The 'Star-Spangled Banner': On National Anthem Day, watch 5 notable performances
Sunday is "National Anthem Day" which marks the day that the "Star-Spangled Banner" was adopted as the country's national anthem
Francis Scott Key wrote the poem that would eventually become The "Star-Spangled Banner" in 1814 to commemorate the Battle of Baltimore during the War of 1812. The United States Navy recognized the song in 1889 and President Woodrow Wilson declared it the anthem of the country's armed forces in 1916
The first documented instance of the song being played at a sporting event was in 1862, the tradition was popularized by the 1918 World Series.
The song was played spontaneously during the seventh-inning stretch of the opening game between the Boston Red Sox and the Chicago Cubs. According to the New York Times the Chicago crowd gave the performance a, "thunderous applause and rent the air with a cheer that marked the highest point of the day’s enthusiasm." When the series moved back to Boston, Red Sox owner Harry Frazee had the song played before the game
Calvin Coolidge signed a bill to make the "Star-Spangled Banner" the country's national anthem on March 3, 1931.
Here are five notable performances of the "Star-Spangled Banner".
Whitney Houston Super Bowl XXV 1991
Days into the First Gulf War, Whitney Houston provided the nation a lasting glimpse of patriotic naivete. A bombastic rendition of the country's anthem delivered on the heels of Cold War victory but before entrenchment in the Middle East, a bombing in Oklahoma City and a school shooting in Colorado. It is often listed as the best version of the anthem, earning its spot through technical excellence and Houston's unmatched presence.
Jimi Hendrix: Woodstock Music and Arts Festival 1969
On a dairy farm in upstate New York, Jimi Hendrix performed a version of the national anthem that encapsulated the spirit of a generation. If Houston's rendition was American optimism at its zenith, Hendrix's reinterpretation was American cynicism blended with a demand for change. Hendrix's wailing guitar can soundtrack Vietnam or Civil Rights protest footage or hippy hedonism and be equally at home with either.
Marvin Gaye: NBA All Star Game 1983
While the culture of a decade often bleeds outside the calendar's measure, Marvin Gaye's performance of the anthem at the 1983 NBA All Star Game announced that the 80's were here. Performed at The Forum in Inglewood, California during the rise of the "Showtime" era of the Los Angeles Lakers Gaye looked the part of what 80's Hollywood wanted to see itself as: slick, smooth and seductive. He delivers in a way that only a soul singer of his caliber could.
Rosanne Barr: San Diego Padres vs. Cincinatti Reds 1990
One year before Houston's last gasp of unbridled patriotism, the sports world caught a glimpse of the coming wave of cynicism that would define the 1990's. Rosanne Barr screeched her way through the song ahead of a game between the lowly San Diego Padres and the soon to be World Series champion Cincinatti Reds, ending the performance by spitting and grabbing her crotch.
The problems for the performance have since been pinned on the sound delay in the stadium and Barr starting the song on too high of a note. Barr told the Washington Post that the crotch grab and spit were a mocking of habits of baseball players. Barr was thoroughly criticized for the performance with then President George H.W. Bush calling the performance, "disgraceful" eventually resulting in an apology from the comedienne.
Carl Lewis: Chicago Bulls vs New Jersey Nets 1993
There are some people who should stick to what they are good at.
Carl Lewis took a swing at the anthem ahead of a game between the Chicago Bulls and New Jersey Nets on January 21, 1993. The first few bars are passable but when Lewis reaches "when the rockets" the performance falls off the tracks and winds up somewhere in the New Jersey swamplands.
Notably called 'Francis Scott off-Key' by then ESPN anchor Charlie Steiner the performance has stuck with Lewis since that night.
"I'm actually glad it happened because it's a part of your journey," Lewis told Oprah.com, "The great thing about it, you know, is kids will come up and they'll say, 'Oh, I saw your anthem. Boy, I didn't realize you were that fast.'"
