Sound Field

There are so many performances of the U.S.

national anthem.

Like SO many Listen to how it's changed over the years and you might hear how America has changed too.

Today we're taking a look at over two centuries of the Star Spangled Banner.

The turns is taken, the artists who have tackled it, and how the song has evolved alongside the country.

It's about.

So the first thing you need to know is that the national anthem is actually set to the tune of an older British song.

You hear the quicker tempo compared to what we're used to today?

When you remember that Francis Scott Key wrote the Star-Spangled banner after watching the Battle of Baltimore during the War of 1812 It makes sense that the song slowed down and became more of a tribute to military sacrifice.

Even in the earliest known recordings.

The anthem definitely sounds recognizable, but also definitely sounds old.

less bombastic little instrumentation, but also a playground for vocal harmonies.

Vocal performances are one of the main points of conversation for the US anthem.

We spoke with vocal coach Beth Roars to hear her expert opinion.

I feel like the American national anthem is quite different.

One it is really hard to sing and everyone, at least in modern day, has a completely different take on it.

so you can hear all the static on that.

And that changes a lot about how you sing.

You have to make it so much clearer.

Now, this is due to the limitations of the technology.

It literally is a little pin that scratches into wax.

People had to sing in a specific way.

It was less about being dramatic and more about being very smooth and controlled.

Artists have always loved putting their stamp on he anthem, but that hasn't stopped artists from using the song to make some pretty bold political statements.

An abolitionist newspaper published another new version for the anti-slavery movement, calling attentio to the irony of land of the free In a time where millions were not free.

The song even transcended langua barriers.

Getting translated to other languages as the face of our nation changed.

In 2006, A new Spanish adaptation was recorded as the country underwent protests for immigration reform.

though it was based on a translation from 1919.

Some people felt that the new lyrics took too many liberties.

Some felt the lyrics shouldn't be translated at all.

When American music was in its big band era, the country was fighting in World War II and looking to rally its citizens.

Through it all the Star Spangled Banner went back to its roots a celebration of America's strength.

The song became a staple of baseball games and military bands.

Big orchestral renditions.

Heavy on the brass, brought new energy to the 120 year old melody.

trumpets, trombones, sweeping violins, swelling French horns, painted a picture of American prosperity.

Gave proof through the night that our flag was still there.

Now, this isn't so far away from the really old timey versions of this song, but it still has a couple of differences.

First of all, Kat Smith was an untrained singer.

She sung in church and that is how she learned to sing.

And she's embodyin both that tradition, but making that little bit more relatable.

Also because she would be able to be mic-ed at the time so she could definitely project and make that big sound.

But she could also step back.

The real, over ennunciation.

Wartime sentiments had a very different effect on the anthem in the 60s and 70s, as the Vietnam War raged and a new counterculture formed.

The Star-Spangled banner became a canvas for experimentation and even protest.

The same setting that helped cement the Star-Spangled banner as tradition.

The baseball game became the site of controversy for the song when Jose Feliciano did the honor during the 68 World Series The guitarist turned the song into a folksy or ballad, a slower tempo, more soulful singing.

He faced backlash.

His songs were dropped from radio, even though Feliciano explained it wasn't meant as a protest.

He was just trying to make an old standard more fun.

But the stunt fueled hate towards the Puerto Rican musician even calls for him to be deported.

Still, a bigger break from tradition will come less than a year later.

From Jimi Hendrix The guitar legend turned head when he went way outside the box with his own rendition most famously at Woodstock in 69 His guitar did the singing, and he threw in some crazy melodies, distortion in a whammy bar that seemed to depict actual bombs bursting in air and the flag actually waving.

Reactions were varied.

Michael Wadleigh, the director of the Woodstock documentary, recalled the crowd being so ecst so stunned, moved.

But other mainstream listeners took offense.

Hendrix's band even received threats of violence, and he wasn't shy about why he was doing this either.

Here's a son that we was all brainwashed with But remember this oldies but goo But Hendrixs version was as much a protest of an America at war as it was an exercise of an American ideal.

The freedom of expression.

In 1975, the Godfather of Soul would also make a statement with the song when he performed before a hotly anticipated boxing match between Muhammad Ali and Chuck Wepner.

After belting out land of the free James Brown reiterated we've got to be free. And added a call and response, adding in lyrics from the Black National Anthem Free! Lift every voice and sing til earth and heaven ring and the home of the brave The hymn Lift Every Voice and Sing has been considered the official song for the NAACP and the Black National Anthem ince 1919.

And James Brown was on to something during the first week of the 2020 season.

The NFL played Lift Every Voice and Sing before each game, And now, its regularly played before the Star-Spangled banner during the Super Bowl.

The Ritual of Playing.

The song is also an avenue for commentary.

1968, Mexico City, The Olympics, two American sprinters Tommie Smith and John Carlos are perched atop the podium with their medal as the Star-Spangled banner play They each raise a fist, a Black Power salute to protest racial inequality.

They're suspended from the games and sent home.

48 years later, NFL quarterback Colin Kaepernick takes a knee during the anthem stance against police brutality and a show of support for the Black Lives Matter movement.

The move inspired a slew of debate, and Kaepernick sued the league, claiming he was blackballed by teams because of his actions.

The NFL ultimately settled the case.

In the decades to come.

Countless artists would continue the tradition of personalizing the anthem.

The Super Bowl, the most watched TV event in the country, used to enlist marching bands, choruses or big band singers to perform the national anthem.

And in 1982, the league turned to Diana Ross for its first big pop star Ross turned the Star-Spangled banner into a banner for her star power All right, the pop divas.

This era is really, really fun because this is when people really started to be expressive with the national anthem.

So her version isn't as diva ish as the later versions.

She's making it approachable.

She isn't adding extra notes she isn't changing the melody.

She's keeping it similar to the original version, but yet she has that pop tone.

Whitney Housto followed suit at the game in 91.

My favorite version and I have to clap because it's so good.

I love this version, and I thin it is the most widely recognized as the best version of the National anthem.

It is more about creating a performance that makes people feel something, and they can sit back and listen and enjoy, rather than participating in.

Her version.

It's just glorious.

you can hear that she can be even breathier and smaller.

And again, this is advancements in microphone technology that you can literally be so tiny.

And we dare not forget Beyonce.

With the anthem now cemented as a talent showcase, more and more artists have come to lightly stylize the song on the nation's biggest stage The Star Spangled Banner has inspired everything from praise to ridicule to parody.

to debate The Star Spangled Banner holds a major sway over society.

It's both an old standard and a radical vehicle, a relic of a younger America and a canvas on which we paint what's still to come.

As America celebrates its 250th anniversary.

We know the American experiment is never finished, and neithe it seems, if its national anthem