One of the interesting bits from "In My Life" is the recording of the title track by Sean Connery - "spoken, not sung" I think that treatment of the anthem would do very well.

But I'd be willing to accept the occassional writhy pop rendition of some other verse - Christine Aguilera getting down with "No refuge could save the hireling and slave" etc.

So does that mean Jose Feliciano gets the needle?

Just a vaguely on topic note: My wife, something of a trained singer herself (if strictly amateur) assures me that the National Anthem is one of the most difficult common pieces to sing correctly.

In fact, when I had the misfortune to see part of "American Idol" and remarked that it was odd to see a guy sing the Anthem as his audition, she said it was, in fact, bragging.

It takes skill to sing it well. Which is why it's sad to see so many people without the skill try it, and so many with the skill screw it up.

Amen. Though I eagerly await the Britney Spears (or Beyonce or whoever) come-hither rendition of "O Canada" the next time the Mets play the Expos. Shouldn't "O Canada" sound sexy?

I am also not a fan of those people who try to turn the national anthem into a pop or soul tune. Most of the people signing the tune before sporting events appear to be from the Patti Labelle "I can screech in eight octaves" school of singing.

The best versions of the national anthem are done by people who give the song the dignity it deserves. Although most people cite Robert Merill's version of the song (performed many times before Yankee games) as the best, I prefer a version done by a Canadian named Roger Doucet. In addition to a stirring version of the US National Anthem before Montreal Canadiens games, he was even better known for an astounding bilingual operatic version of the Canadian national anthem "O Canada". Sadly, he has passed away, however, there was a recent release of a CD done by him of various national anthems that was originally done for the 1976 Olympics in Montreal.

The best assessment of the Jose Feliciano version of the national anthem was provided by none other than Bob Gibson. His comment that it was the worst thing he ever heard sums it up best.

If Marvin Gaye were still alive, I'd want to give him a needle as well for his rendition of the anthem at the 1984 NBA All-Star Game. Roseanne Arnold Barr Moose should get a special mention for her rendition several years back. Ironically, one of the worst renditions people consider is the version done in Houston
by one of my all time favorite guitar players, Stevie Ray Vaughan before an Astros game.

Chuck, you're at a WOMEN'S NBA GAME. From the git-go, everything is off-center.

I know you love this sport, but you cannot feign surprise at retarded national anthems. Outrage is acceptable, but you must learn to simply accept this kind of thing, else you're gonna have an embolism.

Shouldn't "O Canada" sound sexy?

Andrea keeps telling me that the Lagers should try to get this gig. It really is a difficult song for a soloist, but it's easier to make it sound good when you have 4-part harmony.

If anyone has a connection for the gig, let me know.

Comes the revolution, I'll be nominating you for that position!

Just to be clear, I agree that the SSB is a challenging song to sing. It's not that the cringeworthy performances have been technically bad - they're all competent, on-key, and reasonably talented - it's the artistic choice they've made in rendering it as a breathy piece of pop effluvium. And yes, I know that the demographic at these games is a big determining factor in how the Anthem is sung. But hey, I have a blog, and that means I can gripe about it. :-) Besides, the version yesterday was egregious even by those standards.

I wish that Kate Smith had sung our National Anthem along with with "God Bless America". Now that would have been real Americana. However, can anyone beat the recent rendition of the Anthem by the little girl at the Blazers game where Mo Cheeks rescued her when she went blank on the words and gave real meaning to the "home of the brave".

I remember an appealing version done by Huey Lewis and the News that MTV used to play many nights as a sign-off video in the 80s before they were a 24 hour station. Apparently, he still performs it semi-regularly at sporting events.

The tune is an old, possibly pre-revolutionary English drinking song ("To Anacreon in Heaven"), and it is very nearly unsingable by ordinary mortals, even if Key did apparently have that tune in mind when he wrote the words. It almost doesn't matter what you do to it; its inspirational value is associative, not musical.

