Meet Donald Trump’s ‘favourite singer’ Lee Greenwood: the man behind the anthem ‘God Bless the USA’ has his own bible and married a former Miss Tennessee, but did you know he was a Blackjack dealer?
- Greenwood was raised by a single mum in California before moving to Nevada to make it big with his band, playing at revue clubs by day and dealing Blackjack cards by night
- Today, the 81-year-old millionaire is a Trump supporter, with the former president promoting his bible project on his campaign trail – and the crooner returns the favour by singing his praises
“And I’m proud to be an American, where at least I know I’m free. And I won’t forget the men who died, who gave that right to me …” singer Lee Greenwood croons in his song “God Bless the USA”.
It was only appropriate, then, that the 81-year-old – a staunch Trump supporter – performed his famous tune at the Republican National Convention (RNC) in Milwaukee earlier this week in the wake of the assassination attempt on the former president.
Known as “Trump’s favourite singer”, Greenwood said “we feel God stepped in and saved Trump’s life” in an interview with Nexstar, referring to Trump being shot in the ear during his Pennsylvania rally on 13 July.
Just last year, Greenwood announced he would be hanging up his hat and retiring from doing tours in 2024, citing wanting to spend more time with his two sons.
Meet the man who gets Americans teary with his faithful song.
A poor childhood
Greenwood may be a big deal on the country music scene now, but growing up his mum worked multiple jobs just to support her family. In an interview with The Tennessean, Greenwood said his parents split when he was a year old, and that his father joined the navy after the bombing of Pearl Harbour.
His mum played piano and she allowed him to play every night too. He told the publication that he grew up loving music and started his own band, heading to Nevada for 20 years to write music and play at revue clubs hoping to make it big. At one point, he was even working as a Blackjack dealer by day and a singer by night.