The Star Spangled Banner is 200 years old. Two centuries since Francis Scott Key wrote this poem during the Battle of Baltimore during the War of 1812.
It did not become our national anthem until 1931, but in the past eight decades it has been sung in public by thousands of people.
My favorite rendition was performed by Smokey Robinson at Fenway Park before Game 5 of the 1986 World Series.
I love the way how, at the climax of the song, he segues into America The Beautiful.
