The Whatley Center at Northeast Texas Community College will host a concert by country music icon Lee Greenwood on Friday, March 23 at 7:30 p.m. All tickets are $35 and are available for purchase online at†www.whatleycenter.com. The performance is sponsored by John and Betty Traylor.
?We are very excited to host Lee Greenwood on our stage. He is a phenomenal artist and I hope you will join us for an exciting night of your favorite hits,? Carolyn Franks, NTCC Director of the Whatley Center, said.
Perhaps best-known for his hit song ?God Bless the USA,? Greenwood has enjoyed a successful career spanning multiple decades. With seven #1 songs & 25 charted singles his hits include: ?It Turns Me Inside Out?, ?Ring On Her Finger Time on Her Hands,? ?She?s Lyin,? ?I don?t Mind the Thorns if You?re the Rose?, ?Dixie Road?, ?Somebody?s Gonna Love You?, ?Going Going Gone?, ?You Got A Good Love Comin?, ?Fools Gold?, and ?Mornin Ride?. Several cross over hits include, ?Touch & Go Crazy?, ?IOU? and the duet with Barbara Mandrell, ?To Me?. An additional duet with Suzie Boggus, ?Hopelessly Yours?, was nominated for a Grammy. The CD ?American Patriot?, recorded & released in 1992, went Platinum in 3 months
Greenwood has won numerous industry awards including, Male Vocalist of the year for the Academy of Country Music in 1983, two Male Vocalist of the Year awards from the Country Music Association, 1983 & 1984 and a Grammy for Top Male Vocal Performance in 1985 for ?I.O.U.?. He also won CMA Song of the Year in 1985 for writing ?God Bless the USA.? The song, ?God Bless the USA? has been voted the most recognizable patriotic song in America. The singer knows first-hand what it?s like to have loved ones fighting for the freedom of all Americans as his father served in the Navy & the Merchant Marine in World War II. ?USA? is now part of the film for Homeland Security shown when swearing in new citizens to the United States.
?God Bless the USA? went far beyond what Greenwood expected when he wrote it in the back of his tour bus in 1983. The song has been in the top five on the country singles charts three times (1991, 2001 and 2003), giving it the distinction of being the only song in any genre of music to achieve that feat. It was also #1 on the pop charts after 9/11/01.
For more information about the upcoming show at the Whatley Center, or to purchase tickets via phone, call the box office at 903-434-8181.
