In the fall of 2023, Lee Greenwood saddened fans when he announced he would be retiring after his 2024 tour. But now, it seems that he has had a chance of heart. The 82-year-old announces that he is embarking on his 2025 American Spirit Tour on January 22, performing 18 shows throughout the year, wrapping up on November 8 in Nashville, Indiana. Fortunately for fans, that means that he may not be retiring, at least not this year.
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"The American Spirit Tour is a celebration of the values and pride that make this country great," Greenwood says. "I can't wait to hit the road and share these special moments with fans from coast to coast."
When Greenwood appeared on the Brilyn Hollyhand podcast in November of 2023, he said he had made the decision to come off the road in 2024.
"It's not just a rumor. It will be my last year to tour," Greenwood said (via Fox News).
"I just turned 81," he said at the time. "This is a factor. I've had some surgeries. I have titanium knees, I have a titanium cage in my back with 10 screws.... I just I don't think I can do this much longer with the two boys in college."
Greenwood also said he wanted to spend more time with his wife, Kimberly Payne, whom he wed in 1992.
"It's only fair, I think, that I back away at this point and have no distractions but her and I and give these last few years that I will live to her and my two sons," he added. "So that's a big decision, and I know it is."
"God Bless the USA"
Greenwood has released dozens of songs throughout his lengthy career, which spans more than 40 years. But the one he is most known for is the patriotic "God Bless the USA," a song he never imagined would be such a success. It was Irving Azoff, then-head of Greenwood's record label, who convinced Greenwood to release the song as a single in 1984.
"If he hadn't made the call to release the single of the song, nobody would have heard of it - I guarantee you," said Greenwood. "It changed my life."
Greenwood has spent four decades performing "God Bless the USA," but it still makes him just as emotional as the first time he sang the patriotic tune.
"It still gets me," Greenwood admits. "That will tear me up. I absolutely still get emotional about it."
