The Different Stripes of The Star Spangled Banner
The Highs and Lows of our National Anthem
There’s undoubtably a great deal of controversy surrounding the National Anthem in the United States right now. People on both sides of the aisle have strong feelings about what the flag and anthem stands for. Bringing up the topic at your latest family dinner is sure to end with some hurt feelings and bruised egos, but I’m not here to give you my hot political take on my belief of what the song means, I’m here to revisit some of the most beautiful and inspiring renditions of “The Star Spangled Banner.”
Jimi Hendrix at Woodstock
Woodstock was one of the most important events in musical history, and Jimi’s performance of “The Star Spangled Banner” is the most iconic performance to come out of the festival. In the midst of the Vietnam War the country had become extremely divided. By the year 1967, U.S casualties in the war had reached over 15,000; many civilians along with U.S soldiers began questioning the validity of the U.S’s involvement in the war. Jimi Hendrix himself had been apart of the war serving in the 101st Airborne before he was injured in a parachuting accident. When he returned home he became an activist, heavily involved in the anti-war movement.
On the final morning of Woodstock at 8:00 am, the great Jimi Hendrix finally took stage, sporting a red headband, white fringed shirt, and blue bell bottoms. The crowd filled with hippies who distrusted the government and opposed the war, and Jimi was given the daunting task of performing a song that invoked American patriotism.
Hendrix had been polishing and perfecting for over a year prior to the performance. In his unique rendition, Jimi seems to be mimicking the sounds of bombs and sirens in-between the melody as if to connect the anthem to the horrors that were occurring overseas in Vietnam. However, he offers an optimistic tone to end the song as he carries on the note sounding the word “free” for a full 6 seconds. Hendrix used his anthem to portray the division in America, but also to show how beautiful it can be when the two sides come together.
Whitney Houston at Super Bowl XXV
When superstar Whitney Houston sang the anthem at Super Bowl XXV nearly 30 years ago, it quickly became regarded as one of the best rendering’s of “The Star Spangled Banner” ever. She was inspired by another all time great anthem singer Marvin Gaye, who performed the anthem at the 1982 NBA All-Star game. Whitney wanted to mimic what Gaye did in that he took his time and allowed the song to develop. What made Houston’s performance so spectacular though was her delivery. Her voice was already know as one of the best in the world, but after her performance at the Super Bowl, she cemented herself as one of the greatest singers ever. The way she stretched words and hit high notes so effortlessly was something that just speaks to your heart.
Houston’s performance came in the midst of the Persian-Gulf War, which struck a patriotic chord in the hearts of Americans. According to a Gallup poll Americans were in support of sending troops to Kuwait by a margin of two to one. In an interview with Whitney Houston’s long time music director, Rickey Minor said that “Everyone was just fired up.” Houston’s extraordinary rendition was no surprise to Minor, as he later said “I have to be honest that when Whitney opened her mouth, I expected magic.” The beauty in Whitney Houston’s delivery, was something that just made you proud to be American.
10 years later, after the tragedy of 9/11, Whitney Houston’s rendition of The Star Spangled Banner” was re-released, and quickly hit top ten on Billboards Hot 100.
Fergie at the 2018 NBA All-Star Game, 2/19/18
The look on Joel Embiid’s face tells you everything you need to know about Fergie’s performance. At the 2018 NBA All-Star Game, the Black Eyed Peas singer took a risky approach when tackling the song. She slowed down the tempo and attempted a delivery intended to sound sexy, but clearly the NBA All-Star game was not the place to bring sexy back. Midway through the song, the star-studded crowd looked like a kid who is waiting on his mom to finish talking to her PTA friend at the grocery store. As Fergie reaches the second-to-last line of the song, “O say does that star-spangled banner yet wave,” you can hear a muffled-laugh from the sold-out arena. As the camera pans over the Western Conference All-Star team, Draymond Green and Steph Curry struggle to hold in their emotions and can be seen visibly laughing on national television.
The fallout from this performance was almost as funny as the anthem itself. Everywhere you went on the internet was another meme about Fergie’s anthem. Charles Barkley during halftime of the game said that he “needed a cigarette” after the performance. People even went as far as to make remixes about the song, that honestly ended up better that Fergie’s original. She received so much criticism about her rendition that she was left with no choice, but to issue a public apology.
In an interview with TMZ following the anthem, Fergie said, “I’m a risk taker artistically, but clearly this rendition didn’t strike the intended tone. I love this country and honestly tried my best.” Whether she tried her best or not is beside the point, she has forever tainted her previously solid track record. Now every-time someone says Fergie’s name, our minds go straight to that painful day in 2018.
While looking back at Fergie’s anthem is amusing now, the period in which she performed, was surrounded in controversy. In 2016 the NFL quarterback Colin Kaepernick kneeled during the pre-game anthem in protest of police violence. His protest was met with extreme backlash and left the country divided. On one side people think the flag stands for the oppression of African-Americans throughout American history, while the other thinks Kaepernick’s protest was disrespectful to those who have died fighting to uphold the flag. Either way Kaepernick was one of the first athletes to bring the war against police brutality to the national stage.
On September 14, 1814, Francis Scott Key wrote a poem entitled “The Defense of Fort M’Henry.” Francis Scott Key was inspired to write the poem after witnessing the bombardment of Fort McHenry overlooking Baltimore. He recalls seeing “the rocket’s red glare,” and hearing “the bombs bursting in air.” Through all the madness he was witnessing, Key knew that the American fort had not been taken and this gave him hope.
When daybreak finally came, a lone Star-Spangled Banner could be seen waiving through the morning light. The poem was eventually put to music and became the national anthem we know today. The song itself was born in war and American history cannot be told without war. For better or worse, our wars define us. Through all the uncertainty, we can seek hope in our anthem and knowing the good ole USA will persevere.
