God Bless America accompanied by the UCLA Band at the 1976 Rose Bowl. During the Super Bowl LI halftime show, a pre-recorded intro, recorded by Lady Gaga, who headlined the halftime show, was played featuring this song and "This Land is Your Land". The Indianapolis 500 is traditionally held at the end of May, and "God Bless America" has been sung there since 2003. The song "America the Beautiful" was sung before, but it was switched to "God Bless America" in the post-9/11 era. The song for many years was performed by Florence Henderson, a native Hoosier, and a friend of the Hulman-George
Woody Guthrie 1940. Throughout his life, Guthrie was associated with United States Communist groups, although he did not appear to be a member of any. With the outbreak of World War II and the non-aggression pact the Soviet Union had signed with Germany in 1939, the owners of KFVD radio were not comfortable with Guthrie's Communist sympathies. He left the station, ending up in New York where he wrote and recorded his 1940 album "Dust Bowl Ballads", based on his experiences during the 1930s, which earned him the nickname the "Dust Bowl Troubadour". In February 1940 he wrote his most famous song,