American patriotic music 1917, when he saw headlines announcing the U.S. had entered World War I. Cohan also is famous for penning "Yankee Doodle Dandy," an over-the-top parody of patriotic music. A 1918 Irving Berlin composition, "God Bless America", is sometimes considered an unofficial national anthem of the United States and is often performed at sporting events alongside (or, in some rare cases, such as Ronan Tynan, in place of) "The Star-Spangled Banner." In 1940, Woody Guthrie wrote "This Land Is Your Land" in response to his dislike of "God Bless America", calling it unrealistic and complacent. The World War II era produced
God Bless America family, the track's owners. The performance, often not televised, immediately precedes the national anthem. Henderson routinely sang the entire song, including the prologue, and in some years sang the chorus a second time. Following the September 11 terrorist attacks, Canadian pop star Celine Dion performed the song on the TV special "". Shortly afterwards on October 16, Sony Music Entertainment released a benefit album called "God Bless America", which featured Dion singing the song. The album debuted at No. 1 on the "Billboard" 200 and became the first charity album to reach the top since USA for Africa's "We Are