Kip Moore wants to send a message of support to U.S. troops protecting our freedom this 4th of July.

He says, “I’m very proud of what those guys do for us each and every day and I don’t take it for granted one bit.”

Kip’s allegiance to U.S. military personnel started when he heard his grandparents talk about the horrors of fighting in battle. That conversation continues as Kip meets service men and women every night at his shows.

” When I start to think I’m halfway tough, I realize how I’m not one bit when I talk with some of the soldiers when I’m out and realize the things that they go through,” Kip says.

Thinking about that sacrifice led Kip to write a new song called “Battle Cry.” While other patriotic songs may seek to rally the troops, “Battle Cry” takes an honest look at the fear a soldier must feel when facing attack.

Kip explains, “I believe when you’ve got family and you’ve got wives and you’ve got kids, there has to be so much fear, and they do it, which is what makes them brave.”

He adds, “I wrote the song from the sense of what I really feel like is pounding in their heart when they’re in the middle of battle and how they are praying that now is not the time that they’re gonna go. And I can’t imagine facing what those guys face every single day.”

Kip isn’t sure when “Battle Cry” might be released. He’s now working on his sophomore album as his latest single, “Hey Pretty Girl,” continues climbing the charts.

Copyright 2013 ABC News Radio

 

Join fans of 99 KZ Country on Facebook:  https://www.facebook.com/99KZCountry

 

 

 

It’s been nearly 30 years since Lee Greenwood wrote “God Bless the U.S.A.,” but the patriotic anthem will still be blaring from car radios and accompanying fireworks displays across the country again this Fourth of July.  Dierks Bentley is just one of the country stars still drawn to “God Bless the U.S.A.” even though he’s heard it at patriotic events his entire life.

“That song comes on the radio, and my immediate reaction is to immediately, like, turn the channel ’cause I’ve heard it so many times,” Dierks explains.  “By the time my hand goes from the steering wheel to the radio dial, like, I’ve already, instead of switching it, I’m turning it up, ’cause it sucks you right in.”

Hunter Hayes calls “God Bless the U.S.A.” a standard in his book.  He marvels at how hard it is to write a good patriotic song like that, saying, “Those are always gonna be a favorite because they have more of an emotional place in your heart, right?  ‘Cause they are rare.  And because they are rare, they’re special.”

Lee wrote the lyrics to “God Bless the U.S.A.” based on his family’s real-life experiences, which may help explain the song’s endurance.  That personal touch begins with the song’s very first line, “If tomorrow all the things were gone I’d worked for all my life.”

Lee says, “It’s about being a farmer.  My grandparents raised me on a farm in Sacramento, CA, and when the economy got so bad, they couldn’t keep hold of their farm, that’s what that line meant.”

Of course, “God Bless the U.S.A.” includes the line, “I won’t forget the men who died,” a line that gets a lot of attention from Lee’s younger fans, including his own son.

“My 18-year-old son just graduated high school, and when he was about six, [he asked,] ‘What does it mean when you wrote about the men who died?'” Lee recalls. “I said, “Those who’ve sacrificed for our freedom, who mean so much to us.  We could never forget about those.”

Fans of “God Bless the U.S.A.” may be interested to know the song is partly inspired by Elvis Presley.  Lee performed at the Las Vegas Hilton in the ’70s at the same time Elvis was working the main room.  The two performers got to know each other a little bit, and Lee was taken with Elvis’s patriotic medley, “An American Trilogy.”  Instead of just covering the song outright once he became a country star, Lee decided to write his own patriotic anthem in 1983.  That’s how “God Bless the U.S.A.” was born.

An exhibit highlighting Lee Greenwood and his classic song is now open at the Country Music Hall of Fame and Museum in Nashville.

Copyright 2013 ABC News Radio

 

Join fans of 99 KZ Country on Facebook:  https://www.facebook.com/99KZCountry

 

 

 

Carrie Underwood has revealed the artwork and track listing for her new Blown Away Tour: LIVE DVD, coming out August 13.  The cover photo shows Carrie on stage bathed in blue light with her right arm raised in the air holding a microphone.  As for the track listing, Carrie includes her biggest hits like “Good Girl”; “Jesus, Take the Wheel”; “Last Name”; and “Temporary Home.”  The DVD also features performances of her recent hits “See You Again,” “Two Black Cadillacs” and, of course, “Blown Away.”

All four music videos from Carrie’s Blown Away album and exclusive behind-the-scenes interviews and footage from the tour round out the DVD’s bonus features.

Here is the Blown Away Tour: LIVE track listing:

“Good Girl”
“Undo It”
“Wasted”
“I Told You So”
“Two Black Cadillacs”
“Last Name”
“Temporary Home”
“Jesus, Take the Wheel”/”How Great Thou Art”
“Cowboy Casanova”
“Get Out of This Town”
“Nobody Ever Told You”
“All-American Girl”
“One Way Ticket”
“Leave Love Alone”
“Flat on the Floor”
“See You Again”
“Cupid’s Got a Shotgun”
“Before He Cheats”
“I Know You Won’t”
“Blown Away”

Copyright 2013 ABC News Radio

 

Join fans of 99 KZ Country on Facebook:  https://www.facebook.com/99KZCountry