exclusive – Lee Greenwood and Sara Evans are about to release new songs, and the credits include a surprise songwriter, the late President Ronald Reagan.
Back in the 1970s, Regan may have been busy running for President of the United States and wrapping up his term as governor of California, but he still found time to co-write a few songs with record producer Mike Curb, founder and chairman of Curb Patriotic songs.
Cobb said he met Reagan in 1974, his last year as governor, at an event for Junior Achievement, a charity that teaches students about free enterprise concepts. The two hit it off, and Reagan asked the songwriter if he would help him run for president.
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Cobb credits California traffic with giving him and Regan plenty of time to write songs together in the 1970s, starting with “Together, a New Beginning.”
“Back in the ’70s, traffic was so heavy in California that I used to travel with them,” Curb told Fox News Digital. “A couple of times, we wrote songs together. One of them was the theme song that was played at the 1980 convention. . It was called “Together, A New Beginning”… Several of our recording artists came to the convention that year in Detroit… and that song was sung at the convention.
During Reagan’s presidential campaign. (Getty Images)
Reagan lost the Republican nomination to Gerald Ford in 1976, but Cobb said he channeled his disappointment into writing more music.
“Then, after he lost the election in ’76, we wrote a song called ‘God Has a Bigger Plan,'” Cobb shared. “He was a little depressed and thought he wasn’t going to run again. I said to him, ‘God has a greater plan.'” He said, “Oh, that’s what Nancy said,” and we wrote a song The song called “God Has a Greater Plan”…and then we wrote a third song, “We Can Start the World Over Again,” which were all his lyrics. ”
Many years later, producer Mark Joseph played the song for Lee Greenwood, who decided to fix it and change it to “Let’s Start the World Over.”
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Greenwood recalled the unforgettable conversation.
“He said, ‘Ronald Reagan and Mike Cobb were trying to write a song,'” Greenwood told Fox News Digital. “He sent it to me and he said, ‘It really wasn’t — it was never finished.’ The idea was to change the world, and it was so naive, but it was such a beautiful idea.
“I knew Ronald Reagan well, and I knew Mike Cobb well—I worked on his record label for a while, which gave me the opportunity to redo the song,” Greenwood continued. “I re-wrote the song for them and they loved it. I recorded this version and it will be released soon on their ‘Reagan’ album.”
Dennis Quaid plays Ronald Reagan in the Oval Office. (Noah “Nanea” Hamilton/Rawhide Pictures)
Greenwood wrote the new song but said he kept certain lyrics, including the phrase “beacon of freedom.”
The “Proud to Be an American” singer told The Tennessean that he blended Reagan’s “altruism” and Kerber’s “visionary” tendencies while hoping to reshape the song to make it more relevant to him. Awareness of Reagan’s legacy and awareness of their many conversations about “Reagan” go hand-in-hand.
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“These songs have reminded many generations (we fondly) of the ‘good old days’ of American society,” Cobb said of the song. “Honestly reflects the core of Reagan as an entertainer and centrist-centered, responsible, kind and fair person who is easy to relate to.”
When asked if he was surprised by Regan’s songwriting skills, Cobb noted that he spent many years as a Hollywood star before Regan entered politics. During his career, Regan acted in or starred in more than 50 films. He is the subject of the 2024 biopic “Reagan,” starring Dennis Quaid as the 40th president.
Singer-songwriter Lee Greenwood. (Alex Huang/Getty Images)
“He’s a great guy,” Cobb said. “Because, you know, when you sit in the back seat with him, it’s like sitting with your next door neighbor. Very down to earth. I think all of my friends, whether they’re Republicans or Democrats, they look back on Reagan Style is like the good old days.
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“Start the World Over Again” is set to be released soon, while country singer Sara Evans is expected to release her record “God Has a Great Plan.”
Fox News Digital’s Hannah Lambert contributed to this report.
