 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
Lee 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,
Lee 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,
Lee Greenwood broke through in late 1981 with "It Turns Me Inside Out," in which
his exaggerated vibrato brought frequent comparisons to
Kenny Rogers. In short order,
Lee Greenwood disposed of the "Kenny
clone" image, but he continued to mine romantic material for the bulk of his
hits. Occasional exceptions include "Touch and Go Crazy" and "Mornin' Ride," but
the biggest exception is also his signature song, the self-written "God Bless
the U.S.A.," which earned Song of the Year honors from the Country Music
Association.
Growing up on a Sacramento farm,
Lee Greenwood was musical at a very early age, teaching himself how to play
saxophone when he was nine years old. In his preadolescence, he played in a
western dance band called My Moondreams. At the age of 13, he moved with his
recently remarried mother to Anaheim, CA, but three years later he returned to
Sacramento to live with his grandparents. Between the two moves, he played in a
variety of country and Dixieland bands. Upon his return to Sacramento,
Lee Greenwood joined
Chester Smith's band, which raised his profile within California. Soon,
Del Reeves hired
Lee Greenwood to play saxophone, and while he was with the singer,
Lee Greenwood learned how to become a showman. In 1962, he formed his own band, a pop
combo named Apollo, and the group moved to Las Vegas. Within five years, the
group was renamed the Lee Greenwood Affair and relocated to Los Angeles, where
they made a handful of records for Paramount. Once the record label went out of
business,
Lee Greenwood was asked to join the fledgling
Rascals by
Felix Cavaliere and Dino Danelli, but he declined. Instead, he moved back to
Las Vegas, where he worked as an arranger, backup vocalist, and lounge pianist,
as well accompanied strippers by playing organ. By 1973, he became the lead
singer and bassist in the Bare Touch of Vegas revue, while he continued to work
as a blackjack dealer at the Tropicana. He held down both jobs for much of the
mid-'70s.
By the end of the '70s, he was singing in lounges in Reno, which is where he
met Larry McFaden, who was then leading
Mel Tillis' touring band.
Lee Greenwood was initially reluctant to record, but he eventually travelled to
Nashville, where he recorded a set of demos. Shortly afterward, McFaden became
his manager and helped the singer sign a deal with MCA Records in June of 1981.
Four months later, his first single, "It Turns Me Inside Out," climbed into the
country Top 20.
Lee Greenwood's initial success was helped enormously by the similarity between
his husky voice -- toughened up by years of working in smoky casinos -- and that
of
Kenny Rogers. In March of 1982, his second single, "Ring on Her Finger, Time
on Her Hands," climbed into the Top Ten, beginning a streak of 19 Top Ten
singles that ran virtually uninterrupted for the next six years. During that
time, he racked up no less than seven number one hits: "Somebody's Gonna Love
You" (1983), "Going, Going, Gone" (1984), "Dixie Road" (1985), "I Don't Mind the
Thorns (If You're the Rose)" (1985), "Don't Underestimate My Love for You"
(1986), "Hearts Aren't Made to Break (They're Made to Love)" (1986), and
"Mornin' Ride" (1986). In addition to his solo hits,
Lee Greenwood had a number of hit duets with
Barbara Mandrell, including the number three hit "To Me" (1984). None of
Lee Greenwood's music was close to pure country -- it was adult contemporary
country-pop, in the vein of
Rogers. Unlike
Rogers, however,
Lee Greenwood rarely crossed over into the pop charts, and when he did, it was
only in 1983, when slickly produced country-pop could make inroads on adult
contemporary radio. His popularity was at its peak during the mid-'80s, when his
conservative music and neo-conservative lyrics managed to capture the
imagination of the nation; though "God Bless the U.S.A." only peaked at number
seven on the country charts in 1984, it became a recurring theme song for
several Republican political campaigns during the Reagan and Bush
administrations. Furthermore,
Lee Greenwood won many popularity polls and awards from various country music
magazines and associations.
Lee Greenwood switched labels in 1990, signing to Capitol Records. His initial
singles for the label, "Holdin' a Good Hand" and "We've Got It Made," were
successful, but his audience steadily declined during the first half of the
decade. Though he tried to retain his audience through patriotic work during the
1991 Gulf War -- even earning the Congressional Medal of Honor Society's Patriot
Award and a Points of Light Foundation Award -- he couldn't successfully battle
the onslaught of harder-edged, contemporary country artists that overtook
country radio in the early '90s. By the middle of the decade, he was no longer
charting singles, and he had begun re-recording his biggest hits for a variety
of labels; he also continued to tour and give concerts. In 2000 he attempted a
comeback with his new album, Same River...Different Bridge. ~ Tom Roland, All
Music Guide
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