It was at his show at the Proud Camden in London, only three days after one of the most shocking elections in US history that Chaim Tannenbaum decided to unveil his version of America The Beautiful. Still reeling from the election results, the audience was left overwhelmed simply by the pure emotion and sincerity Tannenbaum expressed behind every word. The performance stood as an encouraging reminder that now more than ever must the core values and spirit America was founded on not be forgotten. The couplets at the end of the last two verses below instilled the powerful and relevant message into the minds of the audience.

America, America,
God shed his grace on thee 
Till selfish gain no longer stain 
The banner of the free.

and

America, America. 
God shed his grace on thee 
Till nobler men keep once again 
Thy shining jubilee.

A few weeks after the Proud Camden show, in a New Jersey concert with Loudon Wainwright III, Chaim again sang America the Beautiful. Wainwright was so moved by the performance that he encouraged him to record it. So Chaim, together with producer/StorySound label head Dick Connette, immediately went to work to record and release a studio version.

As Chaim explains the reasoning behind his performance and recording of the song, "In a former time, America was the hope of mankind. We had an idea, I, C.J. Camerieri (trumpet, french horn) and Marcus Rojas (euphonium, tuba), that by calling to mind that former time, we might give courage to ourselves and to others who might wish to recover its spirit and mandate."