On my more politically depressive days, I sit at the piano and render the SSB (hey, those are my initials too!) in a minor key. That's what comes of having taught music theory at one time in my life: at need, I can make the Anthem even more challenging than it already is.

They say everyone at a sporting event forgets the words, and apart from that, no one knows the later verses. GeeDubya is living proof of that: he remembers "Then conquer we must" while forgetting "when our cause it is just"!

Some resources...
http://www.si.edu/resource/faq/nmah/starflag.htm
http://www.bcpl.net/~etowner/anthem.html

I can't put my hands on it at the moment, but a graphic of the cover of the original 19th-cent. published edition is out there on the web, if you ever need it for your site. As to the Banner itself... the flag, I mean, not the song... appropriately enough, it's undergoing restoration.

Note... at least one site other than the one I quoted says "for our cause it is just," which just proves that no one remembers the words, not even those who claim expertise! I grew up singing "when," so I'm rather attached to it.

I always resent having the national anthem sung 'at' me. It's like the whole group designates a proxy to sin for them...and it inevitably comes off like a performance...well, it is!

Can you imagine having a birthday party and asking one person to sing 'happy birthday'!

But that's just me.

Having seen the anthem most at baseball games in Toronto, it's worth noting that there, both anthems (U.S. first, then Canadian) are often sung by small harmony groups or a middle school choir from Brampton or something like that. They stick to the original melody but also manage to do very well with the tough 13-note range of the SSB, at which point "O Canada" is a breeze. (Last I saw, the U.S. anthem got polite and nice applause--however, the last time was in April; who knows now. And they may be applauding the nice folks singing it more than the country it represents. Canadians also sing along more than we do, at least at Blue Jays games.) Maybe annoying renditions are more common at basketball games...

That said, this Lynx fan hopes that the anthem, good or bad, is the high point of your game tomorrow night, Charles.

I think that Beyonce's performance of the national anthem was tasteful and appropriate. I don't think she did to much and I think her delivery was perfect and I dare some soul-less person to say otherwise!!!

beyonce's proformance of the national anthem was the bomb she did a wonderful job

beyonce sung the national anthem so well so brought tears to my eyes, she has an awesome voice

I'm not a fan of Beyonce's. Still, I must say that she did an excellent job of performing our national anthem. I was quite impressed with the honor and taste in which it was delivered.

Some of you are a bit too sensitive I think.

Marvin Gaye's rendition at the beginning of the 1983 (not 84) All Star game is my favorite of the "non traditional" versions of the National Anthem. Honestly, anything that Marvin sang was instant gold and his rendition of the Star Bangled Banner is better than a lot of the "traditional" versions I've heard as of late.

I realize that I'm about two years too late for this conversation, and that I'm probably just writing for myself, but what the hey.
Traditionl versions are OK, if you can sing them well. I also like the idea of lowering it an octave for mass singings so the people other than the show-offs of church congregations everywhere can sing it.
As far as modern renditions, I think some are good, some are not, and some might be good for the context in which they were done. E.g., Jimi Hendrix's version worked as a closing to Woodstock, and as a novelty listen, but doesn't hold up for a performance anywhere today for a public event. I like Jose Feliciano's version (at least I can sing along with it!), though I realize it's not everyone' cup of tea. I think everyone can agree that Rosanne Barr's version was a tragedy from conception.

It's interesting that some are willing to give others "the needle" for singing a song because some singers don't afford it the proper respect.

I agree that it is a song that represents America. Perhaps the various ways it is communicated reflect the various people that make America what it is.

I think some of the comments are ironic. They reflect what I hear a lot these days. People who are in love with the theory of democracy not the day to day practice. Because if you believe in the practice you wouldn't be talking about giving someone "the needle" for not singing a song the way you like.

Perhaps we all need to start to practice what we say we hold dear, otherwise there are a lot of people dying overseas in an attempt to promote something we don't even practice ourselves. To me that is the true indignity.