National Anthem of USA — Star-Spangled Banner America

The Star-spangled banner, An American National Anthem with a very British beginning. This is national anthem of USA.

The song has its roots in a London gentlemen’s club in the 18th century, and Congress didn’t name it the official US national anthem until 1931.

Founded in the mid-1760s, the Anacreontic Society first met in various London taverns before relocating to the Crown and Anchor Tavern in the Strand. This venue was needed to hold its increasing membership, which rose from a few dozen to 80, according to the 1780 edition of The Gentleman’s Magazine and Historical Chronicle.

The final two lines of To Anacreon in Heaven — AKA the Anacreontic song — were sung in unison by everyone in attendance. As members belted out the lyrics, they would stand “hand in hand to signify good fellowship”, according to William Lichtenwanger’s The Music of the Star-Spangled Banner: From Ludgate Hill to Capitol Hill.

When Francis Scott Key wrote his Star-Spangled lyrics after witnessing the 1814 Battle of Baltimore, To Anacreon in Heaven still was wildly popular in the US, where “every one who could sing seemed to be singing it”, according to the 1873 edition of The American Historical Record.

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