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The Spectacle Blog
I am glad Quin Hillyer drew our attention to Mark Corallo’s column on Christina Aguilera and The Star Spangled Banner.
However, unlike Quin I did not find Corallo’s words to be Ruthian in their proportion. While Babe Ruth may have hit 714 homeruns he also struck out 1,330 times in his career. In this instance, I think Corallo swung and missed:
So, with all the kindness I can muster, I give this one piece of advice to the next pop star who is asked to sing the national anthem at a sporting event: save the vocal gymnastics and the physical gyrations for your concerts. Just sing this song the way you were taught to sing it in kindergarten - straight up, no styling. Sing it with the constant awareness that there are soldiers, sailors, airmen and Marines watching you from bases and outposts all over the world. Don’t make them cringe with your self-centered ego gratification. Sing it as if you are standing before a row of 86-year-old WWII vets wearing their Purple Hearts, Silver Stars and flag pins on their cardigans and you want them to be proud of you for honoring them and the country they love - not because you want them to think you are a superstar musician. They could see that from the costumes, the makeup and the entourages.
But such an argument assumes that all Americans are taught the “Star Spangled Banner” in exactly the same way. As I pointed out here yesterday, Aguilera has been singing our national anthem at sporting events for two decades. Given that Aguilera essentially sings our anthem the same way at 30 as she did at 10 there is every reason to believe this is exactly how she was taught to sing it in kindergarten. Until Aguilera made her unfortunate gaffe at Super Bowl XLV I doubt any WWII veteran went to the trouble of complaining about how she interpreted the song.
Which brings me to this point. Corallo’s argument also implies there is only one way to sing “The Star Spangled Banner” and that any deviation from said way is akin to defaming our men and women in uniform. Yet our veterans aren’t a monolithic bloc. While our soldiers fight for a common cause it doesn’t mean they always march to the same tune. Any true lover of music knows there is no one exact way to interpret a piece of music. Of course, the general public might accept one version of the same song over another. But to suggest that other interpretations of our national anthem are out of bounds is contrary to the nature of making music.
My favorite versions of “The Star Spangled Banner” are the ones done by artists who experimented with the arrangements. First and foremost, there was Jose Feliciano’s performance prior to Game 5 of the 1968 World Series at Tiger Stadium. Feliciano recalled nearly forty years later how the anger at his performance damaged his music career. But it must have made an impression on Marvin Gaye. He had sung the anthem prior to the Game 3 of the ‘68 Series and had done it the “proper way.” A year before his untimely death, Gaye sung a memorable version of “The Star Spangled Banner” prior to the 1983 NBA All-Star Game at The Forum in Inglewood, California. While Feliciano received a decidedly mixed reaction in Detroit, the audience in Southern California was clapping along with Gaye.
But perhaps my favorite of all was Smokey Robinson’s rendition prior to Game 5 of the 1986 World Series at Boston’s Fenway Park. Robinson beautifully and seamlessly incorporated “America The Beautiful” into the anthem. The idea that Jose Feliciano, Marvin Gaye, Smokey Robinson or for that matter, Christina Aguilera set out to offend members of the U.S. military with their interpretation of “The Star Spangled Banner” is just plain silly.
View all comments (21) | Leave a comment
More Blog Posts by Aaron Goldstein
http://spectator.org/blog/2011/02/08/theres-more-than-one-way-to-si
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NotALibertarian| 2.8.11 @ 6:37PM
Why do otherwise intelligent people assume that everything adults did when they were a child was just a fine idea? Just because recent generations -- notoriously spoiled, clueless, self-involved, ungrateful and disrespectful -- have cheapened it (and everything else) with lounge-act renditions does not mean it was quaint for them to cheapen it with lounge-act renditions.
The anthem should be sung in the style that reflects the generation out of which the song grew. Enough with the moaning and heavy breathing already.
Lullabys, Legends and Lies| 2.8.11 @ 7:01PM
Hey, while were at it, why don't we spruce up TAPS? We could put a little R&B into it, maybe a Sax solo, it's so stale and boring the way it is now, that it almost sounds sad. Tradition means nothing anymore anyway, live for the day, do it your own way!!
Ken (Old Texican)| 2.8.11 @ 7:12PM
Heck, I watched and listenened to all of those, Aaron. I liked all of them.
You know, a lot of folks these days forget that our freedom was bought with blood and sweat and tears...over and over again.
Rise up little basement dweller slackers and join the chorus.
Ken (Old Texican)| 2.8.11 @ 7:21PM
Aaron, Lullabys,
This might be my favorite rendition. These are why you go to work in the morning, Lullabys.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=jCJRkUO_odo
Scott| 2.8.11 @ 7:39PM
There is a difference though between singing the national anthem with the dignity and respect it deserves and what Aguilera did. Smokey Robinson's rendition is amazing and probably ranks up there as my favorite. But he was respectful and dignified in how he sung it. Aguilera just tried making it into a pop song and failed miserably. I don't care so much that she flubbed up a little but her arrangement was horrible.
ggoblue| 2.8.11 @ 8:21PM
dear arron guiltstone...criplene agullerra sucked.
and my spellings of your and her names are my artistic license.
