious, ethical, or moral beliefs.”
As for Greenwood, the new recording had him thinking about the song’s opening lines, which reference the possibility of someone losing everything yet still believing in their country. “I was raised on a farm in Sacramento, California by my grandparents,” he says. “And because of grant subsidizing to the Russians during the 50s, my grandparents weren’t allowed to farm and it pretty much made them go belly-up. And that’s why I wrote those lines. I watched it happen. I watched my family crumble with economics.”
“And it’s very similar to today. The magnitude is so far-reaching, it’s almost unbelievable. With no shows during the Fourth of July weekend, not since I was 12 have I been told I can’t work. And I’m afraid to work because I’m at risk. It’s just a really weird time. I wrote my lyrics specifically to be timeless. I had no idea that they’d be applicable at such a critical juncture.”
HOME FREE REMAKE ‘GOD BLESS THE U.S.A’ WITH LEE GREENWOOD AND MORE
Just in time for the nation’s birthday, its unofficial theme song is getting a makeover. All-vocal Country group Home Free have joined Lee Greenwood and members of The United States Air Force Band for an extra-patriotic remake of “God Bless the U.S.A.”Timed to coincide with perhaps the most challenging Fourth of July in modern history, the re-recorded version is updated with stunning multi-part harmony … and the soulful, all-for-one resolve of a nation with a pandemic to overcome. A new video of the song’s creation features studio footage of Greenwood, Home Free, and the Air Force Band’s official chorus, The Singing Sergeants, showing just how much heart went into the project.
“Being able to sing a song that has inspired our nation for years is such an honor,” says Home Free’s Austin Brown in a press statement. “And then you add in the fact that we were able to do it not only with the original artist, but also The United States Air Force Band – such an incredible experience! I just hope it shines a little light into peoples’ days like it has in mine.”
“How wonderful to sing with Home Free — such artistic singers,” Greenwood added. “I’ve never before enjoyed such freedom to be able to sing ‘God Bless the U.S.A.’ — like you’ve never heard it. Thank you as well for the fantastic singers from the United States Air Force. They can really sing! Happy Independence Day, America.”
Speaking exclusively with Sounds Like Nashville, Home Free explains how they’ve been covering the red-white-and-blue staple for years — and that it’s actually the very first song the band arranged when they got started. But remaking a beloved classic alongside its original artist was something different.
“For years we would end every single show with ‘God Bless The U.S.A.,’ and every single time people would stand in appreciation. It’s really like a second national anthem,” says the band’s Rob Lundquist. “Normally when we go into the studio we are recording something new that we’ve never sung before, so it was nice this time knowing the song inside and out before we started recording. The morning I went to record my part, our producer sent out what Lee had sung and I listened to it on my way to the studio, and it gave me goosebumps. I felt the pressure of giving a solid performance after listening to him sing his face off!”
[L-R] Tim Foust of Home Free, Darren Rust (Producer), Lee Greenwood, Austin Brown of Home Free; Photo courtesy of Home Free
“We’ve been singing this song as long as Home Free has been in existence, so it felt really natural to take on another version,” Brown added. “That being said, no one is ever ready to be in the studio with an absolute legend.”
Brown and Tim Foust joined Greenwood in Nashville’s Castle Recording Studio for the song, while the others recorded their parts in Los Angeles, Minneapolis, and Washington D.C. According to Foust, the whole project was inspired by one of The Singing Sergeants, and it definitely feels like revitalized for the times. But some things just get better with time.
“This entire project was actually the brainchild of my friend, Technical Sgt. Nadia Sosnoski, who sings the line ‘through the hills of Tennessee’,” he explains. “’ God Bless the U.S.A.’ was actually the very first song that Home Free arranged two decades ago, so there’s something poetic about tangibly evolving while simultaneously coming around full-circle. Lee was so generous with his time and talents, and he laid down one of the best vocals I’ve ever heard. It was an absolute joy to witness his discovery and exploration of a new sense of freedom within his own song.”
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