Grammy Award-Winning Singer Lee Greenwood Named HPU’s Artist in Residence
HIGH POINT, N.C., Oct. 15, 2024 – Grammy Award-winning singer Lee Greenwood, whose hit song “God Bless the USA” has become one of the nation’s most recognizable patriotic anthems, has joined High Point University’s Access to Innovators program as its Artist in Residence.
Greenwood will give a special performance during HPU’s 14th Annual Veterans Day Celebration on Friday, Nov. 8, in the Nido and Mariana Qubein Arena and Conference Center. The event is free and open to all veterans and community members who wish to honor the men and women who have served our nation. To preregister, visit testwww.highpoint.edu/veteransday or call Campus Concierge at 336-841-4636.
Greenwood has topped the country music charts with seven No. 1 songs during his extensive recording career that spans five decades. In 1983, he was named both the Academy of Country Music’s Top Male Vocalist of the Year and the Country Music Association’s Male Vocalist of the Year. He won the top CMA award the following year as well.
Greenwood has been nominated for six Grammy Awards, and he won the 1985 Grammy for Best Male Country Vocal Performance for his hit song “I.O.U.” That same year, the CMA named “God Bless the USA” — which Greenwood had written two years earlier in the back of his tour bus — as its Song the Year.
“At High Point University, we are a God, family, country school, and we appreciate Mr. Greenwood’s talents as a gifted singer and storyteller,” HPU President Nido Qubein said. “He has led an extremely successful career in entertainment throughout his life, and our students will gain valuable insights learning from him.”
Greenwood’s “God Bless the USA” became a hit when it was released in 1984, and it gained even more popularity following the Sept. 11 terrorist attacks and the 2003 invasion of Iraq. In 2011, pop star Beyoncé recorded a cover of “God Bless the USA,” with proceeds from the song going to the New York Police and Fire Widows’ and Children’s Benefit Fund. The U.S. Department of Homeland Security has included the song in a film that people are shown when they are sworn in as new U.S. citizens.
President George W. Bush appointed Greenwood to serve on the National Endowment of the Arts Council, and that appointment continued under Presidents Barack Obama, Donald Trump and Joe Biden. President Biden also appointed Greenwood to serve on the Board of Trustees for the Kennedy Center.
Greenwood joins several other global leaders from the entertainment industry who mentor students as part of HPU’s Access to Innovators program, including:
- Steve Wozniak, Apple co-founder and HPU’s Innovator in Residence
- Marc Randolph, Netflix co-founder and HPU’s Entrepreneur in Residence
- Mark Bradburn, founder and co-managing financial advisor of The Bradburn Group at Morgan Stanley and HPU’s Wealth Management Innovator in Residence
- Willie Jolley, media personality and HPU’s Personal Development Expert in Residence
- Joe Michaels, former longtime director of NBC’s “Today” show and HPU’s Broadcaster in Residence
- Theresa Patiri, entertainment executive and HPU’s Media Production and Sales Expert in Residence
- Byron Pitts, co-anchor of ABC’s “Nightline” and HPU’s Journalist in Residence
- Teena Piccione, a global transformation executive at Google and HPU’s Data Expert in Residence
- Sellers Shy, lead golf producer for CBS Sports and HPU’s Network Television Producer in Residence