Lee Greenwood Announces Retirement, “2024 Will Be My Last Year To Tour”
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In a new podcast interview with The Brilyn Hollyhand Show, Lee Greenwood announced that he will be retiring after an impressive 40-year career.
Greenwood, best known for his song “God Bless the U.S.A.,” told the show’s host, 17-year-old Hollyhand, that rumors of his retirement aren’t just rumors.
“It’s not just a rumor. [2024] will be my last year to tour,” Greenwood said, adding that he hasn’t decided where his final performance will take place.
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Greenwood, 81, said he has no intention of coming back after he retires. His decision comes from a desire to spend more time with his family and health factors that have made life on the road difficult.
“I just turned 81. 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 said.
He also said that he wants to spend more time with his wife, former Miss Tennessee USA Kimberly Payne, saying “she has yet to have my total time.”
“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.”
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Lee expressed his gratitude to fans who have supported him for the last four decades, saying, “I’m so grateful for the years that they come to my shows continually. Here I am at the end of my career, and they still come, and they still hear me sing the same 40 songs that I’ve sang for 40 years.”
Lee Greenwood rose to fame in the early ’80s with the release of songs like “It Turns Me Inside Out” and “Ring On Her Finger, Time On Her Hands.”
But it was the 1983 release of “God Bless the U.S.A.” that launched him to superstardom. The patriotic tune was written by Greenwood and grew to be as recognizable and beloved as the National Anthem.
Greenwood’s patriotism led to his appointment to the National Council of the Arts by President George W. Bush, and to the Board of Trustees at the Kennedy Center by President Donald Trump.
Watch Lee Greenwood’s interview with Brilyn Hollyhand in the video below.
