I was never a huge fan of country music. Sure, I liked the crossover hits by Garth Brooks and Shania Twain and “Achy Breaky Heart,” but overall I was never a diehard fan. I was more into Elton John and Billy Joel growing up. Then in 1983, “God Bless the USA” became a crossover hit and I added Lee Greenwood to my list of favorite country singers.

In the mid-’90s, I was visiting my college friend, who was living in Chicago at the time. I remember going to an Irish Pub on St. Patrick’s Day and, while waiting for a drink, I started to chat with a fellow customer. He mentioned that his name was something Greenwood and I jokingly said, “Any relation to Lee Greenwood?” and he said, “Yeah he’s my dad.” I told him I closed my cabaret show with “God Bless the USA,” and he said, “Well, thank you for the five cents in royalties that my dad got from that.”