Bob K.| 2.8.11 @ 8:46PM
Come on Mr. Goldstein! You are "dumbing down" the singing of our anthem! It is an argument I would expect from a high school teacher with an advanced degree from a Teacher's College! The late Senator Moynihan, who invented the phrase, would use you as a perfect example!
It's a really hard song to sing. Most people gussy it up to hide their vocal limitations. Go on the internet and find a clip of Lauritz Melchior or Robert Merrill or Kate Smith singing it at Baseball games and other events to hear some real Ruthian versions of it! Done straight up too! And listen to the crowds cheers!
Bill W.| 2.8.11 @ 10:24PM
1991 NHL All-Star Game, Chicago Stadium. Go to YouTube and watch!!
Alan Brooks| 2.9.11 @ 12:04AM
What did you think of Hendrix's guitar rendition of the Star Spangled Banner at Woodstock?
Bob K.| 2.9.11 @ 12:42AM
I couldn't tell you, I wasn't there but I wasn't far away. I was fishing for trout in the Delaware River near Callicoon, NY.
Aaron Goldstein| 2.9.11 @ 12:44PM
I like it Hendrix's version much. But given that the topic of Corallo's article was one how ought to sing the anthem I didn't Hendrix's instrumental was germane to the discussion. Although the opening chords do send chills up my spine every time I hear it.
James Asher | 2.9.11 @ 12:50AM
Why do entertainers so often sing the song as an opportunity to showcase their uncanny talent or their towering intellect? (Rosanne's rendition at a baseball game years ago when she finished with an improvised spit and crotch scratch comes to mind.) Since so many celebs want to put their own unique spin on this song, perhaps whoever performs next year will take the avant-guard approach: singing the song with dignity and not dressed like they are en route to a Sex Pistols reunion. Hey, a guy can dream, right?
http://jamesasher.blogspot.com
Bob K.| 2.9.11 @ 1:25AM
Professor John Lukacs stated in his recent historical essay, "DEMOCRACY AND POPULISM Fear and Hatred" published 2006, in a footnote on page 191; "Allow me to say that I, for one, sometimes see in the cult of Celebrity something satanic or at least near-satanic--i.e., worse than the tyranny of the majority.........." He quotes Clive James that "the general spread of education didn't make people more resistant to fame. If anything, it made them less resistant."
Michael L. Hauschild| 2.9.11 @ 6:52AM
I just stand up and put my hand over my heart no matter who is singing it.
JimH| 2.9.11 @ 6:57AM
We could put an end to much of the nonsense by changing the anthem to America the Beautiful, a much better song and easier to sing.
Teflon93| 2.9.11 @ 7:40AM
Christina Aguilera singing the National Anthem like it was a crotch-grabber for two decades compounds her error.
That people like Goldstein endorse such disrespectful and self-aggrandizing behavior is evidence of poor musical taste, solipsism, lack of patriotism, or all three.
Grow up and sing the song like the sheet music says to. BTW, if there were no one correct way to sing it, how come everybody else in the stands sang it the right way---and with the right words?
L A Stich| 2.9.11 @ 8:50AM
Mr Goldstein presents the Libertarian View of Music Performance: sing it any way you want to.
....which is nuts. Your argument that 'music can be interpreted lotsa ways' is true, but within limits. Ever hear an actual orchestra emplace scat into Beethoven? Bach?
You argue, in effect, that the tune's composer was a tool, incapable of writing the music "correctly" for "multicultural" audiences.
And the "diverse-audience" ploy was really great. In that case, why doesn't the "artist" change the language, too?
LarryK| 2.9.11 @ 9:04AM
There are two ways to sing the national anthem:
1. The way it was intended to be sung
2. Poorly
Actually 3 ways:
3. Atrocious (Christina Aguilera)
The best rendition was a tie The Dixie Chicks and Whitney Houston.
Occam's Tool| 2.9.11 @ 10:13AM
I'm sorry, but Jose Feliciano, Smokey Robinson, and Marvin Gaye are so above Ms. Bimbo in terms of talent that it's no comparison. They can "interpret" because they are/were great artists. I fail to see the comparison.
AKS| 2.9.11 @ 11:52AM
The fact that we proclaim to be a free country and then criticize people for taking liberties in their interpretation of the Anthem is hypocritical. The Anthem means different things to different people. While we all share the common experience of being American, our experiences in America are very diverse according to our background. To say that one person doesn't have the "right" to chance the Anthem implies that certain people don't have the right to be as American as others. The National Anthem is not patented, it is copyrighted and fair use laws apply. Therefore, it can be played and arranged in many ways. I think about the words and I can't conjure the picture that Francis Scott Key describes, it was another time. However, knowing Marvin Gaye's life story, I can picture those words as applied to his life. This country does not belong to one group or one people, the Anthem doesn't belong to one group or one people. We are supposed to be a melting pot of cultures, and therefore artistic expression. If you don't want artistry in the interpretation of the Anthem, then stop asking musicians---artists---to sing it!
Purist| 2.23.11 @ 5:59PM
How about she just sing it the way it was *written*?