Silent majority rising: Lee Greenwald’s God Bless the U.S.A” hits billboard number 1 for first time ever as patriotic music spikes into Independence Day
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Lee Greenwood’s signature hit “God Bless the USA” leads Billboard’s Digital Song Sales chart for the first time, blasting from No. 50 to No. 1 on the July 18-dated ranking with a 366% surge to 15,000 sold in the week ending July 9, according to Nielsen Music/MRC Data.
The anthem, which reached No. 7 on the Hot Country Songs chart upon its original release in 1984, concurrently crowns Country Digital Song Sales. It additionally vaulted by 380% to 2.6 million U.S. streams in the tracking week.
The single previously reached a No. 22 best on Digital Song Sales in July 2017. It charted again for week each in July 2018 and July 2019, at Nos. 30 and 32, respectively.
Helping the song’s profile, Home Free, in tandem with Greenwood and The United States Air Force Band, premiered a cover of “God Bless the USA” on July 1. The a cappella quintet’s solo version, originally released in 2016, sold 2,000, up 137%, in the week ending July 9.
Two other patriotic tracks hit new Digital Song Sales highs, as Toby Keith’s “Courtesy of the Red, White and Blue (The Angry American)” re-enters at No. 15 (6,000, up 282%) and Bruce Springsteen’s “Born in the USA” returns at No. 23 (5,000, up 272%). The former, a No. 1 Hot Country Songs hit in 2002, previously reached No. 43 on Digital Song Sales in 2017, while the latter, which rose to No. 9 on the Billboard Hot 100 in 1985, makes its first appearance on the sales survey.
https://www.msn.com/en-us/music/news/lee-greenwoods-god-bless-the-usa-just-topped-this-chart-for-the-first-time/ar-BB16IMM3