I preface my comments with this note because of all the singers that I’ve heard sing the National Anthem, I’ve never heard a better rendition of the “Star Spangled Banner”, sung with such power, emotion, defiance, and belief than Whitney’s. I think about the 51st Massachusetts, the Buffalo Soldiers, the Harlem Hellfighters, the 751st Tank Battalion, and Tuskegee Airmen who fought for this country when this country didn’t fight for them. I used to not stand for the National Anthem at ballgames to exhibit my disgust. I stand very tall now when it’s played. Whitney’s rendition still brings tears to my eyes to this day, and I will tell you this, that anyone who heard it that night has never forgotten it.

Her performance was great. Tone deaf much?

Granted, giving people creative license invites the possibility of fantastic failures, but I love the idea of the Anthem being musically relevant even two centuries after it was penned

Bingo. I would sit through some clunkers to have a chance to hear a Marvin Gaye, Jimi Hendrix, Dixie Chicks or Whitney Houston version.

Sebastian the Ibis: The best rendition of the star spangeled banner hands down, was sung by that female cadet from west point during the world series.

You always get a straight-on, strong performance whenever the armed forces bands/vocalists are involved, but I always look forward to seeing what the big pop names of our day can do with the grand old tune. One of the reasons Gaye’s version was so great is that, before him, few people dared to take creative chances with the anthem (rock on, Jimi). Granted, giving people creative license invites the possibility of fantastic failures, but I love the idea of the Anthem being musically relevant even two centuries after it was penned.

She probably flubbed “free” because she couldn’t keep a straight face about what a joke this is.

Yes, now that you mention it, I’m sure that was it. In fact, having observed her face, I think she was particularly worried about the reauthorization of the Patriot Act.

I’ve never heard a performance of the original – either instrumental or vocal. However, since this melody has been used as the American national anthem since long before my birth, I doubt that a well-performed instrumental would bring anything to mind except the Star Spangled Banner.

I don’t know the original words, and until you wrote above, I did not even know the original title.

FEDYA:

No, Al Hirt isn’t available, but Phil Driscoll is. Doc Severinson once described him as the best trumpet player he had ever heard. And I think he is past his tax troubles now, too.

Maryanna: I have heard Al Hirt do the national anthem a number of times over the years at different sporting events, and I have never heard a vocal rendition that gives chills the way his trumpet does. (Although Marvin Gaye comes close)

Interesting observation. I wonder if John Stafford Smith’s The Anacreontic Song, as the original (subtly bawdy) song was known, would convey similar chills, or not. An MP3 is available here. Direct link to MP3 is here.

Floridan:
Why do we even have the singing of the national anthem before football games?

In Taiwan, they used to play the national anthem at movie theaters.

Maryanna: I have heard Al Hirt do the national anthem a number of times over the years at different sporting events, and I have never heard a vocal rendition that gives chills the way his trumpet does.

Of course, Al Hirt isn’t available right now….

I don’t watch the performances of the national anthem at sporting events because I fear how much melisma the singers are going to inflict upon us.

Have the anthem performed by a lone trumpeter instead.

I have heard Al Hirt do the national anthem a number of times over the years at different sporting events, and I have never heard a vocal rendition that gives chills the way his trumpet does. (Although Marvin Gaye comes close)

Jim Allen: Note to David: Usually notes to self are kept to one’s self. This one is not the exception.Why? First, what are your qualifications to critique Ms. Underwood? I don’t recall reading your music criticism columns before, nor hearing of your music training.

Perhaps you don’t realize how off-putting your first point is.

Swift is likely to have a successful career. In a world in which Kenny G and Britney Spears are enduringly popular, we likely will be listening to Taylor Swift and Miley Cyrus for decades. But is she a legitimate artist, rather than a marketing campaign built on autotuning? The jury is still out, and the early deliberations have not overcome reasonable doubt. She could have transcendant talent, or she could be just another pop tart. We must wait and listen.

Underwood, on the other hand, almost surely is (and will be) what she is: Carrie Prejean with a hokey talent-show voice (and, to her credit, without the dopey hypocrisy).

Fedya: I don’t watch the performances of the national anthem at sporting events because I fear how much melisma the singers are going to inflict upon us.Have the anthem performed by a lone trumpeter instead.

Thanks for “melisma,” which for me is a new word. I wonder if it is possible to make non-musical use of “melismatic.”

She learned her craft hangin with the “boys on 16th avenue” as Lacy J said, it is her writing that won her entertainer of the year, and I suspect she will be around for a long while.

Lessee, she writes, she play the guitar, and she sings. And she won Entertainer of the Year, which still means something in the world of country music. Yeah, I suspect she has what it takes.

As for Carrie, I liked her rendition of the anthem, and one sour note does not ruin a performance.

I can understand why they do it in baseball — so the crowd knows when to yell “Play ball!”

I hope we are still the home of the brave, though, and do something about the above. Fast.

Have the anthem performed by a lone trumpeter instead.

John Skookum: There is a trick that allows almost anyone to sing the Star Spangled Banner. The third note in the song (on the word “say”) is the very lowest of all. If you adjust your pitch so that note is at the very bottom of your register, then the rest of the song is easy.

Hey, that IS a neat trick! Thanks for that.

The melody is very dramatic, and really invites the kind of vocal floushes that Ms. Underwood gave it. I thought she did a great job, and the crowd really responded.

If I were directing her, the only thing I would have changed is to not hold on to the phrase, “..the land of the free” as long as she did. By doing that, she lessened the emotional impact of the last line, “And the home of the brave”. It put the em-PHAS-is on the wrong syllable of the tune.

But that’s a minor quibble. The main thing is to connect with the audience, and that she did, wonderfully.

What made it memorable was Jewel’s cleavage, and how she must have realized 30 seconds in that maybe it was a bit much for a performance of the anthem (maybe she saw herself on the jumbotron, or saw some of the players leering at her). She then covered her chest with her hand, as one would when reciting the pledge of allegiance.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=NJgWT8NMPJs

Plus, she was perfect during the sound check Friday. Maybe it was just because she was warming: Sunday she looked pretty chilly and bundled-up, which can’t be conducive to good voice.

The best anthem I’ve ever heard at a game where I was in attendance was done by Eddie Money. Go figure.