Jazzing up the national anthem


I wrote sometime ago about the veneration that Americans had for their flag that bordered on fetishism. This contrasts with the liberties taken with the national anthem. While Americans jump to their feet, remove their hats, place their hands over their hearts, and do all manner of things to show respect, the singers of the anthem are allowed to take all manner of liberties with it.

At any public event, for example, you are never sure if you are going to get a jazz or blues or classic version. The variations that I have not heard so far consist of rock and disco, though maybe even that was done in the 70s. Has anyone ever heard a rap version? Are their some music modes that are considered inherently disrespectful and so are not even attempted for fear of causing outrage?

I can’t imagine that this freedom to interpret the anthem broadly always existed and I wonder when people in the US began allowing the anthem to be varied this way.

By contrast, whenever I hear the national anthem of other countries, they always seem to do it straight.

Update: In the comments Scott reminded me of Jimi Hendrix’s version at Woodstock in 1969. That counts as a rock version and was pretty wild.

Comments

  1. Steven Janowiecki says

    Not so long ago, many people were upset at a Spanish version of the US national anthem (http://www.guardian.co.uk/world/2006/apr/29/usa.spain) so apparently there are limits to the freedom of interpretation.

    I take it you wrote this post today because on this day in 1814 Francis Scott Key penned the poem which became our current national anthem? I searched for any previous national anthems of the US, but did not find any information about them, if they existed.

  2. Matt says

    In game 5 of the 1968 World Series in Detroit, Jose Feliciano played a slow, latin jazz version of the national anthem. People freaked out, fans booed, and DJs stopped playing his music. His career was stalled for years. So I’m not sure when it became OK to take liberties with the national anthem, but it was definitely some time after 1968.

  3. says

    I lived two years in the states and doubt I heard the same rendition of their National Anthem more than once! Give me the Hendrix version anytime 🙂

Leave a Reply

Your email address will not be published. Required fields are marked *