God Bless America Guthrie criticized the song, and in 1940 he wrote "This Land Is Your Land," originally titled "God Blessed America For Me," as a response. Anti-Semitic groups such as the Ku Klux Klan also protested against the song due to its authorship by a Jewish immigrant. In 1943, Smith's rendition was featured in the patriotic musical "This is the Army" along with other Berlin songs. The manuscripts in the Library of Congress reveal the evolution of the song from victory to peace. Berlin gave the royalties of the song to The God Bless America Fund for redistribution to Boy Scouts and
God Bless America Before the 2001 versions, the last time "God Bless America" had been a "Billboard" chart hit was in 1959 when Connie Francis reached No. 36 with her version (the B-side of her Top 10 hit "Among My Souvenirs"). Bing Crosby recorded the song on March 22, 1939 for Decca Records. In 1997, American country music recording artist LeAnn Rimes recorded a cover of the song on her second studio album, "". After the events of September 11, Rimes rereleased the song on a compilation album by the same name. Rimes also released the song on a CD single. Two versions